CoffeeMakersEtc

Bunn-O-Matic Corporation has announced a global price increase of approximately 3% will take effect July 1, 2008. The pricing change will affect all products and parts.

In the last 5 years, Bunn has only increased prices about 1% per year, so this move is probably well overdue and not unexpected. With the costs of stainless steel and transportation increasing dramatically in recent months, we would expect other equipment manufacturers to follow suit with their own prices increases in the coming months.

Current prices on Bunn products will be honored until June 1st.

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With an update to the Baratza website, and an ad in the current Roast magazine, Baratza has introduced the digital Vario coffee grinder. Now scheduled to be available in August, it will feature Mahlkönig ceramic flat Burrs, dual-cam grind adjustment, programmable digital control and super quiet operation.

We look forward to offering it on our web site. In the meantime, we have the current line-up of Baratza coffee grinders available.

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The Specialty Coffee Association of America has announced their Board of Directors for the 2008-2009 year. The new president is Mark Inman, president of Taylor Maid Farms LLC in Sebastopol, CA. Other members are as follows:

1st Vice President: Mike Ebert of Coffee Masters, Inc.
2nd Vice President: Peter Giuliano of Counter Culture Coffee
Secretary/Treasurer: Tracy Allen, Brewed Behavior
Al Liu of Atlas Coffee
Ellie Hudson-Matuszak of Coffee Solutions
Jeff Taylor of PT’s Coffee Company
Marty Curtis of RoZark Hills Roasterie
Max Quirin of ANACAFE
Nicholas Cho of murky coffee
Paul Thornton of Coffee Bean International
Price Peterson of Hacienda La Esmeralda

Tags: Coffee, Miscellaneous // Add Comment »

Krups has returned the Krups Moka Brew to the US. We received our first stock a few weeks ago, and I have been looking forward to trying one ever since.

(There have been some reports that the brewer is due to be discontinued in the US market. We asked our contacts at Krups, and the responded with the following: “F468  (Moka Brew) is a mainstay of the specialty store program. It continues for the foreseeable future. Thanks.”)

A little history (about all I know) - the Moka Brew has been a hit with coffee connoisseurs in the past, and it is very popular in Europe. The main advantage to the Moka Brew is that it brews by steam, which means that the water will always be at least 195-200F when it hits the coffee - just the right temperature for brewing.

First impressions: an odd-looking contraption, for sure, but very stylish and modern-looking. Only an 8-cup brewer. Brew time was about 7 minutes - slower than most home brewers, but not interminable. The temperature of the coffee right after brewing was 187F.

The Set-Up: the cold water goes into the tank under the carafe. The paper filter (a small, round disk) and coffee go under the lid of the carafe. (About 100 filters are included with the brewer.) Once everything is in place - including locking the carafe in place using the lever on the top of the brewer, simply press the “on” button to start the process.

Brewing: Total brewing time is about 7 minutes when starting with room temperature water. In the first few minutes, the water is heating. Then, steam begins making it’s way to the top of the brewer and condensing over the grounds. The fact that the process begins slowly helps to wet the grounds before brewing for better flavor extraction. Gradually, the amount of water being forced through the grounds increases, and it all finishes with a cascade of water coming through at the end - fun to watch.

The Coffee: All in all, a very good cup with lots of body and a full range of flavor extraction. Since the brewing process is a bit like brewing espresso with the steam being forced through the coffee grounds, the resulting coffee is a bit stronger than regular drip coffee. The coffee very hot.

Clean-up: Clean-up takes slightly more effort than a drip brewer does, if only because the paper filter tends to stick to the bottom of the filter basket, and, since it is a flat disk, there are no edges to grab to pull it out. Besides that, just rinse out the carafe and the brewing process is ready to be repeated.

Notes: The carafe is heated by a warmer, and there is no automatic turn-off. For better coffee, it would be better to transfer the coffee to a thermal carafe or airpot after brewing.

