Coffee Newbie, how do you guys make your coffee? (2 Viewers)

[MichaelBubly]

I’ll try this soon. But just a question: isn’t this basically brewing the coffee for 9 minutes? I always heard that brewing for much longer than 4 minutes will make the coffee taste bad. What’s the science/magic behind this?

I believe James did a test with the aeropress and found that you couldn't really over brew with the immersion brewing method. The longer you let it sit, the higher the extraction was and overall resulted in a better cup. He tested up to 8 minutes and found things improved the longer it brewed for. It also depends on your grind size.

He did also note that anything over 2-3ish minutes became a point of diminishing returns, but that he still preferred the cups brewer for 4 minutes and 8 minutes over the 2 minute.

 

[Jake14mw]

Been thinking about getting one of these. Looks like many pros and cons. I want it for the convenience to make freshly ground coffee, easily, but complexity leads to more chances for things to break. Does anyone have a machine that grinds and brews?

Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker, Brushed Stainless Steel, BDC650BSS https://a.co/d/fn8RbTw

 

[MichaelBubly]

Seems like you'd probably be fine. The reviews say it can have some issues with clogging the Shute unless you consistently keep up with cleaning out the grinder.

My only gripe about Breville in general is that their machines use a lot of electronic components that are very difficult to service and hence means you'll usually need to rebuy when something breaks or spend a few weeks waiting for it to ship to and from the service center. Although this is more of an issue with their espresso machines as they have more complex internals and are more expensive compared to other machines that can be fixed same day by most local service places.

If you want to delve a bit deeper and don't mind a smaller brewing amount, you could get a better cup of coffee with a hand grinder and aeropress for about 1/3 the price. But that's not for most people as it's a bit more work and time.

 

[upNdown]

Been thinking about getting one of these. Looks like many pros and cons. I want it for the convenience to make freshly ground coffee, easily, but complexity leads to more chances for things to break. Does anyone have a machine that grinds and brews?

Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker, Brushed Stainless Steel, BDC650BSS https://a.co/d/fn8RbTw

I’d be willing to bet you could do just as well (and maybe better) with a $50 drip coffee maker and a separate $50 grinder.
If this is what it will take to get you to grind fresh each morning and you don’t mind the price tag, then sure, go for it.

 

[Darson]

I’m just gonna bump this thread because I’ve decided to try coffee. I never liked coffee so haven’t ever had a full cup, just a few sips over the last 48 years. I also didn’t like whisky but forced myself to drink it and I learned to love it (admittedly nearly 30 years ago). Now I’m gonna try the same with coffee.

I’ve bought 4 bags of specialty beans (2 light roast, 1 medium and 1 full). and have a manual grinder and a V60 immersion set on the way. I wonder how this will turn out…

 

[surfik]

Bra Cafe from Spain for me

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I’m just gonna bump this thread because I’ve decided to try coffee. I never liked coffee so haven’t ever had a full cup, just a few sips over the last 48 years. I also didn’t like whisky but forced myself to drink it and I learned to love it (admittedly nearly 30 years ago). Now I’m gonna try the same with coffee.

I’ve bought 4 bags of specialty beans (2 light roast, 1 medium and 1 full). and have a manual grinder and a V60 immersion set on the way. I wonder how this will turn out…

I've been using a Clever Dripper for quite a while - it's my daily driver for coffee at home. I didn't even know that Hario had come out with an immersion mod for the V60.

Here's my baseline - you'll want to tweak to your taste:

• Use a coarse grind. Find the coarsest setting your grinder will support while still giving you consistency.
• Coffee/water ratio of about 1:15. I generally use 500mL water to 32-33g coffee (max capacity for my Clever Dripper, I like a big cup)
• Water temp: 200-205°F for light/med roast. I'd go lower for darker roasts, maybe 190-195°F, or it will end up too bitter.
• Immersion time: 2.5 minutes

Also a few notes on technique:

• Boil extra water for rinsing your filter and pre-heating your cup.
• When your water is ready, rinse the filter and dump it out first. This helps increase yield and gets rid of any off flavor your filters might have.
• I use a scale to weigh my water and coffee as it goes into the brewer. You can eyeball if you want, but the scale helps me with consistency.
• Don't put the coffee in first. Add about 100mL of water, then coffee, then the rest of the water. This helps keep my filters from getting clogged by fines and speeds up the drain time a lot (like 30-45 seconds faster).
• After adding the coffee, pour the remaining water in a circular motion to try to wet down and "sink" all the coffee grounds. A gooseneck kettle helps with this. If your coffee is really fresh and starts blooming (off-gassing CO2), be careful that you don't overflow the brewer.
• Pour the rest of the water from your kettle into your cup to pre-heat it. This helps keep your coffee hot longer.
• About a minute into the brew time, I will give everything a quick stir. This gets the grounds off the sides of the filter and helps them start settling into the bed of grounds that you want to drain through.
• At the end of immersion time, dump your pre-heat water and drain into your cup. Enjoy!

