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I promised @Muninn I'd post an update on my new coffee hobby. I don't have much of interest to say, but here it is.
At long last I got my coffee bean grinder (remind me not to order from 'remote warehouses' that happen to be located in other countries again). I had already tried out my Chemex (glass handle, 3 cup size) with proprietary filters for a week with mediocre pre-ground Arabica coffee from the grocery store. I pretty much only got a stereotypical 'coffee' smell and taste from it, which was satisfying enough to fill the home with in the mornings. I enjoyed a pleasant buzz from the caffeine in the first few days - a better buzz than ever before in my life from coffee, it seemed. That may have had something to with a noob impression that my body quickly got used to, and/or it may be because I added some L-theanine to the cups during those days. Anyway, I liked the experience of brewing and drinking the pre-ground stuff, but it more or less needed cream and sugar added to be really pleasant. Not that it was bad without those additions, but it didn't have much depth. In either case: way better than insta-coffee.
I tried Ethiophian Yirgacheffe and Rwandan Rugori specialty beans today. They're not super exclusive or anything, but they cost a lot more than the mass-produced Arabica stuff.
The grinder (Krups Silent Vortex; blades) is not that great. It does its job, but the coffee ends up ground to different sized bits. There's some light brown bits that are clearly much bigger and are thus perhaps not infused to the same degree into the liquid, compared to the tinier bits...? The smell from these beans was impressive after grinding them though. I expected a taste to match this impression, but far less nuance remained in the liquid. The taste was not all that special. I was whelmed. The Yirgacheffe clearly tastes better than pre-ground Arabica, but not that much different. There's a few subtle notes of perhaps fruit or a spicy flower or something, but it's all a bit too subtle for my untrained, somewhat aged palate. Pleasant to drink though. I don't need cream or sugar when brewing this one. The Rugori was even less impressive though. It was far too close to a totally average cup of coffee. I used ~16 grams of beans each time. Water heated to 90 C. I pre-soak the filter, pre-heating the Chemex at the same time before emptying that water out. Then I divide the pouring in two or three pours before then leaving it until everything had dripped down.
My dude, I appreciate the report! I'll just comment on a few things here:
I also feel perkier when I'm drinking pour-over coffee when compared to a cup from a Keurig or an automatic drip coffeemaker.
This is exactly why the grinder is the second most important component. Equal grind size equals equal infusion, which yields a more consistent flavor from the beans.
This tells me that you've got enough of a sense of taste and smell that you'd probably get to the point where you could get definite flavors from your brew if you decide to keep going down this path, especially when combined with your sharp observation that different sized grounds will yield uneven results in the taste department. When I first started down the road of fresh roasted coffee it seemed like drinking tea to me, which is to say that I definitely noticed differences with different varieties of black tea and so did freshly roasted beans seem to have some distinct flavor to them. I still don't know that I'd be good enough to actually go cup individual coffees and buy for a specialty house or operation but I'm definitely in wine snob territory when it comes to getting a lot of flavor notes out of a good fresh roasted pour over. I suspect that there's similar potential for you there if you choose to pursue it.
Sorry to hear that one wasn't so special for you, though it's entirely possible that it might come into its own if you keep trying it over the next several days.
Regardless, I'm glad you shared your experience and it sure sounds to me like you've started your journey. If you decide to continue trying fresh coffee, please continue to write more here and feel free to continue asking questions, I'd appreciate it and from your last I know we have a few other coffee buffs around here that might chime in as well. Enjoy!
Pulsing the blade grinder a few times, letting the beans fall to rest in between, and then keeping it going for a good emount of time seems to help with getting a more evenly ground result. I'll stick with this grinder for a while. Using half the amount of beans, around 8-10g of the Rwandan seems to actually help somewhat with bringing out its unique features rather than just 'coffee'. But I still very much prefer the Yirgacheffe.
I'm going to see if it's possible to train my nose to become more sensitive and receptive again. Sort of like how exercising the body influences the brain etc. If I demand more performance from my palate, maybe something will respond. I'm something of a food/drink enjoyer, it's one of my joys in life, so having a weak receptivity won't do. I'll be trying some more specialty beans over the next few months. Peru, Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya might be up next.
I'm not surprised that you enjoy food and drink and I strongly believe that it's possible to gain or regain sensitivity to taste and smell. Simply paying attention to the sensory inputs while imbibing is, IMO, a large part of the battle. Not-so-coincidentally, I also believe that this is why explicit tastings are a Thing; for me, it's far easier to pay attention to the sensory input when that's the explicit point of the exercise. Anyway, sounds like you've got your eye on some nice new beans to try. Indonesian coffee in particular will likely give you a good idea of how different coffee can taste by region, assuming the roast isn't too dark.
I expect that finding the right words for the various components of the aroma will help the brain discern and sort them in the future. This is not that simple to implement though. Because there's no "answer key" and you're not necessarily standing there with the dictionary ready on your phone and because you might not know which is which in the mix. I'm thinking it could be a good idea to buy a "sample set" of lots of distinct ingredients in order to build a bigger vocabulary and knowledge base.
This is true to an extent, but you've already got the vocabulary to get started. Basic things like sweet, sour, chocolate, fruity, spicy, nutty, earthy, and even smoky will probably be noticeable to you right away. As you get into the taste of your coffee, you'll notice more and more details, and be able to get more specific. Tart and sour resolves to something citrus-y. That nutty flavor tastes a little like pecan. That one sip reminds you of a nibble of really dark chocolate as the bitterness fades and the chocolate really opens up in your palate. And doggone if that one doesn't taste like black tea or green tea here and there. I've uploaded a coffee wheel image for your reference.
More than the caffeine, this is the hook that coffee set for me. I don't always get every flavor advertised in the particular bean but it's there so consistently that I'm confident that the flavor is there as long as I roast it right, which of course is half the fun, except when I'm consistently getting savory out of my beans. That means that it's time for me to clean my roaster!
/images/17592353446912394.webp
That's a useful image, thanks. :)
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