Top products from r/Coffee

We found 1,628 product mentions on r/Coffee. We ranked the 2,867 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/Coffee:

u/mikeTRON250LM · 1 pointr/Coffee

> I really want to learn to make good coffee at home so that my wife is happy to wake up in the morning. Plus, I'd like to save some money instead of going to Starbucks every morning. I don't personally like coffee (I wish I did. Closest I came to enjoying coffee was drinking a caramel brulée latte from Starbucks last Christmas) but I find the craft of it absolutely fascinating. And I'm really interested in learning to get my wife's perfect cup of coffee down to a science. (And if I learn to enjoy coffee, all the better)

So I started down this exact path about 8 or 9 years ago for my gal as well. I also had no interest in coffee but enjoyed the convergence of art & science.

Anyway the following is what I ended up with [and what I paid].

  • [$100 refurbished from the Baratza Store] Baratza Encore - Most people argue this is the best grinder for the money when the budget is tight
  • [$30] Aeropress - This is a great way to make a single cup of coffee
  • [$40 on sale] Bonavita BV382510V 1.7L Digital Variable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle - Awesome way to manage the temperature of the water for brewing
  • [$40 on sale] Hario V60 Drip Coffee Scale and Timer - very important to measure the weight of Water and Coffee PLUS extraction time


    You can be patient like I did and buy over time to get things on sale but after owning each item for multiple years now I can wholeheartedly recommend each component.

    All in a buddy was using a Keurig for the past few years and when it broke he reached out to me for the same thing. He bought everything but the scale (it was almost $70 when he was buying) and his wife is in LOVE with the setup. The neat thing is once you get the grinder and scale your options to multiple brewing methods opens up. Then with the water kettle you can then use it all for the Aeroporess, Kalita Wave, Chemex, V60, Clever Dripper (ETC) brewing methods.

    Anyway once you have good enough gear you can then start trying finding local roasters and different beans. We have tried a few local joints and just recently found a few beans roasted fresh that are substantially better than anything we were purchasing in grocery stores. Alternatively there are SO many online stores to try (and a biweekly friday thread on r/coffee for what beans people are currently trying).

    Compared to the $5+ a drink at starbucks we make great coffee at home for typically less than $1 a cup and it takes less than 5 minutes all in, including cleanup.
u/spankymuffin · 1 pointr/Coffee

There are some very affordable burr grinders out there, and it's worth the investment. You'll use it pretty much everyday. Hand grinders can be very cheap, and work great. Hario Skerton is a popular choice (I've seen it around for cheaper, but this is at least what's on amazon). Plenty of options, all varying in price. There's a pretty decent burr grinder from Kona I've used before, which I got for like $20.

But manual grinding can take some time. And if you're like me, and you want some quick coffee in the morning, then it's worth investing in an electric. There are some pretty decent electric burr grinders out there. You really don't have to pay a fortune. Here are a few cheap options:

Capresso Infinity

Bodum Bistro

Baratza Encore

But you can get far snobbier than just grind...

What kind of water are you using? Hopefully filtered, not tap. And definitely not distilled, since you want some of those minerals for flavor. Now, if you want to get even fancier, try using these mineral packets. I think each packet mixes in with 1 gallon of distilled water. I haven't tried it myself (I just use a brita) but I've heard good things. The quality of water makes a huge difference. This was the first "eureka" moment for me, when I moved from tap to filtered.

Next, how are you making your coffee? There are some great, cheap equipment out there. In this sub, here are some pretty cheap and popular choices:

Aeropress

Chemex

Pour-over

French press

We're getting pretty deep in the rabbit hole, right? Not yet! How about measuring the weight of the coffee? Consistency is important. You need the same, proper coffee-to-water ratio for the best cup. You can find people debating over the best scales, some costing hundreds. I'd just get a cheap one if I were you. You can find some decent cheap ones from like $10 to $30. If you want the best bang for your buck, look into American Weigh Scales.

I guess I can mention temperature of water as well. You can get thermometers or even electric kettles with built-in thermometers (like this). I think temperature matters so much more for tea than coffee, but it's something you need to keep in mind for coffee as well.

Here's probably the most important thing, in my opinion: where are you getting your coffee? What is the roast date? Unless you're buying your coffee directly from the roaster, you're probably not buying freshly roasted beans. It makes a world of difference. Try finding a local roaster and getting your beans from them, freshly roasted.

I'm sure there's plenty of other ways you can splurge money on coffee, but I'll let you figure it out!

(edited to fix the links)

u/Dacvak · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Hey man, let me hit you with my personal coffee journey. It worked super well for me, and it starts pretty entry-level. I highly recommend.

So, first and foremost, you need to start with pourover. Here's a pretty cheap starter set. Then you'll also need a kitchen scale, here's one of the smallest, most accurate ones I've found.

I'd also recommend getting an automatic burr grinder, which isn't exactly entry level, so it could be a secondary purchase if you find that you really want to get ball-deep into coffee. I started off with the Infinity Grinder, which worked well for me until I got an espresso machine (more on that later). But for pourover and most other methods (aeropress, coffee maker, even shit like siphon coffee, it's perfectly fine). Having an electric grinder is just going to make your life easier overall. But if you don't want to jump right into that, you could use the grinder included in the set I listed (I've never used it - it's probably not great, but I'm sure it'll work).

And that's all you need to make one god damn good cup of coffee. I've spent thousands of dollars on coffee equipment over the years, but for me, the best way to brew a simple cup of coffee is using a pourover method. And it's incredibly fun!

Now, once you've got a few months of pourover under your belt, it may be time to move onto other methods of brewing. Grab yourself an Aeropress. Aeropress effectively is the midpoint between normal coffee and espresso. It absolutely does not make real espresso, regardless of what anyone tells you, but that doesn't mean what it makes isn't super delicious. Plus it lets you start experimenting with the closest thing you'll be able to get to cappuccinos, and other fun things like flavored lattes when you have company over and want to impress them with some tasty java.

The Aeropress is fantastic, and it's ridiculously easy to clean. It's a nice way to be able to travel with a decent coffee maker, too.

Then, once you've got a couple years of delicious coffee down, it's time to get into the big leagues. Espresso.

Holy fuck dude. Espresso is complicated, and you really have to throw away everything you thought you knew about coffee. I know how pretentious that sounds, but it's super true. What I went with was a Crossland CC1, which was mainly because I got it for cheap on Craigslist for $400. But, warning, the Infinity Grinder will not grind accurate enough for espresso. For that you'll need something like a Baratza Hario or Sette 270 (I went with the Sette 270).

Anyway, that's waaaaaaaaay in your future. I'd highly recommend just starting off with pourover and some great beans (check locally, or order from Intelligentsia).

Enjoy your journey, bro. It's a great world out there.

u/MikeTheBlueCow · 7 pointsr/Coffee

That grinder will possibly give you issues with pour over. V60 is really picky too, and you will probably want a gooseneck kettle to use with it to make it much easier to get a good cup. The potential issue with that grinder (or similarly priced ones, which are all knock-offs of another hand grinder) is that it might give you a really inconsistent grind with a lot of fines, which could cause your pour over brew times to vary wildly and take far too long (ruining your coffee).

How much coffee do you want to make at once? If only one cup, here's what I recommend:

  • You can keep that grinder and instead of a pour over (which is pickier about grinder + kettle type), get something like an AeroPress ($30). Also, get a scale too, to weigh out your beans + water in order to get a consistently good cup, every time.

    If you want a larger amount of coffee (though you might find making your own coffee with fresh beans gives you more of a kick of caffeine than a cup from McD), then pour over is a good way to go, but will probably require more and better equipment in order for it to not suck. The V60 is the pickiest pour over about grind consistency. I don't make large batches, so maybe someone else can chime in with recommendations for devices that might handle a lower quality grind. But no matter what, a better grinder will improve both your ability to make pour over, and the taste of the coffee. If you want to stick with pour over, here's what I recommend for equipment in order for it to not be hard and get coffee that doesn't suck out of it:

  • Get the same scale I linked above. This is important for consistency; without weighing your coffee and water amount you can easily vary between making strong or weak coffee from day to day. It'll suck and be confusing. Scales are awesome and make everything easy.
  • Get a good-enough grinder, at the very least. When it comes to coffee, the best grinder you can afford is the way to go, it'll make your coffee taste better and with pour over you'll be able to be better at making your coffee. For me, bare minimum is the Baratza Encore. For the same price point but better grind, see if you can get a Feldgrind. Or pre-order the Aergrind for a great deal. A Lido or Helor are good options too.
  • A gooseneck kettle will be important too. V60 is very difficult without one if you want good coffee. Other pour overs you may be able to handle without needing a gooseneck, but it makes anything easier if you have the free cash flow. A good inexpensive one is the Hario Buono.

    And I would recommend going with white/bleached filters instead of the natural/brown ones. The nat/brown ones always have a strong paper taste you can't really get rid of.

u/aoeudhtns · 2 pointsr/Coffee

This really comes down to preference. The good thing is that a lot of these methods are inexpensive, although I don't know your financial situation.

First, you'll want a kettle with controllable temp. There are better, but this Bonavita is ~$50 and totally gets the job done. You'll be able to use this to boil water for cooking, control temps for different types of teas, as well as tweak your brew temp for coffee. I use mine a ton! This device is useful with pour-over, Aeropress, French Press, moka pot, and manual espresso methods. A digital scale is also useful for weighing your beans/grinds, and potentially weighing your cup when pouring.

You can get a ceramic (personally I would pass on plastic) dripper for $12-$20. There are two filter styles: V60 (cone) and Melitta (flat-bottom). Some people love the V60 - I haven't tried one though. I have a Melitta flat-bottom style. I get my filter paper from Trader Joe's; I think it's $1.99 for 100.

The Aeropress is ~$30 and an excellent brew system. It does seem to prefer finer grinds, which oxidize very quickly so fresh-ground is important. French Press is similar in cost, somewhere in the $20 - $40 range for a basic press. You may want to watch this video if you go with the press.

You can't go wrong with these three as starter methods - they all produce good, and slightly different, coffee. However, there's one thing that we need to address, as it's also important:

Grind and bean selection.

Using whole beans and grinding fresh can make a huge difference in your coffee. In addition, the consistency of the grind makes a difference as well, including the amount of fines that your grinder generates. (Fines are ultra-small particles, like dust.) If you are on a budget, you might want a good hand grinder like the Hario Skerton (~$45 - not so great for course grinds though). If you have a bit more money, you might want to look at the Capresso 560.01 (~80). Both of these selections have shortcomings, but they're pretty inexpensive too while still providing a decent quality result. These are just two quick picks - please take the time to dig some more and do your own research. People are highly opinionated about grinders. ;)

OK, last but not least, bean selection. There's a lot of different flavor profiles to be had out there. One problem with Keurig brewers is that the K-cups tend to have pretty cheap, low-quality coffee in them. There's an issue of both the beans that are being used, and your own preferences of different roast levels, and even what roast levels work the best with the given beans. There's no shortcut here other than your own personal experimentation. But I will advise, generally, that you should neither blow your budget on boutique coffee when starting, nor should you go as cheap as possible.

You could potentially stop by a local coffee shop and inquire about pour-overs and French Press. It'll cost a little more but they'll let you pick exactly which beans to try, and you can even contrast methods as well.

Good luck!

u/SnarkDolphin · 4 pointsr/Coffee

This won't be 100% relevant but I already have it typed so I'mma just copy paste it here and make some notes at the end:

>Well here's the thing about coffee, it's finicky stuff. Much moreso than most Americans would give it credit for. Automatic machines like you have can deliver quality coffee, but unless the one you have cost $200 or more, it won't really be up to the task of making cafe quality coffee. If you want coffee of the same quality (or even better) you'd find at a cafe, you're going to have to know a couple things. Don't worry, I'll tl;dr this with a few specifics at the end, but right now I'm going to go over the things that affect how coffee tastes:

>Bean quality: probably the most esoteric and taste-dependent part of coffee, it's not much worth getting into grading, processing, etc, just suffice it to say that folger's is definitely not using top-rate beans and they're mixing robusta (high caffeine, very bitter) in with arabica (moderate caffeine, much better flavor), whereas a decent coffee shop is using 100% arabica

>Freshness: Coffee goes stale quick and the flavors dull within about three weeks, a month tops after roasting. Those mass market beans are months old by the time you get them off the shelf. The good news is that there's almost definitely a roaster near you who sells decent beans that are nice and fresh roasted. The bad news is that the cheapest decent coffee you'll find is ~$10/lb most places.

>Grind: piggybacking on my last point, coffee, even when sealed in those cans, goes stale VERY fast after being ground (like, within an hour), so buy whole bean and grind it yourself right before brewing

>Grind consistency: if the grind isn't uniform, the coffee won't extract evenly and will taste off. The normal blade grinders you think of when you think "coffee grinder" won't work, you'll need a burr grinder, whether hand crank or electric. Doesn't have to be fancy but it does have to be a burr grinder

>Brew ratio: coffee will optimally be brewed (for most methods) with 16 or 17g of water (a fat tablespoon) for each gram of coffee. You can guestimate it but digital kitchen scales that read in grams can be had for dirt cheap on amazon. IME people who don't know about brewing coffee tend to use way too little coffee for the amount they brew. This extracts too much from the grounds and makes it watery and bitter

>Brew time: each method has its own ideal brew time but for most, like pourover or french press, ~4 minutes is optimal

>Water temperature: Coffee should ideally be brewed between 195-205Fthis is where the vast majority of home drip machines fail, the reason that /r/coffee approved drip machines start off at like $200 is that they have big, heavy copper heaters that can reach ideal brew temp, most drip machines have crummy weak heating coils that end up brewing at lower temperatures and making the coffee taste flat and sour.

>#TL;DR
I know this seems overwhelming, so I'll give you a nice, easy starter kit and instructions how to use it to get you started. And I know you said your bank account was getting crushed, so I'll make this nice and wallet-friendly

>For a grinder, go with either this manual one which has the advantage of being really cheap and producing decent grinds, but will take some effort to grind your coffee (2-3 minutes) and setting the grind size can be a pain, or if you want to spend a little bit more and get an electric, go for this one, it's not the greatest in the world but for a starting point it works ok and it's darn cheap.

>You can either keep brewing with your auto drip or, if you're still not satisfied, get a french press. They're crazy easy to use (weigh coffee, put in press. Place press on scale and tare. Pour in water. wait four minutes. drink), and they can be had for damn cheap

>Then find someone who roasts coffee near you, get some beans, and enjoy!

>Anyway sorry to bombard you with the wall of text but coffee's a complicated thing and we're hobbyists (and snobs) around here. Hope that helps! Feel free to ask more questions

>EDIT: forgot to add in Todd Carmichael's awesome instruction video for the french press.


If you're brewing for one, though, I'd look at the Aeropress, the learning curve is a bit steeper than FP but it makes wicked good coffee, is extremely versatile, and (my favorite part) cleanup is super quick and easy. And if you're willing to shell out a little more for a grinder take a peek at the Baratza encore.

EDIT: link to the aeropress and just one of many, many recipes for it. I actually used that recipe just last night and it came out fantastic. Might make myself one right now, actually...

u/sehrgut · 1 pointr/Coffee

Don't listen to the Aeropress people (like me). They're a cult. ;-)

J/K (sorta) . . . but if his general aesthetic shies away from the modern, he may use it quite rarely. I love my Aeropress, but it still feels all "modern and plastic" to me, and there are times I just don't want my coffee to involve anything modern or plastic, so I leave it in the cabinet and reach for my Chemex or French press.

In general, for any hobby, I recommend the things that are both the most useful and the least specific.

I honestly wouldn't get him any brewing device, since he's still at the stage where he's learning what he likes. If he decides he doesn't like an Aeropress or a V60 or a Chemex or anything else we like, it'll never be used. However, a good kettle, a good scale, and a good grinder are all very versatile (he can use them immediately with his press) and very non-specific (he can use them with any brewing method he settles on).

My recommendations are:

  1. Hario Slim or Hario Skerton hand grinder, depending on whether you think being small for travel or large for serving more than two people will be more important to him.
  2. Bonavita electronic kettle to enable him to brew any temperature he wants, for any brewing method he wants. The gooseneck spout is really important if he ends up liking manual pourover methods, too, even though it's more expensive than the plain kettle. (Versatility, and all that.)
  3. Any of the scales recommended in the brew guide: weighing both the coffee and the water become very important the more into coffee fanaticism you get. :-)

    You're right to leave the beans out of your calculations. Besides being entirely a matter of taste, it goes stale very quickly (a month old is pushing it). Though a gift certificate to a local coffee roaster wouldn't be amiss!

    I'm not sure what your price range is, but since you say that a nice mug was one option, I'm going to guess it's $30 or less. In that case, probably the hand grinder or the scale are your most likely options. Either of them will be something he'll use forever (regardless of what brewing methods he ends up liking), and will be a great contribution to his hobby.

    (Also, my gf just asked me, "So what are you telling her?" Maybe I can spin this for some good gear for me too! :-D )

    Edit: As far as the scale goes, a cheap electronic scale from Harbor Freight in the $15 range is perfectly serviceable (and in fact, I use one from there at work). You're looking for hundredths of an ounce or tenths of a gram precision.
u/TehoI · 2 pointsr/Coffee

I own a virtuoso and I love it. Grind quality for anything that isn't espresso is going to be about as good as anything that isn't $2700. The Lido is of course a great grinder, but I really think the no-effort aspect of the Virtuoso is underrated. I just made three cups of the same coffee in different ways - a side by side test is so much better than comparing days apart. I don't think I would have done that if I had to manually grind it out each time.

