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Coffee questions

I'd go with a French press first, but that's me. I'm not familiar with Aeropress, but French presses are significantly cheaper.

Those beans are pre roasted. All you have to do is grind, and brew. They seem expensive to me, but I'm not familiar with the brand. I like Eight O'Clock French roast. Good coffee, at a pretty good price.

That mill looks small. If you're only doing 1 cup at a time it's probably ok, but I require a larger mill.
 
The Aerpress is supposed to be pretty good, never used one though.

Those beans are already roasted, just need to be ground, that hand grind will work fine, but will take forever to get your coffee ground using it. Dunno if you live near any Trader Joes, but they have an awesome selection of beans...

I just ordered a KitchenAid grinder last night, not the best, but it'll work fine for me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...04_i00_details

This tamper too:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...01_i00_details

Am getting pretty good with my Rancilio Silvia, the flipping steamer is like firing off a model rocket 🙂
 
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Trader Jo**
Ethiopean is mellow and priced right for the type. Pay more attention to the roast. Less to the coffee maker. Nothing improves typical American Burnt coffee. LOOK FOR MEDIUM ROAST OR ROASTED TO FIRST CRACK AT A CUSTOM HOUSE.
 
A lot of health food stores have some fantastic coffee that is both fair and level trade.

I personally like a really bold, robust roast; so I don't mind paying an extra $5-6 per pound, especially if the farmers are getting fair pay.
 
Pliablemoose said:
that hand grind will work fine, but will take forever to get your coffee ground using it.
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Hand mills are fast, or at least some of them are. I used a Zassenhaus for about 12 years before the top broke, and then bought an Armin Trösser at an antique shop to replace it. The Trösser ground slow. I think that was due to worn out burrs. I took the guts out of the Zassenhaus, put them in the Trösser, and it's been working great ever since. For a time reference, the working guts have been grinding for over 20 years, and still work great.
 
I'd say the best "budget" grinder is the Baratza Maestro Plus. Very consistent grinds and under $100 for a refurb.

http://www.baratzallc.com/products-page/products/

Personally, if you go Aeropress check out the upside down method. Search Youtube for a video. I use both a french press and a drip machine depending on what I feel like doing.

Finally, none of this matters if you don't have good beans. If you have Peet's in your area I'd highly recommend trying that. The Peet's people taugh the Starbucks people how to roast beans way back when. Starbucks went and threw quality out the window in the name of profit (all their coffee is burnt) whereas Peet's is still very high quality. I've never had bad beans from them and they're always fresh.

Another recommendation is http://www.wcrcompany.com/ I know the proprietor from another forum and his coffee is excellent. Its roasted in small batches (one man show).

I question the freshness of anything bought in a store, though Trader Joe's isn't bad. I guess if I had no other choice it would be ok 😉
 
I recently bought a grinder plus an aeropress and chemex. I'm having trouble getting a good cup out of both. I've varied grind size and amount of coffee/water, but I'm getting either weak coffee or a decently strong cup with no depth. I guess I need a scale to be really accurate, but I'm not sure what else I could be doing wrong. The coffee I can get at starbucks, and even more so at whole foods, has a ton of flavor and rich/deep complexities. Everything I read makes it seem like both of the home brewing methods I'm using should make a great cup, but so far I'm struggling :/
 
below is all you need.

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NutBucket said:
Really, Starbucks?

Slayer, have you tried the upside down method?
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yep. I have to imagine I'm doing something poorly, but I'm not sure what. I'd love to taste a cup someone else has made so I know good results are possible :hmm: I use filtered water, fresh beans, I've tried temperatures between 180 and 200. I haven't been too accurate with the ratios, but I feel like I've tried enough variations that I should have at least gotten close to a good cup, but no luck. I do plan on getting a scale though, so hopefully that will help

but yeah, I like starbucks. the pike place is pretty good. but whole foods is my go-to option. and that's where I've been buying my beans
 
NutBucket said:
Another recommendation is http://www.wcrcompany.com/ I know the proprietor from another forum and his coffee is excellent. Its roasted in small batches (one man show).
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at $16.95 per pound it better be good.

i also have a friend who has a coffee roasting house and i have helped him roast coffee from time to time. in fact he had a contract with frontier airlines for a few years before old man boyers (boyers coffee) and his sons (brothers coffee) got cut throat and snatched the contract by totally underbidding it.
 
