MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

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MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby annetteandbabes » Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:25 pm

So, I have ordered my very first grinder (Iberital MC2 doserless) and am going to start off with an Aeropress as that is all my budget can manage right now. I have 2x250g bags of beans on the way from Hasbean:
Brazil Camocim Organics Three C’s Coffee
Sumatra Organic Swiss Water Decaffeinated
I really know nothing about coffee need to know where to start, so I'd really appreciate some answers to my basic questions:
1. What weight of beans should I grind for the aeropress?
2. Where should I set the MC2 grinder to start?
3. How should I store the beans once the pack is open and how soon should I use them - I'd like to use both at once, caffeine in the morning and decaf in the afternoon.
4. Can I grind straight into the aeropress funnel?
5. What temperature should my water be at for the aeropress and do I need to measure the temp?
Any other advice welcome please!
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RE: MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby shuurajou » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:40 am

Hi Annette,

I don't have an Aeropress so I can't answer a lot of your questions, but in terms of coffee beans, my usual rule is once I've got my beans, put them into an airtight container for storage. I would suggest ordering a weeks worth of beans at a time to ensure you aren't working with overly stale beans. Perhaps the Aeropress isn't as demanding for fresh coffee as espresso, but you should always avoid old beans as much as you can.

I normally keep a day or so worth of beans in the actual hopper for my grinder as the weight of the bean column (i.e. the weight of beans piled onto of beans as they are ground) is known to ensure a consistent grind on many grinders.

A temperature gauge is a good thing to have so if you do need to make changes, you know what changes you're making temperature wise.
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RE: MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby quoad » Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:44 am

WELL.

http://www.toomuchcoffee.com/index.php? ... pic&t=2714

Any use...?

I'm also fairly sure there's an Aeropress knowledge base thingy, either here or on home-barista.com...

AND storage is one of the reasons I asked about which of Steve's decaffs you'd got :D With the Sumatra, you should be safe (if sensibly stored in the bag it came in, with the top zippy seal closed, out of direct sunlight, excessive heat, blaaaah) for... well... IME, Sumatra's still surprisingly ok after 3 weeks. I mean, that's not a suggestion to keep it that long; but it's quite definitely different to the Lake Atitlan - which IME had lost a great deal of its brightness only 4-5 days after opening the zippy seal...
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RE: MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby quoad » Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:55 am

OK.... Also, with the grind...

Traditional advice with many grinders to find espresso grind... Which - going by one of Steve's posts elsewhere, is what you're looking for...

i) start up the motor (and keep it running)
ii) slowly slowly slowly move the grind setting finer and finer and finer
iii) stop when you hear the burrs clash (it's a pretty damned distinctive noise! Kinda like metal, spinning at x hundred rpm, coming into contact with another piece of metal, also spinning at x hundred rpm!
iv) back off 5-7 little notches on the adjustment wheel.

ALSO, don't worry if things go tits up! Experimenting, tweaking, and getting things a-little-bit-wronger-then-a-little-bit-righter is all part of the fun! :)

Ohhhhh - and finally - the two beans will almost certainly need (or will benefit from, don't know how forgiving the aeropress is) different grinds. IME the Sumatra needs one of the tightest / finest grinds I've come across. Whilst I'm not sure about the three Cs, but it'll probably / possibly require a grind a mini-notch or four higher.

Gluck!
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RE: MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby jon » Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:57 am

As far as water temp, think a bit off boiling. You'll figure out how long to let water cool from boiling for quick enough, though you might find a thermometer useful to start (could maybe lend one, if you don't have).

Have you thought of getting a french press, for when you fancy a different type of brew :D Can get them for under a tenner, and quite different from the aeropess...
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RE: MC2 and Aeropress newbie help please!