Pourover, V60 or Kalita are your best bet. Kalita is more forgiving but I think the V60 is more flexible once you get used it it. You should also look at getting an Aeropress - it is what got me used to stronger coffee and ultimately espresso.

Other gear, if you're doing pourover you need a gooseneck kettle. This one is great if you can swing it, otherwise any gooseneck will do. A scale like this one will be your best friend too.

EDIT: Disclaimer: I would not plan on using either of those grinders on espresso. The Lido is certainly more capable for that specific task, but ultimately you will want a grinder for espresso use only for two reasons:

1). Grind quality is SUPER important for espresso, and the Lido might get you to mid-range in that capacity. Plus adjustabilty is an issue here, so while the Virtuoso can grind to espresso fineness, it can not take small enough steps to get a truly great cup.

2). Switching from brew to espresso is a pain, and it will decrease the quality of your espresso. You need to "dial in" espresso, which is finding a very specific grind setting and recipe for a specific bean. Switching back and forth will completely disrupt that process on top of just being a pain.

Now, both grinders will be fantastic for brew and I would highly recommend both of them for that purpose. The above just something to be aware of.

u/user_1729 · 5 pointsr/Coffee

My favorite thing about coffee as a "hobby" is that, like some have said, it's a hobby that isn't just a waste of money. Fresh beans are a huge 1st step, they really just have tons of flavors that change almost as you work through the bag, and sometimes I feel like the first sip of a french press is different than the middle, etc. For me the different methods I use just work better for different beans, I'm still figuring that out myself. I prefer to french press african beans, pour over on more typically "harsh" beans, and I'm still dialing in aeropress, but I feel like it takes a lot out of the coffee so it seems to work best if I'm like "hmm I'm not sure I like this bean", aeropress... oh nevermind it's great.

You could buy:

Good grinder ~$140

Scale $15

Kettle $25

And three interesting and different types of brewers:

Aeropress ~$30

V60 ~$20

French Press ~$20

That's all the gear for now, you're SET until you become a crazy coffee nut, but for me 90% of the coffee I make is in one of those 3 methods. I have a moka pot, and they're cool too. But that's $250 for gear, and you could probably save a bit with different grinder options but plan to drop the biggest amount of that.

Add in $20 for some high quality beans (S&W is great and their reddit discount is on this page somewhere) and you're around $270 to be brewing great coffee a few different ways. Now you have 4+ different coffees, 3 ways to make it, and the equipment to make sure you're doing it "right".

Okay that's a lot and I hate this "if you buy a cup of coffee a day" crap, but let's just say you drink work swill most of the time, but get a cup of coffee out 3x a week. At $3/cup maybe you tip a quarter each time, you pay off this stuff in 6 months and these things pretty much last forever.

The point is, yes, some of the costs of entry (specifically the grinder) can be a little daunting, and sometimes we get carried away, but overall, the cost of making great coffee at home is significantly less than going out. You're actually getting BETTER coffee too, trying different ways to make it, and enjoying yourself. Wow, okay rambling there. Good luck!

u/clay_target_clubs · 3 pointsr/Coffee

My story is a simple story of liking coffee then slowly going down the wormhole into a full fledged problem.


I always liked coffee, since high school. Would always drink it black, sometimes would add some cream or milk, but usually just enjoyed a good cup. A good cup from a drip is rare, I didn't know this before, it was good to me.


What started me and my completely normal addiction, was a girl. I had taken a new job out of town, a 3hr drive away, and needed to move. I had just started seeing this girl so nothing was serious and we promised to keep in touch and visit once in a while. Well the relationship never slowed down and we ended up seeing each other every weekend. The problem was, when I went to see her and stay at her place, she didn't drink coffee so she didn't have a coffee machine. I would end up having some tea to hold me over. One day while we were grocery shopping, I ended up finding one of these. I thought $5 well that's not bad I'll be able to at least get a cup of coffee now. No reason to by another mr. coffee just to use twice a week, So I bought it with a bag a ground beans.

The next morning I tried out my purchase, had to boil water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Made my cup and tasted it AND..... I don't remember now but it was passable, same as my next few cups. I slowly was getting my coffee:water ratio down and was getting better and better cups. And every so often I would get an amazing cup that would rival anything I had ever tasted, but then the next was ok, weak, or extremely bitter. Couldn't figure out why.

At this time I had just found reddit and found /r/coffee. I started to read some of the How to Coffee links and doing some Google searches. Oh water temp, get a quick read thermometer. Coffee was much better consistently. This was good for a while, finally the GF found a job near me I bought a house and she moved in. Then I had a Kitchen with lots of empty cabinets to fuel my new found addiction. Burr grinder was the next purchase along with a chemex, Coffee is excellent and consistently good.

Now over the next two years I'm always looking for the next best cup, Slowly it consumes the rest of the kitchen. A scale, a electric kettle, Aeropress, french press, vacuum pot, cold brew, Turkish, a goose neck kettle, pop corn popper... My kitchen is now full, once section dedicated to coffee, and every morning I slave over measuring the perfect amount of beans, getting the grind just right, perfect water temp. Timing the bloom with the correct amount of water. Perfecting the pour from the goose neck kettle. All so when I finally get to enjoy a cup I always wonder if I could get it better.

u/ogunther · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Well my other post is getting downvoted to oblivion for some reason so here's the main post from that thread:

As I mentioned in my previous post (here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/214lbh/im_thinking_about_selling_my_extraunneeded_coffee/ ), I've recently upgraded both my kettle and my scale and since both are still in really good condition, I thought I'd offer them for sale at a decent price here on r/coffee.

I'd prefer they go to someone who wouldn't be able to afford purchasing these items new as a way to give back to the r/coffee community who have helped me so much on my coffee journey over the last few years. Obviously I have no way to verify so I'm going on the honor system here but if you're just looking for a good deal and trying to be frugal, please don't attempt to buy these from me. These are both great products and well worth their price new if you can afford them.

With that said, here's detail on the two items I'm selling:

Bonavita 1.0L Electric Kettle

  • Just under 2 years old - Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YR0GDA
  • I paid $49.74 but it is currently listed at $59.99 - Asking $30


    American Weigh Scales AMW-SC-2KG Digital Pocket Scale

  • Less than 3 months old - Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RF3XJ2
  • I paid $27.67 but it's currently listed at $16.99 - Asking $10

    Shipping within the US = $5 per item


    Some additional information:

    Photos: http://imgur.com/a/2mIRB

    Videos of both items showing that they are both in working order:

  • AWS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQvyJqH65d8
  • Bonavita - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc-vKMv-ZrQ (please note the thermometer is not included)

    Notes:

  • The AWS scale includes the original box and all the items originally shipped with it. Does not include batteries (I use rechargeables, sorry) but it does have the AC plug which can be used in place of batteries.

  • The Bonavita scale does NOT include the original box or paperwork but does include an aftermarket silicone flow reducer (this can be easily removed if not wanted). It includes all the original hardware. There is some light scale in the bottom of the kettle (see photo above) but I've only ever used filtered water in the kettle so it shouldn't pose any issues.

  • Both items are in excellent working order and I have had no problems with either. With that said, caveat emptor! The kettle is 2 years old and I have no idea what their life expectancy is. Only guarantee is that items are as described and will be in working order upon arrival.

  • I replaced both items only because I found really good deals on upgrades to a Bonavita Variable Temp Kettle and a Bonavita Scale (both thanks to r/coffee!) otherwise I'd still happily be using these myself.

    Sale Info:

    Sale to be completed through Paypal and payment must be made before the items ship. As to picking the "winning" recipient(s); if you are interested in either/both of these items, please PM me which items you're interested in and what country you live in (commenting in this thread won't count). I'll use a RNG to pick both "winners" by the end of the week and update the post accordingly. If for any reason that person can't take possession of the item, I'll RNG another person. Hopefully that sounds fair to everyone. :)

    I've tried to answer all the questions I could think that you'd want to ask but if I missed anything please let me know and I'll answer as best I can. Thanks!
u/sherpasojourner · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Ok I am going to try to answer every question

  1. 100% worth it. The difference in taste is indescribable. With a good burr grinder and an aero press the coffee will be immeasurably better. And, you can measure a system were it will take you maybe 5 minutes, tops. Heck, you can even pre measure the water and coffee the night before if you need to save time.

  2. This is hard to answer since everyone's choices are different. I have never seen a mug recommend on here that I loved, they always seem to be really tacky in my opinion, I guess I just don't like novelty mugs. One thing that is mostly a safe bet is going to a local roaster or a good roster online and buying there branded mugs, a lot of those are really cool. This one from Kickapoo Roatsers is really cool for instance. A lot of stump towns diner mugs are really nice.In addition, A lot of these are really unique, albeit pricy. But these are all personal preferences, find what you like.

  3. Starbucks is very contervesial on this subreddit. What follows here is my personal opinion. First, if there is a Starbucks that sells reserve near you, you are in luck because those bags are mostly quite good. The problem with most of Starbucks roasts is that they are so dark most are undrinkable, as lighter roasts typically bring out the natural flavors in coffee. The only semi good ones are there "light" or "blond" roasts, and even then those are pretty average. Some of there single origin, like the (now out of season) Guatemalan Casi Cielo were decent quality. I would first try out local roasters with actually freshly roasted beans, and if there are absolutely none with some good freshly roasted beans near you, then online would be a good place to start. Try some of the big (all good) ones like blue bottle, intelligentsia, or stump town. One I don't see recommended on here a lot is La Colombe, which is quite delicious, I loved there Hatian.

    Lastly, and most importantly, BUY A GOOD BURR GRINDER. Freshly ground truly does make all the difference. A good starter is the Hario Skerton availiable on Amazon, or a Hario mini mill, also on Amazon.

    I hope this helps! Good luck man!
u/Kalahan7 · 1 pointr/Coffee

You need a couple of things but we can make it with the lower end of your budget.

A good burr grinder. Your biggest investment but also the most important one. For pretty much everyone here I would recommend the Berata Encore. A fantastic electric grinder that grinds really well for every brewing method out there except for real espresso.

If you think you might want to get a grinder that will be great for espresso as well, look into high end manual hand grinders like a Lido. They costs between $200 and $250. They require manual labor of course but it takes about 20 to 25 seconds to grind for a single cup. Not that big of a deal.

An Aeropress itself. Around $40 I think. Comes with paper filters that will last you a long time. They also sell reusable metal filters that give a distinct, more french-press like, tasting coffee. Worth a try but non essential.

A kettle/water cooker. Probably have those already. Don't need anything especial like a gooseneck for Aeropress. If you're looking to invest, buy a gooseneck kettle with build in thermometer like this one. They will be very helpful if you expand the hobby beyond aeropress.

A 0.1g scale. A scale that works with a precision of 0.1grams. Costs around $17 on Amazon. If you buy one, buy one with a build in timer. Very handy it doesn't cost more. If you have a regular kitchen scale, this one is a bit optional but if you want consistent results you need a precise scale.

About Aeropress. It's one of my favorite brewing methods. Very fun to use and can brew a wide range of coffee. However, it doesn't do espresso. It can make a very strong cup of coffee. It can even do crema if you use it right. Just not actual espresso. It just can't. Doesn't provide enough pressure.

u/greqrg · 1 pointr/Coffee

I'm in a similar situation as you, and I've recently gotten my coffee tools up to a level that I'm happy to stick with for a while. Last week I bought a cheap CuisinArt burr grinder on sale for $50. This grinder is a huge step up from my blade grinder. It obviously isn't as consistent as a $200+ grinder, but it does exactly what I need it to do.

Last week ago I also ordered one of these as a cheap substitute for fancier pouring kettles. It just came in a few days ago and it works great. It's a lot smaller than it looks in the pictures (check the dimensions on the website), but it's perfect for brewing a single cup like I typically do.

We have one of those pour-overs at work and it works pretty well, but honestly I don't use it enough to have a good opinion on it. It's definitely better designed than a Melitta though (I like the wide whole at the bottom, compared to Melitta's dripper). I personally use a Chemex, which isn't too cheap, but I've fallen in love with the coffee it produces. (On a side note, the Chemex filters are what do the trick, and I've even heard about people using the filters with the harios. I'd look into it if it sounds like something you might be interested in.)

Also, I think the major thing that will make you better coffee with a simple setup like this is to find good beans. I found a local roaster that makes some beans I've quickly fallen in love with. (And I must be doing something right because I think I make better coffee than what I can order there.)

u/Del_Sol · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Broke college student here, I'm also a barista that's use to having amazing, freshly roasted coffee. So far, no one has lied. AMAZING espresso IS expensive. But can you make a latte as well as your local cafe? With a little practice, time and money, yes.

My current home setup consists of a Delonghi EC155, this is a true espresso machine, it's not steam powered and with a little modification and practice makes good espresso. Modification wise the only thing I'd recommend is depressurizing the portafilter basket, which is easy. If you ever want a better machine but don't want to spend the money you can modify it even more. They're vary popular machines and can be modified to pull amazing shots. They go anywhere from 70-130, however, occasionally things get repacked or the packaging gets damaged in the warehouse. They'll offer them at a hefty discount, I just got mine "reboxed" from amazon for 47 dollars, wait a few days and one will come up. If you use your student email you can get Amazon Prime for free, take advantage of that.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC155-Espresso-Cappuccino-Maker/dp/B000F49XXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396498476&sr=8-1&keywords=delonghi+ec155

I also got this tamper, works well, it's a little light for my tastes but for home use it's fine. The EC155 has a 52mm basket, if having a 50mm tamper bothers you then pay the extra few bucks for a 52mm tamper. Personally doesn't bother me, and it was only 7 bucks.

http://www.amazon.com/Espresso-Tamper-Sizes-Alloy-Coffee/dp/B0001XRNEM/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_z

Here's a milk frothing cup, you'll need it to properly froth milk. You can poorly froth milk in a microwave but why do that when you can spend an extra 8 dollars and do it properly? I personally got mine for a dollar from a thrift store.

http://www.amazon.com/Update-International-EP-12-Stainless-Frothing/dp/B000MR6I9I/ref=pd_bxgy_hg_text_y

I got one of these grinders years ago for around 20 dollars. I've seen them used, repackaged, and refurbished for about that much. Wait around and a deal will come up. You can also get a Hario Mini and a number of other hand grinders. But this one does just fine. Now out of the box it won't grind fine enough for espresso, however, with about 20 minutes worth of work you can shim it and it'll grind perfectly for espresso. It's not hard and anyone can do it with a screw driver and some tin foil.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1396498766&sr=1-1&keywords=cuisinart+grinder

At this point if you're willing to wait for a deal on the EC155 you've only spent 107 dollars. Even less if you're willing to wait on a deal for the burr grinder as well. If you want AMAZING coffee you can spend another 27 dollars and get an Aeropress, or wait for a deal and get it for 20 dollars. It will make a coffee concentrate which will taste "okay" for a latte.

At this point, I cannot recommend going to your local coffee houses and asking if you can buy green beans. They typically sell green coffee for 5-8 dollars a pound. You can roast your own coffee with a skillet and a whisk, or a popcorn popper, there are hundreds of ways to do it cheaply and it easy. You'll save money and you'll be drinking tastier coffee.

Don't let these people get you down, good espresso doesn't have to be expensive. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

u/givemeyournews · 3 pointsr/Coffee

I think to best answer this request, we'll need a bit more info. Are you ok with a manual grinder, or do you prefer an electric grinder? Do you want a drip brewer or a pour over set up? Are you looking to get into espresso? And, what is your actual budget in your local currency?

And now for a guess at what might work for you...

A [Melitta Plastic Pour Over Dripper](https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Ready-Single-Coffee-Brewer/dp/B0014CVEH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527536804&sr=8-1&keywords=mellita) $5 to $6 (a lot of grocery stores carry these in stock)

A box of #2 Cone filters at your local grocery store $2

If you want an automatic drip brewer, and you are making smaller amounts for just you, the [Bonavita 5 cup](https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV1500TS-Carafe-Coffee-Stainless/dp/B00SK5IXPQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537674&sr=8-4&keywords=bonavita+brewer) is wroth a look. it runs about $66. I have the 8 cup for the wife and I and we love it.

Filters can be purchased, again, at your local grocery store for about $2.

[Brewista SmartPour Kettle w. Thermometer](https://www.amazon.com/Brewista-Variable-Temperature-Kettle-BKV12S02NA/dp/B01CFBBUVY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537033&sr=8-1&keywords=brewista%2Bsmart%2Bpour&th=1) $40. There are cheaper ones, but I personally have this one and have loved it.

[Scale](https://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ-4000-Compact-Digital-Adapter/dp/B004C3CAB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537139&sr=8-1&keywords=Jennings+CJ4000) This is a must. $30

[Bratza Encore](https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527537371&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baratza+encore&psc=1&smid=A302OQK4GZWXCC) Grinder is the default recommendation around here, and for good reason. It's high quality, and easily serviceable. New they run $139, but you can save $40 and pick up a [refurb](https://www.baratza.com/product/encore-refurb/) (still with the 1 year warrantee) for $99 direct from Baratza.

If you want a cheaper option, and don't mind a manual hand grinder, there are a few options, but the [Hario Skerton Pro](https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Grinder-MMCS-2B/dp/B01MXJI90S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537536&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+skerton+pro) is about the lowest cost / still decent quality grinders, grinder that most would recommend. It runs about $60, and personally, I'd spend the extra $30 on an Encore refurb.

Happy Mug Beans are a pretty great option. I really enjoy the Big Foot Espresso blend (despite it's name) as a pour over, and even like it in my drip brewer. The Inspirational Artist Blend is a great option too. But really just try them out and see what you like. Their bags (for 1lbs of whole beans) run $11 - $13

Hope that helps.

u/mrockey19 · 7 pointsr/Coffee

Hey there. I'll give you a little summary of what I think most people on here will tell you in response to your questions.