I've paid $40 for a half pound before. It was damned good. I guess I'm a bit skewed as I typically pay about $15 a pound. I only drink a cup or two a day so I don't need to buy too often.

Listen people, STARBUCKS COFFEE IS BURNT! ALL OF IT!
 
NutBucket said:
I've paid $40 for a half pound before. It was damned good. I guess I'm a bit skewed as I typically pay about $15 a pound. I only drink a cup or two a day so I don't need to buy too often.

Listen people, STARBUCKS COFFEE IS BURNT! ALL OF IT!
Click to expand...

have you ever tried indian malabar coffee? i really like it.
 
I also prefer French Press -
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/86134985/

That cheap ass Ikea press is as good as the Bodum's. I have a smaller one that I use for single cup brews too.

http://www.zappos.com/cuisinart-dbm-...tainless-steel

That grinder has given me fresh, consistent grinds every single morning for nigh on 2 years now. Best $50 in coffee ever spent.
As long as you don't go whirly blade you'll be fine.

On the way to Key West down here there is an *EXCELLENT* coffee shop called "Baby's Coffee" who roast their own in the shop. It's by far the best coffee I've ever tasted. However at $14-$18 per pound and a 4-5 hour drive from Broward down there it's a bit much.

I used to use Intelligentsia - but the high price and shipping is just ridiculous.

So now I'm onto 8 o clock either columbian or french roast when it goes b1g1, and sometimes I'll get something special from the Fresh Market. Every so often Starbucks from Publix if its on sale. Also the Publix Organic is acceptable if the date shows it isn't too old. Target is a spot for slightly better than average coffee too. Lots of varieties and single origin beans too.
 
NutBucket said:
I'd say the best "budget" grinder is the Baratza Maestro Plus. Very consistent grinds and under $100 for a refurb.

http://www.baratzallc.com/products-page/products/

Personally, if you go Aeropress check out the upside down method. Search Youtube for a video. I use both a french press and a drip machine depending on what I feel like doing.

Finally, none of this matters if you don't have good beans. If you have Peet's in your area I'd highly recommend trying that. The Peet's people taugh the Starbucks people how to roast beans way back when. Starbucks went and threw quality out the window in the name of profit (all their coffee is burnt) whereas Peet's is still very high quality. I've never had bad beans from them and they're always fresh.

Another recommendation is http://www.wcrcompany.com/ I know the proprietor from another forum and his coffee is excellent. Its roasted in small batches (one man show).

I question the freshness of anything bought in a store, though Trader Joe's isn't bad. I guess if I had no other choice it would be ok 😉
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I am going with the Aeropress as I read that it is easier to clean than a french press. This will be used in the office.
 
but whole foods is my go-to option.
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Really? I've found their beans fair to middling at best. Nothing wrong with them, but unless I see them at buy 1 get 1 I won't pay the premium, as I've tasted nothing terribly special.
 
beans are personal preference. I tried many different kind at various price point and have settled on Don Pablo medium roast sold at Costco as my daily drink. It's about $13 for two pounds. Main reason I buy it is the beans aren't overly oily so I don't have to dry it before using in my automatic espresso machine. I can open the bag and use it right away. Oily beans will stick and clog up my machine with extended use. I prefer medium roast for everyday coffee and Don Pablo is pretty decent.

I have aeropress and French press and small blade grinder. I used it before I got my automatic espresso machine. While it worked good enough, it became too much work to boil the water, grind, make coffee, and then cleanup afterwards. Now I just press a single button and my perfect cup of coffee is waiting for me in about 30 seconds. No mess and no cleanup to deal with.
 
While I have several French Presses, I use an AeroPress.

