by "Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
Published 12/11/2017 at 13:08
by "Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
Published 12/11/2017 at 13:08
Tags: Coffee
STARS: 3
(...and that was redundant.) Xmas is upon the household. Our faithful Mr. coffee continues to burble our morning bean sauce like a Ford 300 straight six; nothing special, just never ever quits. But after looking at the grind & brew style of makers, and rejecting the maintenance, does getting pretentious with a newer drip style maker make sense? I do want good coffee.
I’m referencing this article that seems to go about testing just right to find the best coffee maker . However, I’m not seeing it compare all their higher end equipment to a standard Mr. Coffee style “drip” maker as a baseline zero to see just how much better these wunderbrewers are over what the 90% actually uses in their kitchens. I can get over how they test because no matter how close they approach the snobbery gates of jamocha island, they are very much running a rather controlled experiment and in fact, I found their words to be a pleasing result of matter-of-fact: Do you want a good tasting cup of coffee or not? Let’s dig into past research and do more to get you one.
In short, it appears the keys to freakin’ good coffee really is a consistent grind particle size and how the water is poured. All I knew before was that in the early 70's, Mr. Coffee figured out a way to pour somewhat consistent 200 deg. water (what you want) on your filter of coffee and make it an automatic process. I guess these more money makers can pour water better for a $100 upcharge.
Will I notice the difference? If I ground my own beans with a burr style/conical grinder (blade style is supposedly bad kung-fu and fucks it up) to get that consistent particle, would it be wasted on my Ford 300 brewer? How much nicer would going all in on nicer things get me to nicer coffee? Worth it? A leather Camry can easily check the boxes any Cadillac could. I’m no snob. I need not the cachet.
I can’t taste anything sharper than 6-year cheddar. Wine must have solid flavor, not be a sweet-ass kool-aid and be dry...I can very much tell dry. So I’m that driver that can be top 5 but never win. I can taste the difference between a good steak and a great steak but can’t tell you anything about what was used to cook it.
Anyone here reached out for a finer thing like this and just went back to acceptance of Mr. Coffee’s honesty? Sometimes it’s just easier to get along with an uncomplicated roommate that doesn’t take a half hour to take a shower , and accept his questionable taste.
"jimz" (jimz)
12/11/2017 at 13:10, STARS: 1
my coffee maker must have a full-color display
"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
12/11/2017 at 13:12, STARS: 0
You just need a decent quality French press. After years of dicking around with coffeemakers, that’s the decision I’ve come to ... unless you’ve got 12 grand lying around:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
12/11/2017 at 13:13, STARS: 0
The best coffee I’ve ever made myself has been in a french press. You can also make cold brew in it for extra hipster points.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
12/11/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 0
Given the shortage, I figured most line pilots would be eating handfuls of coffee beans.
"Sovande" (sovande)
12/11/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 1
Get an AeroPress and use whatever grind you want (fine with a blade grinder works well) and enjoy some really good tasting coffee. Takes no skill, coffee is done about 90 seconds after the water in your kettle boils and clean up takes about 11 seconds depending on how far your trashcan is from your sink.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
12/11/2017 at 13:15, STARS: 0
We got a french press and that’s nice unless we need six mugs of the stuff one night. It requires dedicated clean up after each use. Sometimes its not the option. But, it’s nice.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
12/11/2017 at 13:17, STARS: 0
The shortage has only hit the regionals hard so far. Mainline shortage comes in another 5 years. It doesn’t make us work any harder. But we’re already primary consumers.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
12/11/2017 at 13:20, STARS: 2
Oh, so it’s like that?
If you want to improve your Mr. Coffee experience I’d just get a grinder and grind the beans right before brewing. Also you’ll want to brew an empty pot every once in awhile and maybe a pot with some vinegar to clean out the minerals left by brewings passed.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
12/11/2017 at 13:20, STARS: 0
Just get one of the AA pilots to buy you a nice machine with all that extra holiday pay.
"vicali" (vicali)
12/11/2017 at 13:20, STARS: 0
I’m the only coffee drinker in the house. We have a drip-dripper for when our parents come and want to drink foldgers all day long.
I used to just french press a single cup and it was good. Last summer I got an Aeropress and it is much much better.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
12/11/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 0
No kidding! They got the deal this year.
"TorqueToYield" (torquetoyield)
12/11/2017 at 13:24, STARS: 1
Just cleaning my (admittedly a drip Mr. Coffee) filter and stuff that touches the coffee with soap and water and scrubbing makes a noticeable difference in flavor.
"Cash Rewards" (cashrewards)
12/11/2017 at 13:24, STARS: 1
The thing that matters most (in addition to grind) is the beans. Are you buying beans within a week or two (month at Max) of when they were roasted? If not, you might not notice a difference. If so, those differences will be more apparent. If you’re getting Dunkin donuts or Starbucks French roast or something like that, I might say stick with what you got. Dropping money on Counter Culture or Intelligencia? Get a decent coffee maker and grinder or you’re wasting money on beans.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
12/11/2017 at 13:25, STARS: 0
Yeah city water can leave a lot of residue in a coffee maker.
