coffee gadgets... - Page 37

Agreed, it only takes 24 hours max for fresh-roasted coffee beans to fully "rest and off-gas".

I've had some that takes longer, but never a whole week.

 

 

The longest rest time I ran into was with a Maui Mokka peaberry bean.  It took fully 3 days for the flavor profile to reach its peak after roasting and then went back downhill over the next two weeks.  For the most part, including with the maui mokka, the flavor fell most rapidly for the first week.  Then degraded more slowly over the next week.

I let my beans rest for a day in open containers, do you guys like to seal the beans up right after they cool? That could be one reason.

Machine- Le'Lit PL041, non PIDed. I'm considering upgrading to a Bezzera Strega in the future.
Grinder- OE Pharos and Hario Skerton (I do like hand grinders in general, but I bought the Pharos because it easily beats most commercial grinders in terms of quality)
I have a press, vacpot, and lots of accessories as well.

 

and @ the person considering vacuum canisters- freezing your coffee is a perfectly acceptable way to preserve it. Just use mason jars or double bag the beans. Multiple tests have been done by HB/Coffeegeek members that show there's no discernible difference between fresh beans and frozen beans, as long as certain precautions are followed. 

Edited by Pseudoflowers - 4/28/12 at 7:56pm

 

 

If one seals the beans (with a one way valve) after roasting, I would expect the outgassing that occurs, which should be predominantly Co2, would displace the oxygen in the container/bag and thus further help preserve the quality of the roasted beans. 

BTW, I've got my eye on the Breville dual boiler espresso machine.  Lots of bang for the buck and pulls a great shot.  Dual boilers, dual PIDs, one for the shot boiler, and one PID controlled group head electric heater, the steam boiler is thermistor controlled.  Pressure gauge on the shot pressure, stainless boilers, controlled pre-infusion...all very cool.   

win-win.  less oxygen for the beans, more for us!!!  I use one-way-valve canisters i get from Sweet Marias.  they work quite well - but the valve are paper-based, so you cannot wash them.  i use blue painters tape and a big sharpie to label the cannisters when i have more than one bean-type going at once.

 

 

also, i think a one-day rest makes better tasting beans, at least for all the ones i have tried over the years.

 

 

 

 

Although initial reports with the Breville have been pretty good, I'm just not sure about its long-term reliability knowing Breville's history. It seems like a lot of the parts on there aren't meant to be replaced, i.e. if it breaks, you'll have to buy a new machine. It's sort of the same situation as with the Crossland CC1- both are theoretically great values, but have unproven durability.

 

Yup, the CC1 is another one that caught my eye.  The story I hear from the competent places that sell the Brevilles is that Breville wants complete control over their product so they can do failure analysis on them if they ever fail and therefore they do not allow their dealers to repair them.  I've talked to some dealers that are impressed so far with the machines, but all would rather have the ability to get parts and repair them if necessary.  The dealers did tell me that Breville have done extensive longevity / stress testing on the machines and so far they are passing with flying colors.  I guess only time will truly tell.  One dealer told me from their inspections, they expect about 10 years of use out of the machines, where you can expect 20 years out of some of the better Prosumer machines.  10 years is long enough for me, if those 10 years are trouble free.

 

 

 

You have to be careful if you want to freeze dark-roasted coffee beans though, the oils are too close to the surface of the bean which can crack when frozen. When the oils are exposed to air they become rancid much quicker because of oxidation.

I donno. I'm sure they're fine, but I'd probably like the peace of mind that a good E61/saturated group/lever group would offer if I was spending in that price range. Of course, you're going to have to spend more than 2x what the BDB costs for a dual boiler and completely PID controlled E61 group like the Duetto II or the Vibemme Double Domobar. If I was spending more than 1k on a machine I'd certainly want to be able to do repairs myself. Then again, I'm still in high school and unemployed, so I wouldn't want to have to replace the entire machine and spend the extra money to do so if a part broke. I'm sure you guys have more disposable income than I do.
Edited by Pseudoflowers - 4/29/12 at 1:28pm

 

 

That'd have to be in the realm of french roasts(or maybe full city+) though, wouldn't it? I've never heard of problems like that with beans from specialty roasters, even if they're roasted moderately dark. This is assuming proper precautions are taken like not allowing any moisture to condense on the beans or bag before freezing. On second thought, what would cause the cracking to happen? The oils don't expand when they freeze like water does. In addition, I don't really see how there'd be any negative impact on them from the cold, considering that freezing is a physical change and not a chemical one. Regardless of if the beans are frozen or not, the oils will still oxidize. It'll be a much slower process in a freezer though, considering lower temperatures generally cause chemical reactions to proceed more slowly.

Edited by Pseudoflowers - 4/29/12 at 1:52pm

I don't really know the how, but I recall an online roaster posting photos of the damage and advising against it. I like to roast until the beans just start to sweat, and I avoid freezing them.

Hmm, that's odd. I think the general consensus towards freezing has changed within the last few years. Not that I know personally, but it seems like after everyone started looking into it and going against the whole "never freeze under any circumstances" mantra, they found that it wasn't harmful. I honestly don't think I've ever seen someone who is normally a proponent of freezing advise against freezing oily beans in my time on Coffeegeek and Home-Barista.

Edited by Pseudoflowers - 4/29/12 at 3:53pm