You can (and should!) experiment with grind size, water temperature, immersion time, and ratios to tune the taste to your liking.

 

[bergs]

We put 4 scoops of Dunkin ground coffee into a Cuisnart drip machine. We basic bitch up in here.

 

[Machine]

You can (and should!) experiment with grind size, water temperature, immersion time, and ratios to tune the taste to your liking.

I would also experiment with the amount of coffee to water ratio, basically stick with the same amount of water but add or reduce beans (measure it in grams). I would save water temp for last to tweak.


I'm a fan of the moka pot, I typically make Capuchinos and Americanos with it. I typically add a small amount of sugar to off set the bitterness. It produces coffee that is between a drip and espresso.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I would also experiment with the amount of coffee to water ratio, basically stick with the same amount of water but add or reduce beans (measure it in grams). I would save water temp for last to tweak.


I'm a fan of the moka pot, I typically make Capuchinos and Americanos with it. I typically add a small amount of sugar to off set the bitterness. It produces coffee that is between a drip and espresso.

I said "ratios" punk!

I know we talked about this before, but I have a moka pot buried deep in a cabinet somewhere. I need to dig it out and try it again.

 

[wickedwonka121]

That's now how you spell 'beer'.

 

[JustDave]

I’m just gonna bump this thread because I’ve decided to try coffee. I never liked coffee so haven’t ever had a full cup, just a few sips over the last 48 years. I also didn’t like whisky but forced myself to drink it and I learned to love it (admittedly nearly 30 years ago). Now I’m gonna try the same with coffee.

I’ve bought 4 bags of specialty beans (2 light roast, 1 medium and 1 full). and have a manual grinder and a V60 immersion set on the way. I wonder how this will turn out…

 

[trever]

It is counter intuitive but darker roasts are less bitter, and stronger coffee tastes better than weak coffee.

 

[JustDave]

It is counter intuitive but darker roasts are less bitter, and stronger coffee tastes better than weak coffee.

and 'strength' doesn't mean caffeine. Blonde roasts frequently have higher caffeine percentages than darker roasts.

 

[Machine]

You just can't go wrong with James Hoffman

 

[Darson]

You just can't go wrong with James Hoffman

Yeah, I’ve been watching a lot of his videos. Takes a lot of willpower not to go crazy on all the gadgets he reviews.

 

[MatB]

I think the pour over tutorials go full unnecessary hipster

Fill it up. Let it drain fill it up again. Sure, move the kettle around so it hits more grounds.

That’s it.

Use good, fresh ground coffee in the right measurement ( 37grams for me or 2 aeropress size scoops)
And you can’t go wrong

 

[JustDave]

I think the pour over tutorials go full unnecessary hipster

Fill it up. Let it drain fill it up again. Sure, move the kettle around so it hits more grounds.

That’s it.

Use good, fresh ground coffee in the right measurement ( 37grams for me or 2 aeropress size scoops)
And you can’t go wrong

 

[MatB]

Chuckled out loud. Ty

 

[JustDave]

Chuckled out loud. Ty

I think one of the things I like so much about James Hoffmann is that he fully understands he's making something that people drink and that some people take entirely too seriously. And while he's sometimes a big nerd about it, he's also very self aware that the vast majority of people couldn't care less.

He's also very aware of Hames Joffmann and has commented on how he thinks they are brilliant.

 

[binoclard]

I'm a fan of the moka pot, I typically make Capuchinos and Americanos with it. I typically add a small amount of sugar to off set the bitterness. It produces coffee that is between a drip and espresso.

Amen. Over the years I went from Nespresso pods, to an automatic bean to cup Jura machine, made a detour with French pots that I quite liked, then a Chemex… but my current preferred method of satisfying my caffeine addiction is definitely the moka pot.

I do a ton of camping, so I went with a classic Bialetti, and supermarket bought pre-grinded beans. Splendid on the fire, and kilometres away from the instant soluble powder.

I then bought a nice little 3 cups Alessi 9090 for home, a decent hand grinder, and… wow. Medium dark roast, super fine grind, a tiny bit of good honey (really, game changer for me), and diluted 1:1 to 1:3 Americano style to fill a mug. Perfection.

 

[Darson]

My grinder arrived yesterday so this morning I gave it a go. 20g Hulia Columbia light roast to 250ml water, half pour over and half steeped for 90 seconds. Took me longer to grind the coffee by hand than the water to boil.