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
12/11/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 0
eh.... if it aint broke dont replace it is what i would go with... (but i actually like cheap freeze dried instant coffee... so my opinion likely doesnt count here)
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
12/11/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 1
It counts. Pragmatism very much counts.
"random001" (random001)
12/11/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 0
First of all, you want a consistent 190 degrees for your water. Second, the consistency of the grind takes third place to the quality of the water.
I admit that coffee, and the brewing of said delicacy, is a hobby of mine. One my wife doesn’t agree with when it comes to the amount of coffee aparati I have infused the house with...
"Nibbles" (nibbles)
12/11/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 0
I switched from drip to French press and never looked back. Drip provides a consistently drinkable cuppa, but French press is magical comparatively.
After breaking glass press after glass press we picked up a stainless unit for like 20 bucks on Amazon. Even has a French brand name. Combined with my burr grinder (or burr ground from Boyers right down the street) I always have excellent coffee on hand.
"Roadster Man" (roadsterman)
12/11/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 0
I’m gonna sound like a hipster but back when I drank coffee I experimented with lots of different coffee makers. I swear that a simple Chemex made the best cup.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
12/11/2017 at 13:47, STARS: 0
We use the Chemex for drip coffee, otherwise its french press for 2-3 cups or espresso from my Gaggia. I am generally not a fan of drip coffee from a machine.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
12/11/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 0
I have a cheap Krups burr grinder and a slightly different Bed Bath & Beyond-exclusive Bonavita model that has a glass pitcher instead of a thermal carafe.
We got a Capresso machine from our BBB wedding registry that my wife and/or sister-in-law managed to kill, but it wasn’t in stock locally when I brought it in to exchange so I took credit towards the Bonavita.
The combination does brew a damn good cup of coffee. Your link calls out its lack of automatic features but I don’t need automatic features. I wake up, I grind the coffee, fill the machine, and press the button. Easy.
I picked my particular grinder because I have a tiny kitchen and wanted something that takes up minimal counter space. It’s ok but if you have more room I’d probably pick some other grinder. It has a small hopper at the top for beans, and the little bin that catches the ground is static-y plastic.
Just make sure to stay the hell away from those godawful reusable gold mesh filters and use paper filters. Those things are terrible and an easy way to make your fancy coffee machine brew shitty coffee. My wife tried to get me to use one because it would cut down on paper usage but the coffee from it was awful. It lets too much shit past the filter. We use these hippie friendly paper ones .
I bring a tumbler of coffee from home to work with me. I’ll still drink the stuff from work if I need a refill but it’s pre-ground Starbucks stuff through a traditional commercial-style drip machine and it’s not as good.
"Mid Engine" (jdlogan2006)
12/11/2017 at 13:50, STARS: 1
We use a handheld steamer to clean the innards, and every so often I soak the stainless steel carafe with Oxy. Magic.
I have a very nice grinder and grind fresh every day, makes a world of difference. I use a gold colored permanent filter and a paper filter in my basket style coffee maker.
Anyone have experience with the OXO coffee maker? Curious to see how/why the $200 price is justified.
"JustAnotherG6" (bcabrington)
12/11/2017 at 13:55, STARS: 0
My only complaint about the aeropress is that it isn’t enough to fill a 16 oz. travel mug...
"lone_liberal" (token-liberal)
12/11/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
We have a Cuisinart grind and brew style and it works pretty well. Sometimes with coffee that has smaller beans it grinds too much but overall it makes pretty good joe. I’m not sure if it would be worth it to switch if the Mr. C is still doing a good enough job, though.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
12/11/2017 at 14:16, STARS: 2
Build an aeropress out of a 4-inch pipe.
"vicali" (vicali)
12/11/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0
Dual Aeropress?
"Joel Ness" (joelness)
12/11/2017 at 15:36, STARS: 0
Put your money into the key variables that make a good cup. Time, temperature, grind quantity/quality and cleanliness. I have a setup that has worked great for the last 5 years:
Temperature controlled electric tea kettle
Bodum bistro bur grinder
Aeropress
And a fine metal mesh disk
Makes the best coffee on a budget and you can customize just about anything you want to get the desired effect. Personally I grind up a shit ton of beans and make what’s essentially a quad shot every morning.
"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
12/11/2017 at 16:21, STARS: 0
You Americans do coffee...differently.
We do our coffee with a $200 espresso machine...
and a $300 grinder.
The latter is far more important than the former.
Filter coffee died in Oz in the 90's.
"dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter" (dsigned001)
12/11/2017 at 17:54, STARS: 0
Dang, coffee with Jesus usually isn’t that dark