Books: Blue Bottle ,Coffee Comprehensive and Uncommon Grounds are all good books to cover most of coffee and its processes.

This Capresso Infinity is considered a pretty decent burr grinder for the price. It will not do espresso but will be good enough for most other coffee brewing methods.

Getting a set up that is acceptable for "real" espresso is kind of expensive. A Gaggia classic is considered the bare minimum espresso machine for a "real" espresso. A Baratza Virtuoso is considered bare minimum for a decent espresso grinder. Now, you can (and many people do) find these items used, which obviously reduces the cost greatly. But depending on your area, finding these items up on craigslist or similar sites can be pretty rare.

I'm not from Rhode Island, but googling local roasters will provide some results. As for online ordering, tonx, blue bottle and stumptown are favorites around here for their price and quality. Beans are broken down on what region they came from, how they were processed and how dark they are roasted. Each region has different flavor profiles in their beans. African beans are known for being more fruity than other beans, for example. A little warning, most people on this subreddit believe Starbuck's espresso roast coffee to be too dark. However, many of Starbuck's light/Medium roast coffees have been reviewed as pretty decent. Most websites that sell the beans will list a flavor profile of the beans. The basic saying on this subreddit is that if you have crappy beans, no matter what, your coffee will be crappy. If you are going to overspend anywhere in the process, overspend on quality beans.

The espresso machines that you will be using at starbucks are machines that will basically produce espresso at the push of a button. They will grind, tamp and extract the espresso without any input from you. You should just know right off the bat that there is a whole other world to espresso making that is the exact opposite, with people grinding the beans to the right size, tamping by hand, and extracting shots with a lever that controls pressure. Neither way is right or wrong, you should just know that there are many different types of espresso machines and baristas.

I'll share a little bit of advise, take from it what you will. I was an ambitious college student coffee drinker just like you. I asked for a Breville espresso machine as my first real coffee making device (even before a grinder, how silly of me). I just wanted an espresso machine because that was all I was getting from these coffee shops. Since then I've gotten a nice grinder, a melitta pour over, french press, gooseneck kettle, aeropress, V60, moka pot, and chemex. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't turned on my espresso machine in over a year. There is so much more to coffee than espresso. There are so many methods to brew coffee that are cheaper, more complex and more interesting. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd buy the burr grinder I linked, and an Aeropress or any french press (Starbucks sells some pretty nice ones. You could get one with an employee discount) and just learn to love coffee on its own, without frothed milk and flavorings.

There is a ton of info on this subreddit if you stick around for awhile. Questions like yours are posted all the time and answered by very knowledgable people. Your enthusiasm for coffee is extremely exciting to see. Please don't let any of my advise subtract from your enthusiasm. Everyone takes a different path while exploring coffee. That's part of the excitement. You will learn a lot at Starbucks and you will learn a lot if you stay here. Enjoy your stay.

u/segasean · 2 pointsr/Coffee

To answer your question, the strength of your coffee is mostly influenced by how much coffee you're using versus how much water. For a strong cup with your Keurig, go with the setting with the smallest amount of water. The Keurig is by no means the "best" method to make coffee, but it will make coffee. If you decide to get a manual brewer (French press, Aeropress, Kalita Wave, etc.) the brew time has some leeway, but I'd recommend just using more coffee than trying to push the recommended brew time too far. Coffee can/should be strong without being bitter, and keeping the water and coffee together too long will create bitterness.


What follows is everything you need to know about making great coffee. Warning, this may be overwhelming:

  1. Freshly ground coffee is going to taste better. Consider coffee like bread. A loaf left on the counter will get stale faster if you slice it up. Freshly roasted is better, but it might be more expensive/harder for you to find and you might not want to dive that deep yet.
  2. Conical burr grinders are better than blade grinders. The problem is that a decent automatic burr grinder is going to be ~$100 and that's a steep price for someone just getting into coffee. Many people will recommend the mini mill, Skerton, or something along those lines that is hand-crank. (Good non-name brand options: 1 and 2) Those are your best bet. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, you can get an automatic blade grinder if you might have an issue with manual grinding/don't want to drop a lot of money. I will mention that darker roasts are easier to grind manually so there's less worry for your wrist. The problem with blade grinders is you get a bunch of differently sized bits, which makes it more difficult to get consistency and figure out a grind size/brew time you like.
  3. Each method of brewing calls for a differently sized grind. This is pretty important. If it's too small, you'll get a bitter cup. If it's too big, you'll get a sour cup. The same goes for brew time. Too long will make a bitter cup, and too short will make a sour cup. However, there's some leeway on both of these to your taste.
  4. There are a bunch of ways to make coffee that change how it tastes. Methods that involve filtering through paper make a cleaner cup, but you lose most of the oils in the coffee. Metal filters leave in these oils, but can also leave a lot of sediment/mud in the bottom of your cup. You might drink this if you drink that last sip, and it isn't really nice.
  5. Weighing your coffee is much more accurate if you want to make a consistent cup. A tablespoon of a darker roast might be 5 grams while a tablespoon of a lighter roast might be 7 grams.
  6. You'll need something to boil water in. If you have a kettle, great. If you don't, you can use a pan or you can buy a kettle. It doesn't need to be a fancy/expensive gooseneck-style one (1 and 2), but you might want one of those if you get into pourover methods.

    I would recommend a French press (1 2 3 4) or Aeropress for someone just getting into coffee. They're much more forgiving than pour-over methods, meaning you're less likely to make a bitter cup. They each have their own drawbacks, too. An Aeropress is easier to clean up, but can only make one cup at a time. A French press takes more time to clean, but can make about 3 cups at a time. (By cups I mean a standard 12-ounce mug.) Definitely get a grinder, too (see above). A scale (1 and 2) is optional but recommended. For beans, seek out a local roaster/coffee shop, but there are tons of online options available, too.

    Welcome to the wonderful (and sometimes crazy) world of coffee!
u/BenisNIXON · 2 pointsr/Coffee

The Wave is good. Other easy methods for beginners would be the Aeropress or the French Press.

More importantly I would find a local roaster from which to get fresh beans. Quality beans will be a huge difference in flavor for you regardless of brewing method (though drip maker is still not recommended over other methods mentioned). I know you said you are frugal, as am I, but I found myself drinking LESS coffee when I was spending more on quality not because it was more expensive but because the flavor was so much more intense and fulfilling. I savored it more and instead of drinking 1200mL of store bought drip I was enjoying 700mL of Chemex (similar pour over method) tremendously more.

If you are anything like me you will take your time to build your equipment and slowly buy more. I enjoyed doing it this way because I could move as my tastes evolved. As you mentioned, investing in a good burr grinder should probably be the most important thing. I think my Baratza Encore is worth its weight in gold. After that I slowly added more brewing methods and this Hario scale. The weighing of your water and coffee is so much simpler when it comes to make a consistently great cup of coffee.

I know this is a long reply and a list of stuff but it is three years worth of accumulation, mostly thanks to Amazon gift cards at Christmas time! Most importantly, just enjoy yourself and your coffee! If you like a method others don't or don't like weighing things then don't. Your taste is yours, enjoy it.

u/elliottok · 0 pointsr/Coffee

Does your Silvia have a PID installed?

As far as gear goes, here are my recommendations:

Grinder: Baratza Vario - refurb if you can get it from Baratza's website.

Tamper: I like Clive Coffee's Tampers. They're around the same price as a Reg Barber, but I like the way they feel and look a lot more. Here's a link.

Knockbox: Rattleware has some good ones, but basically any knockbox will do.

Milk Pitcher: 12 oz. Rattleware for Capps and smaller drinks. If you're going to be making lattes, then you'll want a 20 oz. pitcher.

Beans: If you've got any good quality, local coffee shops in your area, then try their stuff. See what you like and what you don't. If there isn't much available locally, then there are plenty of online retailers. I've recently been buying from Sterling Coffee Roasters in Portland, OR because they offer free shipping and have great coffee. But like I said there are tons of choices for beans.

Scale: Definitely get a scale. Weighing each dose is probably the best way to pull consistent shots day after day. It's easy - just put portafilter on scale to zero before you grind into the portafilter. Then grind into portafilter and weigh when it looks close. I would start with 19 gram doses if I were you. I like this scale from AWS..

Get a thermometer - any good insta-read thermometer will do.

Get a stiff bristled brush for cleaning the group head, like this one.

Get some Cafiza for back flushing the group head every few weeks.

Get some Dezcal for descaling the boiler a couple of times per year.

Get a bottomless portafilter at some point.

You may want to look into purchasing one of the VST portafilter baskets. The ones that come with the Silvia are not very good.

Honestly, my real advice would be to take back the machine, get cash or store credit, and put that money towards a Breville Dual Boiler 920XL. The Breville comes with a 2 year warranty, and includes quality baskets, milk pitcher, tamper, and water filter. It's about double the price of the Silvia, but it has so many more features that it's more than worth it. I bought a Silvia as my first machine and it took me only a few months before I decided to upgrade. It's a fun little machine, but it's extremely outdated and way over priced for what you're getting.

u/Avgvstvs_Caesar · 13 pointsr/Coffee

Thanks for the update. That's plenty of money to start.

The two big things you can do to drastically improve your cup is 1.) fresh WHOLE coffee beans (check the roast date); none of that pre-ground stuff. If you are looking for speed and cheap this is a decent grinder that will meet your needs, however if you have the time, (effort) and want to do it right. I would strongly recommend something like this. It is a burr grinder and will give you MUCH better results (rather than chopping beans you are actually grinding them. Burr grinder = squeezing out the best aromas and flavor into your coffee). You can buy one for ~$40 (along with ~$30 for a decent french press).. Get the beans whole and grind them before each use (two scoops of coffee per 6 ounces of water); don't let the beans sit for more than a month. They lose freshness and aroma/taste each day after it's been opened. 2.) use good water. You don't have to use bottled, Brita is fine or tap if you have good water.

and that's it. From there you can explore the types of roast you like, the different regions, blends, etc since you will be making consistent coffee each time this way (very few variables unlike many of the methods of brewing- but hey, isn't that half the fun? Although most would suggest getting a scale right away, I would recommend holding off. A scale can then help you fine tune your technique, but is IMHO a bit too complicated to start with. Instead, I would take the money saved and check out some good coffee shops in your area, particularly ones that roast their own coffee. You'll quickly learn what you like and what you don't.

Good luck, have fun and feel free to msg me if you have anymore questions.

Also: you can try to adjust the grind for the strength of your coffee (to taste). More fine = stronger. More coarse = less strong. That will affect not just the strength, but also the body and "mouth feel" of the coffee (if you do go with a french press, you want a "coarse" grind).

u/THANAT0PS1S · 2 pointsr/Coffee

I started getting into coffee nearly a year and a half ago, and here is what I did to start:

I bought

  • A Hario V60 02 Pour-Over Dripper ~$20, with filters, ~$30

  • A Hario Buono Gooseneck Kettle ~$50

  • A Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder ~$150

  • A scale ~$25

  • Freshly, locally roasted whole beans ~$10/lb. Dark roasts tend to be less acidic, sweeter, and have less caffeine (when brewed correctly); light roasts are the opposite: acidic, fruity, and more caffeine.

    Now, bear in mind that I knew that I loved coffee before I invested all this money into it; you should obviously really consider your situation and really get into "good" coffee before splurging on all of this equipment. I now have a French press, a moka pot, and am going to invest in an Aeropress soon, but I still prefer the pour-over method to any other coffee that I've had, thus why I recommend you go that route. It can take some definite getting used to and has a bit of a learning curve, but it is easily worth the effort (tutorial videos will help immensely.

    Keep in mind, you needn't buy exactly what I did. Shop around, see what you like and what is in your price range. I will say this, however: if you do go the pour-over method, go for the V60 or the Chemex, they are both easily the best on the market, and the same goes for the Buono kettle, though if necessary you can purchase a different kettle, just so long as it is a gooseneck (which is required to finely control the flow of water).

    Many other people will tell you to go with a French press. This is good advice as it has a very slight learning curve in comparison to pretty much every other method (besides maybe the Aeropress, depending on who you talk to): it is literally grinding the coffee coarsely and letting it sit in water for X-amount of time. It also does not take filters, is easy to clean, and is a relatively cheap initial investment (~$20). I like the Brazil model that Bodum makes.

    No matter which method you choose to brew with, there are three things that you should not underestimate the importance of (and thus should not skimp on):

  • Freshly ground and roasted beans are a must. The fresher, the better.
  • A blade grinder will always do a worse job of grinding than a burr grinder. It is worth it to spend the extra cash for a burr grinder right off the bat, as, if you get at all serious about coffee, you will eventually purchase one anyway, rendering your blade grinder useless and a waste of money in hindsight. Blade grinders make it nigh impossible to control how fine or coarse the grind is, which is one of the biggest variables in coffee brewing. There are absolutely cheaper models out there than the one that I linked to, especially if you get a manual one rather than the electric one that I own.

  • A scale is essential. Coffee brewing is very much an exact science. Making sure the ratio of water to coffee is exact and being able to fine tune down to the gram/milliliter can create some of the biggest deviances between batches next to grind size. This cannot be overstated.

    Best of luck. There's a lot of good knowledge on this sub, on this sub's How to Coffee: A Primer, and on the Internet in general. Check it all out, pick your path, and enjoy the ride!
u/Tricker12345 · 1 pointr/Coffee

If you're in Salt Lake, there are a lot of good coffee shops up there! My favorites are Publik, Coffee Garden, and Raw Bean Coffee. All three of those shops have some very good coffee. Google is your best friend, if you do some searching you'll come across a lot of super good coffee shops.

I haven't personally tried any local beans, but I know Publik has some great stuff. As far as making your own coffee - I'm partial to the Hario V60, but a French Press or Aeropress are also great. If you want something that makes more coffee, you could pick up a chemex. I've owned all four of those, they're fairly simple and they all make great coffee. I personally use a hand burr grinder that cost $24, here's a link for you. It's nothing super special, but it works for what I use it for. You probably wouldn't want to use it for espresso, but I find that it works great for pourover/french press coffee. The grind is a little inconsistent, but I've still been able to get great results.

As far as ordering beans, I always go through Happy Mug. I've ordered a lot through them, and their stuff has never let me down. Their prices are great, and they have $3 flat rate shipping that takes 2-3 days to get to me. I usually order 3 half-pound bags at a time, those will last me about a month personally. I haven't really branched out past Happy Mug because I've been so happy with what I've received from them, but I know there are plenty of other places to buy from. If you do some searching on this sub you can find a lot of info about online vendors.

u/sli · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Honestly, the easiest way to start is probably an Aeropress and a decent kettle. Get a gooseneck early, then you won't have to buy a second kettle later if you decide to start playing with pour-overs. If you want to make boiling water a little more passive, get an electric one. I have this one and it works like a charm.

Another cheap starter option for brewing is the V60 and its various clones. The original is plastic, but this one is ceramic and only $20. It takes some practice to get pour-overs just right, but it's worth it. And for $20, it's not a bad way to give it a shot or just to have in your collection.

Grinders are a whole discussion. I have a Baratza Encore that I really like. It's easy to maintain and Baratza's support was pretty good to me when I needed them. If you want to go a little cheaper, you might consider a Skerton or Mini Mill.

For beans, have fun. There are a ton of places to get decent beans, and part of the fun is finding new places. There are a number of redditors that roast and will probably sell beans to you if you like. (Including me!) I would suggest some, but I actually skipped this part and went straight to roasting.

EDIT: Oh, and good luck. You're opening a door to a rabbit hole, now.

u/fjwright · 1 pointr/Coffee

Hey there! I am also from Ohio! I'll give you two answers.

Cheapest possible way to get into it is a whirly blade grinder and a french press. No filters needed, just fresh ground coffee made rather quickly and easily. This was my first ever coffee set up, and really got me into drinking better coffee. If you tell me what city in Ohio you are closest to I will give you a recommendation on a local roaster to get beans from. Buying locally from a reputable roaster will be the best option for quality beans for a good price.

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The other answer, is to buy nice or buy twice. After using the above set up for a few months I was hooked and decided to upgrade everything. So I will send you some options for the cheapest way to make specialty level coffee. For this I would look at a nicer grinder and a pour over. While hand grinders are great, almost everyone upgrades to an electric one. The linked options there are my favorite for the money. The electric model from baratza can be found refurbished on their website from time to time for addtional savings.

The next thing you'll need is a pour over and a kettle to pour with. I recommend a Chemexhere as they are good for serving one to three cups comfortably. I recommended a glass handle chemex because they are beautiful, but wood necked models are a little cheaper. I would get the white square filters with it as they impart less papery flavor. As for a kettle you have a ton of options. I am going to link a budget electric kettle as I find the stovetop models to be more of a hassle.

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As for healthy sweeteners, brewing it well I hope you won't need them as much, which would be the healthiest. But whole milk and stevia in the raw are your best healthy fixins.

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Hope this is helpful! Happy brewing and welcome to the fam!

u/annnm · 2 pointsr/Coffee

I don't know about that manufacturer for the grinder, but most people haven't had great luck with similar types. There are lots of reports of them breaking or being of inconsistent build quality. Almost universally on this sub, people recommend hario for introductory grinders (sub 30$) and nothing else. It should be noted that non-coffee enthusiasts may quickly tire of manually grinding their coffee. And imo, while freshly grounded is superior, many may feel that increase in quality not worth the extra effort. you know your dad. he may be one of these people. in which case, a manual grinder might only just take up space.

french press seems good. it's pretty! It'll be a full bodied murky coffee because there isn't a paper filter. A cleaner coffee can be achieved via a v60 cone or aeropress like you were thinking about. This is all up for preference and i will note that the cost of filters is near negligible. It comes down to like a nickle per brew. As for cleaning, the aeropress is slightly more annoying to clean and dry than a cone, but it's not that troublesome.

