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S6:E10 - Coffee Smarter: Gear Advice · Coffee People Podcast

0:10
Hey, good morning everyone. Welcome to season 6 episode, 10
0:13
of the roast West Coast coffee podcast.
0:16
We're already halfway through the season.
0:19
I'm Ryan Walton. This is the show where I bring
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you the stories of coffee professionals entrepreneurship
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in coffee education. Today is another coffee smarter
0:27
episode featuring Alden. Missouri.
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He is the founder and head roaster of Crossings Coffee
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Roasters and the operator of Cafe litter in Southern
0:35
California. He also consults for coffee
0:38
startups and you can find him on Instagram at Crossings coffee.
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I love chatting with Alden both on and off the show because he
0:45
is always taking into account, the business side of his
0:47
passion, for coffee, as well as his desire to help people enjoy
0:51
their coffee as much as possible.
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It gives him a unique perspective which makes it hard
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for me to ask him to focus on just one side or the other.
0:59
Either. So I don't.
1:02
Today we're going to talk about some of the equipment used to
1:04
make a cup of coffee such as the grinder.
1:07
Scales water kettle, or espresso machine.
1:09
And what you might want to consider before purchasing, for
1:12
either a commercial business or just for at home, my ask is a
1:17
selfish one, as I'm in the market, for some upgrades to my
1:20
own setup, I can let you know that since this chat, I have
1:23
upgraded to a gooseneck water kettle, and I'm going to use it
1:26
right now to brew up a pour-over cup of coffee.
1:29
And you might want to brew a cup of coffee while you're listening
1:32
today too so that you can be assessing your own Coffee Gear.
1:35
While we're all getting coffee Smarter with all the misery of
1:38
Crossings Coffee Roasters and Cafe lechera on this episode of
1:42
the roast West Coast coffee podcast.
2:04
Hailed and welcome back to the roast of West Coast coffee
2:06
podcast. I always wonder if people wonder
2:10
what we talked about before the show comes on, I'm guessing that
2:12
they don't care that much. But in case you were, what we
2:15
were talking about was our last episode and Alden was telling us
2:20
about consistency and keeping coffee, consistent flavor
2:24
profiles for the customers. That's something that has been
2:27
expected of the cafe. Military locations that he's
2:30
operating. So although my question for you
2:32
today to start, which I didn't really prepare you for is, I've
2:37
noticed a lot of coffee shops that are known for consistency
2:40
or that are seeking that same end goal instead of constantly
2:44
rotating through. New single Origins, they offer
2:48
generally offer a house blend of coffee, you know, it's a mixture
2:52
of different beans, which I would presume is because then
2:56
they can control the flavor. File over time.
3:00
So if the if they're blending together 10% of being a and 90%
3:05
of being B and then being B's, you know, this particular batch
3:10
taste differently. They can adjust how much they
3:12
put in and out to get that same flavor profile in my in my
3:17
mistaking on that. Is that a technique that you
3:20
would use as a roaster is that something you've done any
3:23
thoughts on just that as a way to achieve consistency for your
3:27
customers? Yeah, i-i've never really been
3:31
into blending. I absolutely appreciate a good
3:33
blend and I'm not going to lie. I think I fell victims like the
3:37
Trap of like the single origin. You know there's something
3:39
exclusive and special and oh my gosh, there's nothing hiding.
3:43
You can't hide behind a single origin.
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What you see is what you get and you know if it's delivered
3:49
perfectly it's like a serenaded success and that's also a lot of
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pressure for people who really try to ride the single origin
3:55
train and as for blends You know, I think that's definitely
3:59
a terrific way to run your menu, if that's something you choose,
4:03
you can and probably do have much better control over the
4:05
flavor profile of what you're serving.
4:08
And I kind of look at things from a step back and look at how
4:12
much work am I creating for the experience?
4:15
I'm trying to cultivate and I think with Blends it does
4:19
require a little bit more work in like the middle and end of
4:23
the process and and bear with me.
4:24
I'll come full circle here. But for me, Try to keep the same
4:29
flavor profile or same flavor experience throughout the year
4:32
even though my coffees might change quarterly and the way I'm
4:35
able to do that is by sourcing or sampling, a lot more coffees
4:38
on the front end, looking at the tear or looking at the region,
4:42
looking at the varietal of the beans and typically I've
4:46
actually had pretty good success with being like okay.
