This is a *coffee* community, not an espresso community. Here's my evil drip brew machine and morning abomination
I like espressos (especially mochas) but they take a bit of work to prepare a single cup. With drip brew, I can do very little and get unhealthy amounts of caffeination into my corpse. Also, I pour ungodly amounts of creamer into my coffee. That Mason jar is quite literally half coffee half creamer.
227 replies
I love shitty coffee, I love fancy coffee, I love coffee.
This is my take too, any coffee is good. I just wanna talk about this drink, I don’t care how people like to actually drink it. I’ve got my preferences, and accept that others may have different preferences. It’s what makes this hobby so much fun. Life would be boring if we all had the same likes and dislikes.
When I was in university, and it was finals time and they opened the study areas 24/7, they would wheel out big coffee dispensers, the kind I associate with hospitals or bad hotels. Just a big insulated metal cylinder filled with almost rancid, mealy, astringent black liquid, with rickety little spouts.
The default coffee here is Turkish-style (we call it Turkish or Arabic coffee), but this was a weird halfway between batch brew drip coffee and Turkish style coffee. And being a few hours old it was basically the absolute worst of both worlds.
I think they don’t allow any food or coffee anymore there now which sucks, maybe one too many spills. Never an issue when I was there.
My friends knew I would only get coffee from particular places, and they would be shocked to see me drink what I called hospital coffee. But for me this was the coffee called for by the situation I was in, hopelessly cramming control systems at three in the morning. The bad coffee is integral (don’t clap) to the experience. I’m participating in the ritual that is finals here, so this is part of that ritual. The fact that the coffee tastes like bitumen is just part of me taking the moment in. I know it’s shit. I want it to be shit. Let me enjoy the diversity the world offers.
I’ve got one like that, but in the military. We got little packets of instant coffee in our rations, I’d just pour that in my mouth and drink some water. I think that’s still technically coffee. Tasted like shit but woke you up, first from the taste and then from the caffeine. Mission accomplished, that’s a good coffee in my book.
Getting down those concentrated bitter coffee crystals with semi cool water (that might be a bit mildewey or plasticky depending on the age of the camelbak you’re drinking from) on a long shitty ruck just feels proper.
no you're onto something. i call them taste memories. when a flavor is ingrained with an experience
Your choice was proportional to the situation.
You love the java jive and i do too
Waiter, waiter, percolator
yeah, i'm not a coffee snob, i'm a food snob. i appreciate the delicacy in the coffee but if it's brown, drink it down. if it's black, drink it back. if it's white, tastes alright. i can rhyme these all day.
*I can rhyme these for all time
i never said i could rhyme them good
just that i got rhyming time on my hands
if it's blue drink your stew yeah that works well enough
with a pourover, you'd be doing even less work with less cleanup
Maybe OP does this at work and just wants to waste time. I know I do.
Nah that's my house. What's a pourover?
You pour the water (from a kettle or whatever) yourself instead of the machine doing all of the work.
"all the work" you mean your machine pours water into itself?
Yes
you can go all the way from cheap to absurd in price, but pretty much the cup you're drinking from becomes the pot, and the pourover is the drip brewer. place filter, add coffee, pour hot water, done. throw away the grounds and filter and rinse the pourover, cleanup is done.
i bought one of the cheapo ones when my second keurig machine in 2 years took a shit, and never looked back. the only con that i've found is that it won't suffice for multiple coffee drinkers at once. if you're traveling you can throw the pourover, bag of coffee, and filters in your luggage and not have to deal with a hotel's shit tier coffee. or if you're staying at some weirdo house where no one drinks coffee. just use one of their cups to microwave some water
That’s when it’s Chemex Time!™ Or you have to lateral to french press.
Pourover is more work in my opinion, since you usually don't pour all the water at once, do you
What actually is quite easy is an immersion switch dripper since there, you can just pour it all at once
Yes, it’s more work
sounds like a load of hype ass bullshit to me
but not in a bad way
It’s just kinda how the regular old Mr Coffee machines work, but you boil the water in a kettle and pour it on top all at once. So it’s pourover with a drip throttle.
Yes, but skip the filter if you want to do less work and get more coffee in your coffee
Put the grounds in the mug. Pour water. A bit later, stir with a spoon so you have less floaties. Enjoy a mug of tar. Chewing on the grounds later is optional.