As for the beans, i have no idea. i'm a part of the camp that believes the process is superior to the materials. So, so long as it isn't bad, then it should be good. And accordingly, I buy bargain bin beans because i don't care. They taste good enough for me. But some of my friends believe in only single origin beans from an expensive and artisan roaster like blue bottle. I don't think either of us is wrong. again: just preference.

all in all, looks decent. hope he enjoys the gifts!

u/0x6d1e · 2 pointsr/Coffee

The French Press brewing method gives you a very full-bodied cup, but the trade-off is that the flavors "muddy" a bit rather than being clear and crisp.

Chemex is pretty much the polar opposite; as a pour-over method with a paper filter, it gives you a cup with a lot of clarity but fairly low body. The Hario V60/V90 and Melitta pour-overs are similar in many ways, but the filters have different characteristics and they don't typically come with a brewing vessel (you can brew straight into a cup, but then you can't really see what you're doing).

Aeropress is a bit in-between -- it's an immersion brewing method, just like the french press, but also uses a paper filter which reduces body but increases clarity. (If you get one, throw out the included directions. They're universally regarded as silly).

However, before you go about expanding your brewing gear horizons, make sure you have the basics:

  • A good-quality grinder. The most important place to spend money on high-quality gear. Getting a good, consistent grind at the grind size you need for each method is important. Check the sidebar and wiki here for details.

  • A way to temp your hot water. If you already have an electric or stove-top kettle, then buy a measuring cup or a steaming pitcher and a steaming thermometer that clips to it. You'll bring water to boil, then decant into the other vessel and wait until the temp is right before brewing. If you want to spend more for convenience, consider a temperature-controlled kettle. If you're buying a kettle, spend a bit more for gooseneck: it makes life much easier for almost every brewing method.

  • A scale. Measuring coffee by volume will net inconsistent results. A gram scale will help you control this easily, and they aren't expensive. I use this AWS scale and like it; but you don't have to even spend $20 if you don't want. Just make sure it'll measure 0.1g increments.

    These will help you get the best results out of any brew method you experiment with.
u/mlochr · 8 pointsr/Coffee

When buying new gear like this, I often find it worthwhile to buy the good stuff from the beginning. It'll cost more upfront, but in the long run you save money by not sinking it into gear that you're just going to upgrade away from. I know you're looking for a starter kit, so I'll outline some entry level stuff and then some recommended upgrades.

For a burr grinder, a decent entry level manual grinder is the Hario Skerton. One complaint with this is inconsistent coarse grind size, which is what you'll be using with a French Press. Orphan Espresso makes an upgrade kit that fixes this problem, but personally I feel that if you're going to spend $40 on the Skerton and $15 on the upgrade kit, you should just spend a few more bucks and get something like the Capresso Infinity. This grinder is going to be way more convenient, versatile, and consistent than the hand grinder. For one last option, there's the Baratza Encore. This is probably the best grinder you'd want for French Press, because anything better / more expensive would just be overkill as they're primarily aimed at espresso.

The Press itself isn't too important. Bodum is usually the recommended brand.

You'll also need a way to heat water. You could go with a stovetop kettle, but I think electric kettles are more convenient, and are roughly the same price anyway. You can get a pretty standard one for less than $25. But getting a gooseneck kettle is going to help control your pour better and ensure the coffee grounds are completely saturated. If you don't want to worry about getting the perfect temperature for brewing, a variable temperature kettle will take care of it for you.

Other than that, you might want a kitchen scale to get the right coffee-to-water ratio, and a thermometer to check your water temperature.

u/bputano · 1 pointr/Coffee

It sounds like you're busy, but willing to spend a little bit of time and money to feed your new addiction. This is a good place to start!

To consistently brew good strong coffee, follow these steps:

  1. Buy fresh coffee. Good roasters will put the roast date on the bag. Look for bags roasted within 1-2 weeks.
  2. If possible, purchase an electric burr grinder like the Baratza Encore or Bodum Bistro because fresh ground coffee is always going to taste better. If not, just ask the coffee shop to grind it for you.
  3. Buy a coffee maker certified by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) like the Bonavita or Wilfa. These machines make sure you'll get a consistent brew.
  4. To make strong coffee, simply use more coffee per pot. The SCAA Golden Ratio is 55g of coffee (just over 3.5 tablespoons) for every liter of water. I would start with this ratio and adjust to your liking.
  5. That's it! Enjoy
u/wine-o-saur · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Cool, so now we have a better idea what we're working with. I can run through some options/limitations and you can take it from there.

  • An espresso machine with a built-in grinder (superauto) is going to be way over your budget, so you can scratch that off the list.

  • I don't know of a drip coffee machine with a built in grinder that will actually do a good job brewing.

  • There is no machine that can make even halfway decent espresso and drip. You're going to have to choose here. She can dilute an espresso with hot water to make an Americano, which she can then treat like regular coffee but won't be exactly the same (though probably won't be vastly different once she adds her creamer and sugar).

  • Making an espresso with a machine like the Mr. Coffee you mentioned or one of the De'Longhis is going to be a bit of a faff. She'll have to grind, dose, tamp, brew, and clean. With a bit of practice she'll get this down, but it'll be hard not to get some coffee grind spillage no matter how quick/good she gets at doing it. If she's going to want a latte, the Mr. Coffee will froth the milk for you (but I don't know how well), but if it's a machine with the wand, she'll have to steam her own milk which is another skill to learn (and involves another layer of process/cleanup). Again, this should become second nature fairly quickly, but you'd know better if she'll go through the effort until it gets to that point.

  • My advice, if you don't think she'll go through the hassle of making the espresso/latte, would be to go with this machine which is SCAA certified (long story short: coffee-snob approved) and this or this grinder. I linked BB&B because the Americans on here frequently talk about being able to get coupons fairly easily that knock the price down to $80. So either way you'll get her a very respectable coffee-brewing setup for right around your target budget. Get her some good beans and she'll be leaving home to go back to her dorm and make coffee.

  • If you are going to go the espresso route, I'd definitely go for the Capresso over the Bodum grinder.

    Based on the way you've described her tastes, I think she'd probably do ok with 15-bar pump espresso maker, but avoid 'steam' espresso makers at all costs. In the first instance you're making something that doesn't have all the glory of a truly great espresso, in the second case you're making something that shouldn't really be called espresso at all.

    Anyway, I hope this is somewhat helpful.
u/Schmauf · 3 pointsr/Coffee

Gooseneck kettle is a must for pour overs if that's what you see in your future! I have the Bonavita 1L electric kettle. Looking back, I would have invested in the more expensive version that lets you vary temperature, but I've had great results with mine regardless.

I started out with a v60, then a Chemex, then the Aeropress. Of the 3, I use the Chemex the most often; it gives the best quality brew with the highest quantity (37g @ ~600mL of water). It took me quite a while master the pour, but it was definitely worth it!

Hope this helps and good luck on your coffee journey!

EDIT: For grinders, I have the Hario skerton. It takes a while to grind the beans, but was marvelous for my budget at the time. Once I have the money though, I'm going for the Baratza Encore. It's cheaper than the Virtuoso, but an old roommate had the Encore and I LOVED having all my beans ground in such a short amount of time.

Just some food for thought!

u/mal1291 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

The answer to your question is really dependent on budget. A quick perusal through the sub will show you that the Aeropress is a popular option because it is one of the least expensive ways to get a solid cup of coffee.

If you have some cash to part with, it might be worth looking at setting yourself up with a pourover setup - I'd probably suggest the v60. You would need the v60, the hario buono, and you'd probably want a scale to weigh coffee (there are a LOT of options, many cheaper than what I've linked). You would also need to get a reasonably good grinder - check out the sidebar for a list of grinders. Yes, it's a lot of capital to get started, but the coffee is fantastic and the equipment is very durable. This equipment, properly cared for, could potentially outlast you in many cases.

There's also the standard drip coffee maker, but from my experience if you go that route you ought to just invest in the cheapest one. The quality coffee from most drip machines is pretty similar. A better question is what grinder to get - that will improve your brew quality across all methods. Again, sidebar has great advice, but a really popular grinder here is the[ Baratza Encore] (http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00LW8122Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459250167&sr=8-1&keywords=baratza+encore+coffee+grinder) which you can sometimes find on their refurb page for discounted prices.

No matter what you choose - good luck and happy caffienation

u/cwillzz · 4 pointsr/Coffee
  1. You should get a gooseneck kettle. I prefer them to not have hotplate attached (just use stovetop) and to have a built-in thermometer so you can be versatile with what you use it for. Small spouts are much better than larger spouts to control flow, however this may be hard to find when looking. Unfortunately, the one I bought is no longer up for sale on amazon, however this one is very similar: https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Kettle-Outstanding-Thermometer-40floz/dp/B07GPWZFRW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550204612&sr=8-5&keywords=pour+over+kettle+gooseneck
  2. Just a regular food scale should do. This one works and is popular in the coffee community. It's also super cheap. Only problem is that it is battery run and turns off without activity for a minute or so. I use it daily. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IP8KRXS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  3. This is by-far the hardest part. You must get a burr grinder. It's the only way to maintain consistent grinds. You can buy a cheap one for around 30-40$ that do pretty well for a pour over grind but not well for really anything else. The upper end of the cheaper burr grinders would be the baratza encore (https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1550204913&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baratza+encore+grinder&psc=1), but i probably wouldn't drop the money unless you've got an experienced taste. Honestly, i've made better pour overs with a low budget burr than with a mahlkonig ek43.

    I do have another recommendation. IMO, pour overs are the absolute best way to brew coffee, as they extract flavor the best. For this reason, you want to optimize your setup for better results. You're already doing this by buying a scale, good kettle, and grinder for home. What I would also do is buy a paper filter based system. They are often cheaper or the same price than what you're considering buying. I use this V60 at home (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA2I7A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and it produces amazing results. Additionally, filters are cheap and probably impact the environment equally to stainless steel filters (due to dumping grounds and excess water use), even though this is usually a big appeal for the permanent filters. Paper is significantly better for taste than the steel filters IMO.

    Buying good beans is also very important. I hate to use price as a reference point, but most high quality specialty beans are going to be around 15-20 for 8 to 12 oz bags. Stick with single origin light roasts. Look locally or online and build a sense for the flavor based on region and processing.

    ​

    Feel free to ask any questions!
u/Thebaconingnarwhal4 · 5 pointsr/Coffee

Your easiest, relatively cheap option would be something like the Bonavita Connoisseur. Just slap in water and ground coffee and it’ll do the rest. Your cheapest option would be a pour over device (Chemex, V60, Kalita, etc.) and a kettle with a thermometer. You could go stovetop (cheaper but less convenient) or electric (more expensive). I’d go with something with temp control like the Bonavita or Brewista for something inexpensive but functional.

Now you are probably gonna hear a lot of people recommend getting a dedicated grinder, and for good reason. If you get a pour over, I’d say a grinder is needed for most of them unless they have some flow control (Kalita, Blue Bottle, or immersion droppers) as you’d need to be able to adjust grind size for best flavor. The Baratza Encore is always a good pick. The Porlex Mini or Hario Skerton are inexpensive and perform adequately for pour over although hand grinding may not be your thing.

For under $100 you obviously won’t be getting the best coffee you can, but overall if you want quality and don’t mind spending 10-15 minutes making coffee then I’d go something like the Skerton grinder, Kalita pour over, and Bonavita kettle. It will be effort though. If you just want something adequate, a dripper (Bonavita above) with basic temperature regulation will be leagues better than keurig, even with preground coffee (grind in store if possible).

u/j1mdan1els · 2 pointsr/Coffee

OK ...

If you're going to get into "specialist" coffee (and I recommend doing so to any coffee lover), what's most important are the beans you get and grinding them well.

I don't know how common good roasters are in Ireland but I would suspect they're thin on the ground outside of Belfast and Dublin (maybe Derry and a few other towns). Still, Google is your friend there ... search away.

I always suggest that those getting into this scene get the best grinder they can for the money. Get a small commercial grinder and get it used. There's this one on Gumtree now. Needs a clean and a lid but you'll find nothing better for £200.

As for the machine - you don't need one. Not yet. Go spend £50 on a Chemex and a box of filters or a little less on a Clever, a Wave or similar. You see, this is a really addictive hobby and you have to be a little careful where you spend your money. If you decide that you really want a machine rather than brew manually then go for a Technivorm but expect to pay close to £300. Using a machine takes away a lot of the control you have with a pour over ... you're likely to taste the difference as your palate develops and you risk being disappointed in the machine, which then ends up gathering dust.

Which manual method you decide to use is entirely subjective. I love the Chemex and (after years of practice) can pull out different taste profiles from the same beans. Many others will agree but just as many will suggest the Hario V60, aeropress or (as a barista I often go to swears by) the Clever Dripper. To be honest, none of these are expensive ... so feel free to try them all.

On the other hand, if by "machine" you mean espresso ... then I strongly suggest you master your pour over first before diving into that particular rabbit hole.

Edit: a few "extras" you'll really find helpful (in order) are a good scale with timer - like this, search around though because this is half as much again as I paid for mine. Then a pouring (gooseneck) kettle, this allows an incredible amount of control when it comes to pouring the water over the grounds. Finally, a thermometer ... you can get away with timing your water ie. boil, remove from heat, wait 20 seconds and you should have the right temperature.

u/spam20 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

I'm not super informed about super automatics but from what I know generally about automatics is they are expensive and repairs could get costly. My friend has a Jura and he swears by it. Personally doesn't seem to me like he proper cleans it so the shots tasted too nasty. Well I guess that and he uses Starbucks beans from Costco. I have had an espresso from a Saeco and that was pretty good, smooth, fruity. I'll assume better beans (since they weren't burnt to hell) and it was a new machine (at the time). I had it months later and same beans but seems like people at the office didn't care to clean it.

Range. I would not expect an automatic to do drip coffee well. But why would you need to? Just make yourself an Americano. What does everyone actually drink at the office? If it is more towards drip then you could just get a better drip maker like the Hario or BonaVita

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009JWH5YE/ref=mp_s_a_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1506320219&sr=8-19&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hario+machine&dpPl=1&dpID=51mJZKoZUbL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00O9FO1HK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506320609&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=bonavita+coffee+maker&dpPl=1&dpID=41CK31RprXL&ref=plSrch

Super autos ... yeah I don't have any exact model suggestion minus someone should make sure to descale and make sure the machine is clean on a weekly basis. For beans, I would just go to a local coffee shop. Range usually $13-20 but not sure what your budget would be like. Plus, you haven't given us current info on the coffee situation at the office now ie. any general preferences (like for milky drinks), how many cups per day, etc.

u/whiskeysnowcone · 2 pointsr/Coffee

what are you going to be making primarily? I personally have a Bodum Bistro and love it. It's not the highest rated grinder and I may get better results from a better grinder but honestly I've been using it for years and it's never let me down for drip coffee. For a french press it's not terrible but I do find a bit of silt in the bottom of the cup but if that doesn't bother you then you'll do just fine with a Bistro. However, I will say for sure that it is NOT good for espresso. I bought a Lido E for my espresso and it's the best purchase I've made for my coffee collection. The difference is astounding. I'd definitely recommend a dedicated grinder for espresso.

I will also add that I enjoy the process of hand grinding for my espresso because I don't drink it that often and the process isn't that bad. However I drink drop coffee every day (and I might make the occasional cup for my wife) so if I had to hand grind for drip coffee every single time I would probably get really tired of it really fast. So keep that in mind. If you drink a lot of coffee then you're going to be grinding that all by hand.

u/MightBeOnFire · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Mostly flavor, but also mouthfeel. It lacks punch, it tends to feel very thin, and it's just not a very high quality cup of coffee. The beans are old, weren't high quality to begin with, and they have to use workarounds to make the extraction that fast. The only method that will properly extract coffee that fast is espresso, but you're looking at close to a grand for an entry level setup if you go down that road.

But like I mentioned, I'm a coffee snob. Good coffee for me has to be made with freshly roasted beans (If it's much older than 2 weeks past roast, it's too old), ground fresh (Within 5 minutes of brewing), with a decent quality burr grinder, made with the proper ratio of water:coffee (Which requires weighing the beans you're going to use), and brewed using proper technique with the proper temperature water (a difference of 5-10 degrees can make or break a cup). That might sound time consuming, but it generally takes me about 5 minutes to make a cup in the morning.

I don't normally recommend coffee "machines", because they generally make sub-par coffee, and I don't know enough about them to recommend one. I've heard there are a couple on the market that are pretty good, but the overwhelming majority suffer from not getting the water to the proper temperature.

I'd say the easiest way to get into legit coffee for a beginner would be either a pour-over or a french press. You can get a Hario V60 pour over setup or a Bodum french press for pretty cheap. The Aeropress is another good option, but it's a little more tricky, and only brews a single cup at a time.

I would also highly recommend investing in an electric kettle like this one. The gooseneck design is almost mandatory for good pour-overs, and the ability to set it to the proper temperature is invaluable regardless of the process.

Another thing to consider is a grinder. The Baratza Encore is a really good entry level grinder. You might look at the ~$140 price tag and think I'm insane, but the grinder plays a massive role in good coffee. And if you think that's bad, there are $800+ grinders out there that are common choices for home espresso setups. Might take the sting out a bit ;)

Sorry for the overwhelming wall of text, but I like my coffee, lol. It's really not as complicated as it sounds, but there's more depth to the coffee world than most people realize if you're the sort of person that wants more.

u/louisjms · 6 pointsr/Coffee

$150 is a good amount really, much more generous than other people who are like "I have $30, how do I make cafe-grade espresso at home???"

