Thread: Calling all connoisseurs - Coffee Grinders

Ken did a very detailed study on coffee freezing on Home-Barista. Coffee: To freeze or Not to Freeze with some surprising results. There is also a thread floating around on the subject where stated my observations. My opinion, freezing freshly roasted beans does no harm provided they are frozen properly. However, the freezing process does not stop out gassing, it only slows it so use it all up in 3 months. Freeing greens is another subject all together. I vac pack and deep freeze all my greens; they will keep much better that way.

Coffee is truly a blessing. For the poor unfortunate ones with diabetes it truly is a Godsend. My cousin Mary has this. She found great relief from the curse by drinking plenty of black coffee! For some reason, coffee, like onions , comforts this terrible affliction. She is a very frugal lady and only spends for good coffee. She imports some speciality coffees from San Francisco ( I do not know the brands, etc.). My contributiion to this humble yet noble thread is that sometimes less than gourmet coffee can be made to be quite enjoyable. Here is what I do. Firstly, I purchased from ebay a Cory vacuum cofee maker. It was popular up until the 1950's or so. You have seen them. They consist of two vessels atop each other. Utilizing Boyle's Law- water is heated in the lower vessel and it is forced upward to the top vessel which contains the coffee. After a slight boiling, the thermostat shuts off and the reduced temperature causes a vacuum which sucks the now brewed coffee through a strainer back into the lower vessel. Bottom Line: Even cheap store-bought coffee brewed in this manner is very good to drink. Mary is impressed and is getting her own vacuum coffee maker. Try one of these wonderful appliances. There are some modern versions available. You will be pleasantly surprised at the result. Secondly I brew my coffee in my shop. It makes the place seem like a proper Bed & Breakfast establishment. Coffee surely makes a good life better. Are you ready for a cup? Ain't this all a lot of fun!...Robert

That was a very interesting read on Home-barista, pretty much agrees with what I learned from my local roaster. Unfortunately, I'd have to time my visit quite carefully to obtain beans roasted within the hour, not to mention make it home in time to freeze them... then again, why bother if I can just pick up another bag the next weekend. This of course brings us to the question of why.... why freeze if you can obtain beans freshly roasted without much trouble... I for one can't think of a reason why but for those who roast their own I can see the benefit especially if ones roaster leans to the larger size and you end up with 3 lbs or more of fresh roasted beans. We use about 1lb a week here so that third pound would be getting slightly stale by the time I'd open it so freezing would make sense for that last bag. Lucky for me, I'm too lazy to roast my own....

It's also worth noting that while no significant loss in taste was detected, freezing did not add anything to the taste either... it didn't make the coffee/espresso taste any better than non-frozen beans so the conclusion for me is that unless I need to keep beans past the 3 week mark, there is simply no point in freezing them.

Regards

Christian

"Life is too short to drink bad coffee... after all, there's plenty of time to sleep after you are dead!" --Unknown

I usually buy decent beans, grind them by hand and store the ground coffee in a sealed jar.
The coffe is then used at work during the week where I brew my own coffee.

Even though this is probably not the 100% best way to make coffee, it is till lightyears better than what we get here. Some machines are sort of okish, but the one in my building is horrible.
Today I forgot my ground coffee so I had no choice but to drink this swill to get my morning shot of caffeine.

I buy a big bag of beans so freezing them makes sense for me. If I was to buy them more frequently (which I cant be arsed to do lol) I'd probably just store them in the fridge. Drinking loads of coffee seems to upset my bowel movements somewhat so I just enjoy maybe 1 cup a day.

Bliss.

When I am working on a new machine review I will burn through 5 pounds in the first week. Thank goodness for website sponsors. I blend/roast most of my coffee and do it in 1-2 pound batches. I will drop half of it in the freezer while the other half degasses for a few days. When I drop the half pound in the grinder I will pull out the second batch. By the time I have finished that first half pound, the second has degassed and if falling in its prime flavor window. When I get the batch out of the freezer I will roast my next blend.

If I had a good roaster local, I may be tempted to just get my supply local and forgo the roasting, or at least not do as much. Unfortunately there are no good roasters within an hour’s drive. So I will sneak half a batch into the freezer to assure I have a steady supply that falls into that prime 5-10 day post roast flavor window although some coffees come into prime a day or two earlier, and some a day or two later.

Check this sight: Home Coffee Roasting Supplies -Sweet Maria's Also, green beans can be kept for a few months without issue. Once they are roasted they deteriorate much more quickly. I roast mine,and once cooled, keep them in an air sealed container for 3-4 days to rest and offgas. Then they are ready to grind. I usually grind enough for 7-10 days. Unfortunatley, I don't have unlimited resources with the coast of good roasters, burr grinders, and of course our beloved razors, that I have a $20 whirly style grinder.

Dan

Have you considered roasting your own beans? If there's interest, I'll post more. That way you can roast a small amount, let it breath and grind them when they're really fresh.

Chem Fun - there is most certainly interest for more info re that. (if its cheap) lol

Dave, I think you have that down to a fine art mate.