All posts by CoffeeNerd

Coffee Weight? Do you use a gram scale?

I had some rewards points stacked up at Amazon, and I picked up this little toy.  And, by little, I mean physically small…really small.  The American Weigh Scale Ac-650 is billed as a “pocket gram scale”, and they aren’t kidding.  This thing is smaller than your phone.

I had never bothered to weigh out my portafilter coffee doses before.  I always just went pretty much by sight, and reading that my grinder would produce about one gram per second.   I was using what I thought was an 18 gram dose for a double shot.  Since, this thing was essentially free, I decided to see how close I was, and see if I could really fine tune things further.

So, how close has I?  What I had been assuming was an 18 gram dose, was, according to the scale, exactly 18 grams!

The scale is drop dead simple to use.  Take the cover off, put it on a flat surface, and push the power button.  The clear cover doubles as a way to make the weigh surface larger if needed, but the surface fits the portafilter spouts perfectly without the cover in use.  There’s a clearly labeled Tare button on the front too.   The accuracy is plenty fine for coffee use, and if you really want, you can change the units to ounces, or even Karats.

All in all, not bad for “free gift”.  Since the thing is so darn small, you could easily add it to a travel setup if you are really anal about weighing your dose.

Irving Farm Coffee Roasters

Irving Farm Coffee Roasters is a local roaster in New York.  Their roasting facility is in the Hudson Valley, but they have cafes in Manhattan.  I visited their Upper West Side location on 79th (at Broadway).  I admit that in San Diego, living so close to Revolution Roasters and Lofty Coffee Co, I’m pretty spoiled, and finding good coffee here in New York has been tough.  So, I was very happy to finally find Irving Farm.

The Upper West Side location is definitely a neighborhood place. You’ll find the typical coffee house crowd on laptops and people coming and going.  There’s a back room with a nice big skylight to make it very bright and welcoming.  I didn’t try the food, but it looked good to.  I was just there for the coffee.  The barrista at the helm of the nice La Marzocco machine was a portly good natured fellow that was talking with everyone and anyone and recognized the regulars.

The shot, their Blackstrap espresso blend, was very good.  It was sweet with caramel and some chocolate.  I could see the beans, and they were a nice deep brown color…not over roasted and burned like so many other places.  So, I returned to the cashier to buy a bag.  Now, here’s the thing that really got me excited.  The bags were all stamped with the roast date.  My bag was roasted only 3 days prior to my purchase.

Like beer, fresh is key to good coffee.  So, finding a place like Irving Farm, where you know the coffee is truly fresh is great.  And, the bonus of being able to buy the same fresh beans for home use is awesome.  With enough locations around the city (including Union Square and Grand Central), I now know where I’m getting my beans.  You can see a shot with the beans I bought here.

La Colombe NYC

If you can take the hipster overload of New York’s East Village and you need a fix, take visit to La Colombe on Lafayette St.  The SoHo location is tiny…maybe only space for 10 people.  But only a few block North, the NoHo location is significantly larger.  But, is the coffee good?  Well, it’s not bad.  It’s not “holy shit, stop the presses” good, but if you need caffeine, and you are in the area, you could certainly do worse.

The East Village is loaded with small shops. There’s probably 10 spots in between the to La Colombe locations alone.  I was there on a brisk February morning, and all the places were packed…probably because it was 30 degrees outside.  The line in the NoHo location was completely around the bar and there was a steady stream of people in an out.  The music was a bit loud, but the staff was very friendly, and the service was quick.

If you like what you taste, you can purchase the coffee there at the shop or on their web site.  The Nizza blend was what they were serving for espresso based drinks.  It had hints of caramel as described in the tasting notes and the cappuccino I had was creamy and had the correct proportions of milk foam and coffee.  So, as I said, you could certainly do worse than La Colombe.

 

Ramini Espresso Bar – NYC

I find myself back in NYC for an extended length of time again, and once again, am searching for reasonable espresso.  My current routine has me frequenting the area around 8th Ave and 37th.  It just so happens, there’s a place on 38th.

I checked out Ramini Espresso Bar on the recommendation of Google Now based on my location, and it was not bad at all.  The service is friendly, and the coffee (the most important thing) was fine.  It wasn’t mind blowing, but for $4, you get a perfectly fine latte.  If you are near 37th and 8th, and need a fix, this place will do.

Aeropress or ROK Espresso or Both?

