Seattle Coffee Gear Blog » Science

Compare: Chemex Filters vs. Hario 02 Filters

Kat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:23:59 +0000

Our first time out, Allison used a Hario 02 paper filter for her brew test with the Chemex. And we didn’t hear the end of it from our YouTube fans!

So once we received our first shipment of signature Chemex filters, we decided to do a side by side brew comparison to practically determine if you could tell a difference in the cup. Watch as Allison brews up two batches on the Chemex and we taste them to find out.

Experimenting with Cold Brew Coffee

Kat — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:16:48 +0000

Do you really need a fancy, specially-designed gadget to brew up a batch of cold coffee? Or can you just use your trusty ol’ press pot? While we carry a couple of different cold brew options (from Hario and Sowden), we wanted to see if using one of them (namely, the Sowden) produced a better, worse or similar cup to making a cold brew with a La Cafetiere french press.

So we put Allison to the test! Watch as we brew up a batch in each, using the same grind and coffee-to-water ratios, allowing them to sit over night and then giving them a taste test. We also compare how much sediment appears in the cup. So exciting!

SCG’s Great Stovetop Experiments

Kat — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:37:36 +0000

There is nothing quite like taking a random suggestion and putting it to the test! During our original stovetop prep video, Rade mentioned using sparkling water to achieve some form of crema from the espresso and we also received a viewer suggestion that using preheated water produced a better cup.

We asked him to put these two ideas to the test to determine if either results in a noticeably improved cup. Hilarity ensued.

Testing Freezer-Stored Coffee Beans – Redux

Kat — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:00:48 +0000

Awhile ago, we stored some beans in their original roaster bags in the freezer, then we pulled shots with them. The taste of freezer burn was so distinct, however, it was hard for us to recommend folks store their coffee this way. That video raised that hackles of many a folk (which we were very surprised to hear!) and we received a lot of feedback regarding ways in which they stored their beans in the freezer to ensure they still retained good flavor. So we tried three different variations recommended, two different freezers and two different grinders to see if any of them provided good results.

Watch as Gail goes through testing these different storage methods.

Testing Freezer-Stored Coffee Beans

Kat — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:00:04 +0000

One of the most frequent questions that we’re asked is regarding how to best store coffee beans in order to keep them fresh. We have done several videos testing how beans hold up over time in their roast bags or a container such as the Airscape, but how about the oft-recommended freezer storage? How do beans perform after being frozen?

We put a couple of bags in the freezer back in October 2010 and then pulled them out of the vault three months later. Watch as Gail pulls shots using one bag that was completely sealed and another bag that was opened and then folded closed using the bag’s tabs.

Airscape Storage – 2 Month Test

Kat — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:00:15 +0000

How do freshly roasted beans hold up in the Airscape after two months? We put a batch of Velton’s Bonsai Blend to the test to see if sealing them away — and not opening them again for two months — would keep them tasty. Watch Gail pull a shot with the beans and put her taste buds to the test for science.

Airscape Freshness Testing

Kat — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:35:43 +0000

What’s the best way to store beans? We’re often asked this question and we are performing few tests to see how different storage methods keep coffee tasty and fresh — and for how long.

First up, we tested beans stored in the original roaster’s bag compared with beans store in an Airscape over a month period. Watch as we pull shots from each to determine how fresh the Airscape keeps the beans.

Crema Stability Testing

Kat — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:10:06 +0000

Unless the roaster is using some type of preservative measure (such as the nitrogen flush used by large roaster Lavazza), coffee starts aging within its sealed bag from the moment it’s roasted. We set aside bags from March and June batches of Velton’s Bonsai Blend to compare the aged coffee against coffee roasted last week.

Check out our test and take a moment to appreciate our dedicated commitment to science — we tasted some seriously nasty shots for the team, people!

What is Crema?

Kat — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:31:58 +0000

We recently wrote about crema — what it is, what contributes to its formation, etc. — and we thought we’d film Gail talking about it, as well, and test out a comparison test between an Americano with and without crema. Check it out!

New! Cirqua AB Formula Water Treatment Capsules

Kat — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:57:20 +0000

The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) recommends 1.15% – 1.35% coffee solids for an ideally flavored cup of coffee. That leaves ~98% of the flavor up to the water itself — something not a lot of people talk about. Some folks want to reduce the descaling maintenance required by using distilled water or water that is put through a reverse osmosis system that has no mineral content in it, meaning it won’t contribute to scale build up on the equipment.

But thorough testing by scientists much more focused on this than us has revealed that the ideal mineral content for coffee is 150 parts per million (ppm) of total dissolved solids (tds). More than that and you run the risk of under-extracting the coffee (basically, there’s not enough allowable space in the water for the coffee particles to be absorbed) and less than that means you can likely over-extract (there’s too much space and it takes on too many coffee particles).

Commercial coffee operations invest in high end water treatment systems that will ensure they’re using the best possible water/mineral balance to easily make excellent coffee. This is of particular concern to large chains that have cafes in different cities as they can’t rely on the local water’s tap to be the same across the board. Companies such as Cirqua came along to address this issue for cafes, but they understood that most folks that wanted to make coffee at home just weren’t going to invest in a high end filtration system.

So they developed this easy-to-use solution that you can employ at home: Add the two capsules (per dosage) to one gallon of distilled water and you have the perfectly balanced mineral water to make an awesome cup of coffee. We tested it out at the store, check out our results: