Coffee Help

[Braindead]

Im brewing a big Imperial Stout.
It requires 2 coffee additions

2 oz Ground Sumatran coffee
2 oz cold-brewed Kona coffee

Im a poor postman and cant affords the price which shops charge for these.
Can someone point me in the direction of something similar that would be suitable along the same lines as these.
Thanks

 

[terrym]

You look to have a couple of premium aribica coffee types in there. But its beer you are brewing not coffee, so don't let it wag the dog. I like strong coffee, without it being too harsh, and the best I have come up with, from the normal range of coffees available at your local supermarket, is Lavazza Rossa which is a blend of aribica and robusta coffees. It's also reasonably priced and often on offer and I think it's superior to supermarket own brand coffees. If you like weaker coffee then perhaps Lavazza Ora which is all aribica and I think a bit milder. So unless there are any true coffee connoisseurs out there who can offer a more informed opinion, I would go with that.

 

[Dexter101]

I love Kona coffee, obviously for the price its not worth it (especially not to add to a beer....) but if you ever do get to try it, its brilliant.

Its not very bitter and is quite nutty and almost a bit chocolatey in flavour.

As a replacement, I would probably try to find a lighter roasted Kenyan or Ethiopian coffee with a quarter of coffee from central america. Try to find whats on offer and go with that.

To be honest, unless you are a real coffee connoisseur anyway, I think its unlikely you will get the subtleties from the coffee in the beer anyway.

Sumatran coffee is quite unique in its general flavours... although like anything these flavours may not show through so much unless compared directly with other coffees. its meant to be quite earthy and herbaceous with less acidity than others.

Not sure any branded coffee in the supermarket is going to give you similar flavours to either as they are usually all made to fit the general palate.

I think probably if you are looking for a cheap alternative, try and get some special roasted beans for the cold brewed coffee and then use what ever brand of coffee takes your fancy for the grounds.

Also, have heard that people can get green pepper flavours out of coffee grounds.

Hope this helps!

 

[terrym]

I use these people from time to time. They run a small specialist tea and coffee shop in Wallingford, Oxon, and I visit when in the area. Their range is bigger than the stuff on the website. Perhaps you could talk to them, and they might be able to fix you up.
http://www.assamandotherfineteas.co.uk/
I have attached an old price list, but this could be well out of date.

 

[-Bezza-]

Does the recipe say anything about the roast of the coffee - light, medium, dark? If not, there's another variable that will change the output, assuming you're trying to stay completely true to the recipe.

Rather than add more concern, I say this to help in that I suspect you could use any fresh ground coffee and achieve good results. The roast of the beans has such a massive impact on flavour that I would think it outweighs most concerns about the exact type of bean if wanting to get a spot-on result. In other words, without knowing the roast, you won't know you're getting the perfect result so don't sweat it.

 

[Sadfield]

Can't abide the stuff myself, however I do know a homebrewer who is a coffee roaster by trade, and runs a yearly homebrew comp at a coffee festival. From what I've learnt from him, is that the majority if supermarket coffee is too heavily roasted and most of the complex flavours in coffee that would work in a beer have been lost.

Check out hasbean.co.uk they collab with a number of breweries making coffee beers.

 

[Metacomet]

As already said, unless you're a bit of a coffee snob (like myself) don't spend that amount of money on coffee for your beer. I wouldn't even spend it on coffee to drink, but I'm a tight coffee snob.
I also wouldn't worry about using 2 different kinds of coffee, just get a decent bag of fresh roast beans from a good roaster.

I get my coffee beans from Foundry Coffee (www.foundrycoffeeroasters.com) in Sheffield. This wil cost you about £11 for a 250G bag inc P&P but you'd have to grind the beans yourself (if the recipe calls for it).
I used to use Pact coffee, not as good but would be more than adequate for a beer, and if you use my welcome code it will give you £5 off your first order and free P&P (www.pactcoffee.com/coffees) "LUKE-GW5KQQ" but don't forget to cancel your deliveries after the first order. Have a read of the descriptions and choose a flavour profile that will work for you and you can choose a grind courseness.

If you'd prefer to go to a shop let me know what part of the country you are in and I may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[-Bezza-]

Foundry seem expensive. I've used these guys: https://www.redber.co.uk/ and their coffees have been pretty damn good. That's from a coffee drinking perspective rather than for beer making!

 

[Braindead]

Thanks for the help guys
Apparently a medium roast works best

 

[terrym]

Thanks for the help guys
Apparently a medium roast works best

Lavazza Rossa ground is a medium roast, and apparently currently on offer at Tesco for £2.60 for 250g, and consequently won't make a big dent in your budget which was your original concern.

 

[Metacomet]

Foundry seem expensive. I've used these guys: https://www.redber.co.uk/ and their coffees have been pretty damn good. That's from a coffee drinking perspective rather than for beer making!

Not the cheapest but they only roast their beans to order and do it 2 or 3 times a week. I've tried many roasters and they are by far the best I've tried to date. I also order a KG at a time so it helps lower the cost a little.

 

[Clint]

Looking on the net aldi sell special coffee....Ethiopian etc..don' know what it's like but may be worth a look..

 

[Metacomet]

The Aldi coffee is shockingly bad ( I had some in an emergency a few weeks ago); I personally wouldn't add it to a beer I was brewing.
If supermarket prices are what you're after, I've heard Morrison's The Best Columbia are fairly good for store bought beans.
https://groceries.morrisons.com/web...e-Best-Columbian-Coffee-Beans/349294011?dnr=y

 

[Dexter101]

Looking on the net aldi sell special coffee....Ethiopian etc..don' know what it's like but may be worth a look..

Really like the Aldi coffee... although from memory not on the same flavour profiles as the original post was after but wouldn't hesitate to use this generally!

 

[Braindead]

https://groceries.morrisons.com/web...e-Best-Sumatran-Ground-Coffee/349296011?dnr=y

Wonder if this would do the trick

 

[Braindead]

Just obtained this from the parents cupboard
https://www.carluccios.com/shop-online/coffee-hot-drinks/milano-espresso-ground-coffee

 

[Metacomet]

It will be a dark roast so quite bitter, but make a coffee and try it. If you like it, use it.