GoodShave's Coffee Journal

I ran across a pair of AeroPress videos by Lance Hedrick and thought I would post them.

This video had a few good tips and a recipe that I will probably try:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CafyJ2p0Bgs

This video had two recipes. One is for coffees beans that are really old or are roasted darker than you like. The second recipe is for underdeveloped coffees or coffees roasted lighter than you like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz9fH5ODVFU

I have been trying out different brewers for traveling but I think I have come full circle and am back to the AeroPress.
I want to take my Timemore Youth Pour over kettle on the road but I need to use recipes that require 92C or less as boiling water dropped into a room temperature kettle will drop to 93C immediately. If I preheat the kettle with boiling water then add boiling water a second time, I can get another degree or two out of it but that wastes time, energy and water (unless you recycle the water for the initial heating).

I was trying out the glass Kalita 155 and the plastic Timemore B75 using the 1zpresso JX and the Timemore kettle but the combination was not working well so far with the Wicked Joe Organic Coffee Co. (Topsham, Maine) - Guatemala Huehuetenango bean with the recipes I was currently using. I was using the Timemore Black Mirror scale which does not have a flow meter (like my Acaia Perl 2021) and the Timemore kettle pours differently than my Oxo goose neck kettle, so I am sure my pours are very different than usual. That combined with a different grinder adds up to different results. I could change recipes and keep tweaking things but I think I will shift the AeroPress for the moment as most of my AeroPress brew history is with the JX grinder (instead of trying to find the conversion between my K-Ultra and JX grinders) .

I ran across a pair of AeroPress videos by Lance Hedrick and thought I would post them.

This video had a few good tips and a recipe that I will probably try:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CafyJ2p0Bgs

This video had two recipes. One is for coffees beans that are really old or are roasted darker than you like. The second recipe is for underdeveloped coffees or coffees roasted lighter than you like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz9fH5ODVFU

Fantastic finds, David! I plan on trying that second video's recipes soon. I may even dabble in a light roast just to try that light roast recipe! I would love to experience the flavors without only getting that sour note. Thanks for sharing these!

You are very welcome!
I look forward to hearing how the recipes work for you.

I tried the recipe from the first video tonight tailoring for a medium roast (still sipping it as I type):

JX 18 @ 88C (190.4F) 16g 250ml (1:15.6): AeroPress Flo Contol cap + AeroPress Stainless Steel filter + AeroPress white paper filter. Wicked Joe Organic Coffee Co. (Topsham, Maine) - Guatemala Huehuetenango. I used the Oxo kettle to heat the water to 96C and then used the Timemore kettle to pour the water. I used the Timemore scale (no flow meter). Standard AeroPress brew position. I assembled the two filters (SS first, paper on top) and the Flo Control Cap on the chamber and wet the filter. I added the coffee and shook the chamber to level the bed. I added 3x water for bloom (48ml target, 52ml actual). I swirled the chamber. At 45 seconds added water to 250ml (actual 251.8ml). Added the plunger and swirled. At 2:00 started press to hiss. Aiming around 1:00 press with no pressure (1:15 actual). Next time, I will use the Melodrip to add the bloom water as it is hard to pour in a circle in such a small diameter chamber. That will also likely increase the extraction (or at least it does when I use it with the V60).

I tried two more brew variations for travel.

First I re-tried my glass Kalita Wave 155 with the Project Barista 155 recipe, using the K-Ultra grinder with the Timemore Youth Pour Over kettle and Timemore Black Mirror scale. That came out astringent, so that definitely tells me that my pour is too slow with the Timemore kettle and that the grinder was not the issue.

Next brew was the original Aeropress using the Lance Hedrick Bloom Recipe with the Melodrip for the bloom pour (also using the Timemore Youth Pour Over kettle, Timemore Black Mirror scale, and the JX grinder). I used the AeroPress regular cap with an AeroPress white paper filter. Though I forgot the final swirl, this cup showed promise. I think I need to grind a little finer but this definitely has potential. The Melodrip takes out the variable of the pour speed for the bloom which may help.

I was gifted a Cracker Barrel - Autumn Coffee Collection  variety pack of flavored coffee (12 - 30g packets of ground coffee).
I am researching how to brew the coffee and not get my gear flavored by it (I don't normally brew flavored coffee).
Since I don't normally do ground coffee, I was digging through my notes to see how I handled this situation in the past.

