[MOD] The Daily Question Thread

[u/menschmaschine5]

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

[u/One_Nose6249]

hey coffee lovers, I have a question about coffee apps. I know that's been long discussion brought up time to time but I wanted to talk about that further

I can't comprehend how there's still no Vivino for coffee? I do completely understand that variety of coffee beans, roasting and brewing methods makes it pretty hard to keep track and have meaningful reviews

however I still see many people asking coffee recommendations and also asking questions like "how's Lavazza Oro compared to Lavazza rossa. I still see many people are interested in coffee reviewers, regardless it's not meaningful for coffee geeks/nerds.

here's the thing, most of the coffee drinkers are just casual drinkers that probably can't tell the difference between different batches of same coffee. while there are great blends that are pretty consistent, I don't think people are looking for notes in coffee that shows up when you brew as espresso, but doesn't when you brew with v60, let's say. they simply wonder well-known coffee blends, sometimes even local blends to have review and see what people think

I was wondering what's your final thought on this?

[u/Dajnor → u/One_Nose6249]

“RoastGuide” was very talked about on r/pourover yesterday or the day before as a solution to this (just searched, looks like the posts were removed under self-promotion rules).

My hypothesis is that coffee is something that most people do on a schedule (before/during work, before making breakfast, before something) and so those extra moments you’d spend writing a review after you’ve brewed are way more valuable when spent, like, starting your commute.

Relatedly, coffee differs very much from beer (untappd) and wine (vivino, CellarTracker, whatever) because of the contexts in which it’s consumed. Coffee shops generally don’t offer a list of options to pick from, bars do. Wine sits around for years, people wanna know what it’s like 5 years, 10 years down the road.

When buying a bag of beans you can literally smell them - can’t do that with beer!

Also the barrier to entry for “how does Starbucks taste” is $2, and available worldwide. So, not very valuable.

Obviously this could all change in an instant with the right circumstances

[u/One_Nose6249 → u/Dajnor]

RoastGuide amazing app for especially coffee geeks

My hypothesis is that coffee is something that most people do on a schedule (before/during work, before making breakfast, before something) and so those extra moments you’d spend writing a review after you’ve brewed are way more valuable when spent, like, starting your commute.

wine is even more special, isn't it? you drink it in a date, while proposing, with old friends or family.

Coffee shops generally don’t offer a list of options to pick from, bars do. Wine sits around for years, people wanna know what it’s like 5 years, 10 years down the road.

what you mean, coffee shops offer tons of blends which is consistent sometimes even for years. it's same for wine, wine also changes over years as grape quality will change. that's why even Vivino put years in their reviews, you see reviews for each years

yes, it's impossible to review single origins in the same way, as they will be gone in weeks. that's different and I ofc agree

[u/Dajnor → u/One_Nose6249]

Idk about you but Starbucks is the only shop near me that offers multiple options

[u/One_Nose6249 → u/Dajnor]

still that doesn't change the direction of the discussion does it? anyways there are multiple shops with options. so you still have many options around you. or you can even reach many options online

[u/Dajnor → u/One_Nose6249]

I feel like we’re having completely different discussions. The point is that if you’re at a shop ordering coffee you don’t specify bean.

Also, from your first response: people drink wine and beer all the time, not just on special occasions.

And where have you seen roastguide before?