Just Brew & Learn

07/09/2025

Enjoying home cafe.

07/09/2025

16g in 32g out in about 27 sec. Fairly happy with the espresso. But can still fine tune further.

31/08/2025

Bought an espresso machine.

It is so difficult to dial in the espresso, especially you are drinking it and don't want to waste it after pulling the shot. To make things worse, I only pull it in weekends. So only 1 or 2 iteration a week.

This one is decent enough, but still need to fine tune a bit more.

22/02/2025

I have been brewing coffee bought from roaster that supplies to coffee stalls at Hawker Center (HC). Although they have both Robusta and Arabica beans, they are typically dark roast (the mass market for hawker and coffee shop likes dark roast) and the beans are not processed and roasted with lots of care like specialty coffee. But still I was surprised how cold brew can make a big difference in extracting the goodness of such beans.

Today, I bought a package of Single origin Indonesia fine Robusta to try. This is still Robusta, but they are selected, processed and rated with the same level of care as with specialty Arabica. It is not cheap either, it costs more than some other specialty Arabica bean.

I read that some fine Robusta can be as good as specialty Arabica. As I love the strong and less acidic nature of Robusta, I decided to try it out.

Just from the look, it already won the HC beans, the size is much bigger, the beans are all whole beans, no cracked beans mixed in there (see the last photo). The HC beans comes with lots of broken beans.

This is medium dark roast, which I can not get from HC roasters.

I am looking forward to taste this in 15 mins from now, after cold brewing for almost 7 hours.

Will update again on my finding if it is worth the money.

13/02/2025

Grinder. Range from $20 to hundreds.

There are so many types. Conical or flat burrs, single dose or hopper, manual or electric, build quality, etc.

As a poor man experimenting and learning, and most importantly lazy...I got this electric single dose grinder with steel conical burr. It is around $55.

In fact it is a big topic and thus some are paying hundreds for a grinder and some have different grinder for different coffee.

For me, cold brew is very forgiving, so this should work. See how coarsely I grind for cold brew.

03/01/2025

Cold brew coffee.

Cold brew coffee is not the same as iced coffee. The former extracts coffee with room temperature or colder water, while the latter extracts with hot water (92-96 deg C).

Is there a difference I asked, and I was surprised when I brew my own cold brew with regular dark roasted Robusta beans. Even such bean can present a less bitter, but more flavourful cup of coffee with sweetness. I am sold to cold brew since.

Why so:
Cold water will extract less acid and bitterness from the coffee.

Cold brew process is much more lenient compared with normal hot water brew, in terms of parameter control that will affect the flavour. E.g. it won't affect the flavour much if your extraction time differs by 30 mins.

Common parameters that affects coffee flavours are: type of bean, roast level. freshness of the bean, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature and profile, and brew time.

How do you like to brew your cold brew?

As one who grew up with Nanyang Coffee, I like my coffee with some bitterness. This was my requirement. But after trying cold brew, I have higher expectations now, I want my coffee accompanied with other flavours, not plain bitterness.

Coffee lovers, please feel free to comment and share your preference. 🙂

23/12/2024

After searching portable N2 (aka N2) chargers for a long time, it is almost impossible to buy them in Singapore.

Please don't be confused between N2 and N2O chargers; N2O is for whipped cream dispenser. Nitro uses pure N2.

I have imported some N2 chargers (both 2g and 4g, see pic),and if you are looking for some to Nitrogenate your beer, Stout, tea, coffee, or any other beverages, you can buy them in the link below:
https://carousell.app.link/CBGG1gpavPb

21/12/2024

After searching portable N2 (aka N2) chargers for a long time, it is almost impossible to buy them in Singapore.

Please don't be confused between N2 and N2O chargers; N2O is for whipped cream dispenser. Nitro uses pure N2.

I have imported some N2 chargers (both 2g and 4g, see pic),and if you are looking for some to Nitrogenate your beer, Stout, tea, coffee, or any other beverages, you can buy them in the link below:
https://carousell.app.link/CBGG1gpavPb

S$20 | 2g Nitrogen N2 Chargers. 1 box with 10 pieces of 2g Nitrogen N2 chargers.

18/12/2024

The blend is a mixed of Arbica and Robusta. A good blend will give us the best of both worlds.

I am looking for fine robusta beans in Singapore. Anyone knows where to buy fine Robusta?

Thanks.