PIXIllate wrote:I don't roast and I've learned a lot from my brief time using it. It's definitely informs my starting dose/temp/grind setting for a new coffee. With things like this, calibration is everything. $250 not exactly a lot of money in a hobby like this one.

I home roast and heavily rely on smell and appearance during the roast process, far more than relying on numbers alone. When dialing in (espresso) I take that same approach as sight, smell and feel can be all the useful info needed to get things spot on. That's also why I prefer hand grinding as you clearly smell/feel the level of development achieved during the roast process. Can never get that just pushing a few buttons. To each their own, but I have a method to the madness and it clearly works in my favor.

Numbers can still be very useful though. You don't need a scale or a timer or a thermometer either. You could roast and pull shots blindfolded. But having good objective feedback can really help.

If that roast color tool were $25 I'd buy one. But I just can't justify $300. I'm not saying it isn't "worth it", just that it's not for me. If I had an unlimited budget I'd buy a VST refractometer, 1000 espresso filters (or a centrifuge), a Decent DE1+, a Monolith Titan, and at least a couple dozen other little tools I've come across. Oh, and also a new home with a dedicated coffee bar. Somewhere up high, with a view of the ocean.

But I've just got a $400 Robot and a $200 hand grinder that live in a cupboard in a small kitchen in a tiny house. Spending $300 for a grounds color detector just doesn't make sense for me.

cmin wrote:I had a couple off batches of Klatch Belle that was like straight cigarette smoke, I just threw out each time and they replaced, no clue what was up with that, happened like 6 times over recent years though last order was fine ...

Thanks, glad I'm not the only one who had this experience. I just got a new bag and though it works in milk it's really hard to find a recipe that is drinkable straight. About 2 seconds after the first sip, there's this super harsh taste that I think you nailed above. I am not sure if I got a "bad" batch or if this is par for the course. It has been a while since I last ordered it.

I ordered last year sometime again and I remember it wasn't bad but was just like, ehhh ok. I definitely never got the berry or brandy notes all those years not even profiled on GS3, not sure why I even kept ordering it lol. People even years ago seem to rave but it was always just like a average blend at best to me. Their single origins though can be great.

I definitely had very bad bags of it, but disregarding that, Belle always has this harsh or astringent taste to it, almost like super acidic somehow

I have some Pennstock Archimedes incoming that I'm really looking forward to try