coffee thread

[LordCashew]

Finally got a small French Press. I've used it twice and I'm not sure if I dig it or not. Supposed to be a "richer" cup of coffee from everything I've read, but it seems to me the pour-over is more flavorful. I'll have to experiment more. I'm thinking the instructions for my model don't quite have the ratios right. I'm gonna try more grounds, slightly lower initial temp and see what's what over the next couple tries. Surely there's a sweet-spot in there someplace.

Definitely mess with the ratio, but keep in mind you can get away with a much longer brew time with immersion.

I still love a good French press—it was my introduction to decent coffee at home—but honestly at this point I prefer pour over because it just gives you a lot more control. French press is less work and a lot harder to over extract, which makes it great for beginners and less nuanced roasts. But if you've already mastered pour over technique and are working with high quality beans, I don't think there's a ton to be gained via French press. Still worth experimenting with but a lateral move at best IMO.

Have you tried one of those metal screen pour over brewers? That can also get you a richer cup.

 

[nightflameauto]

Definitely mess with the ratio, but keep in mind you can get away with a much longer brew time with immersion.

I still love a good French press—it was my introduction to decent coffee at home—but honestly at this point I prefer pour over because it just gives you a lot more control. French press is less work and a lot harder to over extract, which makes it great for beginners and less nuanced roasts. But if you've already mastered pour over technique and are working with high quality beans, I don't think there's a ton to be gained via French press. Still worth experimenting with but a lateral move at best IMO.

Have you tried one of those metal screen pour over brewers? That can also get you a richer cup.

Yup. My main pour-overs are stainless mesh. I do have a bigger paper filter one I use rarely, but the steel mesh ones make a better cup for my tastes.

 

[jaxadam]

Finally got a small French Press. I've used it twice and I'm not sure if I dig it or not. Supposed to be a "richer" cup of coffee from everything I've read, but it seems to me the pour-over is more flavorful. I'll have to experiment more. I'm thinking the instructions for my model don't quite have the ratios right. I'm gonna try more grounds, slightly lower initial temp and see what's what over the next couple tries. Surely there's a sweet-spot in there someplace.

I do four heaping tablespoons of a dark roast and fill it with water from a tea kettle, stir, then let it sit for about 5 minutes. A cup of that will make you jump up and smack your grandma.

 

[nightflameauto]

I do four heaping tablespoons of a dark roast and fill it with water from a tea kettle, stir, then let it sit for about 5 minutes. A cup of that will make you jump up and smack your grandma.

I'm thinking as tiny as mine is that'd make a nice acid bath. Mine holds an absolute max of 12oz. And even that's pushing it.

I made the mistake of upping my grounds, and lowering the amount of water this morning. Eesh. Glad I didn't spend much on this thing. I'll try a few more, but I'm not hopeful at this point.

I think what I really want is espresso, but no fuckin' way I'm spending that kinda bank of my morning ritual. Fuck that noise. Not to mention I waste enough time on it already.

 

[jaxadam]

I think what I really want is espresso, but no fuckin' way I'm spending that kinda bank of my morning ritual. Fuck that noise. Not to mention I waste enough time on it already.

It's worth it. Our last machine lasted 10 years and still "works". We got a new one and I've got some pretty high hopes for it to. Get one.

 

[nightflameauto]

It's worth it. Our last machine lasted 10 years and still "works". We got a new one and I've got some pretty high hopes for it to. Get one.

A) Get me a bigger kitchen.
B) Hand me the money.

I've got a shit-pile of things I'm working on selling off to make more room, but it's a slow process.

 

[jaxadam]

A) Get me a bigger kitchen.
B) Hand me the money.

I've got a shit-pile of things I'm working on selling off to make more room, but it's a slow process.

You don't need a bigger kitchen for a Jura ENA 4. I know someone who travels with one and puts it on the nightstand in their hotel room!

 

[TedEH]

I'd have probably said something similar about the coffee I make from home, until someone gifted me a machine and now I feel like I'd want to replace it if it was suddenly gone. I've gotten to really prefer an espresso / americano to any basic at-home drip coffee.

IMO the bar to pass in terms of coffee expense is that it needs to beat how much I'd be spending if I went out and bought my coffees, which is not a hard bar to pass after tips, etc., if you're buying espresso drinks. You figure, if a cheap machine costs $200 - and a latte or double espresso costs $4-5 each time - you've broken even within about two months, give or take the cost of the beans/grounds. (As long as you actually stop going to the cafe at the same time.)

 

[nightflameauto]

You don't need a bigger kitchen for a Jura ENA 4. I know someone who travels with one and puts it on the nightstand in their hotel room!

• Width
  10.7 inches
• Depth
  17.5 inches
• Height
  12.7 inches

Yeah, nope. Literally not enough room for that. We gots da tiny kitchen. I *MAY* be able to shove one back in my office, but I ain't droppin' a grand on a coffee machine anytime soon. If I get a grand that isn't going straight to house expenses, it'll go into muzak equipment or shit for my books.

