What is your favorite type of coffee maker?
4@JonT once mentioned loving the Aeropress. My wife and I are thinking of switching to a french press style coffee maker but I thought I'd ask to see what you all are using.
and if @JonT could maybe come by and elaborate on why the Aeropress is so great I'd really appreciate it.
EDIT: Oh and do you grind your owns beans and where do you buy them? Lets just have a whole coffee discussion.
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I keep several kinds of coffee and several types of coffee making devices for various reasons. I also love to talk about coffee to anyone who will listen to me, so I apologize ahead of time.
Aeropress: I think its better than a french press because its easier to clean. I just push the coffee puck into the compost, rinse, and done. I usually only use it for myself, because if you need to make more than 2 cups I find it annoying. Its also good for camping because its all plastic. Some people say it tastes better than a french press, but I leave that to you to decide. I don't like french press coffee because its generally too bitter to me. That might be because I'm doing it wrong.
Cold brew: my daily standby, and I also use several paper filters when making it to just dump it in the compost for easy cleanup. I like having a large amount of coffee, especially for cold coffee, at any time. I also drink it hot though. Because it doesn't have all that acid in it, I think some people find it tastes "weak".
Regular drip coffee: when multiple cups are needed. Nothin fancy, but its not terrible either. I actually have a machine that has both a hot water and coffee side, so I use the hot water for my aeropress.
Percolator: big 28 cup thing mostly for camping with lots of people. I actually think it makes pretty good coffee.
Pour over: I don't have one, but I've been thinking about getting one for both hot coffee and for iced coffee. Clearly I don't have enough coffee making supplies.
@metageist http://amzn.com/B0000YWF5E yummy pour over.
@connorbush I love cold brew so much, I keep telling myself I don't really need more coffee junk if I'm not going to use it.
@metageist If the French Press coffee is bitter, you are using too fine a grind and water that is too hot/boiling. Use a course drip grind and water at 190-200 rather than boiling (212 degrees)
I stopped using the FP because it allows volatile oils into the coffee, and those are not heart-friendly. The AeroPress serves the same function with an added filter to capture the oils, so I use that for 1-2 cups. It also cleans up easier than the FP.
@rockblossom yeah, that makes sense about temperature and grind, but honestly despite my love of coffee I'm very lazy and I don't want to mess with thermometers and all that. The aeropress or cold brew is just easier so I abandoned the FP a while ago.
I almost always grind my own beans at the time I'm using them. If I'm making large batches of coffee for others, I buy cheap pre-ground stuff though ;)
I am fortunate enough to live in Seattle, which means I have easy access to a variety of fresh whole beans from local roasters just at the grocery store. I usually buy Stumptown and Caffe Vita, but I dabble with many other roasters. Indonesian or Ethiopian regions would be my first choice, but it always depends on what's available.
I store them in an antique tin coffee container on the counter, and I don't keep track of how old my beans are. Worrying about that kind of thing doesn't seem worth it to me. Maybe I'm not a big enough coffee snob :)
@JonT posted this on my coffee maker thread not too long ago: "JonT said Fri, Jun 5th 2015 at 5:58pm eastern:
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Aeropress. We got one as gift for Xmas and I put off using it for a while but once I did I haven't gone back to making coffee any other way besides an occasional cup of Moka.
What I love about it:
- From start to finish it takes about 5 minutes to make a cup of coffee and almost all of that is waiting for the water to heat up in my electric kettle
- Takes about 30 seconds to clean
- Tastes extremely good, smooth with very little added bitterness and no burnt flavor
- You can use a wide variety of beans
What I don't like about it:
- Nothing. It's amazing.
If you're like me in that you're lazy and you love coffee, the Aeropress is perfect for you."
I have or have had a: keurig, tassimo, flavia, french press, traditional drip maker, cold-brew system and electric moka pot. A million times over my french press wins out as most reliable, easiest to use, and best tasting cup. The only style I prefer is pour-over but I have yet to get around to buying a Chemex. http://amzn.com/B0000YWF5E
This is my Coffee Hardware:
French Press
Cafetera
When getting a grinder, get a burr grinder.
@thismyusername Do you think it really makes a difference? I use the same grinder as @DrunkCat above, and I have been trying to resist getting a burr grinder.
@metageist Trying to get a consistent grind with what is essentially a chopping blade is… it's like a circle of hell. Probably matters a lot less for a coarse French press or perc grind, but much finer than that, I'd rather have my grind setting mean something!
@metageist I do yes... the best ones are the "conical" then the "disc" ones are next in line. Keep an eye out, I've seen capresso brand units on sale from time to time at warehouse stores (sams, costco). The little $49 capresso disc grinder isn't half bad when you pick it up for 39 ;)
@metageist If you're willing to put a little arm-work in, the Kyocera ceramic grinder is a manageable little unit. AFAIK this Hario is the same. Without a lower bearing, it can be a bit wobbly and inconsistent for coarser grinds, but does a good job on the finer end. Has some other quirks - mild hassle to adjust, adjustment nut loosens during use - but really, it's a nice unit for the price.