4:48
Even though this is from a different Farm even though this
4:49
is from like the next Mountain over the varietals are close
4:53
enough, the way that it was processed and the altitude has
4:55
grown at were similar. I know that the soil type Is
4:58
more or less the same. And often times with enough
5:02
different samples, I'll find a coffee that is close enough or
5:05
resembles the coffee that I had, maybe last quarter and so it's a
5:09
little bit more work on the front end, but then I can roast
5:13
it, you know, and maybe change my roast profile a little bit to
5:17
get it to match, what I'm seeking in the end product.
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And then during the entire middle time, when I'm working
5:22
through the stash, that I purchased, I don't have to think
5:25
about Blends. I want to think about, oh, that
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one back. The two bags of this one.
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You know that's 10% of my blunt here is going to run out.
5:31
I need to find another copy that matches that it's less storage.
5:35
It's a little simpler in the during phase and then I can
5:38
start the process again in the end, whereas, with Blends.
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If I'm going to try to create a certain blind, I might be mixing
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two three, four different coffees.
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And that's just two, three, four more different coffees that I
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have to manage and source and keep track of, and oh, this one
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ran out after re-profile, that before blending it back in and
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only now, it tastes a little different.
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Why is that? So I think you do have a little
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more control it with a blend or the flavor you're creating, but
6:02
it does require a little bit more work in the during stage,
6:05
sure to different type of efficiency.
6:07
It is may be suited a little bit more to a larger larger roasting
6:12
scale as well, where you are, have more team members and more
6:15
people to kind of keep on managing that it's easier to
6:18
pass that pass that along. We started our conversation last
6:22
last episode talking about setting up a coffee bar
6:26
efficiently. And how you as a consultant and
6:30
as an operator, go into a space and kind of start to visualize
6:33
things and lay it out. I want to talk a little bit
6:36
about some of the equipment in that space in particular, and
6:40
very selfishly, because I'm looking for both of these items
6:43
right now, I want to ask you what it is.
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You're looking for, in a scale and a kettle and maybe some
6:50
other similar equipment. I'm thinking about Grinders and
6:53
water in a water towers and things like that for me at home.
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You know, I might just be a person making coffee at home and
7:01
I might order something off of Amazon or wherever I shouldn't
7:05
shouldn't or off Amazon. I try to buy as locally from the
7:08
local roaster as much as I can. But but when you're looking for
7:10
equipment, like that, what are you looking for in terms of
7:14
quality and knowing that it will be efficient and I'm thinking
7:18
kind of stuck on the sufficiency track this season, but I'm
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thinking about it in terms of you want something that one
7:24
holds up works the same way every time and Also, you're not
7:29
going to be replacing regularly and also provides, I mean I'm
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just spitballing now, I'm spiraling, I'ma let you take the
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show. So I start maybe with the scale
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where the kettle and you choose and and let me know what it is
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that you do. When you're looking at what it
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is, you're looking for when you're looking for products.
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Yeah, I guess I'd like to specify are these products
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you're asking about for my home or in the shop, so I can give
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you two different answers. Let's hear them both.
7:58
I got time. I don't know about you, but why
8:00
don't we start with the shop? And then we can transition into
8:03
how that's different for what you might be doing at home,
8:07
beautiful? So, with the shop, specifically,
8:10
with the shops that we talked about, in the last episode, you
8:13
know, efficiency is a big part. And one of the, I guess
8:16
ideologies that I tried, keeping in mind with Capulet are, is,
8:19
you know, quality over convenience.
8:21
But not at the sake of convenience.
8:23
I really want to be mindful that were maintaining the experience
8:26
and And high quality product and high quality service experience.
8:29
But that also, people can come because they can come get a
8:32
quick cup of coffee. It's not going to take seven
8:34
minutes or 12 minutes or 15 minutes, that some other shops
8:39
are reported to have taken to deliver a cup of coffee.
8:42
And, you know, one doesn't cancel the other out.
8:45
So I'm looking for equipment that can keep up something
8:48
that's robust, and with most commercial, you know, commercial
8:51
grade espresso equipment, and Shop Equipment, it's built for
8:55
just that, you know, they're built.