Tags: Home Coffee Maker, Krups // Add Comment »

At their annual convention, The Specialty Coffee Association experts will determine the Coffee of the Year at the 2008 Roasters Guild Coffee of the Year Competition. The event, in Minneapolis, MN, beginning May 3, will attract coffee from over 120 producers from throughout the world.

Fetco is an equipment sponser for this year’s SCAA convention.

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This list of America’s Best Boutique Coffees comes from Forbes and features independent shops across the country.

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In Fetco’s first foray into “Brewing Sessions” podcast, they explain the 6 basic elements that can affect coffee taste: brewing temperature, formula of water-to-coffee, contact time, grind particle size, turbulence and freshness after brewing.

Temperature: Matt Greg, a regional sales manager with Fetco, explains that coffee should be brewed at 195-200F - generally toward the low end for high altitudes, toward 200F for more moderate altitudes. If you brew at too high of a temperature, the water elements from the coffee that will cause a tinny, metallic taste. At too low a temperature, not enough flavors will be extracted from the coffee to achieve a good coffee taste.

Formula of Water-to-Coffee: The next most important step after finding the correct brewing temperature is deciding the right amount of your coffee to use when brewing.  As a general rule, you want to use 3.25-4.25 oz. of coffee per 64 oz. of water. The key is to find a good balance for the particular coffee you are brewing - too little coffee and you will emphasize the low, smoky, bitter elements of the bean; too much coffee and you will highlight mostly citrus and acidic tones. The perfect formula will balance the flavors and give you a rich, balanced cup.

Contact Time: The contact time begins with the spray-over time and ends when the coffee exits the brew basket. An optimal contact time extracts a balance of flavors from the coffee, and it depends on size of batch and kind of coffee you are brewing.

Grind Particle Size: A larger particle takes longer to break down than a smaller particle, plus the water will pass through larger grinds faster without extracting as many flavors. With too small a grind, the water will pass through the entire ground too easily, and can pick up too many undesirable flavors. The larger the batch size you are brewing, the larger the grind size you want, otherwise, the water will extract too many flavors from the bean

Turbulence: The churning motion that occurs in the brew basket. The more churning, the more flavors absorbed by the water.

Freshness after Brewing: After about 20 minutes, coffee sitting on a burner will start to break down and affect flavor - the oils become more rancid and bitter. Thermal servers can alleviate this problem, but coffee can even continue to cook in a thermal server. If is best to keep coffee in a thermal server and use it within a couple of hours.

A great podcast - hopefully the first of many.

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One of our favorite grinders - the Baratzo Virtuoso - was named “Gadget of the Week” by Barron’s magazine on March 17th.

Making a case for getting the most out of your coffee in a time of rising coffee prices (up 40% in the last year), Barron’s proclaimed the Virtuoso a great grinder for it’s hardened steel conical burrs, 40 grind settings, uniform grind, and low static production.

You can read the article here (at least while the link works).

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Travelling to Kansas City and need a great macchiato? No problem, just check into EspressoMap.com and get directions to The Roasterie and 2 PT’s Coffee.

Travel without fear - 140 locations for great espresso in the US are currently listed, based on first-hand experience, recommendations from fellow baristi, and general reputation.

Tags: Espresso // Add Comment »

We often get emails from people wanting really hot coffee, and we don’t have a great, definitive answer for them. Coffee needs to be brewed at 195-200F in order to taste right - if you brew it hotter than that, it will taste bitter. All coffee brewers are designed to brew in that range, but the thermostats on any particular brewer will be a little different, so there is no guarantee that you will get a brewer that brews “hot.”

I would say that Bunn brewers probably have better thermostats than other brands, so their brewers would be more likely to brew at a good, high temperature. Bunn brewers have a hot water reservoir, which helps to insure that the water is the correct temperature (as opposed to heating-on-demand), but some people don’t like them because the brewer is always on heating the water.

If you want really hot coffee, you would probably want a brewer with a pot that sits on a warmer instead of one that brews into a thermal carafe, because the coffee in a thermal carafe will slowly cool in time.

I hope this information helps.

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