We call it "thief's coffee" in Estonia, because you don't have much time to spend on making coffee when you're robbing someone's house, but you still need the caffeine fix lmao
Been working in coffee for several years now. It started as a hobby which means I have about 6 different ways of making coffee at home. All that to say I can find very little wrong with these machines as long as your beans are decent quality and you're grinding fresh for each pot.
Yes they rarely have any form of temp control and the hot plate leaves coffee tasting stale after a few hours of keeping it warm, but they're consistent, albeit consistently mediocre.
And they come with the added bonus of being able to schedule the brew time which can be helpful for those rushed mornings.
up front: everyone should do what works best for them. no judgement.
with that out of the way, yes, machines make coffee, and they're easy. the biggest thing that keeps me from using one is the tubing-- if you don't religiously run cleaning cycles (which is more $ for the cleaner chemicals), then you end up with internal tubing full of bacterial colonies, which, no thanks. that's to say nothing of the reservoir. when did you last clean the reservoir of your coffee machine?
pourover = rinse out, air dry or towel dry, no moisture for shit to grow in
also, you talk about "grinding fresh for each pot" which i totally agree, but then you say "schedule the brew time" which means letting the "fresh ground" coffee sit in a coffee machine basket overnight, open to the world, which, as you know from working in coffee, negates the "fresh ground" bit. the coffee is fine, i pre-grind my own coffee. but i definitely taste a difference in coffee i grind immediately before brewing, and that which i grind the night before
Fair enough. And yes the cleanliness of those machines can be problematic and require more care, but not enough to be an inconvenience to most people. But I agree with you on that in general as well as the cost aspect.
I am aware that those two phrases negate each other to some extent, however grinding the night before is still infinitely better than store-bought, pre-ground coffee. Just pointing out the small steps someone can make to improve their current setup. No need to overhaul the entire system you have for yourself if a couple small changes can get you to a better end product.
My own experience in coffee has always just been "use what you have until you understand the reason for updrading or changing your equipment." Make baby steps along the way instead of changing everything at once is always my argument.
cockroaches
i fucking hated that specific machine. i wish i never found out why.
I have a drip machine with a vacuum insulated metal carafe and it keeps the coffee warm for hours without a hot plate. Those hot plates are awful and the glass carafes always break ime.
Espresso is hard to do at an office but a French press and hand grinder are very easy to keep in a drawer at your desk. And if you're desperate you can use the drop brewer to get your hot water.
I'm broke and that machine was a rescue. My brother showed me once how to use a French press but my impression of it was that it took more effort than "4 tbsp of grounds into a filter. 24oz of water, push button."
4tbsp of grounds into bucket. Add 24 oz boiling water. Wait 4 min. Press and pour.
But then you start asking questions like, "surely boiling water is too hot, what is the proper temperature?" and "what about grind size?"
So you go down the rabbit hole. And learn about "blooming", etc.
But soon enough you no longer need the precision scale, you can just eyeball things like grind size and amounts. You may even learn what the kettle sounds like when it hits the proper temp. You come out the other side.
IMO Boiling water is typically just fine for most coffee, unless it’s a dark roast. By the time it’s in the press and accounting for cooling it’ll be mid 90s.
No worries with blooming on a French press!
I’ve been using French press for 20 years and tried a bunch of things; the only complication that stuck is the Hoffman Method (and of course a decent grinder). It’s the graph with a bubble in the middle - don’t know enough, knows enough to be way too intense, knows enough that the intensity doesn’t matter.
+1 for French press, but enhance the experience with an insulated carafe so it stays warm. Makes an excellent cup of coffee without a ton more work.
What about an aeropress? Full disclosure, I haven't seen one in person and therefore never used one.
easy for an office. i can't compare to a french press since full disclosure, same reason
Aeropress would probably be better than a French press in an office setting. More compact and significantly easier to clean
I just use instant at my office though. I rarely use it, but I prefer it to Keurig or the drip machine in our office.
But I mainly just drive in with a cup of coffee from home.
I've never tried a single serve Keurig. What makes it undesirable, besides the wastefullness?
it's single serving, preground drip brew coffee that tastes of plastic.
i got a basket so i could adjust a keurig. grind my own beans. reuse the filter. still tasted like shit. ended up being full of cockroaches. so it may have just been my machine
Thank you, I will avoid Keurigs.
Probably good, not my thing since it requires filters. Very compact tho so yeah.
I used to date a guy who had that EXACT machine. I appreciate it's a popular model but it brought back memories.
