ben lowery » Coffee http://blowery.org this is my blog where i blog Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:36:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Brewing Coffee the Right Way http://blowery.org/2010/01/13/brewing-coffee-the-right-way/ http://blowery.org/2010/01/13/brewing-coffee-the-right-way/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:37:37 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=901
  • Brewing with a VacPot
  • Joel on Coffee: Starbucks vs. Customer
  • Visualizing Data in Dynamic Systems
    • ]]>

    How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee from Ben Helfen on Vimeo.

    Brilliant.

    Related posts:

    1. Brewing with a VacPot
    2. Joel on Coffee: Starbucks vs. Customer
    3. Visualizing Data in Dynamic Systems

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2010/01/13/brewing-coffee-the-right-way/feed/ 0     Roast: Brazil / Ethiopia Decaf Espresso http://blowery.org/2009/08/13/roast-brazil-ethiopia-decaf-espresso/ http://blowery.org/2009/08/13/roast-brazil-ethiopia-decaf-espresso/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:24:56 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=872 A blend of Brazil Cerrado WP Decaf and Ethiopia DP Sidamo WP Decaf. 110g of the Brazil and 90g of the Ethiopia, pre-blended.

    Time Temp Heater Fan Notes
    00:00 260 10 0
    00:30 190 10 0
    01:00 182 10 0
    01:30 195 10 0
    02:00 214 10 0
    02:30 233 10 0
    03:00 250 10 0
    03:30 267 10 0
    04:00 283 10 0
    04:30 297 10 0
    05:00 310 10 0
    05:30 323 10 0
    06:00 335 10 0
    06:30 346 10 0
    07:00 357 5 0
    07:30 368 5 0
    08:00 376 5 0 375 FC pop
    08:30 382 5 0 this was just early
    09:00 388 5 0
    09:30 392 5 0 slow FC
    10:00 396 5 0
    10:30 400 5 0
    11:00 404 5 0
    11:30 408 5 0
    12:00 413 5 0
    12:30 418 5 0
    13:00 423 5 0
    13:30 429 5 0 426 sc?
    14:00 434 5 0 431 starting to roll, dropped at 434

    No related posts.

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2009/08/13/roast-brazil-ethiopia-decaf-espresso/feed/ 0     Clever Coffee Dripper http://blowery.org/2009/07/01/clever-coffee-dripper/ http://blowery.org/2009/07/01/clever-coffee-dripper/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:41:30 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=835
  • Adagio
  • Brewing Coffee the Right Way
  • Joel on Coffee: Starbucks vs. Customer
    • ]]>     Sweet Maria's Clever Coffee Dripper

    Just saw this new brewer over at Sweet Maria’s. Looks like a great alternative to the Aeropress or a French Press. Less mess and nice and consistent. Reminds me a lot of the ingenuiTEA from Adagio.

    ingenuiTEA_teapot

    Related posts:

    1. Adagio
    2. Brewing Coffee the Right Way
    3. Joel on Coffee: Starbucks vs. Customer

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2009/07/01/clever-coffee-dripper/feed/ 1     Triple Ristretto http://blowery.org/2009/05/14/triple-ristretto/ http://blowery.org/2009/05/14/triple-ristretto/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 16:43:55 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=725 triple

    After visiting Gimme! a while ago and having one of their tasty triple ristrettos, I decided to pick up a triple basket and see if I could pull it off in my Rancilio Silvia at home. The basket arrived on Tuesday, so today was the first go round.

    So far, it works great. I’m using ~ 17g of coffee and getting 1.5oz in about 30s. Very tasty and and nice controlled pour. I’m a convert.

    If you’re interested in triples, there’s a good page over on Home Barista about it too.

    No related posts.

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2009/05/14/triple-ristretto/feed/ 1     Brewing with a VacPot http://blowery.org/2009/02/06/brewing-with-a-vacpot/ http://blowery.org/2009/02/06/brewing-with-a-vacpot/#comments Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:59:05 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=666
  • Brewing Coffee the Right Way
  • Crack
  • More Roasts
    • ]]>

    In my never-ending quest to try out every coffee-brewing method known to man, I decided to get a vacuum pot. These were wildly popular earlier in the last century, but fell out of favor. Why, I don’t know, because it makes a wonderful cup of coffee.

    This is a 5-cup Yama, with a Cona glass rod instead of the standard cloth filter.