8:56
Water towers. It's built to have hot water on
8:58
tap, just about all day, some espresso machines, you know,
9:02
this is where I think you can start getting into, like,
9:05
Mercury water, some espresso machines, might be more for the
9:08
theatrics in the show. Others might be for more like
9:10
just rugged performance and they lose a little bit of that show.
9:13
So, again, it's finding that balance in between what is the
9:18
customer experience? Can be looking like and what is
9:20
the briefs experience can be looking like, you know, what,
9:22
kind I don't want them, you know, fussing around with
9:25
buttons and knobs trying to pull a shot.
9:26
Of espresso, I think automation, especially when you're working.
9:29
One person at a time, is Key now automation, so that you are so
9:33
distance from the product that you don't have as much touch.
9:36
And you know, the artistic Craftsman flare that I think
9:39
people look for when they're going into a specialty coffee
9:42
shop, but having enough automation that frees them up to
9:47
go do something else while a is waiting.
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And so, this task management is something that I, you know, I
9:52
think we touched on a little bit in the last episode and the
9:55
two-week intensive training. But looking for opportunities to
9:58
stack workflows together and equipment that facilitates that
10:02
as well. So for example, one of the
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machines that I use in the Solana Beach shop for the
10:08
espresso machine, it's a machine that has not only Auto
10:11
volumetric properties. Meaning, I can program exactly
10:15
how much water I want to push through the puck the espresso
10:18
Punk at a time so that amount is going to be consistent.
10:21
And in addition it has a really cool feature called pressure
10:24
profiling which basically module Eights ramps up, the pressure of
10:28
of water, being pushed through the puck, over the course of the
10:31
shot. That's not a necessary feature.
10:34
It's just a nice to have not a need to have, but I think the
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audit volumetric is something I would say is a need to have, you
10:41
know, over a full manual machine which requires the briefs that
10:44
await their and time the shot and end it.
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The beautiful thing about Otto volumetrics is because I know
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exactly the temperature of the water being pushed through,
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because I know exactly how much coffee I dosed out into that
10:54
Puck, and because I know exactly the Morality of the water I'm
10:57
pushing through, you know, I've controlled all these different
11:00
variables. The only thing that I can
11:02
control is time. So once I know I've dialed in a
11:06
shot to what tastes how I'm wanting it to taste.
11:10
I know the time range that that shot needs to pull at for it to
11:13
be a successful shot. If it pulls under over, that's
11:16
valuable information. That tells me that something has
11:19
changed, something is off maybe the grind size, maybe the
11:22
humidity in the atmosphere changed.
11:23
Maybe a ray of sunlight has shown through the window and
11:26
Been heating up the Hoppers and all the beans are all little
11:28
expanded and warmer that affects the grind size, you know, so
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you'll see as constantly chasing the shot time throughout the
11:34
entire day. But that's, you know, I think a
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really useful thing for our Bruce has to be aware of, you
11:41
know. Knowing okay, cool.
11:42
Everything is just about set. The only thing, I'm really
11:44
responsible for is managing the grind size.
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That is one less thing that they have to worry about or chase
11:50
after, you know, I think when you start looking at manual
11:53
machines, there's a beautiful art and just being kind of like
11:56
one with Shane and one with the shot, but it opens up so many
12:00
more, I guess, variables, to consider, and that could take
12:04
away from the customer experience like engagement, you
12:07
know, how was your day, what you been up to?
12:08
Oh, how was your appointment last week or so?
12:11
It's good to see your dog at, you know, these other important
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things, you know, I think when you come to a shop, there's an
12:15
intimate relationship, we get to create with each person and each
12:18
Patron. So it's a balance and there's no
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wrong or right balance. It's what are you trying to
12:24
create in your own shop experience and for, for me?
12:26
For Catholics are. It's this particular balance.
12:29
I want more of that engagement with the people that are coming
12:31
to Grace us with their presence and their money.
12:34
So, espresso machine, I'm looking for something, you know,
12:37
as automated as possible but not necessarily super automatic.
12:40
I'm looking for water towers that can keep up with producing
12:43
enough hot water. If I'm doing Americano
12:45
Americano, Americano for the coffee brewer itself, you know,
12:49
I mentioned last last episode. You know, we don't do pour
12:52
overs, we use a fat Co which is basically kind of like an
12:56
automated Ated pour-over. It's like your coffee maker at
12:58
home but on steroids, these are machines that I've used over the
13:02
years and I trust them and it's just an amazing machine.