Anyway, he made the shittiest coffee, real dirty-tasting brown sludge and I couldn't figure out why. When he wasn't about one day I tested the machine with some cheap supermarket grounds and I couldn't believe it: it was fine. Perfectly cromulent, surprising clean tasting, and hassle-free.
Anyway, after a while I figured it out. Turns out he was putting Nescafé instant coffee into the filter.
That's disturbing. Did he actually like his coffee?
Sounds like someone so cheap that it didn’t matter what it tasted like. I think these are the people that drink the $1.50 bang energy in the morning. It’s more about a vehicle for cheap caffeine than it is about enjoying coffee. Sounds like a sad life.
That's just how you view it. It's not a sad life at all.
Congrats you just defined an opinion.
I can't take all the credit. It was the little people that did most of the work. /s
If cheap, why would they add expense of coffee maker to make instant coffee? Could just boil water for that.
Espresso is a type of coffee. Some like Café Crème, some Americano, some Lungo, some filter coffee, some french press.
My recommendation for you: try the french press. Even more simple and mostly glass/metal instead of plastic.
Upvote for French press, there is a double-walled steel version that keeps the coffee nice and hot.
Grind the coffee yourself and it's miles better than drip.
Eh I always end up with fines and they really bother me.
There are definitely quality levels of filter brewing too. From cheap drip machines that don’t get to the right temperature to really fancy drip machines can effectively simulate a pourover.
Just depends what you like really. Would say that a $20 French press setup will almost certainly produce better coffee than a $20 drip machine, but a better comp is a $20 pour over setup imo.
I still can't get a consensus definition of the difference between Café Crème and Americano.
Café crema was the original name for espresso because of the crema it produced. Café crème is the French translation. Espresso became the more popular word.
Now it's when you make a long black / americano style drink but instead of adding water before / after pulling the shot, you run the full amount of water through a coarser grind when making the espresso.
Americano = water after shot
Long black = water before shot
Café crema = water through shot
I couldn’t have explained it any better; well done!
Thanks for your input! Then this would be similar to a "lungo" or "allongé"?
My issue is more in the consensus side of things...
Some coffee places in Switzerland told me (with 100% certainty) that "Café crema" and "Americano" was the same thing, and the fancy espresso machine at work offers "allongé" and "cafe crema" as different choices...
Personally I've never heard of a cafe crème before, but one website says it's an espresso to which you add a bunch of milk. Another website says it's supposed to be less foamy than a cappuccino and less milky than a latte. Found a swiss Site which makes it sound even more complicated.
As for the others.. lungo and allongé are the same thing, which is usually an espresso but you let more water flow through the coffee. Usually at least twice as much. Americano is usually just an espresso to which you add a bunch of hot water. Usually to fill one of those bigger mugs till you get to like 150-200ml
In German café crème is the same as lungo / allongé (wich are the same word just translated) but in French café crème is lungo + milk. Apparently Switzerland takes inspiration from the former :')
That makes sense! I was right on the language frontier in Switzerland, thus it could explain why different shops were using the French or the German definition!
Anyway, I think I enjoy the discussion even more than the coffee itself 😂
Little anecdote: I've been to Paris a fair bit, and always enjoy a big bowl of cafe au lait with my morning pastry. First time in Nice, the waiter mocked me for my order. "Café olé!" he shouted and did a little flamenco dance. In the south of France, he explained, they call milky coffee "café crème". So there you go.
In the UK an Americano is just a watered-down espresso, no milk or cream.
Counter point, tossing a filter with grounds into the trash is easier than washing the French press.
“Simpler way” as you need less machinery and less equipment for the same type of coffee, while giving an ecological benefit. So tossing away a one-use filter does not really fit into that category.
Besides that, how do you clean the rest of the coffee dripper? Can you put it in the dishwasher, as you can do it with the french press? Heck, even just rinsing the french press filter is good enough in 90% of the times.
Tl;dr counter point countered.
That is a glass of milk with a splash of coffee.
My god i thought it was a random bar of maionese...
I’ve used pretty much every method of coffee making for extended periods except for a siphon and I have also settled on auto drip.
I switched from “cream; no sugar” for the past ~30 years to “black” at some point in the past 6 months.
How are you liking the Moccamaster? I seriously considered getting one, but ended up buying the Zojirushi instead.