9 times out of 10 these days, if I'm making hot coffee it's with my old La Pavoni direct lever espresso machine. It's quirky, but I love it, and use it either for a straight shot of espresso, or an Americano. Grind the beans right beforehand, preground is more serviceable than folks will have you believe, but it does like to get clumpy and frustrating quickly.
That other 10% is French press. I agree with @connorbush about the reliability, ease of use, and taste. After my ex kept breaking my glass Bodums, I bought a double-walled stainless Freiling, which I love and use to this day. If I'm not in the mood for espresso flavor profile, this is where I turn. But, the press gets more use…
…for cold-brewing. Delicious, and dead-simple. Not much more to say here, though I feel like cold-brew is an underappreciated cuppa.
(Again) like @connorbush, I tend to prefer pour-over, but lack a Chemex. However, when I'm out at a local café that does pour-over, it's what I spring for.
At work we use an electric percolator. Usually mix some spices in with the coffee to trick ourselves into thinking we still have souls while at the office. Perc gets a bad rap, and for a simple contained unit, I'd always recommend it over household drip.
I get my beans from local roasters (Dublin in Frederick, MD; Baltimore Coffee & Tea; Zeke's in DC), though have been tempted to try some of the mail-order offerings just to mix it up. Tanzanian (Peaberry) is pretty much my go-to bean.
Weekdays, k-cup or coffee pod at home, drip coffee at work. Weekends, fresh ground in a Moka pot (from Ikea).
From work, whatever's in the shared coffee maker. At home, Keurig. I tried French press over and over and it's a huge pain in the ass; you have to wash it (keeping the coffee grounds from going down the drain!) and a carafe unless you only ever make one cup, which defeats the purpose. A friend who uses Aeropress has second-degree burns on her foot after it malfunctioned in her hand a week ago, so no. And jesus, people, it's just coffee. I like still-warm, freshly burr-ground Ethiopian Sidamo beans in the Keurig as much as the next person, but just fuckin' wake me up, OK?
@editorkid I respectfully disagree on a few points - I don't consider the point of a French press to be 'making a shit-ton of coffee,' it's just a good-tasting, simple method. I'll gladly make a single cup of French press. If I am making more, keeping it pressed seems perfectly sufficient vs. pouring it into a secondary vessel.
I think it's also worth noting that plenty of folks drink coffee because it's goddamn delicious, and finding out how to make it the most goddamn delicious thing possible is both fun to do and fun to talk about. I personally find it's pretty terrible for fuckin' waking me up, leading more to jitteriness and restlessness than anything resembling being awake or alert.
At the end of the day, of course, you're right — it's just coffee! But it's still fun to talk about…
@brhfl I agree; I love experimenting and talking about experiments with coffee (and other foods). But if someone offered me coffee from a Keurig or a gas station "cappuccino" dispenser, I'll still drink that too.
@editorkid "A friend who uses Aeropress has second-degree burns on her foot after it malfunctioned in her hand a week ago, so no."
Huh? Needs more info.
How does an AeroPress malfunction?
@G1 I’ve had it malfunction on me, but in my case, by “malfunction” I mean “I didn’t screw the sieve on properly so when I flipped it to press it, it spewed just-boiled water all over my hand.”
Gas station french vanilla cappuccino dispenser.
I adore our Melitta pour over. We already had an electric kettle that heats enough water for four large cups of coffee fairly quickly (less than 3 minutes), so it was an easy switch from the evil kuerig. All in all, it takes around the same amount of time or less than a traditional brewer. Plus, it's cheap!
In no specific order I have an Aeropress, French press, pour over, manual drip (felt filter, not paper), siphon, and moka. I like the drip the best.
I always grind just before use with a little Hario hand grinder, and I always buy from the local roaster because yay local business and also they're kick ass and usually have the best prices anyway.
I'M ALSO A TEA SNOB. ok bye.
oh also I have a calabash for making yerba mate. basically if there's a plant that has caffeine, I want it in my mouth now.
I would believe that when it comes to ease of use it’s hard to beat the Nespresso system.
Pop a capsule, put the cup under the spout, push the button for cappuccino. That’s all.
Price is a different issue…if need budget , look in Jons reviews. Make sure any machine you get has at least 9 bars of pressure, which ensures a good quality of coffee. Most decent brands will have at least 15 bars. In the manuals, I advise ‘Gaggia’, they are really reliable. ‘DeLonghi’ is also very good
French press is too obnoxious to clean.
Cold brew is good in summer for ice coffee.
Aeropress is great for hot coffee 1 cup at time. It doesn’t make much more then 1 contigo cups worth however.
Regular drip is best for crowds
Pour over is too fussy for me.
K cups are convient in office but awful tasting
Silex coffee when I want to play, also the corning electric perk, but normally a single cup drip maker.
I don’t like coffee unless it doesn’t taste like coffee anymore (Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee Coolata anyone?) But my brother and mom do, so when they visit, they get French press coffee because that is small enough to keep in a cabinet, and someone gave it to me for free.