13:06
That delivers a quality consistent product and, you
13:09
know, consistency is a big part of what we're trying to chase
13:12
after as well. How often are you doing
13:14
maintenance on these things? Sorry I interrupted you are
13:16
going to save grinder, but you know how important is that part
13:20
of it, especially from a coffee shop, budget side of things.
13:26
How do you build that in? So that these hold up over the
13:29
Long Haul when you're you're really constantly hammering them
13:32
repetitively in the shop. Yeah, great question.
13:37
I think a lot of it depends on the manufacturer as well.
13:39
You know not to fall into stereotypes that some
13:41
manufacturers might be better Builder, have higher quality
13:43
than others but I do look at you know what is the repair going to
13:48
look like? What do certain parts cost?
13:49
You know, I can tell you that. Some Italian manufacturers, the
13:52
Jets that they use on their specimen.
13:53
Sheen's are much smaller state And to get clogged you learn
13:57
more easily that could lead into more frequent repair trips from
14:01
the espresso mechanic. If we don't do our, you know,
14:04
cleaning every night like, we're supposed to some other
14:07
manufacturers might use different size Jets, so they
14:10
might be, you know, be more easily manufactured.
14:12
They might be cheaper to replace, oh, but maybe there
14:16
aren't as many technicians in there, that know how to service
14:18
that kind of machine. You know, and that I'm making an
14:21
assumption, that's just a generalization.
14:23
But these are the questions that I would encourage you to ask
14:24
yourself and looking into Or even just reaching out to me.
14:28
I'm happy to explore that with anyone but looking at, you know,
14:31
what is that cleaning schedule? Look like and what are the
14:33
repair visits look like. What do part replacement look
14:35
like? Is this part even accessible, or
14:37
is it so obscure have to wait, three weeks for it to be custom
14:40
milled and shipped from Italy? You know, these are all things
14:44
to take into consideration. Yeah, I think I try to budget,
14:48
you know, time for quarterly repairs.
14:52
Even if there's not necessarily anything wrong, you just have
14:55
someone kind of come look. At the machines and make sure
14:57
that everything every nut is tightened.
14:59
And every, you know, everything that should be looked at is give
15:03
it a once-over. Kind of like a doctor's visit
15:06
sure. It's like I getting an oil
15:07
change in your car. Everything seems to be running
15:10
fine, but you do it anyway, to extend the life of the car and I
15:13
would say many commercial espresso machines, cost, as much
15:17
as a car at this point. Absolutely.
15:19
Certainly used to kind of not a new car.
15:23
What about at home? Like I'm looking.
15:26
I knew Kettle at home and I've been reading a bunch of articles
15:29
online, that show me these fancy gooseneck, water kettles, the
15:33
kettle. I have now is just a glass
15:36
kettle, I hit the button, it heats up the water, and then I
15:39
pour it out of the regular old spout.
15:41
What do you recommend for people at home?
15:45
So I would say this is kind of where I get to speak, you know,
15:47
my my soapbox because for me, it's like, there's a beautiful
15:50
ritual and creating that cut for yourself.
15:52
You know, what are the important touch points for you?
15:55
Is it measuring? Is it smelling?
15:56
Is it the visual appeal? Is it the timing of it?
16:00
You know, what are the touch points that you want to focus?
16:03
You know, and I think this word is for some reason, feels a
16:06
little taboo for me to say but like, what's your pleasure?
16:08
You know, like what brings you the most pleasure in in that
16:12
part of your routine and that part of your ritual, you know,
16:14
for me personally, Personally it's it's like the Deep dive
16:17
into the science. Like how do I get as granular
16:20
with my experience that I'm trying to create as possible?
