Saturday, October 19, 2019

Home Roasted and Home Brewed Coffee



Some time ago I was introduced to the idea of roasting my own coffee beans at home.  Little did I know what had just been started.  I purchased a Behmor 1600 coffee bean roaster, some green coffee beans and got to work.  While that was really cool, the more I read and researched, the more I realized how many other things there were that could affect my “superfresh” coffee.  In my quest, I began to realize how many ways there are to brew coffee at home and that not all of them take a machine that costs thousands of dollars.  Let me share some of what I have learned, because I tell you what; I’m enjoying some great coffee.


First, I’ve learned that it is important to be able control the temperature of your water and it doesn’t hurt to have an attractive kettle.  If you can swing it, I would suggest purchasing something like the Bonavita Digital Electric 1 Liter Kettle.  This is an attractive machine that gives you the control that you want.  A little pricey for a kettle at $90.00, however, it’s been worth it to me.  I like it.  There are cheaper alternatives.

Secondly, the grind is very important, so once more you need to be able to control it.  For this I purchased a Zassenhaus burr hand grinder at about $120.00.  Subsequent to that I purchased a Capresso electric burr grinder at about $70.00 which has performed well.  It is important to have a burr grinder vs. a spice grinder which is a whole different subject.  Bottom line is that you get a much more consistent grind with a burr grinder.

French Press – The first machine I bought at about $40.00.  A very attractive addition to your kitchen that brews a great cup of coffee.  You should use a coarse grind of coffee.  The result is a strong, rich and smooth cup of coffee.  Some people don’t like the sediment in the cup; however, just don’t drink the last sip.

Moka Express – This machine is by Bialetti at $25.00   and you find one in almost every home in Italy.  It is the original.  Again, a good strong cup of coffee.  It is not exactly the same as a machine generated espresso, however, I really like it.  In my opinion, it is your best stove top espresso.  It makes a great cup of Cuban coffee and/or a café con leche, as well.


Aeropress – This was my third purchase at $26.00.  In my opinion, this is the best out of the three.  It doesn’t add much to your décor (looks like a science experiment); however, what it lacks in aesthetics, it by far makes up for it in a great cup of coffee.  Makes a wonderful Americano.  You should use a fine grind for this one.

None of these are difficult to use and they all take less than five minutes once your water is hot.

If I had to pick one machine, it would be the aeropress; it is the easiest to use, easiest to clean up after and is the most versatile.  That being said, I am happy to have all three.  They all produce their own unique cup of coffee.   




Thanks for reading,

Mike
The Bald Barista


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Adding a Slow Brew Coffee Bar




Today’s coffee movement provides an incentive for any fine dining restaurant and, many cases, high end retail establishments to offer specialty coffees.  Many find it prohibitive because of perceived high costs and lack of expertise.  This is not necessarily the case.

There is a way to achieve this without the expense and maintenance of an elaborate espresso machine, a lot of space and a barista with 20 years of training.  I recently opened what they call a “slow bar” in a fine dining restaurant, went into the black pretty quickly and ran it successfully for a little over a year.  I had no previous experience other than roasting coffee beans and preparing my own coffee.

There are many ways to brew “slow brewed coffee” while using low maintenance, inexpensive brewing methods.  With these methods you are able to serve espressos, cappuccinos, Cuban coffees, con leches, Americanos, macchiatos, etc.  Your menu can be quite extensive.

In my case, I used four methods of brewing, aeropress, pour over, French press and the Bialetti Moka Express.  Compared to an expensive espresso machine, these are very low cost and low maintenance.  There was an electric two burner hot plate, a propane camp stove, a sink with some counter space and a total of approximately 50 square feet.

Other utensils included 2 water kettles, a milk frother, a stainless steel pan for heating milk, a thermometer, glassware, an electric burr grinder and 4 airtight containers for the roasted coffee beans.  Total cost for everything (most of it from Amazon) was under $700.00.  The space was contributed by the restaurant.  If you are going to roast your own beans, this does not include that cost.  In my case, I used a Behmor 1600 roaster which cost under $450.00.

Key to your new bar and having coffee that is exceptional are your beans and your grind.  I used beans that had arrived in the United States within the last six months and the beans that were served had been roasted within the past two weeks.  In my case, I roasted my own beans, however, I also had a relationship with a local roaster in case I ran short of my own.  Finally, a fine grind was used for all methods except for the French press where a coarse grind was set.

The following was our menu:

All coffees slow-brewed with our freshly roasted & freshly ground beans.

Cappuccino………….…………$5.00
Café Latte…………….………..$5.00
Espresso Macchiato……..$5.00
Cuban Macchiato……………$5.00
Café Con Leche……………..$5.00
Flat White……………..…………..$5.00
Espresso……………………….$4.00
Cuban…………………………….$4.00
French Press…………………$4.00
Pour Over…………….……….$4.00
Americano…………….………$4.00
Regular or Decaf……..….$3.00

Cortado – 3 oz espresso/3 oz steamed milk…………..……..…$5.00
Red Eye – 1 shot espresso in cup of regular…………..……….$6.00
Mocha – espresso, chocolate syrup, steamed cream……….$5.00
MaCocoa – espresso, Crème de Cocoa, heavy cream….$8.00

All coffee drinks can be made with decaffeinated beans, if you prefer.


Waiters and waitresses would take the coffee order, I would make the coffee and deliver it.  There was a new bean every week or two and I would be available to talk about it with the customer.

Finally, a little of my background in coffee.  I have always enjoyed my coffee and five or six years ago a coffee importer friend of mine got me interested in roasting my own beans and I purchased the Behmor 1600.  I came up with the idea of opening a coffee bar after a few years and made an agreement to do so in a fine dining restaurant.  I then spent a lot of time with coffee manuals, Google and you tube learning how to make the various coffees.  All in all, in retrospect, much less time and money than most coffee operations I’ve experienced and all done by a guy with no barista experience.

This is certainly not going to replace any of the fine coffee shops I have spent time in, however, it is a great way to add gourmet coffee to an existing restaurant, retail establishment, motel, etc.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Michael N. Vanatta
mnvanatta@gmail.com