raisin Senior Member Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 73 Location: nj Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Virtuosa Roaster: Behmor
Posted Sun Jul 6, 2008, 4:18pm Subject: Technivorm v OCS : cupping
A few of us homeroasters (HT,Gene, Behmor) got together the other day and did direct comparisons between the Technivorm and the OCS drip brewers. Same roast batch, grinder, water, and electrical outlet. Four different beans - Menno's MV, Yemeni Assani, Yellow Bourbon, and a blend.
Everyone agreed that there was a distinct differance between the cups, the TV produced a clearer more balanced cup, while the OCS brewed a richer darker cup. The TV was easier on the palate and best in black, with the OCS having more oils and needing milk. Perhaps the OCS brewed truer to the bean than the TV.
Posted Sun Jul 6, 2008, 4:40pm Subject: Re: Technivorm v OCS : cupping
raisin Said:
Everyone agreed that there was a distinct differance between the cups, the TV produced a clearer more balanced cup, while the OCS brewed a richer darker cup. The TV was easier on the palate and best in black, with the OCS having more oils and needing milk. Perhaps the OCS brewed truer to the bean than the TV.
I believe the TV brews cooler (200°F) than my Newco OCS-8 (@ something like 202 - 203°F). Darker brews are best brewed cooler, & lighter roasts hotter. Too cool though & the brew will be sour, too hot & will be bitter. SCAA brewing standard is 195 - 205°F.
Length of brew time will have an impact on the flavor profile also. Going from memory, I think the OCS-8 brew time was 6 minutes 20 secs or so., still very good but different. Anything over 5 minutes or so is really too long IMO & will have a negative effect & over extract, pulling out more undesirable bittering constituents. That was the reason I went with & now use exclusively a BUNN home brewer.
I haven't used it in some time now though, & I'd have to check my old posts to get the exact temp mine brews at.
Posted Sun Jul 6, 2008, 6:11pm Subject: Re: Technivorm v OCS : cupping
raisin Said:
A few of us homeroasters (HT,Gene, Behmor) got together the other day and did direct comparisons between the Technivorm and the OCS drip brewers. Same roast batch, grinder, water, and electrical outlet. Four different beans - Menno's MV, Yemeni Assani, Yellow Bourbon, and a blend.
Everyone agreed that there was a distinct differance between the cups, the TV produced a clearer more balanced cup, while the OCS brewed a richer darker cup. The TV was easier on the palate and best in black, with the OCS having more oils and needing milk. Perhaps the OCS brewed truer to the bean than the TV.
raisin Senior Member Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 73 Location: nj Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Virtuosa Roaster: Behmor
Posted Sun Jul 6, 2008, 7:22pm Subject: Re: Technivorm v OCS : cupping
CraigA Said:
Hi Michael,
I believe the TV brews cooler (200°F) than my Newco OCS-8 (@ something like 202 - 203°F). Darker brews are best brewed cooler, & lighter roasts hotter. Too cool though & the brew will be sour, too hot & will be bitter. SCAA brewing standard is 195 - 205°F.
Length of brew time will have an impact on the flavor profile also. Going from memory, I think the OCS-8 brew time was 6 minutes 20 secs or so. Anything over 5 minutes or so is really too long IMO & will have a negative effect & over extract, pulling out more undesirable bittering constituents. That was the reason I went with a BUNN home brewer.
I haven't used it in some time now though, & I'd have to check my old posts to get the exact temp mine brews at.
The SCCA standard is overly broad, in my opinion. In the past i used the FP exclusively, and after extensive tests found that 203* was the sweetspot. lol With the drip machine's, of course, there are some concessions to be made in terms of temperature control. As with most of these large current drawing appliance's, a variac can limit those concessions.
Craig, I remember your posts on temp and time for your OCS, and I alway's wondered if your were metering your voltage and wattage during your experiments. I found with my normal low and fluctuating voltage, that the OCS was not able to develop all of it's 1400 watt's rating. Since the water movement is a function of temperature, one would assume that low voltage would make for a longer brew time. I use my variac to normalize the voltage to 122v and find that it yields sub-5min brew times.
BTW, we were surprised by how good BOTH machines worked, and we were more than satisfied with either result. The difference's, while distinct, where not overwhelming. If I had to make a recommendation off of that day's results, I would say choose the TV if you're upgrading from another drip machine. If you're choosing a compliment for your FP, Moka Pot or expresso then the OCS might be the best fit.
OMG. Are we now going to be aiming for a magic 203 degree marker and discussing all the equipment and techniques for hitting that mark, and measuring it just right? Ok Geeksquad, let's go. Love it.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 