It’s good but I’m not sure it was worth it - I haven’t had another drip maker in decades; it would be fun to do a side by side comparison.
I'm in the same boat with my Moccamaster. I've been using it for 10 years next month and that's maybe kind of the point. The thing has been extremely reliable and it turns out that replacement parts are readily available for seemingly every component. I accidentally broke the cover to the brewing chamber and was delighted with how easy it was to source an original replacement.
I think my kids will inherit this thing.
I’ve only had mine for a month after my old Oxo 9-cup machine had an electronic failure. At a certain point, coffee is coffee. I don’t think the product from the Mocca is objectively much better than the Oxo’s. But the Mocca seems to be designed without any corner-cutting, using high-quality materials and reliable, simple mechanisms more than cheaper alternatives.
This is basically where I’ve landed after trying all the things. I’ve determined I care about coffee more than most but far less than many.
If I’ve got good beans the rest is really nuance that I’d need to compare side by side.
I agree completely. Beans and even just proper technique (actually dialing in the water/bean ratio, using the right filters, rinsing the filter, etc.) are probably way more important than which drip machine you’re using.
I’ve fallen even further 😅
My machine’s manual recommends using “oxygen whitened filters” and I used to stress this. Well the last time I went to buy filters the one place in town that used to sell them stopped. I decided I probably couldn’t tell the difference and bought the “natural” ones from the same company and I definitely don’t notice a difference.
I’ve got my ratio locked in; 60:1 and I weigh the water and beans every time. But other than that and a thorough cleaning and descaling on the manufacturer’s recommended schedule, that’s about the extent of my fussiness anymore.
lol - I just realized I got this completely wrong. It’s 60g/l ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah, truth. These are too expensive to buy for comparison, and then of course what would one do with the one that wasn’t the favorite if one could?
You need a meetup, with a third party to administer the double blind.. wait... A third and fourth party
Nvnd. Meetup and share coffee
i miss some of my old bands. the tighter ones, we'd meet up between band practice and have cooking competitions. some of the best friends i've ever had
what i'm saying is coffee competitions with the homies
Finland?
US
Use hot chocolate mix instead of some creamer or sugar. Approximates the mocha flavor along the same lines of laziness for payoff.
Agrees in Aeropress
Love my aeropress. It makes damn fine coffee.
Aeropress my beloved. But I borrowed a friend's tricolate once for a few months and that's pretty easy too especially 2 to 3 drinkers.
It does doesn't it, for something that's essentially a plastic tube it works perfectly! Low-tech ftw
Its a weird type of tough glass
That's the premium version, I've only got the bog standard one. Still does a very good job imo.
Milk with some brown flavoring?
Yes
I'm not from the US, but creamer isn't typically milk, right? It's some kind of protein-heavy vegetable fat?
Powdered creamer is usually corn syrup solids, others vary. I personally just add a splash of milk to my coffee and sweeten slightly with Splenda (I’m T2 diabetic, no sugar).
Coffee House owner chiming in: drink whatever the hell you enjoy.
I don't understand what's so hard about espresso :-)
Personally tea is my everyday thing. Coffee is a special treat; but I do have a fondness for drip coffee. It makes me feel like I’m at a deli!
I love coffee, but Twinings Irish Breakfast tea is delicious. I usually have a cup in the afternoon/evening.
You might also enjoy Harney & Sons Scottish Morn (loose tea). That's a good gateway into loose teas. Can get a metal tea basket for it cheap from Amazon. Then after that you might try a CTC like Darsam CTC.
I use the Clever for loose tea to save on cleanup. I buy Ceylon and Assam from various places to make my own blends but nothing ever seems to quite match up to Twinings, dunno what magic they’re doing.
This is indeed a great workhorse tea!
Twinings anything really
Same, but more so because too much caffeine gives me anxiety, and not enough caffeine gives me headaches. I'm not addicted, I can quit whenever I want!
That’s true. I like that with tea I can be nearly constantly drinking it during the work day!
I also drink tea fairly often. Not as regularly as coffee, but often. Usually black with a dollop of honey.
If it’s a real hot day, I like to throw a bunch of hibiscus leaves in there too. Makes me feel tropical lol
Hibiscus tea is my board game drink for some reason. Every time I play a board game I need to have hibiscus tea. No idea why anymore but I can’t go without it now.
hell yeah my friend, my morning microwaved-mug-of-water-with-instant-coffee salutes you
Puro
Bill's Brew! this is coming from someone who fixes espresso machines lol
Teach me your ways.
