The chicory gives it that bitterness. That’s why you need the “lait” (in New Orleans) or the condensed milk of a Vietnamese iced coffee.
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I mean sure, if there was room beside all the berries …
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Ok, @brisket44 , it’s been nearly a year. Do you notice any difference? I have an ancient Capresso that may be nearing end of life, or is at least close enough that I am thinking of the inevitable new grinder. The Baratza Encore being the logical choice, I would value your insights greatly. Of course anyone else with similar comparisons is invited to chime in on this most serious matter.
That’s a significant improvement over the Baratza! So annoying.
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Yes, and I don’t mind it but I don’t think the coffee is that great overall. It’s been a couple months since I’ve had it and I have one unopened can, I’ll reassess again.
Around August last year, those Baratzas were 20% off everywhere. I had it on my Camel watch. Then, I remembered my birthday $25 off in November so I called W-S and asked them about the current sale and if they will go on sale again around Black Friday. They didn’t know so I took a chance and waited. Not only did the Baratza not go on sale Black Friday, but the entire Christmas season they were regular price. I was peeved. I looked around, kept going back to the Oxo, thought about my needs and not going the way of espresso at home (I was thinking about the Flairs), went for Moka pots instead. When I used the antique grinder, I had found a plastic liner to put in the wood drawer but the coffee clings terrible. I still use the plastic liner in the drawer, but I dump the coffee into a stainless steel mixing bowl after as I also noticed coffee clings to ceramic as well. That stainless cup really was a selling point to me, plus this grinder isn’t as tall and I was getting bellows either way. I got the Oxo for $55 or something close so it was a lighter on the wallet. I checked the grinds on the dial and they seem to be consistent. It has suited my needs fine for how I make my coffee.
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I love it - should have bought one years ago! The grind is much more consistent and less fine/silty grounds. I use it 3-4 times a week. I’m purely an iced coffee drinker (well 98% of the time), using a Chemex with paper filter so I don’t vary the grind, but you can make it coarser or finer.
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Many thanks.
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And the color looks great on those soapstone countertops!
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When Baratza upgraded their Maestro grinder into what became the Encore (around 2008?) they branded a version for Starbucks and named it the “Barista” grinder. (This replaced Starbucks’ previous “Barista” grinder made by Solis (model 166), which I bought as my first “real” (ie, burr) grinder.) At that time Baratza was also selling returns at a 30% discount under their Refurbs program. I bought one for my dad in 2009 ($75!) and he used it for about 4 years until we had to move him to assisted care. I found out then that he had dropped it at some point and had broken the motor frame. I brought it home and contacted Baratza for replacement parts (new motor frame, new rubber funnel collar, and new lid; total cost around $40). The modular design made replacement simple to do. I’m still using that Encore/Barista today for moka, drip, Melitta/Chemex, Keurig refillable pods, and French press. They also have an internal (under the housing) adjustment for grind range. The coarse setting wasn’t coarse enough for French press, so I adjusted the internal setting to make it coarser.
Fast-forward to 1-1/2 yrs ago. I was looking for new grinders for my sister and daughter. I had a bunch of credit card points and got them both a Capresso Grind Select. One arrived damaged (the upper ceramic burr had dislodged during shipping and chewed up the inside of the bean hopper). Since it was a Xmas gift, I asked for a replacement and an RMA to return the damaged grinder. They told me to throw it away!! It still worked, so I decided to try it out myself. It’s reasonably compact – more so than the Encore – and I took it with me last summer on a road trip from Colorado to the Olympic Peninsula and back. For a $50 grinder, it worked surprisingly well! It won’t replace my Baratza, but I’ll continue to use it as a road-trip grinder.
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A very light mist of water will quell the static. (I splash my fingers with a bit of water and then stir the beans, which also works)
Simple static solution
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Cool, thanks! I will try that with the antique grinder that has half of a Clinique plastic flat box in the drawer. I’ve been thinking about ditching the liner and just going with the wood but I’ll try this.
ETA: This video explains even more, this is a very useful tip I had no idea, claiming even less coffee hung up in the grinder, too. I went from ground coffee in Mr. Coffee standard maker to Tassimo to all this.
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I will say that you have to be careful about the amount of water you use. Very, very little is required to reduce/eliminate static. I’ve tried several different methods over the years, and if you use a bit too much then the bean grinds can get stuck/gummed-up onto the grinding burrs.
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I add a little aquavit. Valhalla Coffee
Nothing nearly as fancy as your setup, I just grind Trader Joe’s medium roast at home and make it in a simple drip machine. I’ve been toying with getting a pour-over setup though, since I like the idea of having a little more control over the flavor.
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