The coffee and tea drinkers club.

[Count von Schwalbe]

have you tried indian whiskey? pretty decently priced. One of them Amrut just won the best whiskey award it seems. Tho i am yet to try it.

What are its defining characteristics? Japanese are generally 100% barley mash bills and often single malt.

 

[Onasi]

@Count von Schwalbe
Ah, a fellow enjoyer. Here’s my latest acquisition:

 

[de.das.dude]

What are its defining characteristics? Japanese are generally 100% barley mash bills and often single malt.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt Nose Rich, barley, fruity. Big on citrus, spices, creamy sweetness. A hint of peat. Palate Oaky, rich, gentle peat, coffee, dark chocolate.

costs around 80$

im yet to try it personally.

i just have this at home laying around for when the need strikes:

quite oakey, smoky and smoooth. Smooooth as frick.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

I just realized what thread this is - sorry for taking it off topic.

Going to try some Columbian roast now. Stay tuned.

 

[igormp]

I usually get my beans from local producers and roasters that know what they're doing (instead of the burnt off-the-shelf ones), and do it pour-over.
I used to buy it already ground, but I've bought a cheapo grinder (with blades, I know, but it was cheap), so I grind my coffee, boil some water and dump it into the filter.
I'm not much of a fan os espresso, so I never had interest in going fancier.
I have a manual grinder that's good enough for when I'm making coffee just for myself, otherwise it's too much work, and other better electric conical grinders are kinda expensive, so it is what it is.

Plum wine sounds nice. I've heard Japanese Whiskey is worth exploring, although rather expensive on the high end.

@Count von Schwalbe
Ah, a fellow enjoyer. Here’s my latest acquisition:
View attachment 382127

Hello my fellow whisky enjoyers, last week I got some extra japanese ones to my collection

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Update: I very much prefer Ethiopian.

 

[Contra]

Hello my fellow whisky enjoyers, last week I got some extra japanese ones to my collection

As for whiskey, recommend Bushmills 10-year single malt

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Folks, please take the whisk(e)y discussion to the appropriate thread in the Lounge.

I don't want to have to clean up.

 

[igormp]

Folks, please take the whisk(e)y discussion to the appropriate thread in the Lounge.

I don't want to have to clean up.

Oops, sorry for the off-topic, wasn't even aware there was such a thread in there, will look for it!

 

[Jtuck9]

Forgiveness please. I played my part.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

No problem, just best to keep on topic.

 

[Bobaganoosh]

The timing of when beans turn to grounds for fresh roasted beans is different than roasted whenever beans. I *think* bagged beans ground at the store and then rebagged is totally superior to preground bagged coffee.

As far as fresh roasted beans...only grind what you are going to brew within the next 15 minutes. Personally, I grind it within 15 seconds of brewing.

@Bobaganoosh what is your aeropress extraction method? I'm not quite brave enough to use a non paper filter on aeropress. Moka pot, yes.

My extraction method for aeropress is a pot of 6 oz hot water with grind of half way between drip and espresso for about 2 minutes past bloom's end. That gets dumped into aeropress and "burp pressed," and the leftover in the pan gets rinsed into aeropress for easier cleanup.

Well, I only use my aeropress at work, where I'm usually in a bit of a hurry so I don't do anything fancy. We have an electric kettle that I set on 205F. I put a full scoop into the press (using the able metal disk I mentioned in my previous post)...espresso grind (I think my favorites come from Brazil and Peru, but the roasters are local). I pour just enough water in to wet the grounds, give it a quick stir, then I fill the press to the top, stir it for about 30-60 seconds and press it through as fast as I safely can lol.

 

[neurotix]

Yesterday's Sencha...


Sugimoto sencha from Shizuoka, Japan.



Put one flat tablespoon and one half of a flat tablespoon in. That's all you need or it ends up being too bitter.





Poured and stirred, look at all that foam on top! My Harney & Sons American produced sencha doesn't foam that much, even the really expensive Saemidori Sencha I was getting off Amazon didn't! Full of ECGC (epigallocatechin gallate) and a ton of other catechins and healthy stuff. It was great!

 

[BoggledBeagle]

Sugimoto sencha from Shizuoka, Japan.

Poured ...

... at what temperature?