I'm snob who will appreciate every form. There must be a label for that.
I love instant coffee, in desperation. But, I still feel unfulfilled. It's it cause I drink it black? I do like lattes and take just some milk or half and half
Me your ways.
I'm snob who will appreciate every form. There must be a label for that.
I love instant coffee, in desperation. But, I still feel unfulfilled. It's it cause I drink it black? I do like lattes and take just some milk or half and half
A friend once tried to convince me to purchase a Rocket Appartmento to upgrade my morning experience. Having to wait 30 m for the boiler was a no go. My ol' reliable does just fine for the first hit.
Since we're doing abominations:
Look at you with your recognizable brand name! I prefer to spend my money on the beans, so I order my beans from Groundwork. Here's my cheapo, super simple machine.
https://coffeemakers.us.com/product/dayum-white-12-cup-drip-coffee-maker/
No black plastic, no timers, just on/off. Brown paper filters. I made it even simpler by ripping out the little spring, so it can't stop and it can't jam. You're getting better coffee when you wait for the full brew anyway. Dayum, it makes good coffee.
And for the full abomination, a big slosh of Atkins Vanilla Shake as my creamer.
Opens link👀
Dayum
I have that exact machine. Toss it on a smart switch so you can set a power-on timer and its a game changer. Also, just drink a whole pot of drip coffee while you wait for it to heat. That's what I do...
Never bothered with espresso, it’s not my thing. I keep it simple. French press, Hario v60, or Clever dripper. Gets it done.
That and I have multiple kettles. An electric kettle for my daily, but also a small stovetop gooseneck and another standard kettle for when I’m traveling or in the worst case if I don’t have power and need to heat with fire.
While I like the idea of having a French press because it makes my kettle more handy, I don’t like the idea of switching to a coarser grind. I like a mild coffee brewed from a little bit of fine grounds and the drip maker does that well. Plus you use a lot less beans over time.
I’m not sure what you mean about using less beans over time. I weigh my grind on a food scale and use the same amount regardless of brewing method and grind size.
I just find drip machines to be kind of gross and hard to fully clean. Plus, there’s the plastics. My main brewing methods (French press and Hario) are stainless steel.
You can make stronger coffee using less bean by grinding finer, I thought that basically how espresso works. In any case it creates more surface area for the water to interact with the bean during brewing. You are probably right and I should just pour over or something, but I am indeed a lazy bastard.
Same. I tried espresso at specialty cafés a few times and it's too intense for me. I much more prefer pour over, but my hone setup is an aeropress though.
If my non coffee weirdo friends offer me coffee usually it will be a café latte or anything I can add milk myself to hide the burnt coffee flavor 😬
Although I have to say in my country there's plenty of non mega corp coffee chain (like Starbucks) that are using quality blends and cheaper than mega corps. And they're local/regional companies.
Only time I've enjoyed espresso was in an Americano. But they're not worth the trouble IMO, since you're essentially just using espresso to make a regular cup coffee.
I still occasionally get burnt coffee now, but it's partly due to the process, as I've been roasting my own beans for several months now. It takes some batches to figure out roughly how much time and how fast I have to keep it moving (stovetop roast in a stainless steel popcorn popper), and the process can vary a bit depending on the bean variety, so it feels much more art than science. I've had some really good batches, some mid, and some bad ones. All drinkable though.
Ethiopian beans seem to handle just about any roasting method with aplomb and generally turn out great (fantastic for me, as Ethiopian Sidamo Guji is my favorite bean region). Mexican Terruño is easy as well, and is happy up to a medium to medium-dark while still keeping its profile. These are go-to beans for me since they're tasty and easy to roast.
I've had mixed results with Kenyan beans, some regions are rather finicky, and even within the same batch I've had some turn out great and others mediocre. They seem more prone to smoking and burning due to high amounts of chaff. And Peaberry can be great, but is hard to roast because it's difficult to get first crack right since the beans are very small and have low moisture content. They may not crack at all.
reeeeeeeeeeeee
Evil Drip Brew Gang represent!
After trying the alternatives, including unreasonably priced espresso machines, I'll never stop using $15-$20 (USD) 12-cup evil drip brewers. Most efficient way to get coffee in me as quickly and frequently as possible.
Methnks you don't actually like coffee. There are other ways to get ungodly amounts of caffeine.
Like... via the butt?