 

[jaxadam]

I'd have probably said something similar about the coffee I make from home, until someone gifted me a machine and now I feel like I'd want to replace it if it was suddenly gone. I've gotten to really prefer an espresso / americano to any basic at-home drip coffee.

IMO the bar to pass in terms of coffee expense is that it needs to beat how much I'd be spending if I went out and bought my coffees, which is not a hard bar to pass after tips, etc., if you're buying espresso drinks. You figure, if a cheap machine costs $200 - and a latte or double espresso costs $4-5 each time - you've broken even within about two months, give or take the cost of the beans/grounds. (As long as you actually stop going to the cafe at the same time.)

I figure a $1000 machine over the span of 10 years costs me about $0.07/cup.

Now Monsters on the other hand... I'm probably paying the rent for one of their warehouses!

 

[TedEH]

Maybe I haven't gotten deep enough into the espresso snob rabbit hole, but I don't think it needs to be a grand for a machine. I've tried two of the cheap box-store machines (DeLonghi and Breville) recently and as long as the coffee you put into it is good to start with, it does a good enough job. Coming from someone who, before December, had never used an espresso machine in any capacity, so take that as you will.

 

[jaxadam]

Maybe I haven't gotten deep enough into the espresso snob rabbit hole, but I don't think it needs to be a grand for a machine. I've tried two of the cheap box-store machines (DeLonghi and Breville) recently and as long as the coffee you put into it is good to start with, it does a good enough job. Coming from someone who, before December, had never used an espresso machine in any capacity, so take that as you will.

It doesn’t have to be. I’m just saying what I’m assuming it costs me. Our last one was about $2k, and this new one is cheaper but pretty much on par with it. I will say I like what I get more than anything I’ve gotten out of a Breville or DeLonghi.

 

[TedEH]

For a coffee machine, I think I'd be willing to shell out above that 1k mark if I expected I'd be entertaining people pretty often, or if I really intended to stop going to cafes (which, I've only put on pause while I have the novelty of an at-home machine, but I'm sure I'll go back). The kinds of cases where I'd be fretting the small details more, I guess.

I don't doubt that a more expensive machine will net better results most of the time - although, same as any of the music gear we talk about, the diminishing returns thing almost certainly applies. I tend to justify a lot of $1k+ costs by asking how regularly I'm going to interact with the thing, and where the bar is for how comfortable I want that interaction to be. Like I can easily "justify" in my head an "expensive" PC peripheral because I work on them all day. Or a > $1k guitar because I'm going to play them so regularly, and because I know with that much time invested, the little details will eventually wear on me. Maybe someday my coffee habit will reach that level, hah.

 

[nightflameauto]

I'm a cup a day, maybe two if I'm stretching it, guy, and extremely rarely will I buy a cup out unless I'm already out to eat or something. Ain't no how I'm justifying a grand for a machine. I'm having a hard enough time justifying fifty bucks for a kettle with digital control for the office, and I've been kicking that one around my head for about six months now since I'm half scared of spending the money, and the other half scared I'd turn into the office caffeine dork and drink them all day. The other guy who does that in the office is the most ragey fucker I ever had the misfortune of working with. He literally sits at his desk all day long smashing on his keyboard and going, "FUCK!" *SMASH SMASH* "SHIT!" *SMASH SMASH* "FUCKING SHIT!" *SMASH* "COCKSUCKER!"

That poor girl that came in from customer service is having some "adjustment troubles." Why the boss doesn't crack down on the filth-mouth is beyond me.

 

[TedEH]

My coffee consumption has definitely escalated in the last 5 years or so. I went from one every couple days, to one a day, to now averaging 3 a day but sometimes more. I try to cut back sometimes but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[lurè]

Bought a new moka (kamira) and it's probably the best coffee I've ever had.

 

[jaxadam]

Bought a new moka (kamira) and it's probably the best coffee I've ever had.

View attachment 120325

I'm just glad you used the camera budget on the coffee budget!

 

[LordCashew]

Bought a new moka (kamira) and it's probably the best coffee I've ever had.

View attachment 120325

Looks like a nice healthy squirt of mayo going in there... mm-mm!

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I haven't owned a french press or coffee machine in a few years now. When my last french press broke I started making cowboy coffee in an adam's peanut butter jar. At first it was temporary but it works so well (and is so cheap) that I never looked back. I am learning that there is a certain finesse to getting the grounds to sink, though. Coarse grounds float more, and dark roasts are really floaty making for a sludgy cup. Fine-ground medium roasts yield excellent results.

 

[RG570EX]

I've never been that much of a coffee fanatic but this shit has turned me into a believer. It's so freaking good I got addicted to it like crack.