Coffee Bar - French Press, Pour Over or Perk?

[Headhammer 2,038]

Here is my first pull off the nitrous keg.

First impressions:

I used Peet's Major Dickason's blend coffee that I let steep for 48 hours in the fridge. I put 2 tsp of Mexican Vanilla in the keg and added the cold brew and 2 nitrous oxide cartridges and let it sit overnight.

I've been drinking this blend everyday as a cold brew for the last 2 years so I'm very familiar with the flavor profile. Dispensed with nitrous the flavors appear more pronounced with caramel & vanilla being the dominant notes. The mouthfeel of the coffee is more smooth and velvety and there is a sweetness that the nitrous has imposed on the brew.   

The head is great to start, but once it settles it doesn't follow the coffee to the bottom of the glass and the microbubbles are not as dense as good commercial nitrous brews. It's my understand that using pure nitrous, instead of nitrous oxide, will provide the more dense microbubbles, but those cartridges are twice the price and require twice as many per batch.

As an out of the box, easy to set-up nitrous kit and with a strong first result, I would recommend the Royal Brew unit. 

I will keep experimenting and update the thread.

[Headhammer 2,038]

15 hours ago, yungkory said:

So you can brew the CB, then infuse the nitrous using the tap, and store that? It tastes good the next day? I noticed they said the nitrous slowly leaks out so the canisters don't last more than 48 hrs. I only drink about 8-12oz of coffee a day depending how rough I feel in the morning.

Yes. I've pulled 3 half-glasses this morning and the microbubbles were as strong in the last glass as the first. As to how long it will last without losing pressure, I'll have to let you know tomorrow and Thursday. At the rate I drink it I would expect I will refill it every 4 days.

[bens197 6,869]

1 hour ago, MattWillGolf said:

Major Dickinson is a regular in Costco. I used to get it but I’m the only coffee drinker and it took me awhile to get through it. A few years ago Costco would roast coffee in stores. They stopped due to fires I believe. It was super fresh and amazing. After discovering that coffee drunk closest to its roasting date is the best I decided to try local in smaller bags. No going back. 

Some things are worth indulging a little bit.  I don't know of anyone who's died and kept their money.

[yungkory 10,338]

3 hours ago, Headhammer said:

Yes. I've pulled 3 half-glasses this morning and the microbubbles were as strong in the last glass as the first. As to how long it will last without losing pressure, I'll have to let you know tomorrow and Thursday. At the rate I drink it I would expect I will refill it every 4 days.

That's sick. I was assuming you would have to pour it out of the tap straight into your cup every time you drink a serving. If you can just pour it out all at once and store it then it would be really cost efficient vs paying $5 every day at Starbucks

[azstu324 3,195]

3 hours ago, Headhammer said:

Here is my first pull off the nitrous keg.

First impressions:

I used Peet's Major Dickason's blend coffee that I let steep for 48 hours in the fridge. I put 2 tsp of Mexican Vanilla in the keg and added the cold brew and 2 nitrous oxide cartridges and let it sit overnight.

I've been drinking this blend everyday as a cold brew for the last 2 years so I'm very familiar with the flavor profile. Dispensed with nitrous the flavors appear more pronounced with caramel & vanilla being the dominant notes. The mouthfeel of the coffee is more smooth and velvety and there is a sweetness that the nitrous has imposed on the brew.   

The head is great to start, but once it settles it doesn't follow the coffee to the bottom of the glass and the microbubbles are not as dense as good commercial nitrous brews. It's my understand that using pure nitrous, instead of nitrous oxide, will provide the more dense microbubbles, but those cartridges are twice the price and require twice as many per batch.

As an out of the box, easy to set-up nitrous kit and with a strong first result, I would recommend the Royal Brew unit. 

I will keep experimenting and update the thread.

If you were to stir the bubbles into the coffee, would that have any different result good or bad? 

I think I may have posted a while ago but if a cold brew is the starter for the Nitro, I highly recommend the Ninja Cold Brew machine. Yes, it's $200 ($150 if you don't get the steel carafe) .. but the results for cold brew are pretty outstanding. And it literally makes about 32 oz of cold brew in about 15 min. All the other coffee or tea that makes is great too!

I have a buddy who owned a coffee shop years back(knows his $#!t) and he was skeptical about the quality of the brew. I made him a batch and he was a changed man. 

 

[Headhammer 2,038]

2 hours ago, azstu324 said:

If you were to stir the bubbles into the coffee, would that have any different result good or bad? 

I think I may have posted a while ago but if a cold brew is the starter for the Nitro, I highly recommend the Ninja Cold Brew machine. Yes, it's $200 ($150 if you don't get the steel carafe) .. but the results for cold brew are pretty outstanding. And it literally makes about 32 oz of cold brew in about 15 min. All the other coffee or tea that makes is great too!

I have a buddy who owned a coffee shop years back(knows his $#!t) and he was skeptical about the quality of the brew. I made him a batch and he was a changed man. 

 

I don't think stirring the bubbles in would have any impact as they would most likely dissipate faster. I use a French Press and Bodum carafe to make my cold brew. 

 

[yungkory 10,338]

2 hours ago, Headhammer said:

I don't think stirring the bubbles in would have any impact as they would most likely dissipate faster. I use a French Press and Bodum carafe to make my cold brew. 

 

Yeah I use a french press too and store it in a mason jar in the fridge. How do you filter the silt? I was using coffee filters but was looking for something more sustainable.

[Headhammer 2,038]

52 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Yeah I use a french press too and store it in a mason jar in the fridge. How do you filter the silt? I was using coffee filters but was looking for something more sustainable.

I also use paper coffee filters and haven't found a better alternative. 

[tommc23 9,908]

14 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

In club ho terms I am an off the rack coffee drinker.   It's dunkin donuts coffee bought from BJ's and run through the drip style Mr Coffee maker for me.  If I'm on the road I'll go wild and get WaWa columbian with a splash of hazelnut.  Sorry that I brought the culture level of the thread down a notch!  

Wawa is the only place I get coffee I don’t make

[Headhammer 2,038]

Just wanted to update my first experiences with the nitrous cold brew. Day 1 & 2 the coffee had tons of microbubbles, on day 3 & 4 the intense microbubbles had started to subside. The coffee still came out with a dense head, but it was more like pouring a beer into a tilted glass, it had about a 2" head on it. The flavors were exactly the same on day 4 as they were on day 1. I will experiment by adding another nitrous cartridge the second night and see what that does. Royal Brew makes a 1/2 keg version that probably will last 1-2 days depending on your level of coffee consumption that may keep the level of foam up.  

[yungkory 10,338]

6 hours ago, Headhammer said:

Just wanted to update my first experiences with the nitrous cold brew. Day 1 & 2 the coffee had tons of microbubbles, on day 3 & 4 the intense microbubbles had started to subside. The coffee still came out with a dense head, but it was more like pouring a beer into a tilted glass, it had about a 2" head on it. The flavors were exactly the same on day 4 as they were on day 1. I will experiment by adding another nitrous cartridge the second night and see what that does. Royal Brew makes a 1/2 keg version that probably will last 1-2 days depending on your level of coffee consumption that may keep the level of foam up.  

Thanks for the update! Nice to hear that one cartridge can last an entire week almost, makes it pretty affordable. Guess I know what to ask housewarming Santa for when we move into the new place!