u/venerablem0m

I bought several types of beans from Fresh Market last week to experiment with, and while the Jamaican Blue Mountain, Sunrise Blend, and Single-Origin Costa Rican were "passable" to "just ok", the Guatemala COOP El Sendero Women Producers beans are excellent.

Medium roast that looks and tastes like an actual medium roast. From Huehuetenango Todos Santos (1830m elevation). Washed and sun dried.

I made this in the Switch with the CoffeeChronicler's recipe, using Crystal Geyser water heated to 93°C. Lots of sweetness, bit of sharpness underneath (bitter/astringent), but in a good way. Smooth, round, and sort of velvety for lack of a better word.

If you need a good backup coffee, and you are near Fresh Market, I recommend this one. 😊

The label said it was a light roast, but the beans are uniformly dark, and shiny. Not actually oily, but they have sort of a burnished, glossy look to them. Do light roasts actually look like this?

I decided to brew them in my Switch, since that one has proved to be great for testing beans. I used 15g of beans, and 240g of water at 92°C. CoffeeChronicler recipe.

The brew came out with a sort of static flavor. It did have the subtle sweetness they mention on the label, it was also sort of like sparkly pop rocks on my tongue in its aftertaste. Is this astringency?

Is there anything I should do differently? I know light roast are usually brewed at a much higher temperature, but I worried with the beans being so dark that it would be burnt if I did so. Do these actually look like a light roast, and should I give it a try and go with a higher water temperature?

I used my Baratza Encore Esp Pro grinder at step 44. This is my normal grind size for the Switch, but I don't mind changing it up.

We live in south Florida in PBC, and my adult daughter has expressed interest in starting to snorkel.

While doing research it appears we would need to have a diver down flag, but doesn't clarify if each swimmer would need one, and if one of those tall, surface marker buoys- like the one in my photo- are sufficient, or if we should something more like a torpedo buoy and flag.

I'd just like to make it as easy and safe as possible. Thank you!

(As an aside, we are not far from Phil Foster, but we are open to other places if they're nicer or more interesting.)

The flower kits were so cute, especially the chamomile, and the tiny moth orchid! 😍

ETA: the store is The Little Toy Shops on Decatur Street. Just down the road a bit from Cafe Du Monde.

I decided to compare a few grinders to hopefully create a travel kit that didn't require a kettle (just one less thing to carry).

I purchased the Timemore Whirly, Femobook A2, CERA+ CGE01, and the Outin Fino.

Basic testing for grinder weight, speed, grind size, and retention. I used my existing Baratza Encore Esp Pro as a control. I also threw in my Kingrinder K6 for fun.

For all except the K6 and ESP Pro I started on the finest setting. I used the Kruve Brewler to measure grind size, and a Timemore Black Mirror scale to weigh everything.

BARATZA ENCORE ESP PRO: Control
Grind size: 22.5
Beans: 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 0:15
Yield: 17.9g
Extra fine salt. 350 microns

KINGRINDER K6: (620.9g) Control
Grind size: 22
Beans: 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 3:48
Yield: 17.9g
Fine sea salt. 400 microns

FEMOBOOK A2: (652.5g)
Grind size: 1
Beans 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 2:11
Yield: 18g
Fine sea salt. 400 microns
(Bulky shape. Tallest model. Plastic catch cup, but no issue with static or grind retention. Not sure about tiny magnets holding top and bottom in place. Can slow feed.)

CERA+ CGE01: (535.7g)
Grind size: 1
Beans: 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 2:35
Yield: 17.9g out
Finer than sea salt. 300microns
(All metal except for leather(?) grip around middle. Lightweight, quiet, only a bit larger than the K6. Cannot slow feed due to top being locked on. Where's noting the catch cup also has a rim, but is more shallow so grinds do not catch on it.)

TIMEMORE WHIRLY: (747.9g)
Grind size: 1 click from 0
Beans 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 6:32!
Yield: 17.9g
Extremely fine. Almost dusty. 200 microns
(Rim on the inside of catch cup made it hard to pour out grinds- see photo. Took forever to finish grind. Really heavy. Can slow feed. I do like the twist up hopper- same as Fino except Fino's is metal.)

OUTIN FINO: (673.4g)
Grind size: 1
Beans 18g Stumptown Homestead
Time: 2:08
Yield: 18g
Fine sea salt. Bit more coarse. 450 microns
(Metal interior catch cup has a concave shape which made it easy to remove grinds. I like the twist up hopper. Can slow feed. Very quiet.)

We live in South Florida, and went for a walk this evening, and heard this very soft, two-toned, rhythmic call.

It's a bit airy sounding, and is repeated several times during my video. (The wheek wheek sound.) It almost sounds like a very soft, far away whistling.

We've not heard this noise before, and can't tell if it's an insect, bird, or maybe a frog. Any ideas?

EDITED: I believe the people saying whippoorwill are correct. We went back out to hopefully hear it again to no avail, but listening to other videos, it does sound very similar. So, I believe it's been solved. Thank you all very much!🥰

I bought several bags of these beans as they were on sale for a great price, but I need some advice on how best to brew them.

I have a Baratza Encore Esp Pro, and initially ground them to 25.0, but the resulting brew was really bitter and harsh.

I know some beans are better suited to different brewing methods, but figured I'd start here with trying to dial them in. They were roasted in March, so they aren't too old (I think).

I also have other brewers if something else would suit better.

Earlier this month my ALT and AST labs came back elevated for the first time:

110 U/L and 72 U/L respectively.

I had follow up labs today which came back with "Critical test result" in which my values nearly doubled in the span of three weeks:

214 U/L and 123 U/L respectively.

They tested for Hepatitis as well which came back negative (I think, the test result just shows a Fib-4 value of 1.83 rather than an answer).

I don't drink alcohol. I do have high cholesterol- as does nearly everyone in my family, and take Pravastatin. I was a vegetarian for almost a decade until about six weeks ago, and I am 50. I'm not overweight, and I exercise. I also have T1D (LADA).

My endo told me to stop the statin, and wants me to have a fibro scan(?), and see a gastroenterologist.

I was only told this by his nurse on the phone right before their office closed for the day so I didn't get to ask why I need to see a gastro, or what the scan does and if it's worth having.

Figured I'd ask here for a start.