Coffee

Ha! No. Search back a bit in this thread and you will see our Secret Santa Exchange. It gets pretty crazy. Coffee, knives..... Does it get any better?
 
Will do sir!
My 2 brain cells are swimming in a sea of ineptitude.
This forum is INSANE!

There is just not enough time to read 12 years of cool. I'm tryin' tho

 
Have you guys ever experienced fishy tasting coffee? I noticed it today about the 3rd 1/2 cup into my chemex (but the cups before were fine delicious even) a distinctly fishy taste, I've had it happen once or twice previously and thought it was really strange especially since I keep a lid on it.. so most likely not from anythig weird falling in and the beans couldn't be fresher (roasted 2 days ago and bought this morning), anyways just wondered if anybody has experienced this phenomenon :eek:
 
GotSteel GotSteel it's happened to me. I don't remember what coffee it was. I also thought it was weird because I grind all my beans fresh and drink them fairly quickly so I figured it was my coffee pot I cleaned the coffee pot and still had the fishy taste so it must've been something with that particular coffee.

I like fish but not in my coffee! Lol!

Daniel.
 
Could be your grinder, when coffee oils spoil they get fishy. Grinders accumulate a lot of oil. Could also be a tiny layer of mold in cup or equipment. Buy some Cafiza and soak your brewing equipment for two hours and give it a good wash. It is a cleaning product strictly made to break down coffee oils.
 
Ok thanks I will get some of that.. I assumed there must be some kind of special cleaner, usually just rinse with pot & pan detergent which does a good job cleaning out the chemex and or wipe it all down but it's maybe in my grinder since I don't think of cleaning it with anything other than a dry paper towel
 
The same company that makes cafiza makes a grinder cleaning product too. The company is Urnex and the grinder cleaner is called Grindz. They are pellets that clean everything out when your send them through the grinder. Best thing to do is take apart your grinder from time to time and wipe everything out very thoroughly. I do it once a month at the shop but we put our machines through the ringer every day haha.
 
Found this copypasta (https://www.home-barista.com/grinders/grinder-cleaning-when-and-how-t29250.html) used instant rice since I had some on hand:

The purpose of cleaning the burrs is to clean the burrs. Cleaning retained grinds is a different thing. Let's start with cleaning the burrs.

I. Cleaning the Burrs:
Grinds and oils stick to the burrs and may become rancid if not removed. Clean the burrs when you notice an off taste or at least once a month as prophylactic maintenance.

A. Cleaning with Instant Rice or Grindz
There's no need to remove the hopper for cleaning with a cleaning material. Simply empty the hopper and reserve the beans so you can replace them after cleaning.

Set the grinder to the equivalent of a very coarse espresso or very fine drip grind. Then load the cleaning material -- either INSTANT RICE (do not use raw rice or par-boiled rice) or GRINDZ into the hopper. The amount of cleaning material you need to clean the burrs depends on the size of the grinder. In the case of a Vario, an ounce should be enough.

Run the grinder until all of the cleaning material has been ground and you can hear the burrs "running on empty."

After cleaning the burrs in this way, you'll need to "re-season" them and remove any cleaner caught between them or in the path by running an ounce or so of inexpensive beans through the grinder.

Clean the interior of the hopper with a damp towel. Wash out your grinds container if you have one. Clean the exterior of the grinder as completely as you can.

When everything is clean and dry, you'll need to dial-in your good beans as though from scratch.

B. Cleaning by Brushing and/or Washing
Every six months or so, it's a good idea to remove the burrs; inspect them to make sure they're still sharp and in good shape; and clean them by brushing and/or washing.

Of course, you'll have to empty and remove the hopper, first.

If you wash, make sure the burrs are thoroughly dry before reassembly. It's a good idea to air-dry on a rack overnight.

When you reassemble the grinder, you'll have to re-zero (aka re-calibrate) the grinder. Then you'll need to re-season and dial-in again.

II. Cleaning Out Retained Grounds:
I don't know about zero retention, but your Vario is definitely at the low end of the scale. However even so-called "zero retention" grinders retain at least a few grounds and you might as well tweak your regimen to get rid of them.

Brush the chute before grinding, and brush it at the end of every session.

Any time the grinder's sat idle for more than an hour or so, it's a good idea to blow out the chamber and chute by grinding an appropriate amount of beans. For your Vario and my Bunnzilla, that's a very low dose -- about 5g. In the case of other grinders, my Ceado for instance, it's more like 10g -20g.

III. Trouble Shooting:
The more you get used to drinking good espresso, the more sensitive your palate will become to bad espresso, and the better able you'll be to identify flaws. When you detect stale, "off" or "harsh" tastes, it's a good idea to start by cleaning to get rid of any possible contaminants in the grinder, the pf, or the head.
  • For one thing, it's effective surprisingly often;
  • For another, it's quick, easy and more or less free; and
  • For a third, you have to do it anyway. So what can you lose?
Hope this helps,
BDL
 
I've heard of Grindz before. Good to know that they work well. I usually brush out my grinder really good at least a couple times a month and wash the plastic parts in soapy dish water. If I'm using a darker roast I try to do it more often than that. The oilier the beans are the quicker it seems to build up, causing the ground coffee to stick everywhere.
 
Lol, that one sailed right over my head.:D Mostly because I didn't realize he was talking to GotSteel.
 
Nothing that I can think of offhand. Looks like the weather is supposed to be nice also. I'll double check tomorrow to make sure I'm not forgetting something and let you know.
 
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