How do you make your coffee at home?

[yhelothar]

Is drip or french press more concentrated? Most people say french press because it's steeped longer. But I've also heard a compelling argument that drip is stronger. This is because with drip, the last bit of water left in the soaked beans is very dilute. In contrast, the french press would have the average coffee concentration left in the soaked beans. So there's a lot of coffee material that's still in the beans that's not in your cup.


I buy the second argument so I use drip with my $15 Mr. Coffee.

 

[Crono]

Drip is more concentrated in one respect, given the same volume of water and measurement of grounds: a French press keeps the oils whereas drip filters them out. But that also means you lose out on some of the richness (and potentially cholesterol-raising compound cafestol, among other compounds) when opting for filtered coffee.

In terms of flavor, generally the higher temperature, longer steep time, and higher pressure methods extract more out of the beans. It's balancing act, though, because you'll end up with an unpalatable brew if you try to do all three, or use too little or too much solute (grounds) or solvent (water). You don't want to over or under extract the beans; not everything in coffee is pleasant to the taste buds (it is roasted beans, after all), including caffeine which is naturally bitter.

The bottom line is that you'll get more "coffee" in your coffee if you go with a French press, or even more with an espresso maker/moka pot, and it will be by far better than drip if you nail the other factors.

 

[Muse]

You know those stove top aluminum hexagonal two piece coffee makers? I have one of those higher end round, stainless steel versions of those. It's an Italian brand, Inox, and I bought it from Whole Earth Access Company. I've used it several times a day, virtually every day for over 30 years.

I have repaired this machine quite a number of times in a variety of ways to keep it functioning. I have my own way of using it. I have never used the little screen included. Instead, I use coffee filters -- I have made a device that cuts round filters from large Melitta (or whatever) filters. I get 4 of my little round filters from one large one. I cut maybe 100 at a time. At any one time, I use two of these little filters stacked in the machine and those last me maybe a week, then I replace them.

The machine looks pretty much new because I know how to restore its appearance. It makes a great cup of coffee.

Currently, I brew with the maximum amount of home-fine-ground dark roasted organic coffee (ground in a blender, ~2 lb. at a time) that will fit in the machine, and use the maximum amount of water I can get in it. That produces about 13 ounces of very strong coffee. I dilute that with nonfat milk, add zero sugar/sweetener. I generally add extra water because I prefer my coffee not that strong.

This rivals any coffee I've tasted anywhere. I almost never buy coffee elsewhere unless in a restaurant.

 

[Thebobo]

$8-$11. They say a serving is 4oz concentrate to make a 8oz cup (so that's supposedly 64oz of "normal") coffee, but it lasts me 2-3 days.

You ever tried it right out of the bottle? wonder what it taste like?
That could be dangerous, some could treat it like soda and drink the whole thing?

 

[Ns1]

You ever tried it right out of the bottle? wonder what it taste like?
That could be dangerous, some could treat it like soda and drink the whole thing?

Super strong and bitter. Espresso levels.

 

[pete6032]

Is drip or french press more concentrated? Most people say french press because it's steeped longer. But I've also heard a compelling argument that drip is stronger. This is because with drip, the last bit of water left in the soaked beans is very dilute. In contrast, the french press would have the average coffee concentration left in the soaked beans. So there's a lot of coffee material that's still in the beans that's not in your cup.


I buy the second argument so I use drip with my $15 Mr. Coffee.

It really depends on how long you let your French press grounds steep for I think.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Depends if I'm drinking alone or not.

Generally, I use my Chemex. Sometimes, and only if I'm drinking solo, I'll use my Aeropress. In either case, I always have beans from local roasters (Some from Austin, Houston, etc.) roughly 2 weeks-1 months after their roast date, ground right before use in my burr grinder. I've got my electric kettle set to 205F, and weigh out both the coffee and water used. I know this sounds excessive, but I really do enjoy the ritual of the whole thing, as well as the quality of the resulting coffee.

I had a cheaper espresso maker for sometime, but got frustrated and tossed it. We're looking to get one some time in the near future to save on trips to coffee shops, and because I'd ultimately love to open a coffee truck as a fun weekend gig

 

[Thebobo]

OK help me out. I am the only one in my house that drinks coffee and I usually have just one cup maybe another in the afternoon on the weekend. I'm not adverse to better tasting coffee but I hate to waste money and coffee. And I want to keep it reasonably priced, simple and semi fast. Suggestions?

 

[Red Squirrel]

OK help me out. I am the only one in my house that drinks coffee and I usually have just one cup maybe another in the afternoon on the weekend. I'm not adverse to better tasting coffee but I hate to waste money and coffee. And I want to keep it reasonably priced, simple and semi fast. Suggestions?

I asked the same thing before, ended up going with drip machine, it sounds overkill but you can just put a smaller amount of water in. In my case I tend to do about 6 cups of coffee though, which is probably close to equivalant to a large Tim's. I find that's like the perfect amount. But you could easily do 1 cup if you wanted to.

 

[WelshBloke]

OK help me out. I am the only one in my house that drinks coffee and I usually have just one cup maybe another in the afternoon on the weekend. I'm not adverse to better tasting coffee but I hate to waste money and coffee. And I want to keep it reasonably priced, simple and semi fast. Suggestions?

A one cup French press is probably as cheap and easy as you are going to get.

