Coffee |OT| Taste as good as it smells
- Thread starter NewFresh
- Start date
that1dude24
Member
i bought a clever. for a 20 dollar piece of plastic, it's pretty nice, though it made me realize i can probably make coffee just as well without one. anyway, coffee turns out very well in the thing, and i've found that i like some kosher salt in my coffee.
it is somewhat difficult to clean the ridges near the bottom of the device, but nothing too arduous.
it is somewhat difficult to clean the ridges near the bottom of the device, but nothing too arduous.
MushroomSamba
Member
I love coffee (and actually kind of depend on it to function on a daily basis), but I wouldn't consider myself a coffee snob/enthusiast. Recently, my brother got me an Aeropress and a bag of coffee beans. Haven't used it yet, but wonder what you guys think of it?
Also had to buy a coffee grinder. Ended up getting a $20 Krups blade grinder before I learned there's a difference between that and burr grinders. Oh well, live and learn.
Anyway, I tend to drink coffee black. I'm debating how far into the rabbit hole I should go.
Also had to buy a coffee grinder. Ended up getting a $20 Krups blade grinder before I learned there's a difference between that and burr grinders. Oh well, live and learn.
Anyway, I tend to drink coffee black. I'm debating how far into the rabbit hole I should go.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
So what is the 100% proper way to do the french press? I know how to use it, I have one at work for my morning coffee. I just noticed last time I went to a good coffee shop and had them make me coffee in a press, and then I bought their beans and did it myself it didn't taste anywhere near as good.
French press coffee needs to ground as coarsely and consistently as you can. To do that, you need a good burr grinder. A blade grinder is just going to grind the beans, and some of the grinds will be fine like powder, some will be coarse. The difference was likely that you didn't let it steep long enough, let it steep too long, or more likely that your beans weren't ground correctly.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Hmm, that could be it. I just use a basic grinder and haven't bought a burr yet. I also use tap water, which I hear could mute the taste.
It could. I also use tap water and mine tastes great. Do you drink your tap water? If you can drink it and it tastes fine, I personally don't see an issue with using it. Coffee purists would probably spit out their pour-over coffee at me saying that.
4 minutes is the time to steep, also stir up your coffee with a wooden spoon or chopstick prior to starting that timer. Also, you need to be consistent. I bought a cheap digital scale on Amazon and literally weigh my beans out to the gram every time. So my coffee is perfect every time, that's how I like it. Some people give me a hard time for that, but I like consistency.
It's great. It's not my favorite way - but it makes an amazing americano style cup of coffee. It's also kinda fun to do.
The general agreed upon rule is a coarse grind immersed for about 4 minutes (give or take a little depending on your tastes). Some people like to grind finer but then you have to use a shorter immersion time. Most people seem to recommend a little less than a 2:1 ratio. So if you wanna make 20 oz, use about 40 grams of coffee, or a little, less like 36 or 38 grams.
Right, so for me, I do 16 oz of water (2 cups, not coffee cups) and do 34 grams of coffee when I do french press. Turns out great every time.
Going to buy a Nuova Simonelli Oscar - in the next month or so.
Anyone have any experience with them? I've read and watched all that I can about them but will likely be buying blind, as I'm not sure if I'll have the opportunity to play with one first.
Anyone have any experience with them? I've read and watched all that I can about them but will likely be buying blind, as I'm not sure if I'll have the opportunity to play with one first.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Cool. I usually stir right after I pour the water over the beans in the press, then again after it steeps and before I press. Is that correct?
I think the grinder is what I need to try. I'm not sure, it's an odd thing. The coffee was amazing at the cafe, then just decent when I made it. The bean freshness might have had something to do with that too.
I only stir once when I pour the water over the beans. Make sure and stir them until you can see the crema, which is basically the nice brown foam on the surface.. Then wait 4 minutes and press. But yeah, I think your problem is most likely the inconsistency of your ground coffee.