My list for you:

  • Baratza Encore grinder - this is a very capable grinder that will suit brew methods from French Press to Aeropress and Pourover. It won't work for Espresso however, although you're probably not going to be venturing that far just now. You'll want to grind your beans fresh for best results - if you buy your beans from Starbucks and have them ground there, they'll be very stale by the next day.
  • Aeropress - honestly it's a weird contraption, but in the views of most people here, the best bit of kit for brewing coffee at home. It's a cross between a French Press and a paper filter machine, in that you immerse the coffee in water, and then plunge it through a paper filter to separate the grounds and the liquid. I think the reason people recommend the Aeropress to many is that it's basically fool-proof. As long as you're using good coffee, you can't really make a bad cup.
  • Hario V60 - another brew device, this is a pourover, so very similar to drip coffee but you have far more control. You'll get best results using a gooseneck kettle, although if you have a normal kettle with a fine spout you might just about manage.

    I won't explain WHY these are really good kits for getting started with, you can just search on this sub and there will be hundreds of articles on that.

    And I should stress again, good beans are important. As a Starbucks Barista I am 100% coughing up to the fact that most of our coffee's are charcoal. Use them if you like them, but if you can get something better then you should really be doing so.
u/cravf · 13 pointsr/Coffee

I'd go for an aeropress. It's what got myself, and later on my girlfriend, into coffee, and it's pretty cheap. It will make a strong, small batch of coffee each time, somewhere between an espresso and a french press (in my opinion).

I'm guessing the macchiatos your fiance is talking about is the Starbucks variety. Macchiatos are supposed to be an espresso shot with very little milk added.

Anyway, continuing on the assumption that the drink she likes is 1-2 shots of espresso and a mug of foamed milk (and flavoring), I would start by making a copy of that at home with the aeropress.

The way I did that is I'd warm up a mug of milk while I'm boiling the water, and use a handheld frother to froth the heated milk. (This won't create the same caliber of foamed milk as you'd get from an espresso machine/steamer but I'm guessing you don't want to drop the cash on one quite yet)... Once the milk is frothed and the water is heated I'd add freshly ground beans(important that they're fresh!) to to the aeropress, and then water, and brew the coffee right into the mug of frothed milk.

At this point you have a pretty close replica to a latte. Since you are newcomers to coffee, you might want to add some sort of flavoring to it. I rarely do, but when I did, I'd just add a little vanilla extract and sugar.

Tips:


  • You're going to want to grind your beans at home. Buying preground beans almost guarantees they're going to be stale.
  • Following what I said above, freshness is key. Try to buy freshly roasted beans.
  • A lot of the process of coffee making is tinkering to your own taste. If you make a cup of coffee and it's way too strong, don't give up. Try something else untill it's good for you!
  • Once you get used to the milk-laden coffees, try to broaden your horizons. There are a wide range of coffee types, and they all have their bonuses.

    Gear:

  • Aeropress $25.95
  • Milk frother $2.00
  • Hario Skerton Hand Grinder $48.50 (Ceramic burr grinders are the best type of coffee grinders, but they run around $300 on average, this one, however is $50.00 but requires some work. I own one and it's worth the effort in my opinion)

    Beans: (Places I've tried)

  • Intelligentsia
  • The Roasterie
  • Klatch Coffee

    Mugs:

  • Great mug
  • Also great mug, but pretty large

    If you have any questions, or if I'm wrong about something let me know! I think this is all for now.
u/uRabbit · 5 pointsr/Coffee

AeroPress, for sure. Here is probably the cheapest setup you can do, and still get the best flavour/experience.

Aerobie AeroPress + Able DISK Fine - $40 (I strongly suggest the DISK Fine over paper filters, but the AeroPress does come with a bunch of filters.)

Pocket Scale - $7

Carafe - $7 (so you press straight into this, and measure yield, as most mugs will not fit on the scale; also great for serving two)

Hario Slim burr grinder - $34 (if you'd rather go electric, the Bodum Bistro burr is a great buy and can be had for $120 new or under $100 used/refurbished)

Bonavita Gooseneck kettle - $50 (You do not need a gooseneck for the AeroPress, but you do for any type of pour over, so why not?)

Good luck, and have fun! Give my video a gander to see how to prepare with the AeroPress. It is fun! Almost as fun as an espresso machine. Ha! Yeah, right! But definitely worth the small coin.

u/GeneticRiff · 3 pointsr/Coffee

What is your budget?

The aergrind is possibly the best valued grinder, but it is a manual grinder. This guy can grind espresso quality and will greatly improve your mokapot and aeropress. Their Feld2 is also great but less portable. These expensive manual grinders are much easier to grind than the cheaper ones, you dont need nearly as much force. They grind as good as electrics 4x the cost.

If thats out of your budget you could go for this porlex or mini mill but these produce far less consistent grinds, harder to turn, and cant grind as fine.

If you want electric, the baratza encore is a popular recommendation. This is good enough for everything thats not espresso. This is very easily repairable, so it can last longer than other options.

But honestly the price difference to the bodum bistro isn't worth it. Id go for this if you wanted a cheap electric. Also wont grind espresso, but good enough for just about everything else.

Hope that answers your questions!

u/phenomenalanomaly · 3 pointsr/Coffee

Mmk.

Let's ignore the espresso machine route, and go for something that will give you strong coffee. Either a moka pot, or maybe an aeropress. (I personally recommend the aeropress.)

As for the milk, the cheaper route would be to heat it up (microwave?) and then use a milk frother to blend air into it. You'll get these big bubbles as opposed to microfoam like you'd get at an actual coffee shop. OR. You can go for a stovetop steam wand like this. You'll need to invest some time/money into this to learn how to make microfoam, but the results will be worth it. I'm actually about to embark on this step :/ (Note, you don't HAVE to foam/froth your milk. It just makes it a little tastier.)

NOW. Back onto the coffee. So we have your "machine/maker" figured out. Let's talk about the ACTUAL coffee. Depending on what you've picked from above, you're in $30-$100+ deep. If you have a local roaster, that's great! Buy beans freshly roasted from them. Learn from them. Ask them to make recommendations. If not, there are a few online sources good for buying roasted coffee. Remember, buy what you can use in about 1-2 weeks. Longer than that and you'll have stale coffee.

If you can, you should buy whole coffee beans, and grind them yourself. The cheaper method is to buy a hand grinder. The Hario Skeleton/Skerton is always highly recommended. A few drawbacks to this, but you'll learn about them on your coffee journey. (Don't want to bombard you with too much information for now.) The Hario Mini Mill is also a great option, especially for travelling, but grinds less.

As for electric grinders, the Baratza Maestro is a good entry level burr grinder, but at a pretty steep price :/ Note: always buy a burr grinder, and note a blade grinder. Bear in mind that using the hand grinders is actually quite a lot of work, especially if you're not a morning type of person. The entire Baratza line of grinders are all highly recommended, but as always, the better the grinder, the higher the cost.

u/vjack11 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

How many people are we talking about? That will inform the decision. Also if more than maybe 2 or 3 you will really want to consider getting a commercial machine or at least a high-end consumer setup. An entry-level espresso machine designed for home use is not designed to be pumping out shot after shot all day.

I think ease of use and ease of cleanup is paramount. I honestly think a Nespresso may be a good bet. Yes they are expensive to operate and yes the pods are wasteful but they are super easy to clean up. If you get a regular espresso machine and somebody forgets to remove the portafilter or leaves scummy milk on the steam wand it will get gross really fast.

Here is what I would recommend:

  • Nespresso and/or K-cups. The coffee is mediocre at best but it is truly idiot-proof and no mess.
  • A nice grinder like a Baratza Vario and a nice, largish coffee maker like a Technivorm Grand (makes about 6 mugs of coffee). You can program the Vario to grind the right amount of coffee to brew a pot.
  • Buy a grinder and an electronic kettle or two (I like this Bonavita kettle since you can program the temp), and then tell your employees to BYO brewing technique. And/or buy a bunch of ceramic pour-over cones that can just be put in a dishwasher.
u/JustHereForTheTips · 1 pointr/Coffee

The blade you have will be easier to use, but you should find you get better coffee using the burr grinder. I started out with this guy because they had it at Kitchen Kapers, and I needed something quiet (manual-only) and burr.

I wouldn't recommend that one. The Kyocera doesn't have a lid, so you have to be careful to keep it upright and not grind too fast or beans fly out. Looks like the Hario version of the one I bought has a lid so it would do better, but I see the one you linked as many people's preference, so I'm sure that'll be great.

I stopped using my hand grinder because I'm lazy, and I just ordered my coffee ground for the last couple years, but then last month I bought an Baratza Encore and have been quite happy with that so far and think that will keep me satisfied for as long as it lives.

If you're like me and having to hand grind your coffee results in you not making coffee when you would have otherwise, then just buy it pre-ground and save up for a nicer electric burr grinder.

u/xdflames · 1 pointr/Coffee

Little late to this thread and new to the sub, but hopefully someone can still answer my questions! Before I start I'd like to say that I don't have $300 to spend on a good coffee set with a grinder, kettle and etc.

I've never been a huge coffee drinker but I'm really interested in going for it now. I've only ever had regular coffee brands made in an electric coffee maker and I always ended up adding a lot of sugar and milk because it was too strong. This being the case, my research has showed pour over coffee having a smoother taste than something like a french press, although french press is considerably cheaper!

My biggest question is, should I splurge a little for a decent kettle, grinder and pour over coffee maker to achieve what I think to be my preferred taste? Alternatively, I could easily grab a french press from Starbucks via a friend working there for fairly cheap.

That being said, I'm very interested in the art that is pour over coffee and fine tuning it to achieve better taste. The only problem is, everything I've looked at so far is incredibly expensive to start out and I'm not ready to spend that kind of money into this endeavor just yet. The $20-$30 for the coffee maker isn't the problem, it's the $50 hand grinder and $50 kettle that get me thinking that I shouldn't go down that rabbit hole.

Edit: I found a cheap and highly rated Grinder, an easy to use coffee dripper and a decent sized server but I'm unsure of if I'd need one if I'm only making 1-2 cups at a time. Thoughts on these selections and any recommendations for a kettle?

Unfortunately the cost is slowly racking up past the point of me being comfortable spending it all at once.

u/lemisanthrope · 5 pointsr/Coffee

You need to know that your coffee is about to get a lot tastier. Also siltier. The silt puts some people off, but I love it--just decant carefully. Also, after the four minutes of steeping, press the plunger and get the coffee off of the grind immediately. Transfer it into a thermos or your cup, don't let it keep sitting there on the beans in the press.

But I will say: DO NOT get a french press without also investing in a decent burr grinder and buying fresh, quality beans from a good roaster (or learn to roast at home). I would recommend this one as a quality grinder at a good price. Set your grind to course, and don't grind until your water is near boiling. Your grinder is your most important piece of equipment for world-class coffee brewing; it is not the piece you want to skimp on.

I have had some truly transcendent cups of coffee...and blown the minds of friends who had never had french press before. Happy mornings!

I love my Bodum Brazil press.

u/singsadsong · 6 pointsr/Coffee

Your best bet for dorm room drinks is going to be an Aeropress. It's a weird plastic tube that you use to push hot water through coffee. People here swear by them, and I do too. They don't make espresso, but they can make a terrific cup of coffee as well as a coffee 'concentrate' that can be used as a worthy espresso substitute. In terms of milk, it's really easy to froth milk in a french press. You just put warm milk in a french press and pump the plunger up and down a few times.

Grinding your own beans, if you want to make good tasting drinks, is unfortunately unavoidable. When was first getting into coffee I quickly became bummed out that the expensive and most important part of the process wasn't the exotic, perfectly roasted beans, nor was it the beautiful brewing devices, but instead... the grinder. Fortunately, a basic hand grinder will last you a long time and won't cost too much.

Aeropress - $28
Hand Grinder - $24
French Press - $17

In total that's about $70 worth of stuff. Add a bag of beans and you're at around $80-85 (hey, Christmas is fast approaching!).

Oh, and flavors like french vanilla and pumpkin spice don't really occur naturally in beans, at least not the way you're going to get them somewhere like Starbucks. Cafes typically use syrups, either artificial or natural, to get those flavors.

u/RoyallyTenenbaumed · 1 pointr/Coffee

Yea I didn't really know anything about it until I got it home and researched it. The people that owned it before were grinding flavored beans (i.e. coated in syrup) so it was kinda gross, but cleaned up easily. This is the grinder. I guess it's up to $100 bucks haha. STEAL!

Popcorn popper roasting is pretty easy. You have to do fairly small batches (about 1/3 cup per ~5 minutes), but it's not a big deal. It's kind of relaxing and I enjoy the experience. This is the one I have. I found it on sale for around $14. Totally worth it. The only details I had to get down were blocking the exit chute with a piece of foil and cutting some vent holes in the side. You have to do it outside since the chaff goes EVERYWHERE, and it's hot here, so the machine kept overheating and shutting off. Other than that, you just put the beans in, plug it in, stir them around a little (I just use a long stick I found outside..still going strong) until they get light enough to auto-stir, then listen for the crack and watch the color.

It's immensely satisfying roasting your own coffee, and places like Sweet Marias are very knowledgeable and have great selection. I usually order their sampler packs of 3-4 pounds. I save one cups worth of roasted beans from each sample then when I'm done with all of them I do a taste test. With an AeroPress it's super easy to brew multiple cups of coffee at once.

u/yokken · 3 pointsr/Coffee

You know, I really don't know where the ratio came from! I just read it in many places, including Sweet Maria's, SomethingAwful's coffee thread, Reddit, and probably some product pages or random tutorials/videos scattered throughout the web. It seems to be an ideal ratio that gives you just enough of the flavor without wasting beans or making it difficult to get a proper extraction, with the coffee ending up too sour as a result of too short a brew/too coarse grounds or too bitter, as a result of too long a brew/too fine grounds. Adding more grounds means you need a longer brew time, and from what I've experienced, most people's brew times revolve around the 1:16 ratio (or at least seem to work best for it). By all means, play with the ratio, but 1:16 should serve as a good starting point. I've brewed 1:14 ratio and 1:18 ratio and they both taste great. 1:14 has a real punch to it with something like the Aeropress, but can be hard to brew without a little sourness or bitterness, and 1:18 is sometimes a little watery/muted through something like a V60 or Chemex.

Get a scale like this one for under $20. Take notes when you start brewing, so you can keep a consistent grind size, water temp, grounds mass, and water mass. Water is 1g per mL so it's really easy to measure it out without a measuring cup - just throw the kettle on your scale, tare it, and fill the kettle! Take note of what time you stopped pouring (or how long until you ran out of water), and the time it finished draining. Aim for ~3min brew time on pourover, usually "blooming" for first 30sec, then finishing pour around 2min. Like I mentioned in the OP, the Aeropress brew takes about half that time. Once you make a really great cup, draw tons of circles and arrows and make sure you don't lose that recipe! You can put it into a text document on your computer of course. I have about 6 pages of notes, front and back, from when I was really into coffee and was brewing it every day or every other day. I don't need to mess with settings anymore because I've got my whole setup dialed in.

Edit: Sorry to whomever downvoted me... trying to help someone who said they just got into coffee.

u/dubzors · 1 pointr/Coffee

First off, there are guides for this already which is why people are not responding. They are in the side bar and I linked them again here:

How To Coffee: A Primer

Coffee Gear Suggestions by Price

Now on to my own advice. I am also relatively new to coffee so my advice is based on researching how to get started over the last couple of months

Give us a budget, but under $100 puts you here:

  1. Grinder: The Hario Mini Mill ($27) is fairly highly recommended here
  2. Scale: American Weigh Scales SC-2KGA ($25). The AC-adapter version of a fairly popular scale here. It should work for a long time and work well for most types of brewing. The Jennings CJ4000 ($27) is also very popular and is worth a look. The difference is the Jennings responds way faster - which is useful for pour over - but is less precise (increments of .5 grams instead of .1 grams, though this is not as big of a deal)
  3. Brew device: Aeropress ($22), French Press ($25), or Pour Over (Melitta Cone or Beehouse) There is only one Aeropress version but there are lots of French Presses, I linked to a Bodum Chambord which is the favorite here. You can decide which one of these will work better for you based on the other responses on this thread or by searching in /r/Coffee.
  4. Cheap water thermometer or an electric kettle that can set temperatures. If you go with a Pour Over method you need a gooseneck kettle which sets you back another $35-65 depending on how nice. A lot of people go with the Bonavita Variable Temperature Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle ($63).
  5. The coffee! Try to get freshly roasted (look for a "Roasted On" date instead of an expiry or packaged/binned on date) coffee. Try and buy stuff that is roasted less than 5 days ago and use it before 3 weeks from the roasted on date (some people say 2). You can try to find local roasters and coffee houses that sell fresh whole bean coffee using the /r/Coffee search or Yelp. Be careful with darkly roasted (ie French roast) coffee because a lot of the dark roasts at Grocery Stores and even shops (Starbucks) is considered over roasted and basically burnt. If you want suggestions for brands search /r/Coffee, though really popular and expensive stuff would be Intelligentsia and Stumptown.
u/One_tym3 · 1 pointr/Coffee

What kind of grinder do you have? A good grinder goes a long ways. I would recommend at least a Baratza Encore it’s like between 100-200 bucks totally worth the money. But I will probably upgrade to a virtuoso + in time. If you want something more low budget to dip your toes in I recommend a Hario MiniMill.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007F183LK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523307658&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=baratza+encore+grinder&psc=1&smid=A302OQK4GZWXCC


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GPMH590/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523307695&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hario+mini+mill+plus&dpPl=1&dpID=31BVJId0wqL&ref=plSrch

Then as others mentioned combined with a scale is where I would start. My girlfriend got me one from Walmart, most recipes are measured in grams; so you want something that can do that.

