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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

A Reader Question for the Community: Coffee and coffee makers

 

A Reader Question for the Community: 

I know we have talked about tea, but what are thoughts on coffee?  Are there better coffee makers that are worth it?  Any tips on making coffee?  Beans? Ground?  What are the best coffee brands?  Thank you for any suggestions. 

Happy to holidays to my fellow SWNEers! 

 

 

31 comments:

  1. A Bodum French Press! We use one daily. Buy and grind your own beans with a Krupp, Braun, Bodum, or similar grinder. Dark roasts are more full bodied and flavorful. Keep the beans in the freezer until you are ready to grind. Do all of this to taste, of course, but I like three level or slightly rounded scoops of coffee, fill a medium-sized French Press to the bottom of the silver strip at the top of the carafe with boiling water, and let steep for a couple of minutes. The aroma alone will keep you going until the fresh coffee is in your cup or mug. Ahhhh. . .

    Best Regards and Happy Thanksgiving,


    Heinz-Ulrich

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  2. While I agree completely on how wonderful a dark roast pot of French press is, if you have issues with LDL or triglycerides, you ought to ask the Google for the technical details, but things that mess with those levels are not filtered out by the metal screen in a press but they are filtered by paper. If you want a paper filtered cup, I am quite happy with my insulated carafe Bonavita. Dark roasts tend to be less acidic and slightly lower in caffeine. If you prefer the espresso route, I have an Elektra lever espresso maker that is over fifty years old and makes wonderful shots using a Baratza Sette 270 grinder. The Elektra is very easy to use and quite reliable. They pop up on eBay. The new ones are lovely, too, but cost too much for me.

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  3. Just like others here, we do French press in a Bodum — actually two Bodums ((Boda?), one for me, one for my wife.

    I take mine black with no sugar, while she makes a coffee + milk + sugar foo-foo drink.

    Thus the doubled Boda, which simplify life in the ayem, a time of day when one is severely under-caffeinated. Those who have been there will understand.

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  4. I have been drinking Cafe du Mond coffee daily for more than 10 years. I make it in a percolator (from Amazon). Love the richness of the coffee and a percolator, to me, is the only way to go.

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  5. For a single pot, nothing beats the AeroPress. It uses a paper filter, which addresses the LDL/Triglycerides. If the AeroPress is too complex for you, go with a Melitta pour-over paper filter holder. They come in several sizes, so you can make either a single cup or a pot. If you're into the mid-century/Scandinavian look, go with the Chemex 8-cup coffee makers, which also uses a paper filter. (Chemex is actually based in Western Massachusetts). As for coffee, go with arabica rather than robusta beans (whether you buy them whole or ground). As for which variety of coffee, that's a matter of personal taste (and your budget). I like Columbian, but I'm not fanatic about where my coffee was grown.

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  6. Panama Geisha coffee from Finca Sophia, our friends’ farm in the Chiriqui’s highlands, near Nueva Suiza. Only $1,300 a pound at the September 2020 Best of Panama auction.

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    Replies
    1. Well played. Literal LOL

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    2. My gracious! I now feel positively frugal and abstemious with my love of Grizzly Roast from Texas Coffee Traders at only $18 per pound!

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  7. The Mister and I prefer whole bean, smooth dark roast (Starbucks, French Roast, local coffee shop blends, real Hawaiian Kona is a treat but rather pricey for daily consumption). I grind a few days worth and store it in an airtight tin. Our KitchenAid 12-cup model brews beautifully and the programmable feature is a must for the work week. When we were able to host a house full of guests, the carafe was generous and easy to use. Natural bamboo filters from Melitta are great and do not impart any taste or impurities. Another option is a ceramic pour-over: a convenient method when I want to brew one cup (superb with the addition of cinnamon and orange zest in the grinds). Lastly, our Nespresso brews a quick and easy cup that actually tastes good. Plus, the pods are completely recyclable.

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  8. I find French Press made coffee way too bitter and acidic. I am crazy for my Bunn coffee maker. I have noticed for years that the best coffee in restaurants is made in a Bunn and now I am glad Bunn makes coffee brewers for home use. IMHO it's the best coffee of all and you don't run the risk of pouring boiling water all over your hands as I once did with a Melitta filter.

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  9. Still using the vintage perculator my parents bought from L.L.Bean back in the 50's! It never fails! Thanks so very much!

