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The Best Small Roaster for Hands-Off Coffee Lovers

Feb

Coffee FactsBullet, California, Father, Fluid, Kaleido

The Best Small Roaster for Hands-Off Coffee Lovers

Real talk: If you’re eyeing roasting as a side hustle but crave minimal effort, fluid bed roasters are your secret weapon. These machines automate temperature control and airflow, letting you focus on sourcing beans rather than micromanaging the roast. But the question remains: are they worth it? Fluid bed roasters like the Nucleus Link and Ikawa are engineered for precision, using hot air to evenly roast beans. They’re less hands-on than drum roasters, which require constant stirring. However, both models are tiny—perfect for samples but not scalable for a side business. The Nucleus Link, for instance, roasts 2–5 lbs at…

Craft Roasting for Specialty Coffee: Why It Matters

Feb

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsFather, Specialty

Craft Roasting for Specialty Coffee: Why It Matters

There’s something brewing in the quiet corners of the coffee world—a growing demand for roasting education that dares to prioritize craft over scale. While mainstream programs focus on efficiency and consistency, a niche movement is emerging around small-batch roasting, lighter profiles, and the intricate dance between terroir and processing. For enthusiasts who crave depth over volume, this isn’t just a trend—it’s a rebellion against homogenization. The craft approach hinges on understanding how a bean’s origin shapes its potential. Terroir—the combination of soil, climate, and altitude—dictates flavor notes, acidity, and body, while processing methods like natural or honey drying introduce layers…

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsEthiopian, Father, French, Post, This

Why That Roast Flattened in the Cup

The verdict is in: a roast that shone in cupping can vanish in the cup. This week, a Guji Ethiopian roast—roasted to 20% with a drop temp of 212°C—delivered bold blueberry and milk chocolate notes in the cupping, only to fade into blandness when brewed as a French press. The mystery? A perfect storm of timing, technique, and chemistry. Roasting is just the first act. Post-roast, beans need time to degas, releasing CO2 trapped during the process. If you brew too soon, the gas escapes during extraction, leaving a flat, underdeveloped cup. This roast was cupped Tuesday, brewed Wednesday—just a…

The Sumatran Roast Dilemma: When Darkness Turns Sour

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsFather, Sumatran, Ugandan

The Sumatran Roast Dilemma: When Darkness Turns Sour

Here’s a conundrum that’s leaving even seasoned roasters scratching their heads: Sumatran beans, once a reliable favorite, are now throwing curveballs at the dark roast stage. The issue isn’t just about timing—it’s about control, chemistry, and the delicate balance between heat and flavor. When roasting Sumatran beans to medium/dark levels, the beans seem to race past the desired window, leaving roasters with oily, smoky results that feel more like a disaster than a triumph. The problem starts with the second crack—a telltale sign that the beans are nearing their dark roast destiny. But here’s the catch: pulling at the exact…

The Yunnan Menglian Red Honey Roast: A Quiet Powerhouse?

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsAlfred, But, Father, Honey, Yunnan

The Yunnan Menglian Red Honey Roast: A Quiet Powerhouse?

Consider this your morning briefing: A rare bean from the Yunnan highlands is quietly defying expectations. The China Premium Yunnan Menglian Red Honey, roasted by Burmans Roast, delivers a caramel-toffee profile with a sharp lemon-lime finish—but at a price. The roast, done to 12% weight loss on an SR800 with OEM ext tube, leans into bright notes, yet the result feels subdued. Is this a flaw or a feature? The bean’s character is paradoxical. On the surface, it’s smooth and approachable, with a sweetness that lingers like a well-aged wine. But beneath that, there’s a quiet tension. The lemon-lime finish…

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsFather, Fermentation, Nicaraguan, Sourdough, This

Sourdough Fermentation Elevates Coffee’s Flavor Profile

This experiment redefined coffee tasting notes. By roasting a Nicaraguan washed coffee alongside its sourdough-fermented counterpart, the results were striking. The sourdough version dominated with bold, unexpected flavors—fig newton sweetness, Concord grape jelly brightness, and a tea-like body that lingered. Its finish carried smooth red wine tannins, a direct nod to the yeast-driven fermentation process. The washed coffee, while clean and chocolatey, felt flat in comparison. Fermentation transforms coffee’s chemistry. Sourdough’s wild yeast and lactic acid create compounds that amplify fruitiness and reduce acidity. In this case, the process softened the coffee’s structure, making it feel almost effervescent. The sourdough…

The $1200 Espresso Dilemma: Choosing the Right Machine for a Busy Family

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsCasabrews, Father, Now

The $1200 Espresso Dilemma: Choosing the Right Machine for a Busy Family

Consider this your morning briefing: Two parents, two toddlers, and a caffeine-fueled morning routine that’s testing even the most dedicated espresso lovers. After a year of relying on a ~$100 Casabrew, you’ve finally decided to invest in something that can keep up with your daily grind. Now, with a stack of gift cards and a budget stretching toward $1200, you’re weighing options that promise better extraction, faster prep, and fewer mornings spent chasing steam. The question isn’t just about machines—it’s about balancing performance, practicality, and the chaos of early parenting. Your priorities are clear: speed, consistency, and a machine that…

Grind Settings Aren’t Just About the Machine

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsFather, Philos

Grind Settings Aren’t Just About the Machine

If you're wrestling with your Mazzer Philos grind settings, you’re not alone. The machine’s reputation for precision is matched only by its demand for finesse. The user’s dilemma—stalling shots below 35 with beans ranging from fresh to eight weeks old—highlights a critical truth: grind settings are a balancing act between machine specs and coffee variables. The Philos’ 189 burrs are engineered for consistency, but even the best hardware can’t compensate for misaligned expectations. The issue here isn’t the machine’s capability—it’s the interplay between grind coarseness, extraction time, and bean condition. When the user tried dialing below 35, the shots stalled,…

Mastering the Grind: A Coffee Enthusiast’s Upgrade Journey

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee Factsacidity, Breville, Father, Profitec

Mastering the Grind: A Coffee Enthusiast’s Upgrade Journey

Listen up: Upgrading from the Breville Barista Express to the Profitec Go wasn’t just a swap—it was a leap into the unknown. After three years of tinkering with the Breville, I traded familiarity for ambition, embracing the Profitec’s raw power. The learning curve? Steep. But the payoff? A pursuit of the holy grail: the perfect 1:2 ratio in 25-30 seconds. The Profitec’s extraction is a study in contrasts. At 18 grams in, it delivers 36 grams out—a textbook 1:2 ratio—but the path isn’t linear. There’s a brief phase of channeling, where the shot hesitates before coalescing into a steady stream.…

The Secret to Eliminating Channeling in Your Espresso Setup

Jan

By ADMIN@CoffeeWineTea.com

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Coffee FactsFather, how to clean your coffee maker

The Secret to Eliminating Channeling in Your Espresso Setup

Pour yourself a cup for this one: Channeling in your espresso isn’t just a minor annoyance—it’s a sign your setup needs recalibration. You’ve got the El Rocio Manus S, Lagom Casa, and Pullman 876 basket, yet the water’s finding shortcuts. That’s not a flaw in your gear; it’s a clue. The root issue? Your puck isn’t a uniform bed of coffee—it’s a mosaic of under- and over-extracted zones. The WDT tamper and puck screen are tools, not magic wands. Even with a self-level tamper, inconsistencies in dose distribution or particle size can create channels. The 18g dose at 1:2 ratio…