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It's a lot better than those awful Costco-sized red Folgers pre-ground coffee tins that take like a month to get through, that's for drat sure. Every time I see one of those Godzilla-sized coffee buckets I feel a physical shudder. That being said, the coffee it makes is average at best. You just don't know how long the coffee has been sitting in those K-cups since it was ground, so the coffee is usual pretty tasteless.
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Mar 29, 2012 07:12
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So the idea is don't get one?
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Mar 29, 2012 09:19
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Aziraphale posted:So the idea is don't get one? I'm sure the serious coffee goons will hate me for this but the Keurig does deliver when it comes to speed and convenience. You fill it with water and push a button. Coffee comes out. My wife likes ours because she hates measuring beans, loving around with grinders and waiting on the kettle first thing in the morning. I compost the filter paper and grounds, and use the plastic cups for my seedlings, so the extra waste doesn't bother me. You could get a decent grinder and one of the brewers in the OP though, for the same money that Keurig will cost you. I picked up a grinder and a couple of the brewers recommended in this thread and found a local roaster, and I've been really pleased so far. Fresh roasted beans ground right before brewing taste a million times better than any k-cup I've ever had.
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Mar 29, 2012 10:22
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If speed and convenience is your thing then use an Aeropress. It literally only takes 2 minutes to make a cup of coffee and takes 5 seconds to clean. Plus it'll taste way better than a k-cup since you'll be using your own grind.
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Mar 29, 2012 10:31
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Zettace posted:If speed and convenience is your thing then use an Aeropress. It literally only takes 2 minutes to make a cup of coffee and takes 5 seconds to clean. Plus it'll taste way better than a k-cup since you'll be using your own grind. Don't bash the K-cup/nespresso machines. Well, do, but only after you've walked past the demonstrator in whatever store they're being sold in and drunk your third free coffee. Beats Starbucks on taste and price! I wouldn't have gotten through Christmas shopping last year without the lovely young lady trying to sell me one of those machines (by feeding me free coffee) about five times over a couple of shopping trips. Gotta love that sales technique.
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Mar 29, 2012 13:34
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Death of Rats posted:Beats Starbucks on taste and price! Neither of those is anything resembling an accomplishment. No one can argue that the Keurig isn't convenient because it is. It is however pretty uneconomical and makes pretty generic coffee. People like it because it's foolproof and has a pretty reasonable variety of coffee available which appeals to lots of people from those who like flavored coffee to those who are starting to learn about coffee regions. The one thing it doesn't do is grind the coffee fresh. There are mesh k-cups you can buy to put your own coffee in, but at this point it loses all of the conveniences and just because a normal drip brewer. For the same amount of money, you could get a decent grinder either some sort of Maestro or a Capresso Infinity and a pourover filter set up and get significantly better coffee.
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Mar 29, 2012 14:33
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I've been weaning my moms off the K-cup by sending her better decaf coffees and having a V60, aeropress and electric kettle mailed to her.
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Mar 29, 2012 21:55
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a handful of dust posted:I compost the filter paper and grounds, and use the plastic cups for my seedlings, so the extra waste doesn't bother me. How do you do this with the k-pods exactly? What do you mean by using the plastic cups for seedlings? Im interested in hearing about how to best recycle the kpods that the GFs mom uses all the time. Also, the only reason you should ever get a keurig or tassimo is one of the following: 1.)Your taste palate for coffee consists of day to day drinking drive-through coffee and sometimes youll go to Starbucks for a "fancy" coffee. No judgement call here, coffee isn't everyone's nerdgasm/interest (I myself no nothing about Wine, and will drink any >$10 bottle of white thats shoved infront of me) and; 2.)In the morning/whatever you are so functionally lazy and unable to think that even going as far as scooping preground coffee from a tin into a drip machine, and then throwing out grounds is too much effort for you*, and; 3.)You live alone, or max with two people, so there's no need for you to make more than one cup of coffee at a time, or you already have some other method if this need arises 4.)You dont mind the exorbitant costs involved in paying for the convenience. $100+ machine, expensive pods come out to something like $1 per coffee. 5.)You're bringing it for your office thats really fussy about cleanliness and wont allow grounds or whatever 6.)Environment stuff has no concerns for you. So, it depends on you. Personally, even if you meet #1 I see no reason other than to get a cheap drip machine with a grinder that you can just throw beans in, then throw grinds into a drip machine, push button. A Keurig is simply eliminating the need to grind anything, scoop grinds and to throw away grinds at an exorbitant initial and continuing cost. So if you're looking at it from a cost situation, you're paying for the convenience and lack of cleanup required, so if thats suitable to you then by all means, who cares, its your life, don't let snobs get in the way of that of coffee isn't your "passion". *Again Im not trying to be a snobby dick here, I have shamefully used my GF's keurig in the morning when I dont want to do anything but shove down some coffee flavoured caffeine so I can physically get onto my day. Its sad when I have a bag of fresh beans from a local roaster and a V60 just begging me to make delicious coffee
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Mar 30, 2012 02:59
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I'm not a coffee snob in the least. I'm only interested in it for convenience and because I just can't figure out how to make a decent cup of coffee in a drip machine. It either comes out tasting like bad tea or stong as gasoline. The Kuerig will give a perfectly portioned, measured cup every time which is all I really want.
