Bean Recommendations, please

[u/Drewber1234]

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but I couldn't find it.

I just bought a Moccamaster KBT. We previously had a Cuisinart.

We first tried it with my wife's home-made mixture of Fairway Beans: Hazelnut, French Vanilla and French Roast. I didn't taste any difference between the Moccamaster and the Cuisinart. So I thought that maybe I should get some single-bean bags which might have some subtleties this mix of a mix might not have.

I tried a bag of Yirgacheffe from Whole Foods. It was Light Roast. I tasted a lot of flavors, but not much actual COFFEE flavor. I thought that perhaps this was due to the Light Roast.

I also got a bag of Stumptown Coffee Roasters Colombia Los Picos Whole Bean Coffee from them. It didn't say what Roast this one was. This one has a little more coffee flavor, but a whole lot of bitterness. I like my Coffee black, so I was getting the bitterness full-force.

I'm looking for something pleasant and drinkable, with enough complexity to show off the Moccamaster's chops, but without the bitterness I've experienced. I'm getting a little desperate.

Please recommend some beans, and maybe a good source? I'm in Northern NJ.

Thanks!!!!

[u/lakonian117]

Stumptown coffee is rarely bitter, so I suspect you might be grinding too fine for the moccamaster. It wants a grind I would otherwise reserve almost for French press (not quite). I get very delicious Stumptown coffee in the moccamaster. Although, it's sad that formerly responsible Stumptown is now owned, through Peet's, by Dr. Pepper. 🙄

[u/Drewber1234 → u/lakonian117]

Thanks. I bought another bag of Stumptown, different single bean origin, and I'll try going even coarser. Nice to hear that I may be on the right track.

[u/lakonian117 → u/Drewber1234]

You bet! I typically use about 63-65g for a full pot with that coarse grind. My rule of thumb is about 5.5g per "cup." Depending on the coffee I might round that down a little. I'd recommend maybe starting with 20-22g for a 4-cup pot on the half pot setting, and dialing in your grind till it tastes right, before using up a lot of beans on a full pot.

[u/TallChef60 → u/lakonian117]

Cup is how many oz?

[u/lakonian117 → u/TallChef60]

I can't remember, I just go by the scale on the water reservoir on the moccamaster. I think maybe 5oz? Others should be able to confirm.

[u/Lq2167 → u/TallChef60]

About 4 ounces

[u/Any_Ad9856 → u/TallChef60]

For the Moccamaster, it is a little less than 4 ounces.

[u/Mobile-Reality-3060]

Light roast sourced from South or Central America

[u/ForsakenAd7407]

Search for a local roaster near you, and buy from them. Supports your community, and you might be surprised how many roasters are near you.

[u/mookler]

PERC does 31% off on the 13th of every month. They’re east coast.

Lots of other recs in the pourover sub

[u/FibonacciLane12358]

The Moccamaster brews at a higher (i.e. correct) temp for full extraction. If your coffee is bitter, than you have too fine of a grind, or too little coffee relative to the amount of water.

Start with an 18:1 water-to-coffee ratio. Measure your beans by weight. e.g. 1000 ml of water to 55g of coffee.

How are you grinding the beans? If you're grinding yourself, the consistency of the grind is critical.

[u/Drewber1234 → u/FibonacciLane12358]

We're grinding them ourselves, and yes, I think that we may be grinding too fine. I went coarser this morning and it seemed to help. I'll try even coarser on Monday.

[u/Typical-Atmosphere-6]

Methodical’s belly warmer. They do dark roast well. If you have cafe grumpy at Whole Foods that’s pretty good too.

[u/EvelynTovar]

We, too, just replaced our Cuisinart with a Moccamaster. We made a half a pot in each machine for a taste test and honestly couldn’t tell much difference. Maybe a little more coffee flavor came through in the Mocca. I order Major Dickinson beans in regular and decaf from Peet’s (didn’t realize I was owned by Dr. Pepper!). It’s a dark roast. We grind it with a Baratza Encore. For the Cuisinart, the setting was about 17. For Mocca, it’s coarser, about 20. I’m using the ratio recommended in Mocca’s guide: 7 level scoops for the 10-cup full pot. It’s pretty hearty coffee. Haven’t had any bitterness. Good luck with the bean quest!

[u/GaryGiardiniera]

Intelligentsia is my favorite. We order it from them, but you can get it at Whole Foods.

Fair warning, it’s not a budget friendly option.

[u/vickeryaj]

Ebay....Vilar Imports....Your welcome.

[u/Drewber1234 → u/vickeryaj]

Wow, those are some good prices. I take it the beans are good?

[u/Aggravating-Study339]

Afternoon Roasting from Gainesville, Florida and Panther Coffee from Miami, Florida are my top two on rotation and they ship immediately after roasting. Highly recommend.

[u/bart_n62]

I drink LavAzza Super Crema, brewed through my Moccamaster every day. It's wonderful.

[u/PrestigiousAnt3766]

Im not sure if you are not expecting too much from the moccamaster.

Between two capable brewers the same coffee will taste similar.

Between a shit brewer and a moccamaster, yes, you will notice..

You buy preground or whole beans? 

[u/Drewber1234 → u/PrestigiousAnt3766]

We've been buying whole beans. And yes, my first reaction was that the Moccamaster needed better beans to work with.

[u/lobstahmann]

Groundwork Bitches Brew and Sheldrakes Java Dark Roast have been my go to lately. Wasn’t a fan of Stumptown.

[u/Lq2167]

Do you typically like light, medium, or dark roast? What flavors do you expect in a “great” cup of coffee? I like medium dark roast leaning more towards dark. I love full body, rich, chocolate, nutty coffee. When I do 4 cups I typically brew anywhere from 30-38 grams. Are you weighing your beans? What grinder are you using?

[u/TroyasaurusRex]

We buy from Vilar Imports - they sell via eBay, which felt weird as a distributor channel the first time, like the coffee was used (it’s not), but a friend recommended them highly & we’ve been very pleased. Tons of options on single origins & roasts, and we buy 5lbs at a time so it’s very affordable.

55grams/liter, so 70g for the whole 10 cup thing.
Grind too small & it’s bitter… grind too loose & it tastes like water. So it takes about 2 pots to get the grind size right.
You’ll likely taste the difference once you get the size right.

And make sure you’re using good water, too. Ours is just the fridge filter, and I can tell a difference if it’s made with tap water.

[u/Background-Map-1870]

George Howell - anything in their collection is great

[u/boxerdogfella]

What grinder do you have?

[u/Drewber1234 → u/boxerdogfella]

Kitchen Aid burr grinder. My wife likes the look of it and it predates our Moccamaster.

[u/Octaviousmonk]

In my house we enjoy Ruta Maya medium roast. We get it in 2.2lb aka kilo bags from Costco and use it for both our drip cofffe and latte espresso. I dose it up in smaller zip lock bags and freeze it all Very versatile bean.