I left the house a little after 7 this morning for my sort-of-weekly biking and geocaching excursion. I usually do this on Sundays, but was slow-moving yesterday due to a late night on Saturday. While it’s really hot today, it was only 73 when I left the house, with a low-ish dewpoint, and even with the temperature rising, the ride was fairly tolerable as long as I kept moving. I rode through Ellicott City/Dunloggin out to West Friendship, southwest to Glenelg, and then home through Clarksville and Columbia. I had planned for 35 miles, but the actual distance ended up being close to 40, partly due to an attempted shortcut that didn’t work out. I took my geared commuter bike in lieu of my usual single speed, which was the right call, as it gets really hilly west of US 29! I found 2 geocaches along the way, both of which were close to pavement and easy to find, which is my preference when out for longer rides on hot days. I ran out of water around 3 miles from home, after draining 2 24-ounce water bottles. Next time it’s this hot, I’ll bring my Osprey waist pack, which has a 1.5-liter reservoir. Energy-wise, I felt pretty good most of the way, but was beginning to drag once I hit the final 5 miles or so. I think the heat was just starting to get to me. I’m glad I got out for a ride, though.
Month: September 2023
Morning Brew
- Beans: “Angel Albino Corzo-Chiapa” medium roast (Mexico) from Amity Coffee Roasters in Greenwood, DE
- 20 grams coffee, 280 grams water (1:14 ratio)
- French press
- Gooseneck kettle
- Preheat French press
- Heat brew water to 95°C
- Coarse grind (JX setting: 3 rotations + 4 clicks or 94 total clicks)
- Start timer and pour at the same time
- 60 second bloom (including pour time)
- Stir a few seconds until grounds settle
- Steep 6 minutes
This is my standard French press recipe, with slightly more water to get a 1:14 ratio vs 1:13. Just wanted to try it with these beans. The cup turned out fine, with more earthy and roasty notes than the pourover recipe I’ve been using. Overall, I think I prefer the pourover, but would be fine drinking this every day. Where the pourover (and AeroPress) win is convenience: both methods are faster and less messy than the French press.
Saturday Morning Update
Here’s what I brewed this morning:
- Beans: “Angel Albino Corzo-Chiapa” medium roast (Mexico) from Amity Coffee Roasters in Greenwood, DE
- 18g coffee / 250g water (1:14)
- JX: 2 rotations less 6 clicks (18 on the grind chart / 54 total clicks) Note: subsequent cups at this setting tasted bitter — better at 2 rotations / grind setting 20 / 60 total clicks
- Water at 95°C
- Recipe: A Better 1 Cup V60 Technique (see below)
- 0:00: Pour 60g of water to bloom
- 0:10 – 0:15: Gently Swirl
- 0:45 – 1:00: Pour up to 100g total (40% total weight)
- 1:10 – 1:20: Pour up to 150g total (60% total weight)
- 1:30 – 1:40: Pour up to 200g total (80% total weight)
- 1:50 – 2:00: Pour up to 250g total (100% total weight)
- 2:00 – 2:05: Gently swirl
- Drawdown should finish around 3:00
This turned out just about perfect to my taste. I just have to make sure to remove the spent grounds immediately after the drawdown finishes to avoid the slight bitterness I alluded to yesterday. I have enough beans left for 4 more cups, and I don’t think I need to tweak this recipe any further (although I’m slightly curious to try the beans in the French press, just to compare). I’ll likely use this recipe as a starting point for my next bag, which is also a medium roast.
This morning was beautiful, with temperatures in the upper 50s/low 60s and low humidity. With a heat wave looming, I seized the opportunity and got out just before 8 and ran 10 miles. I am hoping to get myself conditioned to run 10 miles once a week over the cooler months, and after a few more of these, I should be ready to tackle my short-term goal of running the entire BWI Trail loop, which (according to gmap-pedometer.com) is about 10.7 miles.
This and That
I’m trying a new WordPress theme out. I had been using “Twenty Twenty” for a long time, but never liked that it didn’t have a widget sidebar. So, I’m trying one out called “Simple Life”. It’s responsive, has a sidebar, and seems fairly lightweight, without a lot of bells and whistles and other stuff I don’t need. So, I’ll probably use it for a while until I get tired of it.
As promised yesterday, I brewed a pourover cup of my medium roast Mexican coffee beans using 18 grams of coffee to 250 grams water (around 1:14) and it was just about the perfect strength. It did have a tiny touch of bitterness that I didn’t notice yesterday, but I think that was because I wandered away and let the coffee sit and drip for a little too long. I’ll fix that tomorrow, and if it’s not perfect, I’ll try it just a tiny bit coarser.
I did my usual Friday morning session at the climbing gym today, and felt pretty good after climbing 8 routes ranging from 5.10- to 5.11-. There definitely is a huge difference in my energy level between my morning and evening climbing sessions. I suspect part of it is because I typically commute 22-25 miles on the bike on the same days as my evening climb sessions, with the 8-mile homeward leg wrapping up an hour or so before I leave for the gym. Something probably needs to give there…