Coffee: crankin' it until I have a sloppy puck

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Coffee: crankin' it until I have a sloppy puck

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

So, as a newcomer to the world of coffee, I have one question.
What do I want to look for if I want to avoid coffee that tastes overwhelmingly like overripe fruit?

# ¿ Nov 7, 2015 05:54

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:01

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

THF13 posted:

I bought an 8-cup Bonavita Carafe Coffee maker recently and I'm looking for good pre-ground coffee to make with it.

I tried some basic Dunkin Donuts coffee with it but it came out very bitter, which googling around tells me was because the coffee was ground too fine. Are there any recommendations besides "Grind your own coffee" to use with it?

You can look around for local roasters that sell preground, or failing that find some online. Buying coffee in a department store is very suboptimal for freshness.

As someone who only just recently got into coffee, though, I can tell you that it's worthwhile to grind your own coffee.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2015 20:24

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

So I have a maybe weird question.

I've been using a V60, but just got a french press, and so far I've found that coffee I make with the press tastes a bit better to me. But more oddly, coffee I made in the press still tastes ok once it's gone past lukewarm, whereas coffee from the V60 tastes gross once it's cold.

Does this mean I'm doing something horrifically wrong with the V60?

# ¿ Jan 1, 2016 22:39

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Zerilan posted:

Are the cheap options for each in the op still the recommended ones or are there other good options that are pretty cheap? Might just get one of each and then buy a second of one if I like it a lot better (one for home one for work).

If you're getting a press, I just picked up this one myself and it's pretty nice so far. Rinsing out the filter isn't too terribly time consuming, and while at first I assumed the whole "DOUBLE SCREEN FILTER" was just them throwing buzzwords around, I haven't found any grit in my thermos yet.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 03:45

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

MrYenko posted:

The Sterling is awful. If you don't completely disassemble it every time you wash it, the dome gets moisture in it (it's two pieces that nest together, you unscrew the nylon nut underneath to get them apart,) and rusts. The carafe holder tends to corrode immediately as well if you put it away with even a hint of moisture on it. Mine lasted about four months.

I did repurpose the double mesh screens to one I got at IKEA for $9, which has been kicking around for almost a year now. The only metal parts are the main shaft, screen (that is essentially interchangable with the Sterling screens,) and the screen base and top. It's not as classy looking, but I can toss the whole thing in the dishwasher without a second thought.

That's troubling, I hadn't even thought of rust being an issue. Guess you can't actually trust that when they say it's stainless steel that they didn't skimp on half of it.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 06:45

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

bizwank posted:

We've been using Mistobox at the shop for almost a year now and so far almost everything they've sent us has been great, with the exception of 1-2 bags that we just didn't like. Haven't had any issues with freshness or customer service.

Seconding Mistobox. You can adjust how often you want them to send you stuff, too. Customer service is pretty great, they're very responsive via email.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2016 21:36

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

I made some coffee today and I didn't think it was great so I dropped some milk chocolate into it and it was pretty good.

That was my coffee story.

Also, my SterlingPro press that I got about two months ago has yet to show the slightest sign of rust despite me not taking any particular measures to protect it. They also marked out the part of the manual that says to carefully dry it or else it will tarnish, which makes me wonder if they changed some of the materials they use as a result of complaints.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 00:02

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good thermos to carry coffee in? I've been using a literal thermos brand thermos that keeps it warm for a long-rear end time, but the metal interior retains flavor about as well as heat, and I'm wondering if that's why my coffee tastes a bit off as the hours tick by.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2016 08:20

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

The zojirushi thermos line looks like a somewhat nicer version of the Thermos brand I used to use. If they're anything alike I can totally vouch for them keeping hot things hot for ages.
So long, in fact, that I switched to a Contigo. The lid doesn't do a whole lot for insulating so it doesn't keep things hot nearly as long; I make some coffee, do my hour commute, and then it's cooled off enough to drink, while my thermos usually needed another hour or two (or some ice).
Plus I dropped the thermos on pavement and it doesn't take well to that sort of experience.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2016 03:47

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Scaramouche posted:

This is an odd question, but have you guys noticed your taste changing after getting hard into this stuff?

I had a coffee off one of those Wolfgang puck pod-style machine coffees today which was a "fruity, caramel, light roasted blend". And... it wasn't bad really, certainly flavourful and hot and worked as coffee, and in the old days I would have said "wow that's a good coffee!" But now all I could think was how much better a single origin, just ground by myself, espresso shot would have been. Am I a snob now?

