Hi there

NickC

Hi All,

My first post to the forum, so a quick intro... I spent a few years home roasting and for the last 9 months have started selling coffee at farmers markets on the weekends and a bit online. I also drink coffee. That just about covers everything.

Although for the gear freaks... I roast on a 1kg electric drum roaster, although use my Behmor for sample roasting. Lately I've been brewing mainly using my Flair manual espresso maker which I love, but also use the Aeropress quite a lot. I use both of these at the farmers markets to give people samples. I have a great Quamar grinder that I bought from Paul, aka @K_Bean_Coffee, but find myself using my Porlex hand grinder just as often as it's very convenient for the "two long blacks" cupping method. Very occasionally I'll make a pourover with my Alto Air Dripper but I find it makes a pretty weak cup. I have a couple of great insulated plungers which get used sometimes and a Via Venezia which doesn't get a lot of use now that I have the Flair.

Right now my focus is on cupping as many coffees as possible using the simple "two long blacks" method. I'd love to team up with like minded people to get my hands on as many 50 gram samples as possible, either by swapping or splitting up 250g bags.

Cheers
Nick


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askthecoffeeguy

Hi Nick and welcome to the forum sounds like you're pretty immersed in the world of coffee Can you elaborate a bit about the 'two long blacks method?' Cheers, Pat

Koffee_Kosmo

Welcome to the forum  :thumb: When you say swap samples - do you mean roasted or green beans ? KK

NickC

Hi guys, I forget who first promoted the "two long blacks method", but it is as simple as taking 2 different beans, grinding them up and preparing them as long blacks. Then drink them at the same time, so you can compare them side by side. The first bit of logic of it is that relying on memory to compare coffees is quite hard - e.g. does this coffee have more body than the one I had an hour ago? But having an immediate point of reference makes it much easier to pull apart the differences. The second bit of logic is that whilst seasoned industry experts might be able to pick up lots of information from 1 quick slurp and spit, the rest of us mere mortals benefit from taking more time and drinking more of the coffee. I really like the morning ritual - comparing two coffees makes me pay more attention to what I'm drinking. As for swapping samples my preference is for swapping roasted beans. 40 - 50 grams is about the amount I have in mind and even in the Behmor I'd struggle to roast that well. Plus I want to taste what other roasters are doing with their roasts. So for example I'd love to be able to buy 250g each of the 4 single origins and 1 of the blends that Ministry Grounds are currently selling. Then split the bags up into 50 gram portions and send a portion of each coffee to 4 other people. 50 grams of each coffee, which for my strength is enough for about 4 long blacks of each bean = 20 in total (4 x 5 beans) = 10 side by side sessions, with each coffee being compared against 4 other coffees making 8 different comparisons (5 different coffees have 8 different possible comparisons). If my maths is right then if I did this every fortnight, each year I could try 130 different coffees (each 4 times) with 208 side by side comparisons. On top of my own coffees and the coffees I try from the green bean wholesalers, that all adds up to a pretty good education! It's probably a bit of a pipe dream though. However, if anyone is interested then I'm happy to do the leg work. Depending on the retailer the cost per person would effectively be a 250g bag of coffee (~$15) plus postage (~$10). We could do a trial of it with site sponsors as a way of supporting them... Cheers Nick

askthecoffeeguy

hey nick thanks for clarification on the two long blacks method - makes sense to me! As for the coffee swap I've been roasting at home for about 12yrs now so Im more inclined to just order in a fresh batch of green beans, and then give them a go, but others might be more willing to give it a go or we could just compare notes and photos online - whatever works for you! Best ACG