I have had to move to New York temporarily, and my Bezzera BZ10 can’t come with me.  So, now I’m left with what to buy for the apartment here.  I’m seriously considering an Aeropress to just satisfy the coffee need, but also considering the ROK Espresso device.  The ROK has decent reviews, but the real question is do I need it or can I just survive on well brewed Aeropress coffee?

One of the local smaller Starbucks competitors here, Gregorys, uses the Aeropress to brew single cup orders, and the coffee is quite good.  So, I know it will work.  But, no espresso for several months?  Can I survive?

There is no excuse for BAD espresso

Seriously.  There isn’t…none.   Even if you aren’t a nut about espresso, the super-automatic machines out there are capable of producing drinkable results.  So, why is it you can still go to coffee carts and get not just bad, but horrendously undrinkable results?  People just don’t give a shit…that’s why.

I challenge anyone out there in food service land to tell me that leaving a pitcher of steamed milk out there AFTER steaming so it can be re-warmed minutes later is o.k. to do.  Forget the fact that you can’t make microfoam in already warmed milk.  Forget the fact that lattes should be made with the proper amount of milk to start with.  Milk SPOILS when it’s heated and left out people!

I seriously wonder if some of these coffee cart morons ever taste their own espresso creations?  If if so, do they blame the foul tasting beverage on the fact they “don’t like coffee”.   Sweet Jeebus people…I make a straight single shot about every 2 weeks just to ensure my own quality control.  And, I have a very manual machine which requires attention to detail.  Most of these bozos I’m talking about just push a button.

And, then we have the people that claim to be experts and coffee aficionados putting out shit quality.  What’s the excuse there?  MONEY.  Coffee carts and cafes are gold mines in the right locations because caffeine is a legal freaking drug.  And, there’s still people walking into supermarkets and buying “eXpresso”.

So, what’s the excuse.  Wouldn’t it be better for EVERYONE to at least put out “drinkable” espresso results…it’s working for Starbucks.  At least take some pride in making a beverage that will make someone else happy.

Black Rock Coffee Bar – Oceanside

I visited the Oceanside, CA location today.  The Black Rock Coffee Bar brand identity exudes rock-n-roll (kind of a Rockstar Energy Drink rip-off actually), and the mission statement talks about great coffee AND community.

The blond barrista was nice enough had the rock-n-roll thing going on, but community and great coffee…not so much.

The location is a tiny, tiny, shack thing oddly placed in the driveway of a larger business area with absolutely no place to hang out or gather.  Even with Google maps directing me, I had to make a u-turn because I drove right by it.  The place, from what I could see inside was also pretty messy.  I can overlook that for the most part, but, c’mon, wipe down the machine and bits every once in a while.

Now, the coffee.  Well, I ordered an iced latte. The barrista turned around, grabbed a portafilter, engaged it, and hit a button.  I was expecting a quick cleaning flush, but to my amazement, coffee started pouring!  Really?!  No fresh grinding?  How long had that portafilter been sitting there?  Was it even warm from the last use?  At the fine grind espresso requires, coffee will go rancid in a matter of minutes.  Then, I started counting.  The double shot rocketed out in about 15 seconds.  15 seconds.  I can’t tell you if it was the grind, the tamp or the dose, because none of that happened in front of me. But, I can tell you the iced latte sucked pretty badly.  I didn’t even have to taste it to know, but I did anyway.  The coffee was bitter and nasty, and really thin.

Maybe I’m a coffee snob, but, San Diego is rapidly becoming a “brewing” mecca.  The beers here are world class, and in North County specifically, the coffee is really having a renaissance with places like Cafe Ipe/Revolution Roaster, and Lofty Coffee Co.   Mediocrity slips by for a while, but plain bad product won’t do you any favors.

The corporate franchise guys might want to check in on this location, because they aren’t living up to the brand ideals.  And, now, this place makes my list of places to avoid.

Koffi – Palm Springs

Koffi in Palm Springs started in 2002 according to their web site with the manifesto that “Palm Springs Deserves a Coffee Destination as Unique as its Community.”  They now roast their own beans (which you can buy if you like) and have a roast to order program.

The shot I had was what they call the Milano style roast.  In other words, properly roasted.  They also offer “Seattle Roast” which seems like a way to woo Starbucks fans.  The shot was not out of this world, but it was a decent one.  I watched as the barrista used a Mazzer grinder to dose what looked like at least 20 grams.  The shot was timed at 28 sec on what I believe was a Synesco Cyncra machine.

koffi-doubleThe pour looked very nice with plenty of crema,  The taste was a little thin, but not bitter, with a hint of sweetness.  There was zero aftertaste.

They only pour doubles, but at $2.50, it’s hard to complain about that.