    Related posts:

    1. Brewing Coffee the Right Way
    2. Crack
    3. More Roasts

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2009/02/06/brewing-with-a-vacpot/feed/ 0     Roasty http://blowery.org/2008/09/06/roasty/ http://blowery.org/2008/09/06/roasty/#comments Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:03:27 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/2008/09/06/roasty/
  • More Roasts
  • Free samples of new Starbucks roast today at noon EDT
    • ]]>     Moka Kadir again. Took this one to Full City+ / maybe Vienna? Temps on this one are from the fancy new thermocouple I hacked into the roaster.

    Vital Stats: 250g roasted, 77F Ambient, Target of Full City++ (447F). Post roast weight: 206g.

    Time Temp Heater Fan Notes
    0:00 229 100 0
    0:15 243 100 0
    0:30 256 100 0
    0:45 269 100 0
    1:00 282 100 0
    1:15 294 100 0 Dropped Beans In
    1:30 279 100 0
    1:45 244 100 0
    2:00 206 100 0
    2:15 184 100 0
    2:30 174 100 0
    2:45 171 100 0
    3:00 174 100 0
    3:15 179 100 0
    3:30 186 100 0
    3:45 193 100 0
    4:00 201 100 0
    4:15 208 100 75 Quick fan kick to remove moisture
    4:30 215 100 0
    4:45 223 100 0 First Aroma
    5:00 230 100 0
    5:15 236 100 0
    5:30 243 100 0
    5:45 249 100 0
    6:00 255 100 0
    6:15 261 100 0
    6:30 266 100 0
    6:45 272 100 0
    7:00 277 100 0
    7:15 282 100 0
    7:30 287 100 0
    7:45 291 100 0
    8:00 296 100 0
    8:15 300 100 0
    8:30 305 100 0
    8:45 309 100 0
    9:00 314 100 0
    9:15 318 100 0
    9:30 322 100 0
    9:45 327 100 0
    10:00 331 100 0
    10:15 335 80 0
    10:30 339 80 0
    10:45 344 80 0
    11:00 348 80 0
    11:15 352 80 25
    11:30 356 100 25
    11:45 360 100 25
    12:00 364 100 25
    12:15 368 100 25
    12:30 372 100 25
    12:45 376 100 25
    13:00 381 80 25
    13:15 385 80 50 FC Starts
    13:30 390 80 50
    13:45 395 50 50
    14:00 399 40 50
    14:15 403 40 50
    14:30 406 40 50
    14:45 410 40 50
    15:00 412 40 50
    15:15 416 40 50 FC Ends
    15:30 419 80 50
    15:45 422 80 75
    16:00 425 80 75
    16:15 429 80 75
    16:30 432 80 100
    16:45 436 60 100 SC Starts
    17:00 440 60 100
    17:15 445 60 100
    17:21 447 60 100 Stopped Roast

    Related posts:

    1. More Roasts
    2. Free samples of new Starbucks roast today at noon EDT

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2008/09/06/roasty/feed/ 0     More Roasts http://blowery.org/2008/08/25/more-roasts/ http://blowery.org/2008/08/25/more-roasts/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:11:20 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=545
  • Thermometer Arrived!
  • Roasty
  • The Smells of Heaven
    • ]]>     Since the HotTop arrived, I’ve gone through four roasts. The first roast (which I’ll call roast zero) was a total failure and I was quite bummed. That is, until I realized that in my excitement and haste, I had forgotten to install the rear filter. Without the rear filter, way too much air was drawn into the roasting chamber by the fan, which quickly stalled and then killed the roast. 250g of baked beans went right into the trash.

    Once I figured out what I’d done wrong, the next few roasts went swimmingly. Here’s the data for roast of some of Sweet Maria’s Moka Kadir:

    Time Temp Heater Fan Notes
    0:00 167 100 0  
    0:30 168 100 0  
    1:00 177 100 0  
    1:30 188 100 0  
    2:00 201 100 0  
    2:30 213 100 75  
    3:00 226 100 0  
    3:30 240 100 0  
    4:00 253 100 0  
    4:30 266 100 0  
    5:00 278 100 0  
    5:30 289 100 0  
    6:00 300 100 0  
    6:30 309 100 0  
    7:00 318 100 0  
    7:30 325 100 0  
    8:00 334 100 0  
    8:30 341 100 0  
    9:00 347 100 0  
    9:30 354 100 25  
    10:00 359 100 25  
    10:30 365 80 25  
    11:00 370 80 25  
    11:30 374 80 25  
    12:00 377 80 25  
    12:30 381 80 25  
    13:00 386 80 25  
    13:30 388 60 75  
    14:00 392 60 75 First Crack starts
    14:30 395 40 100 Rolling First
    15:00 397 40 100  
    15:30 399 40 100  
    16:00 401 40 100  
    16:30 401 40 100  
    17:00 401 40 100 First Crack finishes
    17:30 402 40 100  
    18:00 402 40 100  
    18:30 402 40 100  
    19:00 402 40 100 Second Crack starting
    19:30 404 40 100 Second Crack rolling

    My second roast was some Ethiopia Organic Sidamo Dry Process Special Selection.

