Let’s talk coffee

[friskinator]

Just bought one of these. I'm no coffee expert, but I wanted a small, easy to operate espresso maker. My wife got a recommendation from a friend, so I decided to give it a shot. Happy so far, and it's small enough to throw in a bag for travel if desired.

Essenza Mini Grey | Original Coffee Machines | Nespresso USA

 

[the general]

So I ended up breaking my French press the other day and while I am perfectly content with the French press brew, it got me thinking on other brew methods. Specifically moka pots or pour over pots. Anyone use these? Looking for opinions(good or bad).

Space isn't a concern for the equipment. When I make a cup of coffee, it's a bigger serving. Like 15-20 oz. And when it comes to roasts, I'll drink the full spectrum, but do tend to go with darker roasts. And I am grinding my own beans. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Lobster11]

So I ended up breaking my French press the other day and while I am perfectly content with the French press brew, it got me thinking on other brew methods. Specifically moka pots or pour over pots. Anyone use these? Looking for opinions(good or bad).

Space isn't a concern for the equipment. When I make a cup of coffee, it's a bigger serving. Like 15-20 oz. And when it comes to roasts, I'll drink the full spectrum, but do tend to go with darker roasts. And I am grinding my own beans. Thanks in advance for any help!

Personally I'd just get a new French press and be ready to make coffee tomorrow morning, but I suppose if you're going to consider alternative methods now would be a good time.

I don't have a specific recommendation, so instead I'll tell you a heartwarming story about why I adore my wife. One morning, a few years ago, she got up first (something that rarely if ever happens these days) and accidentally broke the French press while making the coffee. Bless her heart, she hopped into the car and drove to a nearby Target to get a replacement, and by the time I got up the coffee was made -- as if nothing had happened.

 

[MJ5150]

So I ended up breaking my French press the other day and while I am perfectly content with the French press brew, it got me thinking on other brew methods. Specifically moka pots or pour over pots. Anyone use these? Looking for opinions(good or bad).

Space isn't a concern for the equipment. When I make a cup of coffee, it's a bigger serving. Like 15-20 oz. And when it comes to roasts, I'll drink the full spectrum, but do tend to go with darker roasts. And I am grinding my own beans. Thanks in advance for any help!

I'm a pour over guy. I've spent years perfecting the craft and it's my go to for all coffee I drink.
I ended up with a Hario server, the classic beehive V60: V60 "Clear" Range Server.
As for a dripper, I've tried many over the years (easily over a hundred) and this is hands down my favorite: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I do like this dripper as well: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] but it's not for everyone.
If you give the Gino a try, be aware you need flat bottom filters and do not, under any circumstances, cheap out on the filter. I use genuine Kalita brand filters. Yeah, they cost more, but trust me, this is not somewhere you want to save a dime. You won't find filters for the Gino in a grocery store or most coffee shops unless they sell the Kalita Wave dripper.
This is the filter I use, the #185 since it makes a couple cups: Coffee equipment general manufacturer 【Kalita】.
I tried this dripper, and still have it: Stagg Pour-Over Dripper. It's nice and makes good coffee, but I just don't care for the taste of coffee brewed in metal.
Same with plastic, not a fan of plastic drippers. Ceramic or glass is my first choice.

-Mike

 

[BassNugget]

Just a thought: Since space is not an issue... If you are a machine guy, you may be able to get a commercial brewer for used cheap. When I was in college, I got an old 7-11 Bunn machine for $50.00. Had a good heating system, good water dispersion, correct extraction time, and made a nice pot of coffee. I would make a half-pot and put it into a carafe to drink over my study time.

 

[pie_man_25]

So I ended up breaking my French press the other day and while I am perfectly content with the French press brew, it got me thinking on other brew methods. Specifically moka pots or pour over pots. Anyone use these? Looking for opinions(good or bad).

Space isn't a concern for the equipment. When I make a cup of coffee, it's a bigger serving. Like 15-20 oz. And when it comes to roasts, I'll drink the full spectrum, but do tend to go with darker roasts. And I am grinding my own beans. Thanks in advance for any help!

I've got two Moka pots and a French press. The French press lives in the office.

The two Moka pots are what I drink from most mornings. There's a bialletti 3-shot one and a knockoff 1-shot model. The upside to them is that they're pretty simple to make, and they're pretty cheap and small. The downside is that you're pretty limited to make the amount they're designed to make, and they can be a task to really fine tune.

At any rate, I like mine.

 

[BassNugget]

Cleanup is also not the most fun.

 

[pie_man_25]

Cleanup is also not the most fun.

I don't mind it, but you're not wrong.

IMO the easiest cleanups are either machines that use paper filters or Keurig and other pod machines. But I'm not really into those pod machines.

 

[definenredefine]

I don't mind it, but you're not wrong.

IMO the easiest cleanups are either machines that use paper filters or Keurig and other pod machines. But I'm not really into those pod machines.

They're not great! Seems like the coffee comes out pretty weak most times...

 

[FRoss6788]

Personally I'd just get a new French press and be ready to make coffee tomorrow morning, but I suppose if you're going to consider alternative methods now would be a good time.

I don't have a specific recommendation, so instead I'll tell you a heartwarming story about why I adore my wife. One morning, a few years ago, she got up first (something that rarely if ever happens these days) and accidentally broke the French press while making the coffee. Bless her heart, she hopped into the car and drove to a nearby Target to get a replacement, and by the time I got up the coffee was made -- as if nothing had happened.

Your wife is pretty rad....

 

[Lobster11]

They're not great! Seems like the coffee comes out pretty weak most times...

The pod machines make weak coffee because the water temperature is not hot enough and the exposure/brewing time is not long enough. Convenient for a quick cup but not a good one.