 

[Thebobo]

I asked the same thing before, ended up going with drip machine, it sounds overkill but you can just put a smaller amount of water in. In my case I tend to do about 6 cups of coffee though, which is probably close to equivalant to a large Tim's. I find that's like the perfect amount. But you could easily do 1 cup if you wanted to.

A one cup French press is probably as cheap and easy as you are going to get.

I forgot to add counter space is at a premium. I'll have to look into a smaller dripper or a french press when I figure out what that is.

 

[lxskllr]

I forgot to add counter space is at a premium. I'll have to look into a smaller dripper or a french press when I figure out what that is.

French presses are barely bigger than a coffee cup. It's just a container with a pressing mechanism on top. I've gotten a bunch of them from thrift shops due to my lack of self control :^D Average price paid is about $4 each. I think they're about $25 new.

 

[uhohs]

I do that every other day, along with scrubbing the oil off with a paper towel. That modicum of work is much preferable to the gunk that accumulates in machine brewing methods. If you can't see all the parts that come into contact with the water and coffee grounds, you don't know it's clean.

Guess I got too lazy from using paper filters for my pourovers, lol.

 

[Thebobo]

Guess I got too lazy from using paper filters for my pour overs, lol.

what do use?

See I don't want to grind my coffee. I want to open a bag/container pour coffee out and add hot water. So a french press or pour over. Looks the press is quicker but can I use normal store bought coffee?

 

[lxskllr]

what do use?

See I don't want to grind my coffee. I want to open a bag/container pour coffee out and add hot water. So a french press or our over. Looks the press is quicker but can I use normal store bought coffee?

A bit coarser than store grind is best, but I use store coffee without issue. They also have those pourover things that sit on top of the cup. That's probably easiest, but not as flavorful as pressed coffee imo.

 

[Crono]

what do use?

See I don't want to grind my coffee. I want to open a bag/container pour coffee out and add hot water. So a french press or pour over. Looks the press is quicker but can I use normal store bought coffee?

You can use store bought coffee if it's out of a bin and you grind it in a machine there using French press setting. Regular pre-ground is too fine for press.

Also, it just takes ~10 seconds to grind coffee using an electric grinder. Fresh grind is worth those seconds.

 

[Thebobo]

You can use store bought coffee if it's out of a bin and you grind it in a machine there using French press setting. Regular pre-ground is too fine for press.

What about pour over?

 

[Crono]

What about pour over?

Pour over uses filters, so yes you can use store bought ground coffee.

 

[Platypus]

What about pour over?

Depends on the bean, but generally a medium ground is fine. In other words, in between french press and espresso.

I would just bite the bullet and get yourself a nice burr grinder and just grind it as you need it. The flavor difference is non-trivial.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I recently got a nice bur grinder myself and it really is night and day. Out of the brand name ones I found Maxwell House was my favourite, but still does not beat grinding. I might even start to bring some to work.

 

[herm0016]

French press and a delonghi burr grinder. i think my hydroflask is about 18 oz. drink that every day. I buy the whole beans in the yellow bag at costco. rainforest brand or something?

 

[Chaotic42]

I forgot to add counter space is at a premium. I'll have to look into a smaller dripper or a french press when I figure out what that is.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bodum-Ch...=online&wl12=51823474&wl13=&veh=sem#read-more

I've got two of these. Just coarsely grind the coffee and boil water in a kettle. Pour in a little water and stir, then fill the press with water and stir. Put the top on and wait four minutes. Press the top down slowly and pour into your mug. You can make it strong and then add water to your mug to make 16oz instead of the 12oz this one makes. It's awesome, fast, easy, and takes up very little space.

 

[lxskllr]

Bobo, since you're drinking instant, you have nowhere to go but up. I'd get one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Read...d=1507154745&sr=8-6&keywords=coffee+pour+over

and some paper filters. It's super easy to use, and easy to clean. I used to use one for camping cause it doesn't require washing. Just toss your used filter/coffee into the fire, let it air dry, then put it in your bag. You could also bury your used stuff with a clear conscience.

If you enjoy the improved coffee experience, you can think about grinders, presses, and other stuff at your leisure.

 

[Thebobo]

Bobo, since you're drinking instant, you have nowhere to go but up. I'd get one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Read...d=1507154745&sr=8-6&keywords=coffee+pour+over

and some paper filters. It's super easy to use, and easy to clean. I used to use one for camping cause it doesn't require washing. Just toss your used filter/coffee into the fire, let it air dry, then put it in your bag. You could also bury your used stuff with a clear conscience.

If you enjoy the improved coffee experience, you can think about grinders, presses, and other stuff at your leisure.

Ok I'll try it and what coffee to start out with? I really don't want to have to grind, yet. Something from amazon? I am out of the bed and on the road in <15 minutes.

 

[lxskllr]

Ok I'll try it and what coffee to start out with? I really don't want to have to grind, yet. Something from amazon? I am out of the bed and on the road in <15 minutes.

Not sure. A 'premium' variant of a major brand would be easy. Folgers, Maxwell house, or whatever. I had folgers... black silk I think it was called, and it was tasty. Not an award winner, but a good solid coffee. 8o'clock French roast was my goto for easy to find whole bean. You could try that ground. Nice flavor, and not exceptionally bold or anything that could put someone off. My daily brew is wegmans brand traditional. It's like "donut store" light. It has the flavor of various donut store coffees(what is that flavor anyway?), but a bit less of it. Good and cheap.