16:22
What variables can I control to make this or heightened this
16:25
experience in every which way and depending on what you brew
16:29
on at home that might change. So for me, if you're going to
16:32
be, I'm going to be doing a pour-over of some sort, a
16:36
gooseneck is going to be advantageous because it gives
16:39
you much better control over the flow of the water out of the
16:41
kettle. Additionally, I would say things
16:44
like temperature. All are going to be really
16:45
important, some of the cheaper machines out there, they might
16:48
give you, you know, buttons for, you know, 180 to 190 for 2022
16:54
11:50. And even though that's that's
16:58
might be enticing to some people thermal stability is actually
17:01
really difficult. You know, you've got these
17:04
positive negative feedback systems built into the circuitry
17:07
of the water kettle and depending on the Range that it's
17:09
programmed to start the boiler up again or a cut the boiler
17:12
off, you're not actually getting During the exact temperature
17:16
reading on that button on some of these machines other
17:19
machines, they might have more money invested into the
17:22
fabrication of that instrument and you'll have a much tighter
17:25
control. There are some kettles out there
17:28
that let you kind of control on a dial.
17:30
Exactly the temperature you want.
17:32
And in my experience, my field testing I find that these
17:35
machines tend to be a little bit more accurate with how hot or
17:39
not hot the water I'm boiling is going to be and sometimes they
17:43
can be nicer to whole nicer. Touch just nicer to look at they
17:46
look beautiful sitting on your counter if that's important to
17:48
you, that might be nice to have, you know?
17:52
And then you look at things. It doesn't answer your question
17:54
by the way. It does.
17:56
I think, I mean, obviously, everyone's going to have
17:58
different priorities. I think, you know, for me, a lot
18:01
of the equipment that I use at home, which is accumulated over
18:07
the last several years, but a lot of it, I bought early on, in
18:11
my coffee journey, I wasn't ready to skip to that next
18:13
level, where I was spending more money or I was, I didn't know
18:17
what I wanted, so I just kind of bought whatever works, you know,
18:21
whatever I felt comfortable using and then learn to work
18:25
within that. System.
18:26
So like my water kettle doesn't have that same thermometer, just
18:29
boils the water. I bought a little thermometer
18:33
and I'll check my water occasionally or I'll make sure
18:35
that I'm still kind of falling with those ranges.
18:37
I don't do it every day because at home, it's not important to
18:41
me necessarily every day. And I'm at an interesting point
18:45
now where most of my equipment that I have is pretty worn out,
18:50
like I need to replace the stuff.
18:52
I have a kind of a, just a cheap basic scale that I Is to measure
18:56
my grind. My grinder is works fine for the
19:00
most part, but it's definitely an entry-level grinder.
19:04
And I'd like to improve it, especially as I've become, it's
19:08
like it's like a double-edged sword.
19:09
I'm now better able to taste coffee and so then I noticed
19:13
those differences more on what the equipment I have.
19:16
If I would have never learned that Alden life would be peachy
19:20
I would have never thought about buying something more expensive
19:22
or nicer. I'm glad that I did but it's
19:25
also, you know. Now I'm dealing with this.
19:28
This very first world, emotional problem.
19:30
Yeah, you know, so I'm in that position now where I'm trying to
19:34
decide do I want to do this next level investment?
19:37
Do I want to which of these things matter more to me?
19:41
You know, if I were is it more important that I get?
19:43
The right Kettle is a more important that I get the good
19:46
grinder, is it more important that you know, all these
19:48
different things? Ultimately Yes, I should, you
19:53
know, it's great to get all that stuff, but I think it's also
19:56
more important to to decide what kind of experience I want at
20:00
home. Which is kind of something you
20:01
touched on early on. And for me, when I'm at home, I
20:07
like making the coffee. And I like sitting in my chair
20:09
and drinking it and, you know, scrolling the news or just
20:12
sitting outside and watching the hummingbirds if I feel so
20:15
inclined. But I'm not as concerned about
20:19
the Perfection of the coffee at home.
20:21
It's just not. That's not what it's there for
20:23
for me. I tend to go if I'm ready to go
20:27
and I really want to get that perfect cup of coffee.
20:30
I'll go to one of the many great shops in my community, and let
20:33
them spend all the money on the nice espresso machine, you know,
20:36
and, and, and that's just, that's just me.
20:39
I have a very close friend, who loves coffee.
20:41
Does his own roasting at home, and he has a really fancy
20:44
espresso machine. I love going over there and
20:46
having one But I'm not going to do that.
20:48
And part of that is relates back to a lot of the things we've
20:51
been talking about our last couple weeks space and
20:54
efficiency. I have a very small Galley
20:56
kitchen, there's only so much room for all this equipment.