Recently, I also got a hand grinder. I like that it is small and quiet.

Does it make better coffee?

I think that that answer would vary from person to person.

For me, I like the AeroPress and the hand grinder.

Be sure to Google "AeroPress inverted brewing method."

Uno
 
Aaaah, Coffee. My Lifes Blood.

Fist let's talk coffee makers. Obviously there are a number of methods out there.

French Press: Honestly, not the best method. It's good and probably the easiest. Boiling water over the grounds, press the plunger. There are two things I don't like about them. 1. Sediment. You will always get a fair amount in the bottom of your cup. 2. If you are the only one drinking the pot, the remaining coffee tends to steep a bit while still in the pot, making for an inconsistant first, second or third cup.

Auto Drip: Yep the good old MR. Coffee. It is honestly one of the best ways to prepare coffee. The biggest gotcha here is that most auto drip machines have the warmer built in. While this is fine if the pot will be gone in the next 10 or 15 minutes a rule of thumb is, It's never good to heat the finished product. I'm personally a big fan of Drip makers with thermal carafs.

Perculators: Never... The single best way to ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee.

Vacuum Method: Hands down, this is considered to be the best method for brewing coffee.

On Grinding. It's true self grinding will produce the best results, however, I have found that depending on how fast you go through coffee, it's not needed. If you grind your coffee in the store, and use it within a few days, you're probably not going to notice any taste difference.

Also, if you do self grind, make sure to do it correctly. A lot of people using low end grinders just press and hold the button until it's ground. This also tends to heat up the coffee and alters the flavor.

I'm one of those people that feel Starbucks isn't the best coffee either. It's not bad coffee, It just gets more appreciation than it should. Starbucks primarily goes with Dark Roasts, and as a result there a lot of people that think coffee isn't great unless it's a dark roast. That's kind of like saying wine isn't good unless it's a Burgandy or a Port. The Irony is, that "strong" dark roasted coffee actually has less caffeine in it than a lighter roast, as longer roasting times lower the amount of oils in the coffee.

Flavored Coffees: I'm sorry, they are just nasty. I can't understand the obsession a lot of people have with this stuff. If you want to add Hazelnut or other flavors to your coffee, stick to flavored creamers. For me, I can always find an after taste to flavored coffees. Worse still, When flavored coffees are used in many coffee makers, that after taste lingers on for several pots afterwards. If one is going to take the time and money to chose the perfect bean, why mask the sublte flavors of many blends with artificially flavored oils that permeate and linger in your grinder and coffee maker.

Lately, I've been really considering buying a coffee roaster. My Cousin has friends that run a green coffee reseller business and NOTHING tastes better than a cup of coffee brewed from freshly roasted beans. My lazyness has been the only thing stopping me. Home roasters tend to only handle small batches, and It does add a significant amount of time and effort to get that first cup of coffee.

Edit: Oh, I wanted to add. Do not refrigerate or freeze your coffee beans. The best way of storing coffee is simply in an airtight container on the counter, or pantry.
 
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You forgot to mention that most drip machines simply don't get the water hot enough for a proper brew.

Grinding should be burr-type only. No heat and even a cheap burr grinder has settings for size so you *should* get consistent results.
 
bobdole369 said:
Really? I've found their beans fair to middling at best. Nothing wrong with them, but unless I see them at buy 1 get 1 I won't pay the premium, as I've tasted nothing terribly special.
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I haven't been to many small mom and pop coffee shops, but I am in love with most of the coffee they serve at whole foods. Deep and flavorful. I've been buying the fresh beans they have available, but I'm not totally sure that's what they brew. Perhaps they only brew the stuff they have prepackaged, I'm not sure. I'll have to look more closely next time I'm there, but I would assume the fresh stuff should be better anyway. But it's surely something about my technique that's off.
 
NutBucket said:
You forgot to mention that most drip machines simply don't get the water hot enough for a proper brew.

Grinding should be burr-type only. No heat and even a cheap burr grinder has settings for size so you *should* get consistent results.
Click to expand...

Two very good points.
 
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