These were reduced to clear at Sainsburys (£0.75 for a pack of two). I think they are 40ml, so only take ~15g when they are packed, but this is my current dose so they are fine. TBH I don’t think I will go the single dose route. The main benefit for me seems to be minimising the opening of the larger container, but I use a vacuum one so I’m not sure if it will make much difference. Anyway, I now have them so trying to use and see what happens.
Airscape issues and single dosing
I’ve been wondering. For ages now when I get a bag of beans I weight them out into portions and freeze them and only get them out when I need them and grind them straight from the freezer…is this wrong? Does it effect the flavour? Is this why I get espresso tasting like a bitter old man sucking a lemon?
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Pompeyexile I’ve been wondering. For ages now when I get a bag of beans I weight them out into portions and freeze them and only get them out when I need them and grind them straight from the freezer…is this wrong? Does it effect the flavour? Is this why I get espresso tasting like a bitter old man sucking a lemon?
I think that may well be a valid method…people do grind straight from the freezer. The only thing I would be concerned about is moist warm air condensing water onto the beans in some way affecting grind, burrs (corrosion), clumping. My plan was to remove the whole days worth in the morning.
Ah now that is interesting. To test out the ROK grinder earlier, I took out a small pot of non descript beans (I think my other half got them from CostCo about two years ago thinking it was a good idea because it said organic on the bag) from the freezer, which had been in there some time. As you say, within seconds of opening them the warm air caused a small amount of condensation to cling to the pot and the beans. I ground them and they came out fluffy no clumps and the grinder seemd very clean with virtually no residue left behind.
Just a thought. Did the moisture forming on the beans have the same effect as the method (shown to be recommended by ROK themselves in a video) where people say to stop beans from suffering from excessive static, dipping a spoon or fork in water and then giving the beans a stir with it before you grind?
Got to admit, I’ve never tried it with my Brasilia which does suffer from a small amount of static. Maybe I should.
James Hoffman did some testing with frozen (and heated) beans. He found that grinding frozen beans creates more fines.
Up to now, I’ve been using a Mazzer Mini, so single dosing hasn’t been a practical option. However, now that my Lagom P-64 is on the way, I’ve been looking more single dose storage.
I was inspired by a comment from DavecUK, many moons ago on The Other Place, suggesting the use of a syringe. It allows you to eliminate any air, other than that between the beans. Also, as the beans degass, the plunger can move to accommodate the extra pressure. If that’s not sufficient, you can also buy one-way valves that screw onto the end relatively cheaply.
I paid £9.99 to 25×60ml syringes and £14.59 for 140 coloured screw-on caps. Having different coloured caps allows me to colour code different beans. It’s hardly a looker, but cheap and hopefully effective.
You want Luer Lock syringes, as these have a standard male thread. Syringes with a slip-on cap are less likely to cope with degassing.
The grey thing in the background is a 3D printed stand for filling.
It looks like it just eliminates all the head space and that seemed to be a good thing….which was my thinking at the time. I’ll be very interested to hear how it pans out.
DavecUK I think they are also called a coffeevac
https://www.tightvac.com/products/tv0-vitavac
When I spoke to the company guy, they are more intended for purchase in the 500s or thousands as a promotional thing…or that was their thinking at the time. In bulk, I think they were quite cheap to purchase.
Group buy, everyone? 😁
Air is the biggest enemy and then light. At least that what I’ve consistently read. I vacuum seal 18g doses. The plastic pouches are food safe and I take them to the local supermarket where there is a special recycling center for food plastics.
Initially I froze the pouches after freezing and calculated that they would easily stay in prime condition for five months.
But my batches rarely last more than 3 weeks and so I have stopped freezing them and simply rely on the vacuum seal and storage in a small carton. Works well.
My problem with airscape type systems is that every time it is opened to grab some beans, fresh air goes in. I’m quite sure its not a problem over a few days and I’m equally convinced, after much testing, that it is an issue over a few weeks.
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tompoland My problem with airscape type systems is that every time it is opened to grab some beans, fresh air goes in. I’m quite sure its not a problem over a few days and I’m equally convinced, after much testing, that it is an issue over a few weeks.
I felt the same which is why in Dec 2019 I started decanting stuff into 18g tightvacs, so I didn’t have to open the airscape so often…it helps a lot.
Buy a vacuum sealer and put one or two days usage in. All I can say is that I am glad I do not have the taste buds that some of you do!
Alternatively would anyone be interested in a group buy on Weber Commercial bean cellars, which might be a valid alternative if the price is right (S&H and tax included of course)
Doram I use those Sainsburys ones for my Aeropress when travelling. They do indeed take about 15g, perfect for AP. I weigh them out on my black mirrors so they’re all equal, then it’s just tip into the Aergrind and off you go.
Home use, I put about 150g+ in the hopper and once a kilo bag is open I put the rest into an Airscape. It gets opened maybe 4-5x before they’re all done.
I’m sure it could be optimised if I had bought 2-3 smaller airscapes but they’re expensive. I would do if I hadn’t already bought the big one. I do have a smaller clear plastic knockoff Airscape type thing I found in TK Maxx that holds maybe 300g which doesn’t really give you the same feeling of quality and is not light proof, but maybe better than opening the big one as often. Not entirely sure I could taste the difference in a blind test though tbh.
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Quick update. My experiment with syringes seems to be going very well. I designed and 3D printed some replacement plungers to be less bulky. A normal syringe plunger has to go all the way down, but mine only need to go as far as the top of the coffee and that’s a reasonably predicatable measurement. The new plunger reuses the rubber cap from the original plunger, so the coffee doesn’t come into contact with the printed plastic.
Coloured screw-on caps allow me to identify the particular beans within.
This morning, I made a small stand to hold a day-and-a-half’s worth. The rest are in the freezer.
Total cost for 50 of these was about £45, including the printer filament.
That is very cool. About the only thing I can think of to improve it would be to cover the syringes so that light doesn’t affect the beans. Whether anyone would notice the difference in real life is debatable, it’s just a theoretical thing as I’ve read that both oxygen and light are bad.
That said, if you kept it in a cupboard rather than the worktop it would be just as good.
wormpurple Nice work, and I think a product that a company or enterprising individual could refine and bring to Market. I would expect this to work far better than those ridiculously priced bean cellars from Weber.
Can I ask a daftie? How do you fill the syringes? That is the bit that always puts me off this type of arrangement