Just a thought before I go to bed - maybe it will generate further discussion, maybe it won't. The deeper i get into coffee, the more I realize it's not coffee. Coffee is too broad a term. It's Guatemala Matalapa as an espresso. It's a vacpot of Blue Batak. It's a french press (pull?) of El sal La libertad.

Temperatures, doses, preparation methods...it all varies. You really have to hang with one origin long enough to get the feel. Home roasting throws another variable into the equation (roasting, not browning). Am I consistent enough roast-to-roast?

Sure, 16oz, 200 degrees, 30 seconds - a great starting point. It will produce a drinkable beverage with a modicum of sweetness (provided i got the roasting down). But how do I unwrap the beverage within? How do I find the blueberries in the ethiopian wondo bonko? (by waiting 6-9 days apparently, but i'm still working temp and dose).

Oh well, if it doesn't work just stick it in some milk.

popeye wrote:Just a thought before I go to bed - maybe it will generate further discussion, maybe it won't. The deeper i get into coffee, the more I realize it's not coffee. Coffee is too broad a term. It's Guatemala Matalapa as an espresso. It's a vacpot of Blue Batak. It's a french press (pull?) of El sal La libertad.

Temperatures, doses, preparation methods...it all varies. You really have to hang with one origin long enough to get the feel. Home roasting throws another variable into the equation (roasting, not browning). Am I consistent enough roast-to-roast?

Sure, 16oz, 200 degrees, 30 seconds - a great starting point. It will produce a drinkable beverage with a modicum of sweetness (provided i got the roasting down). But how do I unwrap the beverage within? How do I find the blueberries in the ethiopian wondo bonko? (by waiting 6-9 days apparently, but i'm still working temp and dose).

Oh well, if it doesn't work just stick it in some milk.

Get some sleep.

P.S. And then tell us more about the MicroCimbali over in the lever forum.

popeye wrote:Just a thought before I go to bed - maybe it will generate further discussion, maybe it won't. The deeper i get into coffee, the more I realize it's not coffee. Coffee is too broad a term. It's Guatemala Matalapa as an espresso. It's a vacpot of Blue Batak. It's a french press (pull?) of El sal La libertad.

And wine isn't just wine, either . . .

The difference is that the appellation d'original contrôlée system (and its counterparts in nations besides France) has been around codified into law since the late 1930s. Even before then, people were speaking regionally and varietally about wines since the Renaissance, at the very least. Coffee, on the other hand . . .

Roasted or greens, it makes little difference:

• Some coffee beans are sold as "proprietary" blends only, with little or no information as to their composition* (e.g.: Espresso Vivace "Dolce" or "Vita", or Gimme! "Leftist Espresso Blend").
• Some beans are sold based upon their regional/national origin (e.g.: Peet's "Garuda" (defined as "A full-bodied blend of coffees from the Indonesian islands"), or Starbuck's "Kenya" -- with no additional information.
• Some are sold with more information, denoting a specific sub-region within a nation (e.g.: Metropolis "Ethiopian Sidamo", or Paradise Roasters "Sumatra Lake Tawar".
• Still other sources will identify specific farms from which the beans originate (e.g.: Honduras "Finca La Tina", or Coffee Klatch "El Salvador Santa Rita").
• The most detail information will include the varieties of beans (e.g.: Stumptown "Costa Rica Montes de Oro" -- look to the right of the page, or Terroir "Daterra Farm Special Reserve, Cerrado, Brazil" -- with the description ". . . very carefully hand-harvested Yellow Bourbon variety of Arabica.")

Yet very few will offer the same coffee from the same region, from the same estate, at different levels of roast . . . still, much progress is being made, though -- as an industry -- it's still in its infancy compared to wine.

Cheers,
Jason

* Other blends may provide more information, like the ubiquitous "Mocha-Java," while some providers may give the customer more specific information, such as the five different countries that contribute beans to their house blend, etc., etc.

(popeye) "Just a thought before I go to bed - maybe it will generate further discussion, maybe it won't. The deeper i get into coffee, the more I realize it's not coffee. Coffee is too broad a term. It's Guatemala Matalapa as an espresso. It's a vacpot of Blue Batak. It's a french press (pull?) of El sal La libertad."

Spencer, I'm interested in your comment about certain beans for certain methods, especially the Blue Batak for vacpot. Can you say a little more about what makes Blue Batak suited for vacpot brewing and whether you recommend any other beans for vacpots? Any particular roaster you would recommend for the Blue Batak? I saw Johnson Bros. and Bird Rock Roasters have it.

About me: I'm a new user of the Hario vacpot with a cloth filter, previously only pour-over brewing. I love cappuccinos so I use a Maver Cremina frother for that, and a Virtuoso grinder dedicated to pour-over/vacpot brewing. Also, I'm researching and saving money for my first-ever espresso machine, hopefully in a few months---noob all the way around.
Thank you,
Ann