Why's it always the butt with you Janx?
Where else are they supposed to have a prostate?
You're right I don't, I hate the bitterness of black coffee, hence why I drink pale coffee.
I do, on occasion, drink energy drinks, but they're a lot more intense than coffee imo, and tea is too weak.
Have you tried black tea? I have heard it has the most amount of caffeine out of all the different types of tea.
I have, and do often drink black tea. Not enough caffeine content though.
Darn, OK.
More accurately, it's a coffee snob community, since only single origin is tolerated and preground enjoyers are dissed.
I would recommend against preground coffee in the US.
Thanks for the confirmation, haha.
No problem
The quotes around the word acceptable are doing a lot of work there.
Why did I read this?
It's the same everywhere. Literally 0% contamination is impossible to guarantee or test for so every country has "maximum acceptable levels" for stuff like insect parts, mouse hair, etc.
Oh god
I think I'm gonna be sick
Also, don't just use the machine at the grocery store :)
Honestly, I use my drip brewer for tea more than coffee. Coffee goes into my Hario Mizudashi instead because I don't have to worry about my grinder's excessive fines clogging up the filter.
Though you can make the case for a drip brewer just being a funny looking electric kettle too.
For TEA? HEATHEN! lol Sorry, but that's gross to me. I love tea, I can't imagine contaminating it with hot coffee water. I also love coffee. But the two should not mix.
I think it could be really interesting to see the nutrition label on the creamer container
Does it make you happy? Then you do you with the resources you have. Treasure those fleeting moments of warm bliss. They are becoming rarer and rarer these days.
that's... no.
i'm not into the fancy stuff, i have only whatever was cheap to get (plastic v60, first-gen aeropress, a french press i got for free) but... if you want to drink coffee, at least drink coffee.
A Mr. Coffee does make coffee. It’s kinda shit for multiple reasons, but then again nobody drinks it for its flavor as a coworker likes to remind me…
I like the flavor of coffee :(
I think he means the coffee that comes from a Mr. Coffee.
I think we drink it because it's there, not because it's good.
no, i don't care about the machine. you do you. just don't put other stuff in it. coffee is expensive.
Or people can enjoy what they like
no >:c
yeah but then you drink the coffee. you don't dilute it.
I assume you only ever drink straight espresso.
As opposed to gay espresso?
👀
Made me snort.
Enjoy the upvote.
As someone who almost exclusively drinks straight espresso I see nothing wrong with the pic in the post. They seem to be enjoying themselves so who gives a shit? Like, seriously. I might not like it personally, but I can guarantee they’d hate what I drink. We should all just drink what we enjoy.
no, i can't handle espresso.
Boo, fuck off.
I'd always used one of these machines because that's how I'd seen my parents drink it. But someone at work brought in a French press and it blew my mind. I was already considering replacing the drip machine but I immediately picked up a French press instead. Plus it was creaper than a new machine and no more paper filters.
getting a cheap pourover or an aeropress may be fun for you. i usually do drip because i don't have time in the mornings, but all the different methods of preparation changes the character of the brew.
I was rocking a $20 Proctor-Silex drip maker for the last 5+ years until it started leaking out the bottom. I ponied up and bought a Bunn Speed Brew earlier this year. Now I get a full pot of drip made in 4 minutes or less. chef kiss
I also have an espresso machine, aeropress, and French press, but I commit horrific coffee sins like making a double shot of espresso into my mug and then filling the rest with drip coffee. I may have a caffeine problem
That's called a red eye on a lot of coffee shops in new England, just a little extra kick
Yes! I've heard it called that here, too. I think my "sin" is that I spend a lot of time and effort making my shot and then immediately pour drip into it.
man, I yearn for the coffee maker that lasts long enough to have the button rub off again. It's been years since I've had one last long enough to do that. I started buying service/replacement plans for my coffee makers because they just are not built like they used to be.
(Psst, get a French press)
Or a ChemX! Unless I drop the thing it’ll never break down on me. We also love the Aeropress because it never makes a bad cup.
Love a French press but it can be acidic and doesn’t always agree with everyone’s stomach.
Depends which coffee you use in them, getting a good blend it generally turns out very good.
I do believe that the fact remains, the lack of a paper filter + long dwell time = inherently more acidic brew. Scientifically speaking.
You can absolutely use a paper filter in a french press. Just grab a pack of basket filters, they fit most FP sizes pretty well. It makes a far better cup.
