Trying to up my coffee game

[robr]

I didn't start drinking coffee until my 50s and after having some amazing coffee around the globe, I invested in the gear I'm still using today. A technivorm single cup brewer and a Capresso 560.01 grinder. I use filtered water from my fridge. I use Melitta filters and am good about cleaning/descaling my gear. I recently stopped using sweetener and am working on reducing my half and half usage, so the quality of the brew itself is becoming more obvious as I'm not covering up the flavor with mixers.

One of my favorite coffees is from a restaurant in Maui and I order the same beans they use. My coffee isn't as remotely good as the cup they serve me. My wife has also been complaining that my grinder makes "a mess" (we have a difference of opinion about what qualifies as "a mess" ). But it's due to static and losing some grind as I slide the container in and out of the grinder and pour it into the technivorm.

For a new grinder and thinking ahead about espresso, I was considering jumping on the Kickstarter for the Timemore 078 which has great reviews from early testers, seems like it will do just about any sort of grind and also has very few static problems from what I've read. I don't want to have multiple grinders, and don't drink espresso all that often, but I'm thinking ahead.

For a better coffee, I don't have the patience for anything manual or that involves cleaning after each use. No chemex for me. Any recommendations on a 1-3 cup step up from the technivorm?

Thanks for any guidance on upping my game.

 

[robr]

bump ttt

 

[shadow745]

That Capresso was the first decent quality grinder I started with and got quite good results with it, but that was for espresso. Some tend to think conical burr sets aren't ideal for drip, pourover, etc. due to the fines, but never really used it for anything other than espresso so can't relate.

I can't comment on the grinder you mention as I don't follow the current grinder fad, especially the ridiculous flat burr craze, but it might work well for your intended use. Indeed static can be an issue and is somewhat inherent to grinder design, especially the materials used such as various plastics. Do understand that static/retention can and will vary depending on the coffee(s) being used, environment (especially humidity), etc. Even changes in RPM in my hand grinder can cause a bit of static with the same coffee...

Some like to nerd out by spending $ on misting bottles to apply .0001 nanograms of 3rd Wave Himalayan distilled water to a batch before grinding in hopes it will minimize static, etc. to some degree. I don't buy into introducing any moisture into any grinder.

Also keep in mind that whatever that restaurant uses might vary somewhat... even simple variation in water quality/balance can make quite the difference when all other variables seem relatively equal. They might grind with something with better particle control compared to the Infinity you have.

 

[robr]

Thanks for the follow up, I've spent a bunch of time googling since my post and I'm really not finding anything above the technivorm recommended for a drip brew. And as you mention, these flat burr grinders are everywhere. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether or not there's any significant difference between conical and flat. But I'm also not looking for 1-2% improvements in flavor, I'm trying to figure out if either I'm doing something wrong with what I have, or should upgrade anything to gain say a 15% improvement. Even if it's just my water sucks and I should be buying bottled water.

 

[JeffD]

To get rid of the static of most burr grinders you need only sprits a tiny bit of water over the grounds before dropping them in the hopper. I use a spray bottle that folks use for ironing their clothes. Anything will work. Very cheap.

Just spritz the grounds once, a half spritz actually, and dump in the hopper. No static. At. All.


It works so well I would not even consider static in my evaluation/comparison of grinders. It is eliminated so easily that other things become much more important.

 

[AnotherADDiction]

I am having goods luck with my hand grinder, a 1zpresso jmax (this model is made for espresso more than pour over, and has almost no static). I would suggest trying a kalita 155 steel dripper. You would spend about $30.00, and be able to get a great cup to try things out. I would also make sure that any brewer you get is also SCA recommended (like your Technivorm)

 

[AnotherADDiction]

A timemore grinder sounds like a good option.

 

[AnotherADDiction]

As a fellow 'mature' person. I just like the old style of good, strong coffee. No fancy names or added stuff. I love a good ethiopian harrar (natural), kona, blue mountain, Puerto Rican. My daily driver is harrar. I jusf want simple and good. None of these science experiments or crazy steps. I just got a v60 'Mugen' that I like alot. It allows you to just add all of the water at once after the bloom, nothing fancy, no multiple pours. The kalita 155 is my other go to. With these two dripper I am covered for a single cup. I will deal with my jmax grinder for now. Eventually I may upgrade, in like a year. By the the reviews will be out on the Sculptor and I may have made room for it. The Orphan Expresso Apex is on my grinder list also but room is my big concern. My little hands grinder lives on the top shelf and only comes out when it needs some alone time.