 

[neurotix]

I would need to measure but it should be around 180, which if I recall correctly is what green tea needs. I did check my heating method like a year ago with a meat thermometer (heating method is very hot water in the microwave in a large plastic measuring cup for 3:30) and it ended up around there.

I pretty much make all my tea at that temperature

 

[80-watt Hamster]

I would need to measure but it should be around 180, which if I recall correctly is what green tea needs. I did check my heating method like a year ago with a meat thermometer (heating method is very hot water in the microwave in a large plastic measuring cup for 3:30) and it ended up around there.

I pretty much make all my tea at that temperature

Most black teas I've tried like a little more heat than that, between 195 and 205. Emphasis on "most". I've had a couple over the years that are very sensitive to oversteeping at those temps, even over a 2-min steep time.

 

[neurotix]

Most black teas I've tried like a little more heat than that, between 195 and 205. Emphasis on "most". I've had a couple over the years that are very sensitive to oversteeping at those temps, even over a 2-min steep time.

Yep. Though I do my Pu Erh (red tea, similar to black) at the same temperature and I do my French Plum black tea at the same temperature, roughly 180.

The next time I make a pot (probably later) I will measure the temperature of the water with a thermometer and see what its at and report back.

Anyone drink matcha? Personally can't stand the stuff and don't understand the craze of popularity around it.

Edit: just checked water with meat thermometer in the center. It was exactly 180f.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

Black tees require boiling water, chinese people can preheat the pot with boiling water and during brewing even pour boiling water over the pot to prevent it from cooling down. Preheating the pot is a necessary step for making a black tea in each case. You are losing a lot of taste of a black tea if you do not preheat the pot.

On the other hand, some green teas (as gyukuro) require pretty cool water, as cool as 50°C.

 

[Jtuck9]

I heard you should also avoid using filtered water. Not sure if that's across the board? Or perhaps I have that backward!? Did always wonder whether water hardness played its part regarding a "proper brew" (North / South divide)

 

[BoggledBeagle]

I think that in areas of very hard water you could soften it to enjoy tea better, but I never researched this, because my tap water is fine.

 

[Jtuck9]

I think that in areas of very hard water you could soften it to enjoy tea better, but I never researched this, because my tap water is fine.

I think they meant not using distilled water. Yea, the tap water here seems fine as well, although maybe we use our tea like they used spices back in the day?!

 

[de.das.dude]

Black tees require boiling water, chinese people can preheat the pot with boiling water and during brewing even pour boiling water over the pot to prevent it from cooling down. Preheating the pot is a necessary step for making a black tea in each case. You are losing a lot of taste of a black tea if you do not preheat the pot.

On the other hand, some green teas (as gyukuro) require pretty cool water, as cool as 50°C.

not always true. Plenty of variants that will over steep and get bitter if you go beyond 85C.

My current Darjeeling tea that i have does not like getting boiled. I will boil water, let it settle down, then i will steep tea for 2 mins.

From what i heard (i was born and brought up ~500km from darjeeling), the fresher "pure"-er tea leaves are more delicate.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

My current Darjeeling tea that i have does not like getting boiled. I will boil water, let it settle down, then i will steep tea for 2 mins.

I am not an expert, but I do not consider Darjeeling to be true black teas in general, you can see a lot of green and transitional leaves in it - at least in FF expensive types.

 

[Chrispy_]

I heard you should also avoid using filtered water. Not sure if that's across the board? Or perhaps I have that backward!? Did always wonder whether water hardness played its part regarding a "proper brew" (North / South divide)

Absolutely.

That's why Yorkshire Tea is a thing - they make tea for hard and soft water and it tastes dramatically different if you use the wrong water with either.

Yorkshire is split east-west with limestone aquifers and granite moorland so they've evolved their tea industry to deal with both very hard and very soft water.

 

[Jtuck9]

Absolutely.

That's why Yorkshire Tea is a thing - they make tea for hard and soft water and it tastes dramatically different if you use the wrong water with either.

Yorkshire is split east-west with limestone aquifers and granite moorland so they've evolved their tea industry to deal with both very hard and very soft water.

Considering the mining history around here I'm wondering if we could easily tap into some geothermals to starting powering the kettle. Would be nice!