BTW, most drip coffeemakers do not heat the water to proper brewing temperature either: You really have to look to find one that does.

 

[the general]

I'm a pour over guy. I've spent years perfecting the craft and it's my go to for all coffee I drink.
I ended up with a Hario server, the classic beehive V60: V60 "Clear" Range Server.
As for a dripper, I've tried many over the years (easily over a hundred) and this is hands down my favorite: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I do like this dripper as well: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] but it's not for everyone.
If you give the Gino a try, be aware you need flat bottom filters and do not, under any circumstances, cheap out on the filter. I use genuine Kalita brand filters. Yeah, they cost more, but trust me, this is not somewhere you want to save a dime. You won't find filters for the Gino in a grocery store or most coffee shops unless they sell the Kalita Wave dripper.
This is the filter I use, the #185 since it makes a couple cups: Coffee equipment general manufacturer 【Kalita】.
I tried this dripper, and still have it: Stagg Pour-Over Dripper. It's nice and makes good coffee, but I just don't care for the taste of coffee brewed in metal.
Same with plastic, not a fan of plastic drippers. Ceramic or glass is my first choice.

-Mike

I'll have to look into those. Seems like the pour over brew method is the way to go nowadays.

 

[the general]

Just a thought: Since space is not an issue... If you are a machine guy, you may be able to get a commercial brewer for used cheap. When I was in college, I got an old 7-11 Bunn machine for $50.00. Had a good heating system, good water dispersion, correct extraction time, and made a nice pot of coffee. I would make a half-pot and put it into a carafe to drink over my study time.

Not much of a machine guy. I think the French press made a better cup of coffee than a drip machine which is one of the reasons why I went with it. I do like the drip machine though if I want a whole pot of coffee, which isn't too often.

And I don't like the Keurig type machines because I think those pods are wasteful.

 

[BassNugget]

Not much of a machine guy. I think the French press made a better cup of coffee than a drip machine which is one of the reasons why I went with it. I do like the drip machine though if I want a whole pot of coffee, which isn't too often.

And I don't like the Keurig type machines because I think those pods are wasteful.

I get you. I have a mocha pot and a nice ceramic pour-over. The pour-over makes the best cup-o-joe, IMHO. I moved away from the French press due to the cleanup and the coffee being too "oily" for my taste (I drink dark roasts only). As I have a small family, I replaced the Bunn-O-Matic with a commercial Keurig, which is arguably the fastest way to make coffee. But I do miss the ability to brew a whole lot when we have company. You can do that with the ceramic holder and a carafe, but it takes several loadings.

At Camp San Luis Obispo, we had these huge Army percolators. They could brew a ton of coffee at a setting. We would poll the NCOA students and bought some good quality coffee. Once you had that thing dialed-in, it provided a surprisingly decent cup. We would refill that 100+ cup machine 3 or 4 times a day!

 

[Old Blastard]

Currently make coffee through a Keurig using the KCUP adapter that lets me put my own coffee in it. I prefer Light roasts for their flavors and grind my own.

I also use a French press travel mug, make Americanos in a Krups machine and occasionally, if I snag VERY good coffee, do the pour over.
For camping I have a campfire percolator.

 

[-Shaun-]

Hi all. I'm having a bit of an issue with my grinder. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem. It's a ceramic burr hand grinder and every time when grinding, some partially (but not fully) ground beans get stuck between the inner and outer burr. This pushes the burrs apart where the culprit bean is stuck and results in an inconsistent grind as larger pieces can fall through there while the opposite side is (I imagine) grinding too finely.

I take my grinder apart at pretty regular intervals and clean the burrs with a soft brush and lukewarm water. It's starting to do my head in. It's a Porlex which, while not the best hand grinder on the market, should at least last longer than a couple of months. I wonder whether the burrs have prematurely worn out in a specific area and that's where those beans always get lodged. I had some beans a while back that were a very light roast and seemed incredibly hard. Harder to grind than any beans I've had before. Perhaps that was when the issue started. Could they have worn the ceramic down?

Has anyone run into a problem like this before?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BassNugget]

Hi all. I'm having a bit of an issue with my grinder. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem. It's a ceramic burr hand grinder and every time when grinding, some partially (but not fully) ground beans get stuck between the inner and outer burr. This pushes the burrs apart where the culprit bean is stuck and results in an inconsistent grind as larger pieces can fall through there while the opposite side is (I imagine) grinding too finely.

I take my grinder apart at pretty regular intervals and clean the burrs with a soft brush and lukewarm water. It's starting to do my head in. It's a Porlex which, while not the best hand grinder on the market, should at least last longer than a couple of months. I wonder whether the burrs have prematurely worn out in a specific area and that's where those beans always get lodged. I had some beans a while back that were a very light roast and seemed incredibly hard. Harder to grind than any beans I've had before. Perhaps that was when the issue started. Could they have worn the ceramic down?

Has anyone run into a problem like this before?

Thanks in advance.

How course or fine a grind are you doing? And no, I have never had that problem.

 

[-Shaun-]

How course or fine a grind are you doing? And no, I have never had that problem.

I've tried all sorts of grind sizes. It happens regardless. All that differs is the size of the piece that gets stuck. A smaller piece at a finer setting and a larger piece at a coarser setting. The burrs continue to rotate when grinding, but the lodged piece moves around with the inner burr, rubbing against the stationary outer burr.

 

[BassNugget]

Geez. I dunno. Can you snap a picture of the burrs?

Mine is held in by a central shaft and there isn't much lateral movement. Pic in next post.

 

[BassNugget]

Geez. I dunno. Can you snap a picture of the burrs?

Mine is held in by a central shaft and there isn't much lateral movement. Pic in next post.