When you take your Coffee TOO seriously

[Michael Scott]

Let me guess, you didn't have the red notch lined up at 5:00

 

[Todd Anderson]

Let me guess, you didn't have the red notch lined up at 5:00

nope, I hadn't fitted the conical into the plastic piece correctly (hadn't snapped it into place). So it was loose... It would grind, but was taking about 15 minutes to fill up to the line AND it was only giving me a fine powder.

Newb move, I know. Was a real head-smack moment, that's for sure. I was thinking: "It's going to take me 40 minutes of pain and noise to make a jar of cold brew." LOL. Luckily, it's more like 3 minutes... and the Encore isn't nearly as loud it was (when I hadn't set it up properly)!

What's the rule of thumb on cleaning the Encore with the wire brush. Every use?

 

[Michael Scott]

oh dear, that would do it too.

as for cleaning, once a month is fine, leave it fully assembled and don't futz with it till at least 3 or 4 weeks. if you want to clean it after every flavor change of beans to clean it out of any residual crumbs of the old stuff, that's fine too (some people don't like one flavor influencing another )

 

[Todd Anderson]

Yeah. I'm totally embarrassed. To be honest, I'd never used a grinder before. So, I wasn't sure what was going on! *forehead smack*

Glad to hear cleaning is only once a month... the little rubber (seal?) cone thing looks like it's a tad fragile.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, yeah when you said it was grinding a bit longer I figured you were used to a really fast "under 5 seconds" grind from an over torqued blade grinder or something...15 minute is a BIIIIIT long.

that rubber seal is replaceable, Baratza designs the parts to be user replacable and that part WILL wear out over time. just use a mildly damp paper towel to clean it when you do, and if it ever cracks they're only like $3 from Baratza

 

[Michael Scott]

oh my word. I tried a single origin natural processed Ethiopian Sidama from Happy mug today and was blown away. You can smell the burst of wild strawberries the second you grind the beans and they taste fantastic. light milk chocolate base with a strong backend of sweet and tangy strawberries. I usually get blueberries or citrus off of Ethiopians, but this is something special. I definitely need to grab another bag as even the wife (who isn't as snobby about coffee as I am) was impressed and wanted a 2nd cup immediately. Highly recommended

 

[Todd Anderson]

You're making me want coffee.

I ordered some Artist's Blend from Happy Mug... looks like it's arriving today! My wife is up in Boston dropping kid #1 off at college... I'm going to surprise her with some new cold brew when she gets back. Fingers crossed that it's tasty. So far she's really liked what I've made.

 

[Michael Scott]

You're making me want coffee.

I ordered some Artist's Blend from Happy Mug... looks like it's arriving today! My wife is up in Boston dropping kid #1 off at college... I'm going to surprise her with some new cold brew when she gets back. Fingers crossed that it's tasty. So far she's really liked what I've made.

sorry, I"m a temptress... but it was REALLY good.

I've never tried their artists blend before, but it gets high marks for a good balanced cup. let me know how she enjoys it as I might need to grab a bag in my every 2 week order

one thing I love from them is that they roast it the same day they send it, and send via 2 day air so it's always SUPER fresh

 

[Michael Scott]

You're making me want coffee.

I ordered some Artist's Blend from Happy Mug... looks like it's arriving today! My wife is up in Boston dropping kid #1 off at college... I'm going to surprise her with some new cold brew when she gets back. Fingers crossed that it's tasty. So far she's really liked what I've made.

soooooooooo, how was the Artists blend? I've been curious about that one, but have been side tracked with the Ethiopian and Kenyan beans they've had.


I highly suggest getting their "Mokka Java" for her too. it makes a phenomenal cold brew.

 

[Todd Anderson]

My wife likes it! Of course, that's an assessment coming from someone who's not a coffee snob. But, she said the flavor was perfect for her cold brew. I wish she had a point of reference to give you a better idea as to why she likes it ;-)

The entire cold brew process seems to be generating a way better cold drink experience for her (as opposed to making chilled coffee using our Gaggia espresso machine.

The grinder stopped dumping coffee grinds this weekend. Getting its little shoot unjammed was a pain in the ____! Thank goodness for youtube and tutorials! ;-)

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, it gets a bit easier.... grinding huge amounts at a time does it. try never to grind above that "half way" line on the grinder. Otherwise the static pressure can cause suck ups that clog the chute... grind a small half batch at a time, dump, then re-do a couple more times to keep that from happening. After learning that technique I haven't had a clog in over a year.

 

[Michael Scott]

looks like Costco has the Fellow Stagg gooseneck kettle cheaper than even the 15% off Fellow codes... so for my birthday in 4 weeks (from today actually) I got myself one to up my Pourover game

https://www.costco.com/fellow-stagg-ekg-pour-over-kettle.product.100810118.html

 

[Michael Scott]

it's been a while, and I've sort of.....well, gone down a rabbit hole that is very scary. Espresso.

ended up grabbing a Cafelat Robot manual lever action machine, and grabbed an 1zpresso J-max grinder with 8.8 micron adjustment changes..... and yeah. this is a VERY dangerous route to go down. about 2 weeks in and I'm pulling some impressive shots. Especially with a Bombe Durato Sidama that if extracted just right in a Lungo shot tastes like tart strawberry milk in a Latte.

I also may have developed a crippling addiction to high end hand grinders as I've picked up the 1zpresso K-max, 1zpresso J-max, 1zpresso Q2 (with the heptagonal burrs) and the Commandante C40 this last year.... and of course importing the new X-pro that isn't available here in the states yet....

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I wouldn’t know what to do. I’m a total novice with espresso, other than ordering it.

 

[SRW1000]

it's been a while, and I've sort of.....well, gone down a rabbit hole that is very scary. Espresso.

ended up grabbing a Cafelat Robot manual lever action machine, and grabbed an 1zpresso J-max grinder with 8.8 micron adjustment changes..... and yeah. this is a VERY dangerous route to go down. about 2 weeks in and I'm pulling some impressive shots. Especially with a Bombe Durato Sidama that if extracted just right in a Lungo shot tastes like tart strawberry milk in a Latte.


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I also may have developed a crippling addiction to high end hand grinders as I've picked up the 1zpresso K-max, 1zpresso J-max, 1zpresso Q2 (with the heptagonal burrs) and the Commandante C40 this last year.... and of course importing the new X-pro that isn't available here in the states yet....

Interesting device; have you compared it with the Flair manual espresso maker? They look like similar concepts. How hard or easy is it to control the pressure?

 

[Todd Anderson]

Man, I miss espresso...

 

[Michael Scott]

Interesting device; have you compared it with the Flair manual espresso maker? They look like similar concepts. How hard or easy is it to control the pressure?

It was designed by Paul Pratt who was a tech for high end espresso machines years ago. It's kind of the biggest direct competitor to the flair Pro or the Flair 58. Uses a 58 mm portafilter basket that is designed for heat retention... it doesn't require pre-heating like the Flair, and it's workflow is a bit better IMO.... the pressure is easily regulated IMO. as long as you're grinding fine enough, hitting the proper bars is easy