Since the coffee had no information on where it was from or who roasted it, I assumed it is dark roasted commercial coffee with flavor added.

I brewed a cup tonight of Cinnamon bun flavored coffee. I went with a water temperature for dark roast.
I used my glass V60-01 with Cafec filter an used my Gabi Dripmaster B for the bloom and main pour (probably using the recipe that was listed for it).
I figured that would be very gentle and would help me not to over extract the coffee.

There was a hint of bitterness, so I would probably go a little cooler water with it. Also, there was a powdery mouth feel to it. Not sure if it was the beans or the brew method. I think I will try the Hario Mugen next and see what happens.

Good luck! Too late at the moment for me to respond fully but I will get it done tomorrow. Packets of flavored coffee. [shudders] The gifter no doubt had good intentions, knowing you to be a coffee enthusiast. Wonder how old those packets are and how long they been on the store display shelf? Have you seen James Hoffmans video of trying 50 year old coffee?

Good luck! Too late at the moment for me to respond fully but I will get it done tomorrow. Packets of flavored coffee. [shudders] The gifter no doubt had good intentions, knowing you to be a coffee enthusiast. Wonder how old those packets are and how long they been on the store display shelf? Have you seen James Hoffmans video of trying 50 year old coffee?

Thanks Eric!
I just did a quick search and found three different Hoffman videos: 'Drinking Coffee from 1930s', 'Drinking Espresso from the 1950s' and 'Drinking Coffee from the 1970s'. I also saw one entitled 'In-Car Coffee Makers: 1979 vs 2020'.
I am not sure I have watched all these but it definitely looks like fun entertainment.

I took two more shots at brewing the pre-ground Cracker Barrel - Autumn Coffee Collection coffee today.

I used the Hario Mugen with a scaled down version of the April Coffee recipe which I used the remaining half the packet of Cinnamon Bun coffee (15g) and lowered the temperature down to 82C (from yesterday's 85C with the V60 and Gabi Dripmaster B). I stuck with the 1:15 ratio. The coffee pretty much tasted the same as with the V60/Gabi but without the powdery mouth feel.

I then pulled out the Bodum French Press, raised the temperature to 90C and used a 1:16 ratio. I went with a 3x bloom and a 3 minute steep (to hedge against more bitterness) to try the Pecan Pie coffee. I dumped in a full packet for this brew. I noticed this packed had 2g more coffee than the Cinnamon Bun coffee, but I had already made my ratio calculations and was not going to redo anything at this point as I was trying to get on with breakfast. I would say that the coffee had the same bitter aftertaste as the Mugen (and the V60).

These coffees also had a chemical taste in the finish. My guess is these coffees were not meant to drink black. Maybe with milk and sugar, these would work for someone.

I think the remaining coffee packets will become emergency coffee. I think I would stick to the V60/Gabi Dripmaster B with them but lower the temperature to see if the powdery mouth feel goes away.

I had a bag of "emergency coffee," a Dunkin' bag from the grocery store. I just tossed it a couple of months ago when I realized it was over 3 years old! I buy a bag of inexpensive whole bean coffee to have on hand for when I clean the grinder using those special grinder cleaning pellets.

And I think you have it right, those packets were probably meant to be used with milk or cream. I have never found flavored coffee "right" unless something is added.

Your descriptions of "powdery taste" and of some sort of chemical aftertaste reminds me so much of those coffee bags in hotel rooms for the little coffee machines. I see why folks who travel frequently want to bring there own stuff, like pour over or Aeropress.

Today's brew was Blacksmith Coffee Roastery (Lindsborg, Kansas) - Guatemala Finca La Hermosa beans using my Hario Switch with a white tabbed Hario filter (from Japan) filter using the Coffee Chronicler recipe (hybrid recipe) with my Melodrip. I was using my Timemore Youth Pour Over kettle and I wound up with a muddy brew bed. I only used the Melodrip for the bloom pour. Maybe next time I will use it for the second pour when using this kettle. I was using my Timemore Black Mirror scale which doesn't have a flow meter and this kettle pours faster (at its slowest pour) than my Oxo goose neck kettle (at its slowest pour).