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Mar 30, 2012 04:54
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swagger like us posted:How do you do this with the k-pods exactly? What do you mean by using the plastic cups for seedlings? Im interested in hearing about how to best recycle the kpods that the GFs mom uses all the time. Just peel/slice the foil off the top of the used cups, dump out the grounds and pull out the little glued in paper filter. Toss it all in the compost or mulch your houseplants with the grounds. Then rinse out the cup and you've got the perfect container for seedlings, it's even got a drain hole already poked in the bottom. Fill them with seed starter mix(or dirt), stick em outside or under a grow light:  Once the seedling's ready just pop it into the ground. herbaceous backson fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Mar 30, 2012 |
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Mar 30, 2012 05:53
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I have tried coffee a few times in the past but could never get past its bitterness (even when supposedly brewed correctly). This thread peaked my interest and I have tried it again but still that awful taste persists. Is coffee an acquired taste? If so is there anyway to appease the palate into enjoying it sooner?
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Mar 30, 2012 09:36
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Raynor posted:I have tried coffee a few times in the past but could never get past its bitterness (even when supposedly brewed correctly). This thread peaked my interest and I have tried it again but still that awful taste persists. Is coffee an acquired taste? If so is there anyway to appease the palate into enjoying it sooner? I don't think it's a particularly hard-to-acquire taste, but then I've been drinking coffee since I was about 15. Back then, I used to drink coffee with lots (2tsp+) of sugar, and plenty of milk - I wouldn't say it was bitter at all. (Now I'm black coffee only, and sugar in coffee tastes like poison to me). How are you drinking your coffee? (Black/white/latte/cappuccino? French press/pour-over/percolator/espresso? Sugar? Any added syrup/flavourings?) This might help diagnose your problem (and possibly provide some ideas on how to fix it).
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Mar 30, 2012 13:50
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Also, beyond what you're putting in it cream/milk and sugar-wise, it also depends a lot on region. Some particular regions are a lot less bitter than others. Coffee can be an acquired taste for sure, I didn't like it the first time I had it, but I was really young and your palette just isn't the same when you're young. The more bitter the coffee the more acquired the taste is as well. Eventually certain bitter flavors are actually sought after in coffees. For someone just trying out coffee I'd recommend something low in bitterness like Brazillian, roasted fairly light so that the roast isn't also adding or bringing out the bitterness. You could also try cold brewed coffee which extracts less of the acids in coffees as well. The acidity is often what people find bitter.
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Mar 30, 2012 14:53
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The intricacies of coffee is insane in the variation, from the beans to the way its roasted, to a specific point along the way its made. I was helping out a buddy dial in a cup for an Aeropress competition he's going to, and the only variable difference we had down was that his push should be 15sec instead of 7 seconds. The taste difference though was phenomenal, and I have a really crappy palate too so I'm not usually able to pick up on all the flavour subtleties like he could. I think coffee has more flavour profiles (or flavours that one can be familiar with, i.e. this has a raspberry acidity, chocolate, stone fruit etc.) than wine does, so that says something about the differences in taste. Also, I understand too the bitterness. I only drink "properly made" (pour over, chemex etc.) coffee's black. Anything thats made on a drip machine or even a french press for me requires some cream and sometimes even sugar. Try going to a specialty coffee place, one that has pourovers or chemex's and order one of those coffees and see how they taste. I'm not even getting into espresso, that's an even bigger world of coffee.