Really good to know! I’ve never seen one made that way. I wonder if filters for a percolator pot would work as well.
These kind work great:
This is how it should look:
Note, neither picture is mine, I shameless stole them from the internet.
Check out the French press section in my coffee brewing guide for more details.
You're not suppressed to use boiling water in a French press, that's why you're getting the acidity. Scientifically speaking.
High acidity/sourness comes from under-extracting, not over-extracting. Too high of a brew temp will bring out bitterness, not sourness.
To fix sourness, either use hotter water, finer grind size, or longer contact time with water.
All my coffee is brewed at 195.
Internet says French press is 195-205.
“* French press coffee can be more acidic than filtered coffee because it doesn’t use paper filters that trap acidic compounds.”
https://notnotcoffee.com/blog/does-a-french-press-make-coffee-less-acidic/
There are several other variables as well but the first one listed is the one my previous comment.
“French press brewing allows oils and acids to remain in the coffee, contributing to a fuller flavor profile.”
I like the french presses but they are too hard to clean.
Dump the grounds, run hot soapy water in it. Undo the filter a bit to loosen the hold, run hot soapy water over it, re-tighten the filter. Clean.
Actually, as I type it, yeah. It's annoying
Use a paper basket filter with it and it becomes super easy to clean after. Plus, no grit in your cup. Win-win.
That sounds plausible. Thx.
Basket filters like these work best in my experience:
It should look like this when it’s done:
that may be my choice next time around
My drip coffee maker is a Technivoorm Moccamaster. It's been my main coffee maker for a solid decade and it's showing no signs of slowing down. I wouldn't be surprised if it lived through the next decade. They're pricey upfront, but I'm convinced that it's paid for itself with itself with its longevity. Not to mention great coffee.
That as well will go on my list for prospects, although, I think it's going to go closer to the espresso machine area of the listing! you are quite right they are a tad pricey up front lol
One man's trash is another man's treasure.
It's ok if you like drip coffee. It's ok if you hate drip coffee. The important thing is to know what you like: I once had a friend who was regularly buying fancy machines, always dissatisfied. One time he mentioned that he really liked the coffee at my house - I was serving regular drip coffee from an old-fashioned cuisinart. Don't buy into coffee snobbery.
I haven’t taken the path down to espresso, but I am getting closer because I used a sage barista express for a weekend and it was fun.
I do use a drip machine. It is certified to get up to temperature, which most don’t - and for some reason that makes the ones that do get to temp US$300 or so, but mine was adopted at a very affordable price. Aeropress is less work for a single cup and better coffee. French press is easy, quick, and the cheapest option - unless following the Hoffman method, but that’s some gooood coffee.
Coffee creamer, however, is an unacceptable sin.
✅ Milk, cream, half and half
❌ "Creamer"
I got a variation of that machine VERY cheap second hand and It's been fantastic.
Make coffee how you like and enjoy it, You don't need to spend big money on something just because others have.
I love espresso. But coffee of all types is fascinating and awesome.
and it's not the me giving cats forehead kisses community, it's the cats community, i get it
I'm an iced americano guy myself. My new job has an espresso machine. All I need to do to get a triple espresso is push 3 buttons and the beans they get are decent
Espresso is coffee.
There is nothing magical about espressoWhile espresso is pure magic, it's still made from standard coffee beans. LolBy the way, that machine is actually pretty great for a topdrip. That Strong button is brilliant!
Personally, I don't like creamer, but if you like it, then keep at it.
I chug a mason jar every morning. Do you think this is playing a part in my workplace stress/anxiety?
Used to drink 3 monsters a day, coffee equivalent is high but coffee hits me differently and idk, something is fucking me up.
L-Theanine might help balance it out
Yeah, that would do it. It's gonna suck but you need to suffer for a week or two and scale that back.
Idk how you are estimating the “coffee equivalent”, but I’ve found that the generic caffeine estimates for a cup of coffee are too low.
Would recommend looking up how much caffeine is in the amount of beans you use. Caffeine extraction is practically 100% in water.
I think typical estimate is 90-100 mg caffeine in a cup of coffee. With my coffee/water ratio, I think it was ~20% higher. And then the mug I use was much much bigger than a “cup”.
Yea, that's not half/half... you're basically just drinking creamer with a hint of coffee.
Milk with a very slight kick.