When I first started drinking coffee, I could consume a cup of coffee from your regular fast food places, or that complimentary coffee they give on airplanes, without much complaint.
Now airplane and restaurant coffee is swill (I'll still begrudgingly drink it if the alternative is "no coffee today"), most fast food coffee is paper-y swill (I will absolutely not drink it), and my sugar tolerance is lower after a year of not drinking soft drinks.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2016 22:13

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Is anyone familiar with the Caribou Coffee chain?

I ran out of coffee at home (time to bump up the mistobux sub I guess) so I decided, what the hell, let's try one of those fancy-pants drinks and see how it compares to the pour over I make for myself.
So I went to a Caribou because there's one on campus and ordered a cappuccino. And it tasted like hot garbage, unless I ate some cookies first, which made it taste "okay".
Is this more likely to be because of Caribou's cappuccino quality or because of my taste buds? What would be a better idea for dipping my toe into the world of espresso?

# ¿ Sep 8, 2016 02:53

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Hi coffee thread, I have come for advice.
I've been doing pour-over for a while, and now I'm also thinking of getting into making my own espressos. My grinder probably isn't quite up for the task (Baratza Encore) so I was considering moving to the Sette. Is the 270 worth the higher price tag compared to the 30? I'm led to understand that the primary difference is finer adjustment.
As for the espresso machine itself, what are some good entry level options?

# ¿ Feb 4, 2018 00:48

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

Nuurd posted:

I keep whole beans at home, but generally have been keeping preground coffee at my desk. I�m definitely not going to be the guy trying to run an electric grinder in an office environment.

What�s the noise level like for one of these midrange hand grinders? I was looking at the 1zpresso JX. Something like that mega irritating in an office?

Hand grinders are probably about as quiet as you can get with coffee. All the noise is just the beans getting crunched up at relatively slow speed, no whirring motors or anything, so it's audible but not actually loud

# ¿ Jul 12, 2020 02:32

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

grahm posted:

I have one. I also have experience with all of Baratza's products (but only a week of use with the Ode). I feel so far like it's probably the best option for the money, and I think better than Baratza's options for the price (Encore/Virtuoso).

That said, it makes a constant low-level hum when plugged in, which is annoying, and the grinds knocker doesn't really do anything. I'm seeing about .5g retention which when you're doing a 15g brew as I do is not acceptable. Using the RDT (drop of water, mentioned in the post above) makes this tolerable, but it's still an annoying problem. The grinds catcher cup and cap are also more annoying that the simple Baratza bin. On the plus side, the grinder is lower profile and quieter, and the auto shutoff is nice. I also have a Comandante C40 and I'm going to compare them soon. I feel like the performance is pretty similar, but the Ode might be better.

From a few pages back but I've also been using an Ode for about a week now and thought I'd chime in.
The hum is real but I didn't notice it until I read this post. I had to put my head down next to the grinder to hear it. Unless you spend a lot of time sitting in a quiet room with the grinder it's very possible you won't notice this.
I wouldn't go so far as to say the knocker doesn't do anything, but I definitely wish it was more effective. My experience is that you'll knock a bunch of times in a row with no result, then suddenly on one knock 0.5~1.0g of coffee will fall out. I've been trying to see if running the grinder for a moment while knocking helps but it's been inconclusive.
The cup is... fine, but my experience with baratza bins is generally better, especially from a static perspective.
It's surprisingly quiet when grinding and very compact, and subjectively the output seems to be really good. I'm definitely pleased with it overall.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2020 20:26

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:01

Klades: Sep 8, 2011

MetaJew posted:

I was gifted the metal V60 brewer. Sometimes I'll put it over the lid of my kettle to heat it up but I usually just heat it with water when I rinse the filter. I've never noticed a difference in coffee quality when doing either, honestly.

What I am unhappy about is that Hario apparently changed the filters. I used to use the made in Japan one that came in the 40ct box. When I reordered them a few weeks ago they have changed to a tabbed filter which seems to flow differently and something about the seam causes it to splash a lot more as it drains and I get little drops of coffee all over my counter.

Behold: https://cafecusa.com/pages/paper-filters

I think this company used to make filters for hario? I've been using them for at least a year or so now and I've had much better luck than gambling on hario branded ones. They've got a bunch of different filters that are supposed to be better for different types of coffee, but I just use the Abaca+ filters. They seem to have better flow and less issue with clogging than any other filter I've tried.

Brut posted:

The V60 stuff seems too complicated for me, all these techniques with stopping and starting water pouring, going in even circles, etc.

Pouring techniques are basically just ritualized ways to control contact time and agitation, and like others have said their differences basically represent the last 5~10% of how your coffee tastes.
There's merit in picking a technique and attempting it, but as long as the water is making it into the brewer there's not a lot that could go wrong that you'd taste, let alone that would actually ruin the cup.

# ¿ May 29, 2023 10:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Coffee: crankin' it until I have a sloppy puck