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Mar 30, 2012 14:59
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Just want to say thank you to the OP and everyone else who answered my questions in this thread. I'm not quite at the level of espresso myself yet but I've got a decent lot of gear for drip. Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso Preciso (omg does this make a big difference) Brewer: Technivorm Moccamaster KBT741 (amazing but the least important of the three) Roaster: Colombia Excelso Ocamonte (APCO) FT Org by Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters http://www.velvetsunrise.ca/
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Mar 30, 2012 19:13
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So, I've been using a Camano coffee mill with a moka pot for a while and was pretty happy with the results, but thanks to this thread I've ended up with a Chemex, and then an Aeropress, and now last night I even ventured into uncharted territory with some home roasting:      The first batch turned out a little darker than I wanted, and the second batch a little lighter, but I think a few more cracks at it and I'll have a handle on the process. I wasn't sure if I'd really be able to notice the difference, but fresh-ground, fresh-roasted really is so much better. I've been using the Chemex at work, and I actually had people this morning walking by my desk and commenting on how good my coffee smelled! It's hilarious how much of a difference it makes. So, thanks guys!
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Mar 30, 2012 19:35
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Death of Rats posted:I don't think it's a particularly hard-to-acquire taste, but then I've been drinking coffee since I was about 15. Back then, I used to drink coffee with lots (2tsp+) of sugar, and plenty of milk - I wouldn't say it was bitter at all. (Now I'm black coffee only, and sugar in coffee tastes like poison to me). The first times I tried it someone else prepared it with milk sugar and as I recall it the cup was brewed from a drip machine. This last cup was prepared in a french press which I drank with no additives. I have been able to get past some things bad taste in the past (like the bitterness in many vegetables), but coffee smells great, looks great, tastes like socks to me.
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Mar 30, 2012 20:54
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ephori posted:The first batch turned out a little darker than I wanted, and the second batch a little lighter, but I think a few more cracks at it and I'll have a handle on the process. I wasn't sure if I'd really be able to notice the difference, but fresh-ground, fresh-roasted really is so much better. I've been using the Chemex at work, and I actually had people this morning walking by my desk and commenting on how good my coffee smelled! It's hilarious how much of a difference it makes. Not bad for a Whirly-Pop! You got a pretty even roast for direct heat too, I'm impressed. Fresh roasted coffee blows minds. I had someone walk into my house once and literally said "Holy poo poo it smells awesome in here." drat straight it does. That Ethiopian is awesome by the way. I got some in a sampler pack.
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Mar 30, 2012 21:24
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Raynor posted:The first times I tried it someone else prepared it with milk sugar and as I recall it the cup was brewed from a drip machine. This last cup was prepared in a french press which I drank with no additives. I have been able to get past some things bad taste in the past (like the bitterness in many vegetables), but coffee smells great, looks great, tastes like socks to me. Do you know if they freshly ground the coffee, or if it was pre-ground? My experience with pre-ground coffee is that it is mostly terrible, but there are some that approach acceptable but not to drink black.
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Mar 31, 2012 06:51
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Comic posted:Do you know if they freshly ground the coffee, or if it was pre-ground? My experience with pre-ground coffee is that it is mostly terrible, but there are some that approach acceptable but not to drink black. Before it was ground fresh. The last time around with the french press the coffee came from a vacuum sealed package that has one of those one-way valves built into the packaging.
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Mar 31, 2012 08:19
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Raynor posted:Before it was ground fresh. The last time around with the french press the coffee came from a vacuum sealed package that has one of those one-way valves built into the packaging. Hmm, I want to lay some blame at the pre-ground, but it may just have been they weren't made well, or the beans weren't to your liking to begin with. The darker roasts of beans are more bitter, but too light and you have a lot of acidity which is easily confused for bitterness if you're not used to discerning it. I've had drip coffee made similarly with pre-ground that tasted better than freshly ground, depending on the machine and what was put in it- some drip machines really burn the coffee. I don't have enough experience with french press- I prefer pour over- but it could be anywhere from user error to the pre-ground itself. I imagine if you had additions to the french press it would've turned out better than the drip though. Pre-ground in general is very... simple in flavor since time has basically taken its toll to a lot of the flavor. Coffee is definitely an acquired taste but it should be palatable even to people new to it with cream/milk and sugar. Comic fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 10:14
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Where do you live? Maybe someone in the area can point you out to a decent cafe that uses locally roasted stuff, pulls its own shots manually and does chemex/pourovers? Thats how I got into this, lots of advice and help from barista's who compete
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Mar 31, 2012 14:51
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I'm doing an afternoon home barista course at my favourite cafe tomorrow  I'm pretty confident in most of my coffee making skills, but I'm sure I'll learn something new! How to steam milk properly, for one. I never practice since I drink everything black, but it'd be nice to be able to make milk-based espresso drinks to a better standard than I can now.Ooh, and I don't own any pourover equipment, so hopefully I'll learn that too and can possibly invest in some afterwards...