If you begin to treat it like a science expirement as I do I recommend a V60 or a chemex. The chemex was much easier to use IMO. It’s not as versatile as the aero but you once you get dialed in it makes a nice cup. But I also recommend a goose neck kettle.


Also if you’re interested you can try and find different aero recipes here to refine what you like the best.

http://www.worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes/#/lukas-zahradnik/

As far as beans go, I’m a recent convert to HappyMug.com. But Counter Culture and S & W roasters are on the to try list also. The importance is freshness. If you go the way of a local roaster I would ask about when they were roasted if the bags aren’t dated. I was bamboozled into buying a little less than fresher beans than I get from happy mug recently.

I’m still fairly new I creeped for a long time took the plunge in November. I’ll never go back, hopefully you too join the cult.

GL HF mate. Let us know how you’re journey goes.

u/theCardiffGiant · 6 pointsr/Coffee

This guy is great, and clearly very kind. On a side note: Grind is good for fine tuning, but you can go too fine and too coarse with any given brewing method. Going too fine can yield over-extracted coffee, which will taste (among a wide variety of possible over-extracted flavors) bitter. Under extraction with too coarse of grind will be obvious- your coffee is weak and watery, possibly with a grassy taste.

If you do have a coffee shop/roastery in your town, make some face to face friends to talk shop with (the employees, if they aren't asses). Having friends with coffee interests makes coffee way more fun. Like most hobbies, a social aspect adds a lot of depth and increases the steepness of your learning curve.

Lastly, I highly recommend the aeropress as a starting method. It's just as easy and cheap as a french press, and I find the result is much more wonderful. I recognize that others might disagree, but disagreements are part of the fun of it. Good luck, and like AVgvstvs_Caesar, feel free to PM me with questions.

u/MapsMapsEverywhere · 4 pointsr/Coffee

/u/AmNotLost covered the basics really well. I would recommend the Baratza Encore (you can sometimes find them refurbished on their website here).

The method of brewing depends on how you like your coffee. If you like a more big-bodied mouthfeel and are okay with some sediment in your coffee I would recommend a French Press. You can pick them up almost anywhere.

If you like a cleaner cup with more brightness and less sediment I would go with something that uses a paper filter. The Aeropress or Kalita Wave are my recommendations for this (important note: the Aeropress comes with filters, the Kalita Wave does not. You can buy them here).

Next: water. Use fresh, filtered water about 30-45 seconds off the boil to brew with. Water between 195F and 205F is recommended to brew with, and this should put you somewhere in that range.

Use fresh roasted coffee from a local roaster. If you're in even a semi-major city this shouldn't be too tough. If not, you may want to try ordering online. I have plenty of recommendations if you want. In fact, let me know and I can send you a bit of coffee for free to get you started.

Finally, and this cannot be stressed enough, drink what you like.

We here in /r/coffee typically gravitate toward more modern light roasted coffees. I definitely do myself. But if you try a bunch of coffees and still like the taste of medium/dark/burnt to a crisp coffee, then keep drinking it.

I hope this helps and is not too intimidating. Don't hesitate to reach out with questions or anything! I love helping people find the perfect cup of coffee. It is literally my job to do so.

u/johnty123 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

i'd say at that price try to find something used. this way:


1.)if you get a cheap pump-driven pressurized portafilter machine, you're not going to regret it after moving up and realizing you spent so much on something that would have little value later (for resale, or just keep as a "backup")


2.)you may be able to find a decent used machine. not sure what the UK market is like but here (vancouver, canada) you can find stuff like the old starbucks machines (with the non-pressurized PF) comfortably in that price range.


either way, if you get used make sure the owner can show you how to pull a shot on the machine. the reason is it can be quite involved (especially for better machines), and it also shows if machine is in good shape (the gaskets, especially). on cheaper machines it may be close to impossible to replace. (i picked up a bar32 for $5 at a thrift sale to play with, and it leaks like crazy. =)

as to the grinder, this article is making more and more sense the more i'm getting into espresso. there is a minor loophole: the hario hand grinders here and here can actually get you to pretty close to the grind that works on most machines.

TL;DR- machine: try get used. grinder: hario hand grinders

u/Gefiltefish1 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

For ease and lower cost, I'd recommend getting a hand grinder like a Hario Skerton and a Clever Dripper. If you have a little extra cash, step up to an electric burr grinder like the Baratza Encore. Any kind of electric kettle will be your best way of boiling water.

In a basic coffee system, grinding fresh before you brew is likely to make the greatest positive impact and electric is super easy. A hand grinder might take 30-45 seconds to grind for a batch of coffee, but that's a small time investment for a large return. In terms of brewers, lots of folks like the Aeropress for its portability and its ability to produce fantastic coffee, but I like the Clever because it's also very easy and tends to produce a normal cup of coffee rather than a more intense and concentrated cup that you get from the Aeropress.

u/FlamingCurry · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Alright, I'll lay out two set ups for two different price points.


Cheap Set Up

Hario Skerton This is the most basic entry level grinder possible, grinds enough for one person pretty easily, and gets "good enough results for a poor college student

Aeropress You can make full cups of coffee or pseudo-espresso that you can mix with milk for a pseudo, its easy to clean, and probably the most forgiving coffee making tool.

And then any kettle and any scale. Look for cheap on both, were going for cheap here, and were not doing rocket science, should be another 25-30 total for both of these, which lands you just under $100 total for this set up. You don't need to bother roasting beans yourselves, and if you're in a college town theres probably a local roaster around that you can get good quality roasted beans from and be happy with. For cold brew just throw grounds and water in jar in you fridge for a day in a 8:1 ratio, then strain the goop the next day for a solid cold brew concentrate



The pricier beginner college set up


Baratza Encore. If you can afford this, then get it. The things great, does everything but espresso grind really well, and because its not manual its doesn't take that long and it doesn't require any real effort on your part. I love mine, but the $140 price tag could be steep (I wouldn't have bought it when I was in college, I was poor as shit).


Brew Methods: I still recommend at least an Aeropress, but pair it with a 1LFrench press too for when you want to make a lot of coffee at once, or coffee for friends. you can also make cold brew in a French press instead of a jar, and you can use it to strain it out. Also, if you really want to make the closest thing to espresso that you can without blowing $300 dollars, get a 3-cup moka pot. You can find a cheap one at your Ross or Home Goods equivalent.



For kettle, you can get a variable temp one if you want to spend the money, people recommend the Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck but I still just use my cheap 15 dollar kettle and am doing fine.


As far as scales go, I still just say find a cheap scale that works well enough.



Bits and Bobs


Hand held Milk Frother for frother hot milk for lattes. Sounds like something you would like.

u/cache4gold · 2 pointsr/Coffee

So I was in a similar position to you at one point.

I found someone on a reddit community I frequented who sold me his Baratza Preciso for $100. It’s basically a retired version of the Virtuoso with micro adjustments on top of the regular macro. It’s served me very well. I had a friend who I got into coffee who just picked up an Encore and he’s delighted with it. For the bang for the buck it’s hard to go wrong with Baratza really in the sub $200 range. Especially considering you can find their refurbs which are updated (on Thursdays I think?) regularly and can get an encore for sub $100.

I find the Chemex to be far more forgiving than a V60. Some people say it’s expensive ($35ish) but considering you can get away with not using a gooseneck it’s cheaper in the long run in my opinion. If you don’t use a gooseneck with a V60, you’re going to have a bad time. V60s are finicky until you get a good feel for them. Don’t get me wrong, they can make a fantastic cup, but you have to put in the work. You can also look at the Kalita Wave which I think you can find the 185 on amazon for like $25 instead of $45 which is typical. It also takes funky filters that are hard to find (similar to v60).

As others have said the body is going to naturally be a little softer and more nuanced with a chemex. If you like big juicy Kenyans like me that may not be your preference, whereas if you like more floral, delicate Ethiopians then you’re golden. As time has gone on I’ve learned to appreciate my chemex more. It’s easy to dial in and brew correctly. Very forgiving of pour and what not and the body issue (less oils from the thicker filter) is more or less non-existent now that I have a little more developed palate (although I’m far from a connoisseur or q-grade taster).

Also a scale is super important if you aren’t using one. It’s ridiculous how easy it is to think you’re measuring correctly and you are totally off without a scale.

TL;DR Buy an encore or virtuoso and a chemex if you don’t have a gooseneck. Maybe a Kalita Wave if body is a huge deal for you. Get the V60 if you’re obsessive compulsive and want to really nerd out and probably brew shittily extracted coffee until you get it down. Any extra money invest in a good kettle and SCALE.

Cheap ass Shopping List:

u/mr-fahrenheit_ · 3 pointsr/Coffee

We had a flash heater in my dorm freshmen year. It was pretty neat but there isn't much more you can use it for if you don't eat lots of ramen. I don't know much more about them but I'm pretty sure they should mostly have a temp regulator.

However I think an electric kettle may be a better move, especially if you're on 220 volts. It looks like that isn't the case for you though. This electric kettle that I have is great. It only takes a couple minutes to heat up a full liter to 190 degrees and if you use a hand grinder the timing works out pretty well. I think this would be a better purchase.

u/rtbear · 12 pointsr/Coffee

It looks like you are set on a grinder. Virtuoso and Encore are both great. It's up to you if the Virtuoso is worth the additional expense.

The Fellow Stagg Kettle looks sexy, but honestly the basic Bonavita gooseneck kettle is a workhorse and a great value. If you want a little more temperature control then you can go with the variable temp Bonavita gooseneck kettle. I have the basic Bonavita gooseneck kettle and honestly it does exactly what I need it to and I haven't missed having a temp control.

I recommend a stainless steel insulated french press, like this one from VonShef. It keeps the water temp from dropping during the brew process and it won't break like the glass body french press.

Good luck!!

u/bobertf · 1 pointr/Coffee

Before I start, I should note that one of the things that probably attracted you to the Bialetti is the fact that you can just put the coffee in and press a button and your coffee will be ready. I tend to geek out, as do a lot of us on /r/coffee, about coffee and spend a lot of time on the process, but that isn't for everybody. So I don't have any good time-saver recommendations, sorry to say. That said...

I'm not familiar with that De'Longhi but I do have some other ideas in the price range you're looking at.

I've actually never used an Aeropress (I know, I know... sorry everyone), but they're very popular here, not to mention inexpensive. A lot of people get mini hand coffee grinders that can actually fit in the Aeropress for storage. Again I'm not too familiar with those, but I think this is supposed to be a good one. So you should be able to get the Aeropress and a hand grinder for less than $90. Then all you need is a source of hot water.

Pourover is another option, and there's all sorts of different types, some of which have their own proprietary filters. It can be overwhelming. But again the equipment is generally cheap. Prima Coffee has a nice breakdown of some of the more popular cones. A lot of these can also be found on Amazon. The thing with pourovers though, is that for better control, you'd want a gooseneck kettle. But again, I think you can get a cone, some filters, a kettle and a hand grinder for around the $90.

u/giggidywarlock · 1 pointr/Coffee

Hey there! I used to be a coffee heretic and then I started roasting. You can't stick with your old ways and expect consistently incredible results when you're trying to produce something incredible.

With that said, you aren't really a heretic. You just have your preference, and it is different than the rest of us. Sure, buzz words like Starbucks and $20 krups grinder are like poison to some ears, but that's not an issue. At least, if you are happy with it then it isn't.

But if you are wanting to stretch yourself in terms of coffee you'll need to look into different options. I don't know what your budget is, so I'm not going to push the $150 grinder on you. But many people around here like the Hario Slim for being small and effective. You may also see the Aeropress promoted around here. It is a popular item around here as well.

Now, in terms of coffee, there are options for you to get quality coffee online. Roasters like Chromatic Coffee offer free shipping to US customers. They are one of my personal favorites. And you may be surprised what a quick google search of your area can find. I'm in a big city that wasn't exactly known for its coffee, but when I searched on Google I found that there are 6 roasters within an hour of my house.

u/gbeier · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Since it doesn't sound like you're poised to dive into the insanity that is espresso, here's what I'd recommend for a top notch drip setup:

  • Clever coffee dripper $13.50
  • Baratza Maestro grinder $99.00
  • A good scale $30-$50
  • A good, quick thermometer $15-25
  • A kettle where you can easily control the flow rate $40-70
  • Beans from a quality, specialty roaster

    On that list... the grinder is really not optional. You should get one that good or better; it makes or breaks the setup. For the brewer, you could go with any other pour cone or a french press instead of the dripper and get great results. The scale probably isn't optional. The thermometer probably is. The kettle is definitely optional but makes things easier to manage if you're going with pour-drip. (It doesn't matter for press.) The one I linked is the best of its kind.

    With that setup and coffee from one of the roasters on that list, I'd say you'll have a hard time finding better coffee anywhere outside your home. As far as how it appeals to someone who likes "caramel macchiato" drinks from *$, I'd add some quality syrups and some good milk to match her taste.

    Off the list of roasters I linked, I order most frequently from Klatch, Gimme and Counter Culture, and have loved every single roaster I've tried from that list.
u/Doneeb · 1 pointr/Coffee

Hario Skerton (25) + Aeropress (30) is a great place to start if you don't want to spend money. Spend the rest on good beans.

If you want to spend more grab a cheap scale or a Hario with a built in timer. Replace the Skerton with a Capresso Infinity grinder (70-80). Neither of these are perfect, the scale is laggy and the retention on the Infinity is pretty terrible, but they're both a great place to start when you're on a budget; especially when combined with an Aeropress which is one of the more forgiving/versatile brewing methods. Right now my Lido E is out of commission, I'm back to an Infinity+Aeropress for the time being and there are worse things in the world.

If you want to do pourover, you'll have to invest in a gooseneck and definitely need a scale. A v60 is pretty cheap, but it also takes quite a bit of time/practice to consistently produce good results, so this might be something you look into down the road if you're still interested. A good grinder is also going to be much more important with pourover than with an Aeropress so you'll need something like scale+gooseneck+Infinity+v60 to get started here, which is going to bring costs up.

Whatever you end up doing, enjoy.

u/adamjackson1984 · 3 pointsr/Coffee

Totally! I love talking about gear.

Grinders:

  • Bodum Bistro (on the way out, needs new Burrs, but I really like it for course french press brews)
  • Mazzer Mini (probably the only coffee thing I have bought new...a splurge but my espresso has benefited immensely)
  • Baratza Virtuoso - Probably the best all around grinder. Can do course and fine grinds, has a timer, no-static grounds catcher. I like it a lot.
  • Porlex JP-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder - My hand grinder, it's ceramic and does a consistently good pour-over grind..the only issue is it gets very hot when grinding and when grinding you want the beans to suffer no heat at all. It could be because I have to hold it with my hand when grinding and I'm transferring heat + the friction of the burrs? I really don't know how to improve it but I've started using this only on trips when I have to have a grinder and can't tote around my Baratza.

    Scale - Hario Drip Scale w/ Timer - It's black, measures to the tenth of a gram, the first one I bought is slow and it struggles to keep up with measuring my water grams...then I bought another a year later and it's much faster so I'd say if you get one that seems sluggish / slow, return it it's like they added a new CPU or something later in the life of the machine.

    Aeropress sometimes....it's the fastest way to make coffee with really easy clean-up. For the event I'm just gonna brew 2 batches on everything except espresso (since I don't want to tote that thing in the office). I hope it turns people on to better coffee.
u/bilbravo · 5 pointsr/Coffee

I have a Bodum Bistro burr grinder and really think it does a great job for $70. There is another Bodum grinder here that people dislike, but in general this one gets favorable reviews most everwhere I've looked.

If you want to make a single, easy cup of coffee at home you may look into getting an Aeropress. It is fairly easy to make a good cup of coffee for most anyone using one of these things.

I have no experience with the Ninja coffee bar (but I love my Ninja blender). I would recommend looking for a local coffee shop that maybe roasts their own coffee. It isn't guaranteed to be good coffee, but it will be a good place to start because they will likely have many different choices and you'll be supporting a local roaster. They will probably offer to grind it for you and ask what type of method you are using (pour over, drip, french press, etc) until you get a grinder.

u/Barnowl79 · 1 pointr/Coffee

Not at the grocery store, and not at Charfucks. Ya gotta order it, ya herd? I gets mine from PT's Coffee in Topeka, but that's because it's close to me. Also because they won Best Coffee in 2009. If you're really interested, this is a great place to start. Any of these coffees will be good and fresh. Also, you need a burr grinder and a decent brewing method. The simplest one, which I use, is a conical-shaped glass or ceramic thing that you set right on top of your cup, made by Hario. You just put the coffee grounds in the filter and then pour boiling water over the grounds, and it drips right into your cup. Here it is in Amazon. Have fun!

u/raffiki77 · 7 pointsr/Coffee

Hi there and welcome to r/Coffee! So based on what you've told me I think your most cost effective option right now to make great coffee would be to master your roommate's French Press instead of spending money on a new brewing method. I'm assuming you have a kettle to boil your water in and a smart phone with a timer so all you need to buy is a digital scale, which costs $15 on Amazon [digital scale] (https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-AMW-SC-2KG-Digital/dp/B001RF3XJ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468429307&sr=8-1&keywords=American+Weigh+SC%E2%80%932KG).
 
Next I would find a local coffee roaster or coffee house that sells 1/2 lb or 12 oz bags of coffee instead of the 1 lb bags they sell at Starbucks. The reason I'm recommending the smaller amount is because you're going to ask them to grind the coffee beans for a French Press and you don't want to bring home a 1 lb bag of pre-ground coffee beans because it's going to go bad quickly. If you want to grind your own coffee beans be prepared to spend $100+ on a good burr grinder. As for the type of coffee to buy, you can always ask the barista for recommendations.
 