Genesis Knight
Member
Guys, I'm curious. How easy is it to make 16 oz / ~480 mL of Americano (you know, like a normal drip coffee pot) with an Aeropress? Do you have to produce multiple batches of extract? All the guides seem to be oriented toward making a cup of coffee instead of filling a thermos before you head to work.
Well, technically, it's not an actual Americano since that would entail actual espresso, but that's just coffee semantics.
To me, it depends. If you consider what comes out of the Aeropress to be espresso, then you would just use the equivalent of two shots' worth (probably around the 2), press that, then top off with hot water (and I'd use a metal filter to more closely match the flavor, but that's me). The press takes all of a minute or so; the bulk of the time will be just waiting for the water to heat to the proper brewing temperature.
If you wanted to press the full 480 mL, you would probably need to do multiple presses (2 or 3 I would guess).
apocalidiot
Banned
I feel like a douchey coffee snob because I hate if my only option of coffee at sometimes house is from a Kuerig machine. The amount of coffee grind in those little cups is so small. Can someone please agree with me to validate my feelings
kcups suck. you're welcome
matt360
Member
I feel like that is absolutely true, but it also depends on the blend. I have a Japan-only Keurig model, and the biggest size cup it can brew is 170ml, and even then many of the blends come out weak. Darker roasts and many of the Starbucks blends come out just fine though.
Whenever I go home to the US, everyone brews much larger cups even though the K-Cups are exactly the same size. My step-mom even makes 2 cups of coffee with one K-Cup! Kinda mind-boggling.
Pixel Pete
Member
Long Black, no sugar, three cups a day except on weekends when its 1 at most.
I find the upside down method to work the best. Although I don't let it steep for the 2 minutes they suggest. Mine might sit for 30-45 seconds.
Gintoki313
Banned
So 1 year ago I tried using this half and half (half milk and half cream) in my coffee, and it made it taste outstanding! I tried it because I saw something in my fridge called half and half and it looked like milk, which I was all out of. I checked the back and it said it was half milk half cream so I took the chance and poured it in and tasted it and was blown away. For the past years before it I had only been putting milk in my coffee, but the h&h makes it taste less bitter then milk does and more sweet.
H&h with my Dunkin Donuts coffee blend is the best tasting coffee I've ever had. I don't mind paying $10 for a coffee bag and $5 for a h&h carton, if I can wake up to this sweetness every morning.
So my suggestion is that h&h is pretty great.
H&h with my Dunkin Donuts coffee blend is the best tasting coffee I've ever had. I don't mind paying $10 for a coffee bag and $5 for a h&h carton, if I can wake up to this sweetness every morning.
So my suggestion is that h&h is pretty great.
Winterfang
Banned
I have a question, if a Cockroach falls into the water tank of a Coffee maker, and you make your coffee. Does drinking it cause any harm?
I'm asking because I found a little roaches in the tank when I was going to pour water, so I washed it before making the coffee. But now I'm 99% sure I had Roach Coffee before.
I'm asking because I found a little roaches in the tank when I was going to pour water, so I washed it before making the coffee. But now I'm 99% sure I had Roach Coffee before.
It's a little too hands on for me, personally. But it does brew a really smooth cup. As you said, maybe a bit too smooth for me for an everyday thing.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I hope by "washed it" you mean you ran vinegar through it. 160f/71c is the general guideline for killing bacteria, so I think you're good unless you have toxic waste sitting around that roaches could wallow in without dying. A lot of places in the world eat roaches.
InfiniteBento
Member
One of the best ways of brewing coffee, imo.
That and Chemex are my favorite.
V60 is classic for me but Chemex just brings out so much in the coffee. I love it.
I work with this machine everyday and nothing can top it when it comes to pulling the best espresso though:
I am spoiled when it comes to coffee but honestly, nothing beats the satisfaction of making a fantastic cup of coffee. It's incredible.
apocalidiot
Banned
Bleh. Tastes like cigarette ashes.
apocalidiot
Banned
Lies
$90? That's steep for a Chemex, unless it's a high capacity version or some other sort of specialized version.