    Time Temp Heater Fan Notes
    0:00 167 100 0  
    0:30 172 100 0  
    1:00 181 100 0  
    1:30 194 100 0  
    2:00 208 100 0  
    2:30 221 100 75  
    3:00 235 100 0  
    3:30 249 100 0  
    4:00 262 100 0  
    4:30 275 100 0  
    5:00 287 100 0  
    5:30 298 100 0  
    6:00 309 100 0  
    6:30 318 100 0  
    7:00 327 100 0  
    7:30 336 100 0  
    8:00 343 100 0  
    8:30 350 100 0  
    9:00 357 100 0 Slight crackle
    9:30 363 100 25  
    10:00 368 100 25  
    10:30 374 80 25  
    11:00 379 80 25  
    11:30 383 80 25  
    12:00 386 80 25  
    12:30 392 80 25 First big pops of FC
    13:00 395 80 25  
    13:30 399 60 75  
    14:00 402 60 75 FC rolling
    14:30 406 40 100 FC ends
    15:00 408 40 100  
    15:30 410 40 100  
    15:45 411 40 100 Stop roast. SC just starting

    Related posts:

    1. Thermometer Arrived!
    2. Roasty
    3. The Smells of Heaven

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2008/08/25/more-roasts/feed/ 1     New Roaster Pics http://blowery.org/2008/08/21/new-roaster-pics/ http://blowery.org/2008/08/21/new-roaster-pics/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:24:33 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/?p=531
  • A New Roaster
  • Shuttles and Heat Monitoring
  • Theremin HowTo
    • ]]>     hottop-box hottop-chaff-tray hottop-control-panel hottop-cooling-tray hottop-front hottop-new-rear-filter hottop-rear hottop-roast-chamber hottop-side hottop-side-2

    The seller sent along some pics of the roaster and here they are, in case you were wondering what in the world I’ve been blabbering on about.

    Related posts:

    1. A New Roaster
    2. Shuttles and Heat Monitoring
    3. Theremin HowTo

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2008/08/21/new-roaster-pics/feed/ 0     A New Roaster http://blowery.org/2008/08/20/a-new-roaster/ http://blowery.org/2008/08/20/a-new-roaster/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:48:13 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/2008/08/20/a-new-roaster/
  • The Smells of Heaven
  • New Roaster Pics
  • Triple Ristretto
    • ]]>     After burning through (not literally) a few pounds of green beans with the iRoast that AJ graciously sent me, I quickly realized that I really enjoy roasting coffee. I like the iRoast, but it has a very limited capacity and it’s really not known to be a great espresso roaster, so I started doing some digging around. After reading a bunch of reviews and forum posts on Coffee Geek and Home Barista, I settled trying to find a used HotTop to continue my little roasting adventure. One post to Coffee Geek and a few emails later and I’m soon to be the proud owner of a slightly used roaster, formerly owned by a church in Pennsylvania.

    So.

    Excited.

    More when it arrives.

    Related posts:

    1. The Smells of Heaven
    2. New Roaster Pics
    3. Triple Ristretto

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2008/08/20/a-new-roaster/feed/ 0     Thermometer Arrived! http://blowery.org/2008/08/13/thermometer-arrived/ http://blowery.org/2008/08/13/thermometer-arrived/#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:44:10 +0000 Ben http://blowery.org/2008/08/13/thermometer-arrived/
  • More Roasts
  • Roasty
  • The Smells of Heaven
    • ]]>     The multimeter and thermocouple I ordered to monitor roasting temp arrived today! I also stumbled on this handy little chart for the iRoast over on Sweet Marias. I’m reproducing it here so I don’t lose it…

    Degree of Roast Temp
    Green Unroasted 75
    Starting to pale 270
    Early yellow 327
    Yellow-Tan 345
    Light Brown 370
    Brown 393
    1st Crack Begins 401
    1st Crack Under Way 415
    City Roast 426
    City+ 435
    Full City 446
    Full City+ 454
    Vienna 465
    Full French 474
    Fully Carbonized 486
    Immanent Fire 497

    Related posts:

    1. More Roasts
    2. Roasty
    3. The Smells of Heaven

    ]]>     http://blowery.org/2008/08/13/thermometer-arrived/feed/ 0