So once you've got everything you need it's time to measure your dosage. I personally like a 1:17 coffee to water ratio but most people here like their coffee stronger so feel free to adjust according to taste. So based on my ratio, if you measure 25 grams of ground coffee beans you would need to use 425 ml of water (1 ml = 1 gram). Put the FP on the scale and tare the scale. Put 25 g ground coffee in the FP and tare the scale again. Start the stop watch on your phone and pour your water off boil until about 1/3 of the French Press is full. Let the coffee bloom for about 30 seconds, stir the slurry, then pour in the remainder of the water til your scale reads 425 g. Put the lid on the French Press but don't plunge just yet. After 4 minutes you can plunge gently and serve your coffee.
 
Now from what I've read about the French Press some people say blooming isn't necessary but I haven't use mine enough to experiment and come up with my own conclusion so feel free to skip that part and just pour in the entire water. However, you do need to stir the mixture in to get all of the beans wet so don't skip that part.
 
Good luck with your coffee journey and I hope you're able to make great tasting coffee on your own!

u/coocookuhchoo · 3 pointsr/Coffee

The cheapest reasonable set up for roommates who all drink lots of coffee would be something like this:

​

  • An SCAA-certified machine (which mostly just means it gets the water hot enough), like this Bonavita 8-Cup machine ($100). That's about as cheap as you'll get for a larger SCAA-certified machine.
  • A burr grinder. If you want good coffee, you have to grind your beans fresh; there's no way around that. The most popular recommendation, with good reason, is the Baratza Encore, but this OXO grinder ($80) should be fine for your needs and is about $50 less.

    ​

    That puts you at 180 for your grinder and machine, which isn't bad.

    ​

    For beans, Happy Mug is as cheap as you'll get for super freshly-roasted. Based on what you're saying you'd probably be just fine with a blend. Order two or three different ones and figure out what you like! $9 per 12 oz bag. The beans are nearly always roasted the same day they ship.

    ​

    It sounds like you aren't interested in taking on coffee as a "hobby" and instead just are looking for a better cup. Something like I recommended would be the cheapest and least "enthusiast" route to drinking much, MUCH better coffee than you are now.
u/ConnorCG · 7 pointsr/Coffee

This is a totally wide-open question, depending on budget and time commitments, as well as personal tastes.


I hate to sound like a /r/coffee cliche, but Aeropress is probably the most flexible, especially for milk drinks. You can brew a concentrated batch with an espresso blend, or a lighter cup with a more standard recipe and whatever beans you prefer. You can kinda texture milk with a french press. It's not going to be cafe-quality but it should be pretty good. If you don't want to get the french press you can honestly just use warmed milk and make a cortado.

Check out this video for some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_J6Q4oAvLM.

You could probably get away with doing everything with a french press, but it's harder to brew smaller batches with one. You could also consider a Moka Pot instead of an aeropress, but it's more of a one-trick pony, and can be finicky to get consistent results.

I suggest picking up a grinder, a Hario Mini Mill is the best value in the low end. This way you can use fresh beans and get the best flavor. If you're not concerned with all that, the method I described above should work fine with Cafe Bustelo or Lavazza pre-ground coffee.

u/Dinotori · 1 pointr/Coffee

Sorry people are being jerks. It's definitely not good to reuse the grounds, especially if you're going to drink it black. I would recommend maybe getting a metal filter, so you can just rinse it out after each use and you should use fresh grounds every time. If you want to step up your game a little, you could get a grinder and use whole beans (they taste way fresher). You can either get an electric one like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JFHHMN2/ref=s9_topr_hm_b1DNO_g79_i1

Or you could get a hand grinder like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001802PIQ/ref=s9_topr_hm_b1DNO_g79_i8

The electric one is more convenient, but the hand grinder will give better results (and it really isn't that time consuming). Beyond that, there's an entire world of stuff to look at - chemex, aeropress, moka pots, hario pourovers, better beans, better grinders, a hot water kettle... It's all just a matter of how much time / money you want to put in. Good luck and I hope this helps!!

u/grumpypineapple · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Never used the Bonavita, but a conical burr grinder is great!

One thing is you can also jump in making great coffee for a lot cheaper than this. This Hario hand grinder and an Aeropress/Hario V60 pour over are a great way to get amazing coffee for half the cost.

Although don't let that persuade you if you have done your research and that's what you want! To a better brew!

u/Ukkoclap · 1 pointr/Coffee

There's a few grinders I've found after searching but there's a big difference in price.

These 3 are the ones that are reasonably priced I could find.

Melitta Molino

Baratza Encore

Delonghi KG 520M

Porlex Hand Grinder

Personally the Melitta Molino or Porlex Hand Grinder looks the most attractive due the price and size. But the more important question is does it grind fine enough quality coffee suitable for espresso or is the espresso going to be as bad as a blade grinder that I currently have? Do the other 2 grind fine enough to produce good enough Espresso.

All of these grinders don't have an amazing rating on Amazon. I know this might seem a lil bit low to more enthusiasts espresso drinkers but my machine is pretty much an entree level espresso machine and I'm also a student looking to to slowly get better coffee gear. Right now I am looking to spend around 150 euro but preferably less. What are my best options?

u/Caspid · 3 pointsr/Coffee

For starters, get a grinder (here's a cheap but decent manual one) and an Aeropress. It's cheap, takes the last amount of time to brew (~3 minutes), lasts forever, requires the least amount of extra equipment, produces a great balanced cup, is super forgiving with regards to methods, beans, and grinders, you can experiment with its variables (brew recipes, steep time, press duration, etc) endlessly, and the cleanup is super simple (eject the puck, rinse under the tap). You don't need a scale or a kettle; just use the included scoop and fill the chamber.

The Aeropress is the device that got me through college. I used to buy coffee, grind it in-store, heat water in a mug, brew using the inverted method, and then press into the same mug. 8 years later and I still use it (though now I have a grinder, scale, and kettle, and I use a metal filter cuz it tastes better and saves money in the long run).

I would personally recommend against a pourover for your first brewer, as it requires more equipment and is less flexible and more finicky.

If you're having trouble finding good beans around the area, there's a huge variety of online vendors. Craft Coffee is the cheapest I've found ($10-14/12oz bag).

u/CA_Jim · 1 pointr/Coffee

For a total beginner, I'd suggest the French Press. Everyone seems to start on the French Press, since it's good place to start learning and gain experience, per se. It's forgiving, teaches you the basics of grind settings, dialing in a coffee, brewing techniques, etc.

However, I much prefer my Aeropress over my French Press. It's a trickier to use, has a lot more variables involved in the process, will take longer to master. So, if you're willing to skip level 1 and warp to level 3, go for the Aeropress. However, I'd still suggest the French Press to start. Whatever you do, you'll get your money's worth.

I have an 8-cup Chemex, and it's great, but it's unruly when I want to brew a single mug for myself. Great for sharing with 1-2 others, but just doesn't work right brewing anything but a full batch. When I just want a single cup, I use a Tiamo 01. This is definitely not where you want to start, however. Before you begin with pour-over brewing (which is awesome and difficult), you'll need a burr grinder and a kettle.

So, since I have a French Press, Aeropress, 8-cup Chemex, and a Tiamo, feel free to message me anytime for brewing instructions, recipes, or ratios.

Oh, and be sure to bookmark http://brewmethods.com/.

u/helicopterrun · 10 pointsr/Coffee

This is not a straightforward answer. Sorry.
It really depends on what you want to get out of the cup:

  • Do you want a full body? Kalita wave is more temperature stable than other brewers because the wavy filter keeps the coffee away from the brewer. The flat base allows more even extraction.

  • Do you want a really clean cup where you can taste all of the subtle notes? The Hario V60 is a Classic, brews a clean balanced cup. It has a thinner filter and is great for fruity floral coffees.

  • Do you want a clean cup for more people? Chemex has a thicker filter and brews a really clean cup. It also makes it easy to brew for multiple people at once.

  • Do you want the ability to do immersion and pour over? The Clever is really easy to use and is more forgiving than the other methods. You don't necessarily need a gooseneck kettle.

    I personally use a V60. The others are all fantastic, you really can't go wrong.
u/menschmaschine5 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Oh, and don't forget the electric kettle. Any will do, you don't need a fancy gooseneck one for these methods (they're helpful for freehand pour-over methods like the v-60 and Chemex).

Some kind of instant-read thermometer and a kitchen scale like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-SC-2KG-Digital-Pocket/dp/B001RF3XJ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375817673&sr=8-1&keywords=american+weigh+2kg) will help you dial in your process and ultimately make better coffee, but aren't completely necessary.

But yes, I second either aeropress or clever dripper. They're both quick and easy methods which can make great coffee, and easy to clean (the latter is especially important for a dorm).

u/Britasianninja · 2 pointsr/Coffee

Hey, so I was in the exact same situation as you - I moved to Manhattan, but couldn't justify paying $3+ dollars for a cup of decent coffee (especially considering I would regularly drink more than 1 cup).

I should probably preface this with: In the end, I'm probably not saving much more money (especially short-term), since I just spent the money I might have saved on more coffee equipment (and somehow I keep ending up with more...). But now I have incredible coffee at home, and it's a fun hobby to tinker with, so I have no regrets there.

  • As previously mentioned, pick up a decent entry-level burr grinder - The Hario Mini is ~$35, though you get a Skerton Pro for ~$55. Grinding your own beans immediately pre-brew produces significantly better results than buying pre-ground, and allows you to control and fine-tune the grind level. (I upgraded to a Lido 3 in December, and while love it, at $200 it's hardly a budget saver).

  • Buy some beans online. I would highly recommend S&W Roasting. You can pick up a sample pack for ~$20 with shipping, and while it's advertised as 1lb of coffee, I received closer to 2.5lbs the first time I ordered (they seriously pad their packages). All their coffee is phenomenal, plus they seem like really nice guys, so they have my business. Alternatively, Happy Mug sells bags @ $11/lb with $3 shipping, so it comes out to $14/lb.

  • Pick up a cheap scale - making coffee with reliable measurements and not by estimation produces dependable, replicable results. The same is true of baking and making cocktails. I have a basic AMW-SC-2KG, which currently runs ~$22.

  • Find a decent online guide, and practice with it.

    Hope this helps!

    [edit] formatting
u/BralonMando · 3 pointsr/Coffee

Congratulations on becoming a free thinker and embracing everything that life has to offer! Never stop questioning everything! It's all about the beans, it's basically impossible to make good coffee without using freshly ground and good quality beans that have been recently roasted (i.e. not sat on a shelf for months).

You will need 3 things to start making good coffee.

  1. A decent grinder, nothing fancy needed if you're just going to use a french press, but try and avoid ones that use blades, and go for a nice burr grinder, like this one.
  2. a French press
  3. Some nice beans, have a look online for a local roaster in your area and give them your support/love/money!.

    That's pretty much it, just coarsely grind the coffee, put it in the press with water just slightly off the boil, wait a few mins depending on how strong you like it, press down and serve delicious coffee!
u/judioverde · 1 pointr/Coffee

For a cheap, easy set up at home, you could get a french press. Getting freshly roasted coffee is pretty important, so look up if there are any roasters near you. Grinding at home with a burr grinder is ideal, but if you aren't ready for that yet you can have them ground for you. Ground coffee gets stale much quicker tham whole beans. You also do not need to get the coffee super course ground like a lot of people say, it can be just a little coarser than your normal store bought preground coffee. Look up the James Hoffman French Press technique, it truly works. I usually like a 1:14 ratio of coffee to water. So for one person, 20 grams of coffee to 280 grams of water. I think medium roast coffee works well with a French press. That being said I prefer to use a V60 for my coffee making. A Melitta or Aeropress would be good options for someone starting out. Also would recommend getting a cheap scale like this

u/saxmanpi · 1 pointr/Coffee

JrDot13 is right. Once coffee is ground up, it starts to lose its freshness right away. Starting with whole bean and grinding it is the way to go. I too, started with a small and cheap Mr. Coffee blade grinder. It simply does not grind consistent enough and there really isn't a way to control it at all. I know lots of people are recommending the Capresso Infinity Grinder as an entry level grinder that gets the job done pretty well. I was on the fence about either the Capresso or a refurbished Baratza Virtuoso. Keep an eye out on Baratza's website on Thursdays (I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong). On Thursdays Baratza updates their refurbished page. I ended up with the Baratza and I absolutely love it. I've had it for a year now and it's great. Personally I've never used the grinder in the stores so I can't say I know how good they are. But if you find a solid local roaster they'll grind coffee for you when you purchase a bag of beans.

Another option that you might want to consider is buying a vacuum sealed container and having the store/local coffee shop grind the beans for you and then just keep it in that container. I understand that money might be tight and getting the most out of your coffee can cost a bit more than someone might have. Something like this container has some pretty good reviews on amazon. The only downside to that is you're only going to be able to keep it at one grind versus having the flexibility to grind it as you please for whichever method you're using. But it sounds like your family is going to stick to using the Kuerig so one grind size won't be too bad.

u/drumofny · 5 pointsr/Coffee

I would recommend you get an Aeropress over a french press. These are the reasons:

  1. It is much more forgiving to how you grind the beans and you can get decent coffee with a blade grinder if need be.

  2. It's much more durable. The beakers on french presses break extremely easy.

  3. It makes a tasty cup of coffee. You would not be sacrificing quality at all. I prefer it slightly to a french press, but it's not really fair to compare them.

  4. It's super portable. You can make coffee anywhere with this thing. Whether you're at the dining hall, a friends house/dorm, in your car, you name it.

    If I was off to college again this would be my first choice. Good luck with college. Remember it's not all about the studies and having fun is important. Cheers.
u/Nimalla · 1 pointr/Coffee

I agree with getting a good drip to keep it convenient and to also step up the coffee game a little. Adding timed outlets is a great idea too!

Some bonavitas have a holder for the drip cup, and others the drip cup sits right on the pot, so they seem less convenient. If I were to choose between the two, I would choose a technivorm. The folks at Seattle Coffee review and test a lot of drip machines, and they even did a blind test between the technivorm moccamaster and bonavita, and it seems they mostly agree the techivorm tastes nicer. A grinder would help too, my dad likes to keep things easy, but he LOVES his grinder. He's had 30 years or more.

Grinders: The concensus is get a baratza encore. I don't have one, but they are just loved everywhere. I just recently returned a 200$ breville grinder and bought a 43$ cuisinart grinder and have been extremely pleased with it. I know everyone says to put your money in a good grinder, but I am quite content with the cuisinart for now! https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541103820&sr=8-2&keywords=Cuisinart+DBM-8


​

u/agitatedandroid · 2 pointsr/Coffee

The Hario Slim is the grinder I use every day. And the Aeropress that I brew my coffee in. Amazon even links them all together in the "commonly bought together" thingus for $65.

Admittedly, $65 sounds like a lot to lay out for anything new. That said, it's very hard to screw up and the Hario/Aeropress duo are, I've found, quite reliable. Mine gets daily use.

A French Press, while terribly fancy, may be more work than you're willing to invest to start yourself off. The Aeropress, conversely, is simple to use, simple to clean up, and well supported by we coffee snobs.

The next thing you'd need are beans. Beans you can get lots of places. Something to be aware of, the reason we prefer going from the bean directly rather than just buying pre-ground is because once you grind the bean you really ought to use it with in a day or two. That tub of Maxwell House was ground up months before you ever opened it. It suffocated long ago and died.

There are numerous roasters that you can order from online with a pound of beans ranging from $13-17 or thereabouts. This is for beans that were usually roasted two or three days before they arrive at your house.

Personally, and not to seem like a shill, but I get my beans from SW Roasting, a fellow redditor. Their sampler pack of beans from multiple continents can be a great introduction and they offer a truly personal service.

If even that seems like a little much for a beginner, I've found the single origin beans on offer from Target's Archer Farms brand aren't terrible. They're cheap, around $9. They're not as freshly roasted as you'd get from one of the online roasters but they're still good.

Admittedly, the initial outlay might seem daunting but you will have set yourself well on your way to coffee snobbery with the rest of us. After that, it's just $15-20 a month for beans depending on how much you drink.

And, really, worlds beyond instant. Go ahead, get the things I mentioned or any of the other options my fellows have suggested. Then, make that instant coffee in a mug you threw in the microwave. Drink it black. Spit it out because you love your tastebuds and wish to apologize to them. Brew some good beans you ground yourself and taste a significant, staggering difference.

u/brokenocean · 1 pointr/Coffee

I picked up the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder from Amazon for less than $100, and I'm pleased with it. I'm sure someone in here will school me and tell me why it's not acceptable for grinding both espresso and french press coffee, but I do it and I like it. It has a nice consistant grind that goes from very coarse to very fine, and it suits my needs. I'd say it's a nice introductory electric burr grinder for someone interested in making good coffee. Once this one bites the dust, I'm sure I'll upgrade to something fancier, but for now it works great for me.

u/Meitachi · 1 pointr/Coffee

I appreciate the straightforward answers! Nothing wrong with that, especially since it's constructive.

I should have clarified, the price I paid was a steal. This is the Bodum Bistro grinder I have and while I haven't had a chance to try out many other grinders, it far beats the price I paid for it. My coworker actually has the Baratza Virtuoso ($~200) and has told me the macro options on it are pretty nifty. I'm going to guess they come in a lot more useful for brews with finer grinds like espresso or Turkish brews.

I really hope I can develop enough of a plate to be able to tell apart a good shot vs a bad shot. With my current setup, I'm sure its mediocre by home expert standards but I'm happy with splurging more on the machine as I feel the Bistro grinder can suffice for now.

