aspenextreme03 wrote:I have the craig lyn vials and use my v60 02 as a funnel and it fits perfectly. Also since they are flat it makes it much easier

This is a fantastic idea! Thanks!

Consider this less expensive, and possibly more accurate alternative to the much prettier Weber product.

https://forums.kafatek.com/t/alternativ ... er/9461/94 . This is a product still in development, as far as I know, but should be available soon.

Glad to help and I was mm I did not order a funnel when getting the vials so I stumbled on it by accident.

I guess I should update the thread. Now 3x 12oz. bags into the process, it's working very well. I picked up some 3x8 = 24 test tube holders, which is perfect to hold a full 12 oz. bag at 0.5 oz. per vial. My primary roaster (La Colombe... Philly) tends to over-ship a bit, so the remainder goes into my 25th vial and sits in the box waiting for the next batch, or a mishap requiring back-fill. The rack of 24 filled tubes is in the cool cupboard above the grinders, the rack of rinsed empties sits in the cupboard above the brewers, where it's warm enough to dry them after rinsing.

I can fill and weight-check 24 tubes in just a few minutes, using the kitchen funnel I just happened to already own. The spout size is just about perfect for controlled fills, I have to jiggle it a bit for the beans to fall thru, but I can (usually) pick it up and move from one test tube to the next without dropping beans between.

If smell and affect of open-air aging on shot timing are any indication, the beans stay fresh much longer in the tubes, versus a rolled-down bag or larger canister full of air. I'm not sure how much a difference those factors make in taste, it's easy to convince oneself of things that aren't always real.

I commend you for making this effort. I think it makes the daily routine easier and it also allows flexibility for blending on the fly.

I did go the other way from you when I recently redid my dosing rack. I went for wider top and short jars. I dip these into Airscape canisters, as I often have as many as five different home roasted coffees. The reason for this is with two fingers I can add a few beans or take a few out.

I like your approach. I was expecting that small adjustments would be a PITA with the vials, but it's actually turned out to be less an issue than I had feared. Adding a few is easy, I dump them in from my curled plam held against the threads. Knocking a few out is as easy as tapping the vial on my palm, at an angle that keeps most in the vial. Your method may be even easier than mine, but I'd say mine has worked out better than I had anticipated, for making small adjustments.

Hey all, how important is that these tubes/jars allow for vacuum sealing if the coffee is used within 3-4 days? I have tiny glass jars (like those for jam) where 15g of coffee fit just perfectly, but they aren't vacuum sealed. Any randomized control trials on this? Just kidding, any input welcome!

bean74 wrote:... I'm finding the beans smell much better after 8 days in the tubes than in any rolled-down bag... for whatever that's worth.

That is interesting. I would not have anticipated there would be a difference in aroma between a tube and a bag, given your comparison.

You roll down the bag, so in both cases the beans are stored in a volume strictly defined by the volume of the beans - i.e., minimized 'dead-space'. A higher percentage of beans are in contact with the wall of the tube than are in contact with the walls of the bag - maybe that's significant.

Or, there are some aromas deposited on the interior of the bag shortly after roasting that don't make into to the tubes, so the tube aroma is 'fresher'.

Any other theories? Insights here could open up a whole world of 'roast curing' techniques...

I'm dosing 18g and thinking about jumping to 20g, which makes the fixed tube sizes kinda problematic. So, I've been using zip-lock bags and I push out all the excess air before sealing. The aroma in the bag a day after sealing is fantastic - I wish the shots I pulled tasted as good as the aroma in the bag

aspenextreme03 wrote:I have the craig lyn vials and use my v60 02 as a funnel and it fits perfectly. Also since they are flat it makes it much easier

Exactly what I do, though I used cheap vials from Amazon. The V60 is a great funnel for dosing.

When you use plastic containers (tubes, small bottles etc...), make sure those are food safe. Not sure it could be a health problem, but some solvants or resin could affect the taste of coffee. If the empty tube does smell "plastic", make sure you clean it carefully and let it vent for a while. In this matter, glass is better (and glass tube are relatively easy to find, less than plastic but still used in labs).