Anyway, I didn’t enjoy it. Very burnt tasting overall. My wife says I made it too strong - maybe I should try 10g tomorrow. And it stayed with me all day - a not so unpleasant aftertaste was there until I had 4 beers at a local brewery’s Octoberfest opening from about 5pm.

Right now I’m glad I got a manual grinder and didn’t drop the $300 on a electric one. Can’t see this going on much longer unless the taste improves significantly.

 

[Machine]

I would suggest hitting up a coffee place close to you, order a latte, a Capaccino, and an Americano. Don't be afraid to have them put in 1 sugar.

See if you care for any of them, if so we can give you the budget version of the hardware and walk you though the process. These drinks are made with espresso and milk / water.

They also often sell the liquid flavors, and you can get OEM flavors as well from other brands

 

[CraigT78]

I think the pour over tutorials go full unnecessary hipster

Fill it up. Let it drain fill it up again. Sure, move the kettle around so it hits more grounds.

That’s it.

Use good, fresh ground coffee in the right measurement ( 37grams for me or 2 aeropress size scoops)
And you can’t go wrong

This.

I've done both ways. I can't tell a difference. Fill er up and let her drip.

 

[MichaelBubly]

Been looking at my pourover brewer for over a year and never actually tried it until this thread reminded me espresso isn't the be all end all.

After some trial and error and fine tuning I'm getting somewhere.

 

[DZPoker]

Grow a set…….and drink tea????

 

[NVFlip]

Aeropress. The secret is to not burn your coffee. Measure your water and make sure it's no hotter than 198°F.

 

[bergs]

I've been using a Clever Dripper for quite a while - it's my daily driver for coffee at home. I didn't even know that Hario had come out with an immersion mod for the V60.

Here's my baseline - you'll want to tweak to your taste:

• Use a coarse grind. Find the coarsest setting your grinder will support while still giving you consistency.
• Coffee/water ratio of about 1:15. I generally use 500mL water to 32-33g coffee (max capacity for my Clever Dripper, I like a big cup)
• Water temp: 200-205°F for light/med roast. I'd go lower for darker roasts, maybe 190-195°F, or it will end up too bitter.
• Immersion time: 2.5 minutes

Also a few notes on technique:

• Boil extra water for rinsing your filter and pre-heating your cup.
• When your water is ready, rinse the filter and dump it out first. This helps increase yield and gets rid of any off flavor your filters might have.
• I use a scale to weigh my water and coffee as it goes into the brewer. You can eyeball if you want, but the scale helps me with consistency.
• Don't put the coffee in first. Add about 100mL of water, then coffee, then the rest of the water. This helps keep my filters from getting clogged by fines and speeds up the drain time a lot (like 30-45 seconds faster).
• After adding the coffee, pour the remaining water in a circular motion to try to wet down and "sink" all the coffee grounds. A gooseneck kettle helps with this. If your coffee is really fresh and starts blooming (off-gassing CO2), be careful that you don't overflow the brewer.
• Pour the rest of the water from your kettle into your cup to pre-heat it. This helps keep your coffee hot longer.
• About a minute into the brew time, I will give everything a quick stir. This gets the grounds off the sides of the filter and helps them start settling into the bed of grounds that you want to drain through.
• At the end of immersion time, dump your pre-heat water and drain into your cup. Enjoy!

You can (and should!) experiment with grind size, water temperature, immersion time, and ratios to tune the taste to your liking.

I’m interested in this. Can you share the project plan you use to manage this method, or is there a 500 page tutorial or a series of podcasts I can listen to in order to get walked through it.

Me: (8am) “Honey, I’m making coffee the Schmendrick way, you want a cup?”
Me: (done, it’s 3:34p) “Do you want sugar and milk with that?”

 

[springbox]

Used to go Moka pot, now I make cold brew. It's just nice to have a bunch of coffee on hand without having to make it each morning. Only pain is that you want really coarsely ground coffee for cold brew, and a cheap home grinder or preground coffee is way too fine. You can buy a nice conical burr grinder, or do what I do and use the grinder they have at the grocery store on the coarsest setting.

I actually heat up my cold brew before I drink it haha.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I’m interested in this. Can you share the project plan you use to manage this method, or is there a 500 page tutorial or a series of podcasts I can listen to in order to get walked through it.

Me: (8am) “Honey, I’m making coffee the Schmendrick way, you want a cup?”
Me: (done, it’s 3:34p) “Do you want sugar and milk with that?”

@Tommy, we really REALLY need a "flip @bergs off" emoji added to the like options.

Also, I'm not allowed to share it legally. You have to buy your own copy.
https://www.iso.org/standard/44609.html