Postby lukas » Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:32 pm

I found the instructions that come with the aeropress not so good, the aeropress shines I believe in a french-press like extraction:

use 15 grams of grounds (more on that later)
250ml of not-anymore-boiling water
wet the grounds with around 50ml, stir a little
pour rest of the water
put on plunger and slowly plunge

On the grind setting: I would suggest getting some cheap preground for filter, and some cheap beans, and try to grind the beans to a similar fineness as the preground. This will also help to 'season' the grinder, as the first few hundred grams ground might be a bit funky.

You can also make espresso-like coffee with the aeropress, but I never really tried it that hard as I have an espresso machine and really like the detail that the aeropress adds to a good mug of coffee!

If you want to change coffees regularly, I'd recommend weighing the beans for each round of coffee, turning on the grinder and putting them in to grind them all through at once. That way, you have minimal waste.

Have fun with your new toys, and make sure to read some threads on here about the aeropress - there's a wealth of information hiding :)
Lukas

This week I like my coffee luke-warm.
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Postby annetteandbabes » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:11 pm

Thanks for all of your helpful replies - off to read up on Aeropress. I'm getting excited anyway - I got a shipping notification (tracked - very impressive service) from both Happy Donkey and Hasbean and all of my stuff should be here on Monday so I'll be staying at home until it all gets here for sure.
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Postby quoad » Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:47 pm

annetteandbabes wrote:Thanks for all of your helpful replies - off to read up on Aeropress. I'm getting excited anyway - I got a shipping notification (tracked - very impressive service) from both Happy Donkey and Hasbean and all of my stuff should be here on Monday so I'll be staying at home until it all gets here for sure.

Last time I ordered from Steve on a Friday (last Friday, ha) it arrived on the Saturday...

Most impressed! :D

edit: ooohhhhh... I've just realised that would've been this morning I was thinking about. D'oh!

edit again: that is... I was thinking Annette's order from Steve might arrive this Saturday.

Which it clearly won't.

Because today (or - officially - yesterday) was Saturday.

As it turns out, like.
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Postby Bennicus » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:24 pm

too much coffee, quoad? :)
Ponte Vecchio Lusso, Mazzer SJ, beans from Steve.
R.I.P. Melitta filter + filter papers, hot water, gravity, cheapo Russel Hobbs grinder "The Grindinator"
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Postby technojock » Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:00 pm

Hi Annette

Plenty of good advice above, lukas seems to make AP coffee similar to mine. I've never measured the water temp, or weighed the beans prior to grinding. I figured out what makes the cup I like quickly enough. You'll do just fine...experiment and enjoy the coffee.
: Heatgun / Dualit / French Press / Aeropress :
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Postby annetteandbabes » Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:38 pm

Well, I've been playing with my news toys a lot this week and I am certain the £180 has improved my quality of life!
My 21 month old and 4 1/2 year old boys have been making coffee with their lego and hiding round the corner from the grinder when I use it. My husband has got the hang of the grinder and the aeropress and has been able to make me a decent coffee every morning since we got it. I am having great fun trying it out - I make a 2nd coffee for myself in the morning and a decaf in the afternoon and really enjoy drinking it.
I am sure our technique needs lots of perfecting but for now we are making coffee that tastes good.
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Postby Gouezeri » Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:11 pm

annetteandbabes wrote: but for now we are making coffee that tastes good.

Which is all that matters!
I/We are glad that the site has been of service for you Annette. And, this proves the point we often try to make, all you really need are good beans, a decent grinder and the most simple of brewing equipment. Sure we all love our gadgets, but they are worth nothing if you don't cover these basic elements.
Enjoy the journey Annette, you've started well!
D
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Postby shuurajou » Sat Oct 18, 2008 2:15 pm

Great to hear Annette, do keep us posted!
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Postby quoad » Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:35 pm

Great to hear things are working, Annette!

Out of interest... is there something I've seen somewhere about getting a non-replaceable filter for the AP...?



Bennicus wrote:too much coffee, quoad? :)


:D

That, and starting a PhD, working from home...

Every day and no day's a work day, pffft!
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Postby Tristan » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:45 am

Tim Wendelboe just posted a really simple aeropress usage guide.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timwendelb ... 012653472/
The Wild Drink Blog
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