@RiotDemon My mother drinks her coffee with enough cream that it’s basically melted ice cream without the sugar. I use marginally less cream myself. The only reason I don’t live on fancy iced coffee drinks is that they tend to contain all the calories you need for the day and none of the nutrition. But they are so good.
I’ve learned, in my years, that coffee is a tool that can be enjoyed but doesn’t need to be. I’ll take it how y’r making it.
Still the same as it was last year! I haven’t used the Aeropress I’ve since bought either.
@narfcake Same process for me too, though I did end up buying a hand grinder as suggested.
I do recommend trying the Aeropress for single cups, its so easy to clean up.
Percolator.
I have a french press (cheap IKEA model) that I use most often. Also an IKEA moka pot-style when I want something espresso-ish- I also have a milk heater/frother appliance that is kind of awesome even though it’s a single-function appliance taking up room in a tiny kitchen. A Vietnamese pour-over thingy that I don’t use often because it takes forever for a tiny amount of coffee. I make cold brew when I have room in my fridge for a big jug or two of it. I have a Keurig mini catching dust- I have one of those filters that you can fill with your own coffee, every single prepackaged k-cup I’ve tried tastes horrible.
I want to try a chemex and an aeropress. I love gadgets
I want to grind my own beans. I haven’t gotten around to buying a burr grinder yet, but I think the idea way to grind beans is with a hammer and hateful thoughts.
Mostly I buy Community Coffee Hotel Blend and chicory blend, Cafe Bustelo espresso molido for the moka pot, and a flavored coffee called Lunch With Elvis that is banana and peanut butter flavored- I normally hate flavored coffees but this one is ridiculously good and makes tasty iced beverages. Folger’s Black Silk when I’m drinking a lot during the busy season at work. I would buy better/locally roasted coffees but I’m too lazy and poor to go try a bunch of coffees.
I also have two sets of Coffee Joulies that I resent because they take up too much room in my cup that could be used for more coffee.
Oh, and I buy a tasty Vietnamese instant coffee called G7 for when I’m working overnight and only have access to hot water.
I also own an insane amount of tea paraphernalia- I drink a lot more tea than coffee, but any source of caffeine is ok by me
Depends on the beans and how lazy I’m feeling, but I tend to default to:
I’ve also got a Chemex at work for when I need that extra caffeine kick halfway through the day, a pour-over (hario) that I almost never use because fuck that unreasonable amount of effort, and a beautiful old espresso machine that I haven’t used in at least a year because I am lazy and it’s in the back of the cabinet and whatever.
I think just as important as getting the right coffee-making apparatus is getting a water kettle that one can set to the proper temp. I know everyone goes gaga over the Bonavita temp control gooseneck, but I’m not a fan. The gooseneck is just too unwieldly for me; I find that I personally distribute the water/saturate the grounds better when I have a short spout kettle. Though, whilst I like to fuss and play with grind settings and amounts and time and temps, I am not so anal about my coffee that I care that much about the difference between using 185 and 180 degree water for my beans. Thus, I absolutely adore my Cuisinart PerfectTemp stainless kettle–it has just enough settings to satisfy my desire to somewhat control temp without having to do the “time 30 sec off the boil then use” thing.
@goldenthorn As far as beans go, I grind my own with a burr grinder. I’ve got a Capresso Infinity for my daily at the moment. Had a Baratza Encore but it broke. The Infinity is nice, though it’s static-y as all fuck. I did take out the burr and made a few modifications so that it would grind to proper espresso fineness. Of course, having done that, I almost never use that modification. (Eventually I’ll give in to temptation and upgrade my grinder, but for the moment, I can’t justify it.) For my travel grinder, I use a Hario Skelton.
Beans, it depends. I keep both good beans and generic beans on hand. I don’t do dark roasts. I despise most dark roasts–too much walnut and ash and dark chocolate notes. I love bright, acid, fruity, milk chocolate molasses profiles. If I’m making giant carafes worth of coffee in the drip machine, since I’m not made of money, alas, I use Trader Joe beans that are cheap and not terrible (the breakfast blend is pretty great for the price point, actually). For everything else, I get good single origin stuffs from around town, mostly Dark Matter and Bow Truss (Chicago).
Been a coffee drinker now for over 10 years and during that time owned and experimented with a variety of machines.
First of all you if you drink more than one espresso a day, any pod machine is a waste of money as the pods don’t come cheap. You are better off buying a decent machine.
Steer clear of all plastic bodied machines. They are absolute rubbish and that’s why they are cheap. Look only at all metal machines such as the Gaggia Classic http://jonsguide.org/best-cappuccino-maker-reviews/
Buy a separate Grinder and use bean coffee.
15 bar pressure is good enough to get a decent espresso and that pressure is important so don’t look at any with less.
Reusable Pour Over Coffee Filter with Upgraded Cup Stand, Handle, and Stainless Steel - Portable Paperless Drip Coffee Maker Brews 1 to 4 Cups
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCR96OE?