Coffee

Coffee story:

Typical occasional coffee drinker. Order Iced cappuccino from Tim Hortons or cream cold brew from Starbucks. Then, tried Iced flat white and really like it. Pair cigar with double espresso shot, but a bit bitter. It was only after a trip to Mexico when I bought a bag of coffee beans for a friend that the hobby really started.

How do people turn coffee beans into a cup of coffee? What’s the simplest low cost effective way to make it happen?

It just happen that the home coffee making hobby bloom during the pandemic. Much more cheaper options for grinder, kettle, scale, etc.

Started slow with an aeropress, then V60, following by phin filter and Picoespresso now.

For me, I like the find the tasting notes of the coffee, especially “Iced” one. Nice Iced coffee drink a summer afternoon. Amazing.

Brewing techniques:

• Aeropress: Pour-over “immersion”

  • Very forgiven. Very easy to pull a good pour-over.

  • More expensive ($50-60 cad) than the V60 filter, but cheaper overall for set-up (no need gooseneck kettle, coffee scale, etc.) Cheap paper filter.

  • Easier control on volume. Can make 130ml (small cup coffee)

• V60: Pour-over “Percolation” ($15 cad)

  • Requires technique and good timing.

  • Requires good grinder ($50+ cad), gooseneck kettle ($50-200 cad) and coffee scale (more precision) ($50+ cad)

  • Requires higher volume 250ml, “Percolation” need the water to go through the beans and filter for extraction.

  • Works best to pull out subtle tasting notes from light roast coffee.

  • Gives a clear cup.

• Origami Air S: Pour-over “flat bottom” - Kalita wave 155 paper filter

  • High cost -> dripper + holder = $40 CAD+

  • Requires technique and good timing and equipments.

  • Gives more sweet and body cup.

• Vietnamese Phin filter: Drip coffee

  • Very cheap to get start ($5 -15 cad). Just need a spoon, some grounded Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk.

  • Very easy method.

  • Nice sweet coffee drink.

• French press:

  • Similar to phin filter. Easy to use and cheap to get start ($5-10 cad)

  • Mainly used for cold brew.

• Wacaco picoespresso:

  • More forgiven than regular espresso machine, but still need good technique.

  • Very portable and easy to use, just need to follow the step.

  • Not cheap. $170 cad + tx.

  • Need a grinder that can grind fine for espresso ($50-200+ cad)

Aeropress

Vietnamese Phin filter

Hario V60

Origami Air S dripper

IKEA french press

Wacaco Picoespresso

Brewing favourite recipe: I am bias for Iced coffee drink. Refreshing for hot summer.

• Aeropress iced coffee: 8.5g beans, 40 clicks, inverted insert 2.5 mark, 130g water, Ice in cup

• Pour 50g, 30 secs bloom

• Pour 80g, gently stir, 2 mins wait, gently stir, flip, press 

• Add more ice

• Viet Phin iced coffee: 21g beans, 40 clicks, 20g condensed milk, 130g water, extra ice

  • Add 20g condensed milk to cup

  • Pour 30g water, wait 45 secs bloom

  • Pour 100g water, wait until no more drip

  • Stir the condensed milk and coffee

  • Add ice

• Iced shaken Pico espresso: 16g beans, 15 clicks,  

• WDT, tap, tamper

• Pre-infusion: pump until see a little espresso, wait 10 secs 

• Pump until 32g espresso 

• Add Ice + shake

• Option Cafe bombon: Add 10g condensed milk 

• Cold brew french press: 10g beans, 60 clicks, 1:16, 160ml room temp water, 24h wait time

• Iced V60 (4:6 method): 10-15g beans, grinder 4-5.5, 150g water, 100g ice (70g decanter/ 30g cup)

  • Pour 25g, gently swirl, wait 45 secs

  • Pour 45g, wait 45 secs -> total 70g 

  • Pour 80g, swirl-> total 150g

4:6 Method

• Iced Origami air, Kalita wave 155 filter: 11-15g coffee,  grinder 4-5.5, 150g hot water, 70g Ice + 30g ice in cup

• Pour 30g,  wait 30 secs

• Pour 60g, wait 30 secs -> total 90g

• Pour 60g in circle -> total 150g

Coffee beans list: Only tried a few coffee beans, but so far…

• Best fruity:

  • Saigon Coffee Roastery Sudan Rume: Cola, fruity, molasse, wine

  • Hatch El Paraiso Lychee: Easy to tell it’s fruity. Lychee and peach tasting notes really strong.

  • The Library CERRO AZUL - GEISHA H.W. : Honey sweet, fruity

  • Chromatic Coffee Colombia Purple Fruit Anaerobic: fruity, berry, grape

  • Hatch ALO COFFEE: Shine muscat, fruity, sweet

  • De Mello Colombia Nestor Lasso El Diviso: Fruity, sweet, peach, rose wine

• Best chocolate/ nutty:

  • Hatch Supernova: Chocolate and nutty, very staple

• Best Vietnamese coffee:

  • Highlands Coffee Traditional blend: Very smooth, balanced, sweet.

  • Trung Nguyen Premium Blend Coffee: Very nice sweet chocolate taste

  • Cafe Du Monde Coffee and Chickory: Chocolate with a more smoky, roast taste

• Best espresso:

  • Oro Caffe Doi Chaang espresso: Very easy to pull an espresso shot with lots of crema

coffee bean list tracker.

Comments:

• Healthy to drink coffee and help for fasting.

• Easy to connect with other coffee enthusiast and people in general.

• Lots of brewing techniques and type of beans to try. Every country has their own ways of brewing coffee and beans they like.

Updated new grinder: 1zpresso zp6

• Turn good beans into very nice cup with very distinct tasting notes. Turn bad beans into very bad bland cups.

• Grind settings:

  • V60: Start with 5 (4-5.5)

  • finer grind ->  more extraction

  • coarser grind -> less extraction (less astringent)

  • Aeropress: 5.5

  • Espresso:  1 click from 0

1zpresso zp6 manual grinder.

SimpleLifeBalancing.