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  10. Anything but Keurig

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    1. There are reusable cups for Keurig. Combine one of those with a paper filter insert (available at Walmart, on aliexpress.com, and likely elsewhere) made for those cups, and you have the convenience of a Keurig with proper filtering yet without the hideous waste of the disposable and costly K-cups.

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  11. We use a Bodum French Press and a Braun burr grinder and have for many years.

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  12. Peet’s dark French roast has been our one and only for several decades now. We use a Capresso maker that is quite old and still works beautifully.

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  13. Replies
    1. If you get one of those aerolatte frothers and froth heated milk, that plus a pour from the Bialetti will better most coffee house cafe lattes. About three minutes' work.

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  14. Our small Colorado mountain community is blessed with more coffee roasters, cafés, and kiosks per capita than almost anywhere on Earth - even more than craft breweries and distilleries. Coffee is more a part of life here than probably anywhere this side of Scandinavia.* With that, we usually buy ground coffee from these local artisan roasteries for home brewing because we can buy frequently enough for ground to stay fresh. For brewing, we have an arsenal of brewing systems. I usually use our simple Ninja drip coffeemaker which has several portion options (full- and half-carafe, travel mug, single cup, classic and robust, and over-ice settings, while my wife prefers cold-brewed and uses a Toddy system. We have owned Delonghi and Saeco coffee bars and espresso machines in the past but now we usually go out for espresso. We have a French press for small-batches. For backpacking and hiking we have a couple of self-contained French-press insulated mugs, a Lexan French press and a couple of other pour-over choices.

    Someone may have mentioned them and I overlooked it, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Bialetti Moka pot or Brikka.

    *When we owned our outdoor shop, The Trailhead, we sold two Trailhead Blends custom-produced for us by a local roastery: Alpine Start to rev you up for an early-morning hike, cross-country ski, or run, and Nordic Nights decaf for later in the day.

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  15. We use a coffee subscription to experiment with different beans. It's an affordable luxury, especially as our favorite coffee shop is now closed.

    A V60 with paper filters for brewing always.

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  16. We had bad luck with a couple of high end coffee makers, and believe it or not, the Mr Coffee we got from Target was the ticket! As for coffee itself - love, love, love Lavazza!

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  17. Spouse grinds Mayorga Cafe Cubano (a blend of Peruvian, Honduran and Nicaraguan beans), makes the coffee in a cuisinart machine. I primarily drink decaf and use a nespresso machine - one that uses the smaller/original capsules.

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  18. You can buy low-acid espresso off of amazon. It still gets the job done, while being forgiving on the stomach. A stove-top espresso pot or a French press is usually all you need for daily use. And neither have to cost an arm and a leg.

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    1. For low acid coffee we use: Better Health Lab Alkazone drops, at All Star Health dot com.
      It has always worked for us.

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  19. St lawrence Valley roasts wonderful coffee. If you like strong cup, try Death Wish. Buy the beans and a grinder. We love our Wolf coffeemaker.

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  20. I've being using Cafe Bustelo. It's a very dark roasted coffee aimed at the Cuban market. It's $3.00 for an 8 oz. brick at Aldi but don't be fooled by the low price, it's really excellent if you like dark blends.

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  21. We have a Bonavita coffee maker with a thermal carafe (essential if you are like me and somehow manage to break carafes like you are merrily and regularly christening ships except instead of a champagne bottle it’s a carafe and instead of a ship it’s your sink). We’ve had it for years and it has been great.

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  22. I use a Bunn coffee maker, which brews a full put in about 120 seconds. It is wonderful and I will not replace it until it gives out. Whole bean, always. I also like Zabar's Special Roast which I order once a month or so (2 lbs/month).

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  23. I like mild coffee, so my choice is the Toddy. Ground coffee soaks 12 hours, then is filtered into a glass carafe. It makes wonderful coffee concentrate. I use an electric teakettle to boil water; 2/3 cup coffee plus 1/3 boiled water. It also makes the best iced coffee in the summer.

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  24. I prefer richly flavored, smooth coffee—bold!—without an acidic bite, so a top-pour Chemex coffeemaker pleases me. Plus it’s wonderfully smart looking. The brand’s bonded filters are designed “to extract all the bitterness and sediments during the brewing process.” The handblown series, which does have a seam, retains heat longer, and is just a bit thicker and more handsome than the other Chemex options.

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  25. Folgers (Black Silk) using a generic stainless steel French press--no glass to break.

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