Coffee waste reduction techniques - Page 2

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
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Marshall
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#11: Post by Marshall »

Ken Fox wrote:(and anyone who is thrifty would obviously be a home roaster)
Compass Coffee wrote:That seem to say anyone who home roasts does so for cost savings ....
50 extra SAT points to anyone who spots the flaw in logic. :D
Marshall
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Ken Fox
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#12: Post by Ken Fox replying to Marshall »

Duh, let me guess. If you are cheap you probably home roast. But just because you home roast does not mean U are cheap?

ken
:P

p.s. I have a friend who home roasts precisely because he is cheap, and if Tully's would sell him beans for $5/lb he'd buy them
What, me worry?

Alfred E. Neuman, 1955

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espressoperson
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#13: Post by espressoperson »

mrgnomer wrote:...I removed the guard over the chute and after grinding I roughly clean it out with a chopstick then sweep it out with a brush. When dosing I try to clear the doser of grinds...
I use that method too. Here's a one handed tool mod for getting the job done. Drill a small hole in the end of the brush and insert a sawed-off chopstick.



BTW, if only coffee waste over the course of grinding could be measured and graphed. You could plot the patterns of successive fillings to see whether there was a repeatable pattern. Perhaps more is lost at the start of grinding causing a hump followed by a leveling off during the rest of the grinding. With graphs like that to display maybe Ken would take this topic more seriously.
michaelb, lmwdp 24

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cannonfodder
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#14: Post by cannonfodder »

Before we start debating frugality, let's consider this.

The average Arabica tree takes around 3 years to reach maturity, any time during which the sapling could easily be damaged. Once it does reach maturity and start flowering and producing cherry, they are even more susceptible to damage. A hard thunderstorm can destroy three years of painstaking work.

Now those cherries have to be picked at just the right time, rain or shine. A laborer (men, women, young and old) pick only the ripe cherries from the tree. Sun up to sun down they toil in the tropical heat and humidity, usually on steep slopes in volcanic soil. What do they get for a day of hard work, pocket change for you and I. Around $15, a buck fifty for five gallons of cherry.

Now that cherry has to be processed. This takes another couple of months. At which any time, the entire harvest could be ruined. Someone does not rake the drying seed correctly, they are garbage. If they sit on the drying beds a day too long, garbage, if the mucilage is left on a day too long, fermentation and garbage. You get the point; any number of things can ruin an entire year of hard labor.

In the end, we are rewarded with a green bean ready for the artisan roaster to work his magic, or the home roaster. Of which I proudly stand and proclaim, my name is Dave, and I home roast!

Now keeping in mind the enormous amount of labor and work it took to deliver that one pound of coffee to your grinder, and the sheer miracle that it actually survived the process. Wasting is a shame, respect the bean. While some waste is necessary, I strive to keep it minimal. In one pound of coffee, I lose about two shots worth (not counting the shot or two it took to dial in the grind).
Dave Stephens

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mrgnomer
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#15: Post by mrgnomer »

Amen, amen, Dave :D

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HB
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#16: Post by HB »

Thanks Dave, your reminder of the human toil of those who help bring our daily coffee is good food for thought. Chris captured the same idea in pictures in his thread I once had a farm in Nicaragua. One of my favorites of the series is excerpted below:

Dan Kehn

OkcEspresso
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#17: Post by OkcEspresso »

HB wrote:Thanks Dave, your reminder of the human toil of those who help bring our daily coffee is good food for thought. Chris captured the same idea in pictures in his thread I once had a farm in Nicaragua. One of my favorites of the series is excerpted below:
And in all fairness, it takes that guy two days to make $15.

C.

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MeTheGreat (original poster)
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#18: Post by MeTheGreat (original poster) »

That post on the development of the coffee is very eye opening and thanks for bringing that up. Great perspective.

Thanks for the input everyone. I suppose I will go ahead and let loose and purchase a cup of yogurt to help dosing (hope it doesn't break the bank :) ). Any more thoughts on whether pushing a bit of excess coffee through the grinder after changing grind settings is necessary? That knowledge alone would help tremendously.

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HB
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#19: Post by HB »

If you're running the grinder until the chamber is empty each time, there's no need to worry about running extra coffee to "reset" the grind setting. I used to do that at one time, but now add enough coffee to the hopper for a couple days, partially for convenience, partially to prevent "popcorning" of the beans, which presumably could affect the grind (or so I've read). In this case, I run the grinder for a couple seconds to clear the chamber of the old grinds after a setting change. You could be super miserly and not discard, but your first shot after a change will be a mixture of old and new, and the pour will drift ever so slightly on the second shot after the adjustment. Then again, if you're not super picky or you're serving a latte lover, it may not matter. :lol:
Dan Kehn

Ken Fox
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#20: Post by Ken Fox »

HB wrote:Thanks Dave, your reminder of the human toil of those who help bring our daily coffee is good food for thought. Chris captured the same idea in pictures in his thread I once had a farm in Nicaragua. One of my favorites of the series is excerpted below:
Gosh, everyone, thanks so much for helping folks like these to STARVE!

If you wasted more coffee there would be more of a market for it, the price would go up a bit, and these unfortunate folks who bring coffee to our doorsteps would be better off.

ken
What, me worry?

Alfred E. Neuman, 1955