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Mar 31, 2012 18:31
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So I love French press, but I've got a fairly small one. It's good for two little bitty "cups" or one big mug per brew. I kind of want to get a brewing device that allows for more capacity but isn't a bigger French press. This is also sort of an excuse to go buy/learn a new coffee gadget, so yay! I'm pretty hooked on the idea of Chemex + Kone as you can buy a "10-cup" Chemex for fairly reasonable prices. I hear that it's supposed to be very press-like in quality because of the metal filtration rather than paper? Also - for those people who do use a Chemex - how is it for retaining the temperature of the coffee over time? strangemusic fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 19:40
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ephori posted:So, I've been using a Camano coffee mill with a moka pot for a while and was pretty happy with the results, but thanks to this thread I've ended up with a Chemex, and then an Aeropress, and now last night I even ventured into uncharted territory with some home roasting: wildlele posted:Just want to say thank you to the OP and everyone else who answered my questions in this thread. I'm not quite at the level of espresso myself yet but I've got a decent lot of gear for drip. Congrats on the new coffee gear guys! I'm glad that they're serving you well and that the improvements in quality met the hype.
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Mar 31, 2012 19:54
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Two questions: 1) What's the best method to make coffee with an espresso pot? I have a plain stainless steel espresso pot, not a moka pot with the pressure thingy. 2) Green coffee beans last for ~year, right? I can't remember how old my green coffee are right now, but I have about a pound, or maybe two. I want to roast them now that the weather is nicer and I can open all the windows in my apartment without freezing to death.  Also I successfully got my boyfriend using a french press instead of instant coffee. Finally!
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Mar 31, 2012 21:56
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Jyrraeth posted:Also I successfully got my boyfriend using a french press instead of instant coffee. Finally!  .
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Mar 31, 2012 22:19
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swagger like us posted:Where do you live? Maybe someone in the area can point you out to a decent cafe that uses locally roasted stuff, pulls its own shots manually and does chemex/pourovers? Thats how I got into this, lots of advice and help from barista's who compete Live in Wichita Kansas. There is a Starbucks on my corner but I've only gone there once for hot cocoa when family was in town. Would that be a good place to start?
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Mar 31, 2012 23:24
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Raynor posted:Live in Wichita Kansas. There is a Starbucks on my corner but I've only gone there once for hot cocoa when family was in town. Would that be a good place to start? Probably not since starbucks loves to burn their beans more than anything else, though some people here have said that the 'blonde' roast is passable as an extremely dark roast if you can't get anything else.
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Apr 1, 2012 00:14
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strangemusic posted:So I love French press, but I've got a fairly small one. It's good for two little bitty "cups" or one big mug per brew. I kind of want to get a brewing device that allows for more capacity but isn't a bigger French press. This is also sort of an excuse to go buy/learn a new coffee gadget, so yay! Don't buy a Kone unless you have a really good grinder or like silt. And yes, the oils go through unlike with a paper filter, but that said if that's what you're looking for why wouldn't you just use a French press? Regardless, the Chemex isn't superb at retaining heat, but it isn't awful either. Putting some hot water in it before brewing will help a lot, but it's probably still not as good as a French press because there's no lid (although you could use a plate or something). I tend to brew two cups of coffee at a time with it, and as long as I drink them one after the other without going off for an hour and forgetting about it it's fine.
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Apr 1, 2012 02:43
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Always preheat whatever coffee brewing device you're using. If you aren't going to drink the coffee right away, you should transfer it to a thermos or thermal carafe. Some press pots have double walls to maintain heat, but leaving coffee in there with the grinds at the bottom is dumb.
