STEVE RHINEHART
Syracuse, New York
About me:Currently a graduate student in Information Management, as well as a graphic designer with a passion for 3D and animation. I'm a passionate coffee geek, whether it's espresso, drip, or roasting. I love it all.
My Equipment:
Espresso machine & grinder
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NICE TIP!
Steve Rhinehart | Wed, 05/16/2012 - 13:24I'm a big advocate for regular grinder cleaning, which I believe I've posted about before. I've never had a problem manually removing my Vario upper burr though. Perhaps that means mine is looser (though it's quite snug), or I've got super grip strength? Still, I've recommended people try twisting by hand first, before buying special tools - I do love OE though, so it's nothing against them.
JUST THREE
Steve Rhinehart | Fri, 04/06/2012 - 23:36I use the HasBean app, which is good for a quick brewing calculator, CoffeeTools, which is only for espresso, despite the name, and MoJoToGo with the Coffee Lite mode, which is a robust app for calculating brewing parameters along with TDS and extraction ratio. The last would *not* benefit from a TDS meter, simply because the Lite mode excludes the TDS options. I like and use all three, mainly because they're useful and at least unoffensive in terms of design. Something I wish was out there was a really nice roasting app (log bean type, weight, roaster, profile, etc.), that doesn't look god-awful. Roastmaster accomplishes the first part, but fails miserably at the second. It reminds me of those overdesigned Flash web sites of old. I don't care how functional it is if form gets in the way.
NOT A PROBLEM
Steve Rhinehart | Mon, 03/19/2012 - 13:52It's not the machine, it's the grinder and basket. Grinders, by nature, will produce fines. At this point, there is no way of avoiding that. Baskets are often machined with a particular hole diameter that should retain all but the finest particles. Those particles though, those are the ones that inevitably make it into your demitasse. Nothing to worry about really, unless you have a layer of fines or something.
WELCOME!
Steve Rhinehart | Sun, 03/18/2012 - 22:15Welcome to Roaste, and wow, what a first post! If you don't mind, I'm planning on writing a response (not rebuttal, mind) on my own blog. It'll address a few of the things you've brought up, including some recent insights I picked up from folks at Coffee Fest last weekend. I should be done with that this evening. Feel free to comment or write a full-blown response - gotta rack up those eBeans somehow!
WOULDN'T CALL IT COLD BREW
Steve Rhinehart | Sat, 03/10/2012 - 18:14I wouldn't call it cold brew, since it's a hot brew over ice. Still, it's my favorite method of making iced coffee. I use a 50/50 ratio, hot water to ice, and grind finer to increase the contact time. Actually, last year's recipes on Roaste for summer coffee beverages has my recipe for lime iced coffee. You just add some lime zest to the brew and shake then strain, which adds a really refreshing flavor to certain coffees.