 

[AnotherADDiction]

Also, go to lardera coffee (and home-barista) . They will give you $10.00 credit to try their coffee with a receipt from another coffee purchase. I ended up getting junin natural. I was surprised when I saw that it was already ground, but it was very good (ground finer than I was used to). I used a kalita 155, 20:300 and really liked it. The price was right too, free. Now I will be playing with my grind settings.
Enjoy

 

[JeffD]

Some like to nerd out by spending $ on misting bottles to apply .0001 nanograms of 3rd Wave Himalayan distilled water to a batch before grinding in hopes it will minimize static, etc. to some degree. I don't buy into introducing any moisture into any grinder.

I did not see this before.

I know what you are getting at, not wanting to get too nerdly or adding medical procedures or needing an FAA license to make coffee, but what if I told you it works. Every time. Don't need to buy a new grinder. A misting bottle sufficient to do the job can be purchased for about $10 or less, way under if you don't care if it was designed for those who iron their clothes. (So many are colored blue for some reason.) Under $3.00 if you don't care if it was designed for hair treatments. Under a buck if you have no aversion to Walmart. If you iron your own clothes you probably have one. Its blue and next to your iron.) If you have kids that do finger painting you might already have a mister for their paints, or house plants that you mist as well as water.

The amount of moisture sufficient to discharge any static electricity is almost insignificant. Just a spritz. I use a squeeze of the trigger of about 1/4 of a full spritz. Certainly insignificant to the grinder.

The deal is.. it works. It gets rid of the static. The grounds when poured out of your grinder's cup into the V60 pour over filter or your espresso portafilter pour evenly, cleanly, the grounds march out in military fashion, totally emptying the cup, nothing in the cup clinging to the sides, and there is no flying airborne grounds to gunk up anything or make a mess. It is "video making" perfect. Just PFFfft. No more static.

Here is the deal: It Works. Every time. It. Works.

 

[shadow745]

I am proactive rather than being reactive...
-Grinder quality makes a huge difference... build materials, rpm, etc. all can affect static/retention. High quality grinder spinning at lower rpm... IT WORKS
-Maintaining decent environment humidity helps drastically. Room my setup is in averages 40-50% humidity year round and that really helps minimize static/maintain green longevity... IT WORKS
-Being able to source certain greens then tweaking the roast development can definitely help offset static as I have done that very thing... IT WORKS
-Last thing I will mention is that when I have had a bit of static with particular coffees I magnetize a dissecting type needle and simply stir the grounds. THAT REALLY WORKS and surprised the nerd crew hasn't thought of or mentioned it that I am aware of. Just something I tried yrs ago and guess what?!? IT DAMN SURE WORKS!

 

[JeffD]

I am the other way. Reactive. I do what I can, get it done, and see what problems I have and I react to them. In some cases, I do admit, I have wished I had thought it out better.

I would just hate it if folks went out of their way to spend money and time finding a grinder that makes less static. My thought is to get a good grinder that does the job you want, and solve the static separately and soooo inexpensively.

Maintaining decent environment does help, and I need to humidify because of my guitars, but really its not enough. A little quarter spritz is always enough.

Magnetizing a needle sounds really cool.

 

[shadow745]

Yeah I am a fan of maximizing what you have/can afford. It is hilarious to browse forums regarding all the talk about new grinders, especially certain burr sets, WDT/RDT gizmos, using a refractometer to determine soluble extracted, etc. Most people overlook the most important variables, which is the coffees being used and skill. You have those spending thousands on certain grinders and hundreds per burr set in a pursuit of certain flavors when you can simply change the coffee itself and it all falls into place. Precisely why I home roast... I have a very capable setup that isn't insanely expensive and source greens and dial in batches how I want them to taste. Just can't beat that to get the expected end result consistently and not a ton of spending along the way. My setup has long paid for itself and each 19 gram extraction averages costing around 40 cents.

 

[JeffD]

I haven't done either espresso, or home roasting. That is fairly intense.

I am getting there, but a step at a time.


Its kind of like fly fishing, some are more into the paraphernalia of it all, some just want to go fishing. I am in between, if it really helps, I'll try it.

 

[AnotherADDiction]

I agree whole heartily. I gladly pay top dollar for the best dripper, v60/kalita/mugen and have been getting very good cups (and a decent 1zpresso hand grinder). No need for a 4 digit grinder and a 5 digit espresso machine, although I would love to play with them. Maybe one day I'll dip my toe into espresso, but it will be with a entry level start like a flair or picopresso.