To each their own, but I don't find the Chemex to be better than other drip devices (though I'm bordering on being a broken record at this point). To the degree that it's unique, I'd chalk it up to the specialized filters rather than the shape, which is broadly what you would expect from a standard drip machine (effectively, a funnel shaped top flowing into a broader base).
The triple fold is distinctive to the Chemex, and I suspect the layering absorbs more of the oils/flavor than the typical single layer paper filters other devices use.
matt360
Member
$90 seems kinda ridiculous to me as well. But it is Japan, where every goddamn thing is twice as expensive as it should be. There are also a lot of coffee hobbyists (for lack of a better word) here, so that's why I think they can get away with premium prices. It's rare to see a stainless steel, long and thin spout kettle for under $50. And those are for the smallest kinds. Most decent kettles that are ideal for brewing drip coffee run like $80-200. It's pretty fucking insane.
I'm a French Press man, personally. Pair that with some of this... http://buy.stumptowncoffee.com/hair-bender-1.html
...mmmm.
...mmmm.
Yes, a good burr grinder if you can. You'll be able to specify the size of the coffee grains that are produced, vs getting large and small ones from a blade grinder.
InfiniteBento
Member
"The Chemex is entirely smooth, whereas the Hario has ridges. The former forces nearly all liquid out of the tip of the filter, whereas a Hario will allow coffee to escape laterally. In theory, the latter promotes a more even extraction since the coffee at the bottom isn't washed out by every ounce (or gram, in my case) of water doesn't pass through the coffee at the bottom."
Depending on the coffee you choose to brew, v60 will provide a heavier cup in terms of body and flavor. Chemex is going to bring out the distinct flavors of the coffee by decreasing the body (again, this varies depending on what you're brewing) and bringing out the more delicate notes as well.
Chemexs can be very expensive but overall, I personally believe they are worth the investment. Brewing a cup of coffee by v60 and then brewing it by Chemex result in a completely different experience especially when it comes to the notes of the coffee your brewing.
There are various ways to brew and I won't say it's the best but it's one of my favorites for certain.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I tried it and holy shit it is so gross. Why do you like gross things?
The absolute worst coffee I've ever had the displeasure of tasting. Nabob is the runner up.
The only mass-market store bought coffee I've cared for so far is President's Choice coffee...it's not too bad. Otherwise, locally roasted coffee all the way.
Turkish and greek are essentially the same, no? I've only tried making it a few times (even bought myself an ibrik!), but I can't get the foam to stay. The coffee itself has always been pretty good though.
Many recipes talk about taking the coffee on and off the flame several times to build a foam, but mine always collapsed the second I poured it. Could be the grind size was an issue, but I got that stuff down to powder when I tried and it still didn't work.
I just picked up this beauty off of ebay. I doubt it's consistent enough for an espresso, but it works great for what I need. I vary between a moka, a napolitana, and a french press, which means I need a fairly fine grind up to a coarse grind. It's incredibly easy to use, FAR better than other manual grinders. The keys are the large burr grinder, large handle, and base that clamps or mounts to a wall. Other grinders are too small and you spend all of your time fighting to keep them still.
If you're curious here is a great detailed post about these grinders: http://www.home-barista.com/grinders/*****-coffee-mills-grinder-for-23rd-century-t16165.html (EDIT: apparently "s-p-o-n-g" is a banned word cause of some crappy videogame website. Copy-paste this into the url bar but replace the ***** with s-p-o-n-g, removing the dashes)
They were EXPENSIVE last year, but now you can typically find them with starting bids around $25-$50. I would've preferred the next size up (a #3), but they are rare and I already have a slightly damaged knock-off version (Mimoso from Brazil) that size that is still acceptable for drip and french press. The large sizes actually do better fine grinds normally.