And wow, home roasting. Props to you, really! I've thought about it but it's a far off dream for me right now. I'd like to perfect my brews before I can even think about that.

u/UncleTouchUBad · 3 pointsr/Coffee

Yes. Most people in this sub will tell you to get a burr grinder.

If you're on a budget they'll tell you to get a hand grinder (that uses ceramic burrs) and such.

It depends on how much time you'll have and how much you're going to enjoy the process and how deep you wanna get into coffee. My advice is find the best burr grinder for however much you're willing to pay. (they go as cheap as $30 all the way up to $200-300+, then they go way way higher if they are supposed to be able to grind for espresso). Keep it simple for now. get whatever makes sense for you but most would steer you away from blade grinders, they just do a poor job and the grind is an important part of the process.

For automatic grinders that aren't too crazy expensive, many prefer this one.

Once you get the grinder, you gotta find some good coffee to go with it. Try not to cheap out and buy the stuff at the super market unless it has a "roasted on" date that is fairly recent. Look for craft coffee in your area or some online roasters that will ship coffee to you. coffee subscriptions can be nice but maybe just start slow and look around for a 3rd wave coffee joint that can sell you their recently roasted stuff.

It'll be much better than anything you can get in the store and it will probably even be cheaper than they sell it in the store. There's always places like Blue Bottle, Stumptown, Intelligentsia, etc. that will sell their coffee to you online but you'll get it a bit cheaper if you can go to a local cafe to buy their stuff.

Have fun and don't be afraid to ask more questions in /r/Coffee everyone here is really nice... usually.

u/mixmastakooz · 1 pointr/Coffee

Well, if this a regular grinder to you, then this is a blade grinder. Cheap and gets the job done, but the grind size is inconsistent as the grinder is slicing and smacking the beans: as such, you'll get large particles in the grind to very small fine grinds at the same time. It's 10x better than buying pre-ground, but if you want consistent coffee, then you'll need a burr grinder. With the Clever, a blade grinder should be fine as it's a forgiving coffee brewing method. Burr grinders crush (for lack of a better word) the grinds between two metal or ceramic burrs and you get a consistent sized grind which is optimal for brewing. This is a hand cranked burr grinder which will give you that consistent grind but since it's manual, takes a bit of effort. If you have $100, then get a refurbed Baratza Encore (or if you're in a big urban area, just do daily searches on Craigslist, and you should be able to find a Baratza for about $50). These are great entry level burr grinders. When you get out into the world and make some money, that's when you can graduate to stepless or the top-level burr grinders.

u/estsauver · 1 pointr/Coffee

Well in that case I would save and do the grinder first honestly. If you're spending ~25$ for an aeropress, I might do this hand burr grinder first.

http://www.amazon.com/Hario-MSS-1B-Mini-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334215615&sr=8-1

It's gotten some pretty good reviews from other people on coffeegeeks.com and reddit. I own the big brother Hario Skerton and it's served me quite well. I've also heard that the mini-mill is much better with coarse grounds than a Skerton, so that probably suits your needs pretty well. It's also nice because then if you ever upgrade to a nice electronic burr grinder you'll have a great travel grinder/backup/spare.

u/_Sigma · 3 pointsr/Coffee

>I thought about a pour over, but I don't really know what I'm getting myself into

Honestly, not that much. It's pretty straight forward. A Chemex produces a fantastic cup, and would only really require you get a gooseneck kettle. Ditto if you go the v60 route. Bonavita has a couple, either temperature controlled or not. Other wise Hario kettle would also work.

Regardless, take a look here at Brew Methods. It has summaries on a variety of brew methods, from chemex to other. May give you some ideas.

>I don't want to spend a ton of money,

Depends on what "a ton of money" is to you, but:

  • you may want to consider a new grinder, it will allow for expanding what you can do with the coffee. Potentially too much money, but a refurb Baratza might be worth saving for. Especially the Maestro/Virtuoso if you aren't doing espresso.
  • a scale to weight coffee and water to nail down variables
  • a gooseneck kettle for pourovers

    > would a chemex be a better investment?

    Yes, imho. Buy a cheap gram scale, a gooseneck kettle, and a chemex/v60. You'll be very pleased with the results.
u/sadsongsung · 1 pointr/Coffee

No problem!

The Aeropress is a single Brand -- Aerobie (makers of the famous flying disc, oddly enough). There's a few different packaging options, but anything like this will be perfect. If you've got any local coffee-focused cafes you might be able to buy one there.


French presses come in all sorts of different brands, and really it doesn't matter all that much. Ikea makes cheap ones that people seem fine with, but Bodum seems to be the "standard". I used to have the Bodum Brazil, I believe, and it served my needs perfectly.


The Aeropress is a single-cup coffee maker (as in 6-8oz), whereas a french press is capable of making a lot more depending on its size. They're both great, simple ways to make great coffee.

u/dloe48 · 1 pointr/Coffee

I've got a pretty high quality dorm setup that is approved. Here are your options:

Option 1:

Hario ETL Certified Kettle

Hario V60

Filters

Hario Skim Grinder

Total: $119

Option 2:

Aeropress

Proctor-Silex Water Kettle

Hario Skim Grinder

Total: $66


Currently, I'm using the first setup. The v60 is a great pourover method. You'll be having the best coffee on campus. However, since it requires the gooseneck kettle it runs a greater price. Last year, I had option. The aeropress is a kick-ass coffee maker, and you can get by with the way cheaper water heater since pour method has no factor on the brew. Either way, you'd have the small hand grinder which is cheap, easy to clean, and does a fantastic job.

Either of these will make a solid cup, better than anything you'll find in a keurig.

u/greggers89 · 1 pointr/Coffee

Any kettle will do. Most people go for stuff with more steel because they don't want hot water sitting with plastic, but that's up to you.

Most french presses are very similar well. In fact, I find most immersion techniques (where you steep the coffee in the water) come out very similar. I personally prefer this porcelain brewer from Bonavita. You steep the coffee for ~3 mins, then open the valve on the bottom and let it drip into a cup. Cleanup is just tossing the filter and rinsing, which I think you'll find much less of a hassle than french press.

No matter what you get, one of the most important pieces is a scale. This one from Jennings is great. The french press can be a great way to let you make different batch sizes, but only if you keep your ratios consistent. That is one of the best advantages of french press, because a lot of pourovers only work well for a certain batch size.

u/fuser-invent · 1 pointr/Coffee

Wow, props to Gawdor for writing all those up! I think they are awesome and personally don't think they are a bit long in the tooth. The extra info is really good and having details is nice for people like me who like to delve a little deeper into things.

What I'd like to see in addition to the guides though is a list of equipment recommendations in certain price ranges, with very brief descriptions and links to Amazon or something where people can see the products there and buy them if they choose to. For example:

>Grinder Under $50
>
>Hario Hand Grinder - ~$33 - Cheap alternative to an electric burr grinder. Good for people on a budge who still want the quality of burrs.

However, no Amazon affiliate links where people make money, they should all be straight/direct links like the one in the example.

EDIT: I'm setting up a new section for that right now.

u/CommuneNefas · 5 pointsr/Coffee

I store my beans in an Airscape and really like it. Keeps the beans fresh, protected from air, temperature, light, and moisture, looks good, and I think it's reasonably priced. I would assume that it does a similar job of storing ground coffee, but I just don't really see the point.

Once you grind the coffee, it begins to go stale much quicker than it does in whole bean form. I totally understand your desire to not wake up your girlfriend by grinding each morning, but grinding the night before is going to drastically reduce the quality of your morning brews, regardless of what you store it in. I would suggest a hand grinder like the skerton or LIDO for grinding fresh each morning without making noise. Actually, the skerton comes out to roughly the same price as the container, so if you already have some way of storing beans (really anything works as long as you're putting it in something airtight and in a dark place), I think buying a hand grinder is the better solution.

u/TheTheoryJackBuilt · 1 pointr/Coffee

We can help you out a little better if you had some sort of budget. When I was 13 I got about $5-10 a week from my parents but I knew others that received more or even nothing at all. I'll try to aim for what a typical intro to coffee setup would look like.

So with any method you use the first and most important step is the beans. They should ideally be whole bean and roasted semi-recently (a couple days to weeks ago). This is going to be a reoccurring purchase for you/your parents depending on how often you drink coffee. Price could be anywhere from $7/lb to $15/lb.

Setup 1: You can buy the $8 reusable keurig pod and grind your own coffee. With this method you could get away with using a regular bladed grinder probably. Or you can step it up a bit and buy $25 this hand grinder that gets recommended on here a lot. I have it, it worked pretty well when I was first getting into coffee. You just grinder your beans, fill the pod, and use as normal. Cost for parts: $8-$34

Setup 2: If you get the same $25 hand grinder you can then get either a $24 french press (give a more oily cup, there will always be particulates in your mug, you can also make ~8 cups of coffee with this method) or you can go with the very often recommended, and my current favorite way to make a quick cup, the $26 aeropress. This only makes 1-2 cups at a time but it's hard to make a bad cup with it. Cost of parts: ~$50

You should look of reviews for both the french press and aeropress methods on here or online to figure out what meets your needs better. If these are still to expensive then you can try goodwills or garage sells.

u/writer__ · 2 pointsr/Coffee

(LONG POST) I also recently transitioned to hardcore coffee drinking, and I found that it is only a modest investment to get some seriously good cups. Perhaps you should try pour-over brewing, which I switched to from French Pressing - imo you get a lot higher flavor clarity. The industry standard was the Hario V60, which is kind of tricky to use, but I as with many have switched to the Kalita Wave, which is especially forgiving for novices. Keep in mind that the Wave I linked is a smaller size, so it can be a bit finicky for a good pour method, but it is a major score compared to other Kalitas I found across the web. Filters are a bit pricey with the Kalita though, so the V60 is better moneywise but again tricky to achieve consistency. A good scale can be found for about $15-20, which is essential to getting the correct ratios. As others have said, a Mini Mill is possibly the most important investment, but I HIGHLY recommend modding it to get high consistency (I used a rubber band for this.... it will all make sense with the link). For pourovers, some will tell you a specialized kettle is a must for pour control, but I fare just fine with a ceramic tea kettle https://imgur.com/uIWppVj . Anyways, cheers to entering coffee! :D

u/Felixiium · 1 pointr/Coffee

A pour-over setup works best with a kettle, unless you have really fine motor control skills, so like others said, a Hario hand grinder (~$30), a scale ($~20), and a Clever Coffee Dripper or an Aeropress.
A clever is like a French press in that you put ground coffee in, wait a few minutes, but it's also like a pour-over in that once you put it on top of a cup, the valve at the bottom opens and everything goes through the paper filter. Incredibly forgiving.
Have a look
Aeropress is fine too, since you only drink 1-2 cups.

For the scale, I use this AWS 2kg - compact and updates fast. Survived a couple explosions of water and coffee as well.

I've seen a pianist pour a thinner stream of water than what comes out of a $100+ Takahiro kettle using just a ordinary tea kettle with a huge spout.

u/TheWayoftheFuture · 6 pointsr/Coffee

My best tips:

Fresh beans + fresh grind + good water = great coffee pretty much regardless of your brewing method.

The 4 ways you can increase the quality of your coffee is to focus on improving these things: beans, grind, water, brewing method.

This is my set-up:

Beans: I get whole beans sent to me in the mail every two weeks from Moustache Coffee Club. This ensures I always have fresh beans on hand.

Grind: I use this Porlex hand grinder and really like it. I used to use this Hario hand grinder, which was cheaper. I haven't yet splurged for an electric grinder. Maybe some day.

Water: I use a kitchen thermometer to make sure my water is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the optimal range for brewing. I also use this Bonavita kettle for heating the water.

Brewing method: I started off using a Melitta pour-over cone. I've since moved to the AeroPress. I also have a French press. The AeroPress is what I use almost exclusively. I also have a kitchen scale to measure out the water and beans. I use a 16:1 ratio of water to beans. For the AeroPress, 16g of beans and 256g of water fits perfectly. When I measure the water, I aim for between 256 and 260g. I'm not so obsessive that I make sure it's exactly 256 every time.

This sounds like a lot (and there's more, but this is a good start), but I built up to this over a period of a few years. Take your time. Keep learning and exploring and have fun.

u/fish_fries6 · 1 pointr/Coffee

His french press, grinder, and kettle are certainly sufficient for what he's doing. There are certainly upgrades for the grinder (such as this) and the kettle (such as this), but for what he's doing, it's not likely to make much difference.

Others have suggested different brewing methods, which would be nice, but this depends on preference, of course. The Aeropress is probably the best option for someone looking to expand their horizons from the french press.

Given his equipment, the biggest difference is going to come from the beans. I personally have not tried coffee subscription services (such as Tonx), but it sounds like a really neat idea and I've heard generally positive things. Periodically, you get shipments of different kinds of coffee, so you can try new beans.

u/traveler19395 · 1 pointr/Coffee

I don't know anything about that grinder, but it is a burr grinder, so it's should be half-decent.

I'd say upgrade his brewing machine and buy him some really good beans. A $50 Mr. Coffee very likely doesn't even get the water up to a proper brewing temperature. This Bonavita would be a great step up.

Then there's tons of great coffee you could buy, whether a few single bags or a subscription. Blue Bottle is extremely well known and respected, but a little searching on this board will get you many other good recommendations also.

u/Crimms · 1 pointr/Coffee

The general consensus here seems to be to aim for a Gaggia machine as the absolute minimum. Preferably a Gaggia Classic (~$388).

I've heard people recommend the lower priced Gaggia New Baby (~$300) to try out espresso and to help decide whether "to get a real espresso machine".

A step up from that, the recommendation seems to be the Crossland CC1, but that's in the $600+ range.

To save some money, you might do better finding a used machine or see if they're on sale at different sites.

If you want to go cheaper than that, people have recommended the MyPressi ($170), but I have not seen that in stock anywhere recently. There's some buzz regarding the MiniPresso (Preorder at $39), but that won't be out until 2015. So there won't be any reviews regarding it for a while.

As for grinder, if you're looking for cheap, you might have to make do with a hand grinder, either Hario Skerton (~$35) or Mini (~$26) or Porlex (~$43). The cheapest acceptable electric grinder seems to be the Baratza Preciso at $300.

This is the information I've gathered anyway. I don't have any personal experience with an espresso machine, but I hope this helps. If you decide to go with something, post your experience and help some people out.

Personally, I'm thinking of saving up for the CC1 and Vario (~$1000) combo...

u/Bell_Biv_WillemDafoe · 1 pointr/Coffee

Everything you have here is going to take a lot of work moving back and forth. When I travel, I bring my Mini Mill, my scale, a collapsible pour over cone, and a small mason jar of beans. I would suggest just getting a cheap scale and a V60 (or similar) for work. You could honestly grind at home and put into plastic bags with the air out of them each morning. The beans will age a little bit, but will be close to fresh and will save you lugging a grinder, too. Also helps keep coworkers from staring at you funny while you crank the hand grinder.

Edit: Just realized I didn't really answer your question. I really like that bag you posted, but feel that a backpack would be easier to take on a bike. If you wrap everything really well, you should be able to avoid breaking anything.

u/reallifejerk · 1 pointr/Coffee

I've had an Encore for 2 years now and I love it.

There is a pretty good Bodum grinder that i've heard some great things about.

We stock Hario v60 grinders at work to sell retail, so i back those pretty hard as well!


Just take good care of your grinder, clean it regularly and it should last for years!

u/look_at_the_sun · 1 pointr/Coffee

To me, the easiest thing is pour over and the most important thing is consistent particle size. The more you spend on a grinder, the better it's going to be, and so this is where you want to spend the money. I'm going to give you a suggestion and it is super simple.

Get a Melitta pour over cone with filters - this should run you about $5. If you want to up that to about $11, you can get one with a glass carafe too. You can just search "Melitta" on amazon to see all the results. I know my local specialty food markets all stock just the filter cone for about $2, which is even cheaper than amazon (I think the cost to stock and ship a $2 plastic cone makes the price go up).

Then, a grinder; get a Baratza Encore and some good, whole-bean, freshly roasted coffee. Grind right before brewing, dump an appropriate amount of grounds into a filter in the cone, and use a kettle to pour water over it until your cup is full. Here's a promo video I found showing how ridiculously easy it is.

Now, if you ever want to get into it, you can easily upgrade with more money / time but you'll already be mostly there by having a great grinder. You can do stuff like:

  • Get a scale to measure the exact amount of coffee and water you're using - this helps ensure consistency and allows you to change variables, such as grind size, and keep everything else the same to dial in your brew
  • Get a more technical pour over cone, to play with extraction and getting more out of the coffee
  • Get a kettle with a swan neck, to make an extremely precise pour possible
  • Get a thermometer, to measure your water temperature

    Additionally, if you decide you want to do another, more fussy brew method, you could always pick up a french press, aeropress, etc. You'll already have a great grinder so you can just jump into anything.
u/_HannibalHolmes81 · 2 pointsr/Coffee

I've been into this world for about 2 months now , what i can help you with are some suggestions for what i've been using lately

  • The Hario Skerton ( you can get it off of amazon )



  • The AeroPress which you can also get off of amazon



    And about the beans , im pretty sure you can find a local roaster here or there . I used to say the same and i was totally convinced that we have 0 roasters ( regardless of whether they're good or not ) but after some research and asking around i found 4 ! Its just a matter of asking the right people .


    Making good coffee i believe is a long process of trial and error , you'll get there eventually but first you have to have decent tools at your disposal. If you're able to spend a little bit over your limit and get those two pieces of equipment you're more than ready to get started with the process , you just have the other half to deal with , which is the coffee beans . Of course if you ever need help with recipes , techniques , tips , whatever . You can come to this subreddit , really filled with great people who have a lot to say so just ask !

    And finally, welcome to this beautiful world !