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Apr 1, 2012 03:41
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Raynor posted:Live in Wichita Kansas. There is a Starbucks on my corner but I've only gone there once for hot cocoa when family was in town. Would that be a good place to start? A quick google search pointed me to a place called Mead's Corner. They advertise 'fair trade' coffee meaning they probably have a better class of bean than Starbucks and their barista may have some knowledge / passion for coffee. I'm not local though so I have no idea how true this is. In terms of not liking the bitterness of coffee, almost all the third-wave coffee shops in my town use very light 'fruity' blends that have absolutely no bitterness to them. I get my beans from here to give you an idea of what regions / names you should try. So find somewhere that has a few different blends and try them all until you find one that you like. Also, I don't know how much of a faux pas it is in this thread but I have one tsp of sugar in my coffee because I think it tastes better so if you enjoy coffee with a bit of milk / cream / sugar it's ok to drink it that way (in my opinion). Also try different types of coffee like cappucino, caffe latte, flat white, etc to find out what you like best. edit - a more comprehensive google search reveals that the Fresh Roast Coffee Company may be a good place to try some coffee. There's also a list of the best coffee shops in your area and a shop that sells beans for you to take home and try making coffee yourself. cyberia fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Apr 2, 2012 |
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Apr 2, 2012 04:17
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cyberia posted:A quick google search pointed me to a place called Mead's Corner. They advertise 'fair trade' coffee meaning they probably have a better class of bean than Starbucks and their barista may have some knowledge / passion for coffee. I'm not local though so I have no idea how true this is. I am a terrible coffee snob, and I take my coffee with both cream (full fat, no bullshit) and sucralose, unless I am cupping. Sugar / sweetener brings out flavors, much the way salt does. I don't find it a sin at all to utilize an ingredient that boosts flavor. I also loving love msg. Mmm.
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Apr 2, 2012 07:14
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Anyone tried Handsome Coffee in LA?
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Apr 2, 2012 09:28
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Steve Yun posted:Anyone tried Handsome Coffee in LA? Haven't been there but ordered espresso when it was first available. It reminded me of Stumptown's espresso blend in that it was good but not memorable. But I keep hearing great things! Hoping to try some more of their stuff soon... they're basically a barista dream team.
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Apr 2, 2012 17:32
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I've never been much into coffee most of my life, but recently I've gotten hooked on lattes and steamed milks, and I've decided I want to try to make some drinks at home. Does anyone have any specific recommendations for espresso-making equipment in the ~$500-$600 total range? I've been doing research and I've learned a lot so far, but I haven't seen too many suggestions on specific machines and grinders in my price range. There's a lot of general advice, but there are so many brands and models that it's a bit intimidating to make a final decision.
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Apr 6, 2012 02:39
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I suspect the recommendation will be to hold off until you can spend at least $800-1000 for both machine and grinder combined.
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Apr 6, 2012 07:34
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Ive heard actually a LOT of good things about the Mypressi twist, because it uses NO2 cartridges to get that >9 bar pressure you need for good espresso. $150 for that, a good ($220+) grinder and a stove top milk steamer you might be good. Apparently lots of good things about it, even though it looks gimmicky
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Apr 6, 2012 07:49
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Gordon Cole posted:I've never been much into coffee most of my life, but recently I've gotten hooked on lattes and steamed milks, and I've decided I want to try to make some drinks at home. Does anyone have any specific recommendations for espresso-making equipment in the ~$500-$600 total range? nm posted:I suspect the recommendation will be to hold off until you can spend at least $800-1000 for both machine and grinder combined. That's not true. I think that if Gordon Cole is content with making milk drinks he can get a suitable rig for $500-600. As per usual the advice goes: Get the best grinder you can afford. For this price range, ideally, I'd get a Baratza Vario ($450), but you could go as low as a Virtuoso (but I wouldn't). In this range, you also have the Rancilio Rocky ($350), Nuova Simonelli Grinta ($340), and the Ascaso i-Steel i-1 (stepless, $350). On the machine front, you can go as low as a DeLonghi EC155 ($100) to the Saeco Aroma ($150). These options might not get you the best possible espresso, but for adding steamed milk, these will be just fine. Should you want to upgrade to a non-pressurized system later, a Vario, a Rocky, or that Ascaso should serve you well for a while.
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Apr 6, 2012 08:20
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If you're just getting into it and you haven't developed serious flavor palette for picking up on the nuances of an expensive espresso rig, in my opinion, you can definitely get something for your budget. I'd look into a Virtuoso grinder and a Gaggia espresso maker. You can easily get the two of those for your budget. I have a Gaggia Baby and a Capresso Infinity that I've had for four years and they do a suitable job. If I were to upgrade anything, I'd jump to a better grinder, but that's mostly because I'd really like an anti-static grind container and a quieter machine. It's far from perfect, but once you really dial in your methods, learn your tamping pressure, get your grind down you can make some pretty good drinks. Technique with grind, tamping and steaming is really crucial to getting the right texture in both the espresso and the milk.
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Apr 6, 2012 16:07
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