I couldn't imagine drinking a 250 calorie coffee
I drink coffee btw
I may have a nice espresso machine (gcep) but I don't let that stop me from making abominations too.
My ratio is nearly 90% half & half and about 22 grams of sugar.
My sister and mom used to drink what I called the “half half-and-half”
now I have my mom back to 450 ml coffee & 100 ml half-and-half
is one of them word proglems? 22 grams of sugar are 10%, figure out how much mass and theregore volume your abomination of half&half is?
It’s just bulk espresso /s
No shade for folks that do things differently
I have the same coffee machine. But I drink it black. I have one particular brew I get locally and keep it on the counter.
Hisssssss
Just kidding. While espresso is clearly my preference I love filter coffee too. Though I still prefer my coffee black. I’m not a big fan of coffee machines with a hot pad on them as I find the coffee tastes burnt if it sits for more than a few minutes but I won’t disrespect anyone for their coffee preferences. I’m just happy to see content on here from more than just myself!
Some machines (eg my Cusinart) have a temp adjustor on that hotplate. I set mine to Med and its' great.
Is it possible to turn it off entirely? And can you put an insulated carafe under instead? That’s something I’d consider.
That was a great question. Checked, no. Easy feature missed right there, carafe option makes sense.
The same machine does come in a 12c thermal caraffe model though, but it's way overpriced on Amazon IMO at $140, the machine isn't THAT good. I paid $70/80 for the 14c glass machine and its a good value and makes great coffee (next step up is a big one with like the Bellavitas and stuff).
Very good to know, thank you for doing the research, I appreciate it. I’d definitely consider an automatic batch brewer without the hot pad for when I’ve got people over, right now I’m stuck with either one drink at a time which takes a while, or a french press. But even then, my FP can only make around 3-4 drinks at a time, and that’s smaller coffee cups too. If I have 6 people wanting large cups of coffee (if they’re over for breakfast or whatever), it can take a while to get everyone their drink.
I mean, I'd consider myself a coffee snob (although I don't have hundreds of dollars worth of gear like others, just weird beans) but I do enjoy myself instant coffee as well. And there's plenty of local style coffee here in my south east Asian country that's not espresso style that I enjoy as well.
I love coffee, Aeropress, French press are my favorite. But it's all too much hassle, now I use my Dolce Gusto. Bring the down votes, I still like coffee.
I love coffee too, but I can't be arsed so I just chew the beans and swish half and half around in my mouth
Done it. Sans half and half
Rather than half and half, try a square of good chocolate. It's a good pick-me-up, albiet not conventional coffee.
I have a drip at home because it has a timer. It grinds the beans and makes a good drip into a Thermos ready for me waking up.
Nothing wrong with a drip coffee.
Only coffee I don't like is French press
But what's the difference?
It just doesn't taste as good. I mean I'll drink it if there is no other option, but given a choice I'd skip it.
So, my cuppa Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong tea is right out then?
(Enjoy your coffees. no matter how you make it, everyone!)
i hate coffee i prefer matcha or chai but i have recently quit caffine
I'm not sure of all the terminology; is chai same as masala milk tea?
Look at fancy pants over here with a drip pot that has a clock.
Bet you money bags has the type with a timer and they can set it to make coffee at certain time while they are waking up! The snobbery is palpable.
I have a nice drip machine for daily use and a French press for occasional use. The drip is just easier to prep use IMO. I really do like having a good cup of French press sometimes though, usually on the weekend or if I need an early afternoon coffee. Both have their uses and both are good.
My partner often says I put too much creamer in my coffee, now I can show him your picture and say my cup is not so bad lol
I have a lot of different coffee setups and I rotate through them. A pot of drip first thing in the morning, followed by a latte is my standard. Sometimes I'll do a pot of French press or a Turkish in the afternoon. If I just want one cup I'll either do aeropress or an Americano if the espresso machine is still hot. When the power is out I'll reach for my stovetop percolator. I almost never do pour over any more though. Not sure why.
I always need more coffee. Always.
I guess the creamer would cover up the taste of burnt plastic. I'm not hugely snobby over coffee, but I will just opt for nothing instead of plastic machines.
My snobbiest opinion is that adding a bunch of shit means the coffee sucks or the person just can't admit they don't like coffee.
Tbf, I don't care that anyone does these things. You do you. I'd just rather have a glass of water or nothing.
I mean you dont like coffee then, you're addicted to the caffeine and make a milkshake with caffeine in it lmao