Coffee noob (7-11 is better than my home brew)

[Mtown]

Hello everyone. Quick story, I recently figured out my keurig does not make good coffee after having some fresh coffee at 7-11 of all places. So I did some research and bought the Baravita bv1800 and have been using that, I also use peets dark roast (a few different blends). These are not ground at home BTW I don't have a grinder. The taste is better than the keurig by miles but still not as good as the 7-11 coffee. As a side note I don't make a full pot as its just me drinking coffee at home. I understand Baravita recommends making a full pot. Help. What am I missing?

 

[peterjschmidt]

Can you explain why the 7-11 is preferable to the Bonavita? What is it in the taste of both that you like/don't like?

My guess is the Peet's is too dark and bitter. I doubt it's the Bonavita (you can make smaller amounts, but your coffee:water ratio might have to be bumped up) and think if you run some better coffee through it, it'll be more to your liking.

Edit: if you can at all afford a grinder, a decent conical burr grinder such as a Baratza Encore, you will be waaaaaay ahead of the game in terms of freshness and controlling your brewing. The Bonavita was a chunk of change, but w/o pairing it with a good grinder it can't perform as well as it wants to.

 

[Mtown]

Can you explain why the 7-11 is preferable to the Bonavita? What is it in the taste of both that you like/don't like?

My guess is the Peet's is too dark and bitter. I doubt it's the Bonavita (you can make smaller amounts, but your coffee:water ratio might have to be bumped up) and think if you run some better coffee through it, it'll be more to your liking.

Edit: if you can at all afford a grinder, a decent conical burr grinder such as a Baratza Encore, you will be waaaaaay ahead of the game in terms of freshness and controlling your brewing. The Bonavita was a chunk of change, but w/o pairing it with a good grinder it can't perform as well as it wants to.

Thank you for the reply. I think you are right about the peets coffee. I thought peets was regarded as good ccoffee. Perhaps in the future I will get a grinder. Does grinding it fresh make a huge difference? And store bought grinds you can recommend in the mean time? The 7-11 just tastes better I can't put it into words
it has a fuller, more coffeeish taste. Maybe it is the peets.

 

[peterjschmidt]

It's been such a long time since I bought coffee, let alone grind it at the store, I can't suggest anything.

Enemy #1 for coffee freshness is oxygen. After the beans come out of the grinder they're going through a degassing stage, anywhere from a day to several, depending on the roast level mainly. Then the flavors hit their peak, for perhaps a handful of days, when they start to taper off in flavor due to staling. Grinding coffee, even very fresh coffee bypasses all of that and go the staling part of the process. Think of the amount of surface area of a given bean that's exposed to the air. Then multiply that by the number of particles the bean is broken into, maybe hundreds; that's how much more air the ground coffee is exposed to, and why it stales so quickly.

So most coffees one buys as whole bean, most likely Peets included, are already well into that staling process... at least with a grinder, you have a fighting chance of enjoying fresh coffee, especially if you find a nearby roaster, or one like myself who will ship the same day as roasting.

 

[flphotog]

It's been such a long time since I bought coffee, let alone grind it at the store, I can't suggest anything.

Enemy #1 for coffee freshness is oxygen. After the beans come out of the grinder they're going through a degassing stage, anywhere from a day to several, depending on the roast level mainly. Then the flavors hit their peak, for perhaps a handful of days, when they start to taper off in flavor due to staling. Grinding coffee, even very fresh coffee bypasses all of that and go the staling part of the process. Think of the amount of surface area of a given bean that's exposed to the air. Then multiply that by the number of particles the bean is broken into, maybe hundreds; that's how much more air the ground coffee is exposed to, and why it stales so quickly.

So most coffees one buys as whole bean, most likely Peets included, are already well into that staling process... at least with a grinder, you have a fighting chance of enjoying fresh coffee, especially if you find a nearby roaster, or one like myself who will ship the same day as roasting.

Sorry Peter, I have a question about what you said above. See the statement I've changed to "Red" above. I was under the impression that the degassing stage started after roasting, not after grinding? Is that not correct?

Thanks
Carson

 

[peterjschmidt]

Correct, you are. My mistake.

 

[flphotog]

Correct, you are. My mistake.

Thanks, just trying to keep this al straight.

 

[PinkRose]

Thanks, just trying to keep this all straight.

Good catch!

It's so easy for us to make mistakes when we're trying to type and think at the same time. This one was just a slight "oops," but you'd be amazed at some of them that we see.

Rose

 

[Mtown]

Thank you for the info. Im going to see about getting a grinder.

 

[peterjschmidt]

Thank you for the info. Im going to see about getting a grinder.

Good show!

Here's another suggestion... don't be in a hurry and spend $50, thinking it's a lot of money and it'll be a good grinder. Good becomes bad, when it keeps you from the best. There is a difference in results between a flat burr $50 Cuisinart-type, and a $100-125 conical burr grinder.

Think in terms of annual costs; if you spend $125 on a nice grinder and it lasts you 10 years, that's a buck a month to have better coffee; a $50 grinder that lasts 3-4 years will not only give you sub-par results, but will cost as much or more than a better grinder.

 

[caphesachbstar]

take a cup of coffee