20:59
So size is important. So yeah, I would say that
21:02
answers, my question, I guess I would kind of close out this
21:06
episode by asking you. If you were to kind of place a
21:10
level of importance, if you can on at home equipment, which
21:15
which things do you think it's more important to go for the
21:18
thing that, you know, is, is doing the most effective job?
21:21
And which things do you think maybe you can, you know, shuffle
21:25
into the edges? If your goal is to create a
21:29
high-quality cup of coffee? I think the most important
21:32
thing, most important thing I would encourage you to invest in
21:36
as a grinder that grind How the Burrs are breaking up those
21:41
beans. That's going to be, that's going
21:43
to create the greatest impact on your overall cup and grinders
21:47
get expensive, really, really quick.
21:49
And I would encourage you to really take a look at what kind
21:55
of budget you can swing. Because for the most part you do
21:59
get what you pay for. I think there's a lot of like
22:01
theatrics and Fantastical features and aesthetic that can
22:04
really drive that price up. So looking at the core features
22:07
and This might be even be another episode but looking at
22:10
like Burr type and what the Burr composition is like these can
22:14
all be things. You can kind of cut through the,
22:17
it's not bullshit. But cut through all of like the
22:21
ribbons and Beauty things and look at the core fundamentals.
22:25
What this what is this machine delivering?
22:27
Okay cool. Checks that box checks that box.
22:29
Great may not be the prettiest to look at but functionally this
22:32
thing is Sublime. After the grinder.
22:36
I'd say the next important thing is going to be your water
22:38
kettle. You know, looking at how is that
22:40
going to be boiling? Your water?
22:41
What kind of thermal stability can I expect out of this?
22:44
I mean, how I mean just to recap way back when I first started, I
22:47
bought my first gooseneck Kettle.
22:49
It was a hairy. Oh, you know the generic it was
22:51
the most affordable when I could find, you boil it over a stove,
22:55
but I had grabbed like a meat thermometer to try to check my
22:58
water temperature and I got it down to a science where I know
23:00
if I got the water boiling at pull it off.
23:02
Wait 30 seconds swirl it for 45 seconds and usually right around
23:05
by that point, it was at the perfect, you know, pour over
23:08
time. Mature for me.
23:09
And so I was like, okay cool, I'm okay with investing that
23:11
much working to get in the water temperature, just right, I still
23:14
have my gooseneck, you know, poor capabilities.
23:18
Great. I'm all set.
23:20
And now I'm just like, oh man, screw that.
23:22
Like, I'm so happy to push that button.
23:24
Let it get up to temperature exactly where I need it and I'm
23:27
fine. But Grinder first water kettle.
23:30
S s for scale. Scales are cheap.
23:32
You know, I honestly, I use a standard generic scale.
23:36
You know, I think it measures 2.1, you know, I have Apple
23:39
weights that I can use to calibrate just to make sure it's
23:42
staying true. But for me, I don't have a high
23:44
value on like the scales that like auto start and have a
23:47
built-in timer. And can you know, reset when I
23:50
start pouring water in, these are really fun features.
23:53
And if that's something that excites you, I'd say, maybe
23:55
that's something you invest in over a really nice Kettle.
23:58
But for me, a simple scale does the trick.
24:01
I've got my phone, I can start my timer manually and then, you
24:05
know, this all of this could change or maybe not.
24:08
Depending on how you like to brought home, you know, you
24:10
said, you have a regular standard Kettle without a
24:14
gooseneck. So, I mean, if your Preferred
24:16
Choice in Brewing is like a French press, you know, or like
24:20
a, an arrow, press the gooseneck might be a little, you know,
24:24
excessive, you know, you may not need like the the pinpoint
24:26
accuracy being able to put the water where you want to the
24:29
standard settlement work, just fine.
24:31
But if you like doing, you know, any number of the different pore
24:34
over options that are out there that gooseneck might be of
24:37
Greater importance. After that, I would say,
24:41
probably your water quality is going to be another really big,
24:44
big step. You know.
24:45
I think if you're at home hopefully you have access to
24:47
good clean. Drinking water and the rabbit
24:50
hole goes as far down as you want to with water because I
24:53
mean coffee is over 98% water and the chemistry going into the
24:57
extraction of how those minerals interact with the extraction
25:01
process is like still being discovered to this day, but the
25:05
closer you can get to like reverse osmosis water.
25:08
Generally Puts you in the vein of water that is going to be
25:10
best suited to the coffee or trying to brew at home.
25:13
Sure, actually. I had a really interesting
25:15
comment on a recent newsletter, Post in, which I was talking
25:19
about how the coffee's that I was making at camp this summer.
25:24
You know, weren't tasting as good as the ones I make at home
25:27
with the better grinder. And somebody was like, well, hey
25:30
maybe remember that like your water could have been different
25:32
in all these different places we were at which point I had to
25:36
admit that I brought seven gallons of filtered water from
25:39
home with me on the trip so that the water would be the same.
25:43
Warnock because on the psychopath in some, some ways
25:48
when I'm at home, and it's just for anyone listening, I use
25:51
water from the sink out of the faucet, but we do filter it
25:54
through Brita filter and I know that it's going to be roughly
25:58
similar every time but it does change when I have.
26:02
Like, I recently bought a bag of coffee down in Encinitas, not
26:05
from your shop, I apologize but a nearby shop and I had a cup of
26:11
coffee while I was there the same being say.
26:13
I'm batch same everything, and it does taste different at home,
26:16
but it is because I'm using different equipment.
26:18
I am, their water is going to be filtered differently than mine.
26:21
You know, my grinder is going to be a little bit different than
26:23
theirs, all those little factors will change, you know,
26:29
ultimately the taste of your, your cup of coffee and what I've
26:33
learned from six seasons of the show, is that there are so many
26:38
fucking variables Alden. Yeah, you could you could spend
26:43
Whole life, perfecting something.
26:45
And you know if the humidity changes that day it'll change
26:50
and that's part of the joy as well as knowing and being able
26:55
to accommodate. And that's where I think.
26:59
Operators and Roasters like you and some of our other great
27:02
guests show, real, real skill and real talent is you're not
27:06
only learning the mechanics of how to do something, you're
27:09
learning how to adjust in the moment.
27:11
And that, I think for anyone listening, who's maybe looking
27:14
at opening a cafe, or has thought about that, I think
27:17
everyone in the world is told me at some point that they want to
27:20
open a bar, a coffee shop. I mean, that's just I think a
27:23
natural thing. People love that Community.
27:25
These are all that, that's what separates, you know.
27:29
Making my coffee at home, from being able to do it.
27:32
You know, professionally is, it's not just the mechanics,
27:36
it's the knowing how to adjust on the fly in the moment.
27:39
Well, you know, the bathroom is flooding.
27:43
Yeah, practice makes perfect. And then once you get perfect,
27:46
perfect, practice keeps perfect in practice.
27:50
The rabbit hole goes as far down as you want to go.
27:52
It's like the more attuned we get to the different variables.
27:55
Suddenly It's A Whole New World and all these micro variables
27:57
affect the larger variables. And You're constantly in the
28:00
chase so it's constantly like a puzzle constant like a Rubik's
28:03
Cube turning over seeing. What else is going to pop up?
28:05
And yeah sometimes the bathroom flood sometimes power goes out
28:08
sometimes just the who knows what happens and so there's kind
28:12
of like a thrill and like the dynamic system of your day, you
28:15
know, it you you get through it, the day passes, you get through
28:18
it, you're fine and you live to see another day in the thrill of
28:23
the chase. You lived a brew.
28:25
Another cup of coffee before I let you go.
28:29
One, thank you for coming back on the show and spending your
28:31
very valuable time with me. But to, I know that you are
28:36
making coffee for yourself and tasting coffee for the shops and
28:40
everything. Is there anything that you're
28:42
excited about right now? Or you've been really enjoying
28:44
especially with Crossings coffee?
28:47
Which if I'm not mistaken, Crossings coffee.com, or is it
28:50
Crossings Coffee Roasters, not calm Crossings coffee.com or
28:55
even Crossings.com. Perfect.
28:58
I mean is there anything that you've been trying lately that
29:00
you like man? This is a pretty pumped about
29:02
this. I'm excited to share it.
29:05
Yes and still hashing out a few details of before I get ahead of
29:11
myself and and promise something I can't deliver, I encourage you
29:15
all to stay tuned. Follow us on Instagram, visit
29:18
the website. I will post and scream from the
29:21
rooftops once. It's ready?
29:24
Yes, we've got a number of really exciting things in the
29:27
pipeline. I'm so excited to share with
29:28
everyone. Well, I will link to those as
29:33
well and I'll look for your text to give me a heads up so I can
29:36
get it first before everyone else called and thank you for
29:41
coming back and being on the show for helping us, get coffee
29:43
smarter and just for that wonderful.
29:46
Deep voice that you're sharing with all of us.
29:49
Mmm, thank you for having me Ryan so good to see you was that
29:54
was such a pornographic. Life is so fun.
30:12
Okay, to recap, the rabbit hole goes down.
30:16
As far as you want it to go. That is as much a carrot as it
30:20
is a stick. It can be hard to stop
30:22
researching and improving your Coffee Gear.
30:25
Once you've started, it's important to do a self
30:27
assessment to determine which parts of the experience of
30:30
making coffee. They make you happy.
30:33
Are you concerned only about quality only about your user
30:36
experience, or automation or design which combination of
30:40
those things are important to you?
30:42
How are you prioritizing, your gear needs?
30:45
And what is the budget that you're working with in, in a
30:48
commercial setting automation can help free up Baristas to be
30:51
more efficient by enabling one Alden refers to as stacking
30:55
workflow at home. You can be less concerned about
30:58
automation, if you'd rather be more Hands-On.
31:01
On or budget-friendly for the more heavily used equipment in
31:05
Your Arsenal, don't forget to research the maintenance
31:07
involved, and what repairs might cost, should they be needed?
31:11
I'd say that. Goes double for espresso
31:13
machines. An easy way to, not only save
31:16
money but improve your cup of coffee, use to measure your
31:20
grinds scales. That measure to the grammar
31:22
often cheap and available. The one I've been using for over
31:25
a year cause me about 15 bucks and shorter the battery needing
31:29
to be replaced, or dumping a cup of Coffee on it.
31:32
It should last quite a while by measuring my coffee grounds and
31:35
my water, I'm making a more efficient cup of coffee.
31:38
That will actually taste better and be less wasteful filtering.
31:43
Your water can also improve the flavor profile of your coffee.
31:46
A simple British style filter can help create an added
31:49
consistency and remove some of the less enjoyable minerals that
31:52
impact your cup of coffee. You can, of course, take that
31:55
even further by employing better filters, or starting with
31:58
distilled water, and adding a packet of coffee.
32:01
Pacific minerals that isn't as important to me, so I don't do
32:05
that at home, but if you're someone who would does matter to
32:07
feel free to invite me over sometime, as far as at home
32:10
equipment, the grinder is one of the most important things to
32:13
invest in, to ensure a better cup of coffee.
32:16
I'll link to a deep dive we did on Grinders with Chris O'Brien
32:19
of coffee cycle. Roasting way back in the early
32:21
days of this show in this episode's newsletter on roast
32:24
westcoast.com. And finally, we have a new vocab
32:28
work today thermal stability, which in this case refers to the
32:33
condition of being thermostable. Meaning, your water kettle is
32:36
physically or chemically unaffected by a high
32:38
temperature. That's it for this week's
32:41
episode of the show. If you have thoughts questions
32:43
or ideas for a future coffee smarter episode, please send
32:46
them to me on Instagram at roast West Coast or head to roast
32:50
westcoast.com and leave a comment on any of the newsletter
32:53
posts. While you're there.
32:55
Subscribe, this is a Center and reader supported show and your
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subscriptions help us continue to grow and improve this
33:02
program. Some of our listeners and guests
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have become roast industry. Partners Cafe letters, one of
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them as our coffee cycle, roasting ignite Coffee Company.
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Cape Horn, coffee, importers Camp, coffee company, and
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steady-state coffee. Roasting.
33:19
Thank you all for listening and supporting the show.
33:21
I'll be back next week with an interview with Andrew Scott.
33:24
The founder and head roaster of inflection.
33:26
And coffee, which he runs out of his garage in San Diego, it is a
33:30
great conversation. So be sure to follow this show
33:33
on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss it.
33:36
This episode of the roast West Coast coffee podcast is was has
33:40
been written produced and recorded by me Ryan Walt.
33:43
I hope this episode is found you happy healthy and with at least
33:46
enough sanity to make it through the day, always tip your
33:50
Baristas and be sure to drink a coffee.