[Jozz]

What would be the better way to brew a good coffee at home.

We've been using a Bodum for the past few years, but since its broken might as well seek alternative. Also, the Bodum as a tendency to let small particals pass through its filter.

So what are you using at home?

Stove percolator?
Electric percolator?
Regular paper filter coffee machine?

I gather that an Expresso machine would be the best, but our budget is limited.

Suggestions?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

I have a few stovetop espresso makers and could send you one...

J

 

[stosh]

Jozz, posting this in the beer and food forum may give you better results.

Personally having an average warm cup of coffee that isn't old makes me a happy man, I need nothing more!!

 

[vtjim]

We have this one. Makes GREAT coffee.

 

[Jeremy R]

I have a few stovetop espresso makers and could send you one...

J

Do those things make good espresso?
My Saeco machine crapped the bed from overuse, and now I just use a french press for everything, but I miss good straight up espresso.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

They work just fine if you keep them clean. Gaskets need to be replaced occasionally in any espresso maker.

To the original question, we drink filtered coffee five days a week and espresso on weekends. Can't stand percolated coffee.

 

[Silver]

The most important thing is fresh beans. The best espresso maker in the world is going to make **** espresso if the beans are bad or were roasted too long ago (what's too long? It depends...most people would love the way 3 week old coffee tastes...for me it's about 10 days.)

If you've got your bean suppy sorted out, and you're on a budget, French Press is the way to go. Just don't drink the sludge in the bottom of the cup.

 

[golgiaparatus]

French press... but you already have the cream of the crop. Go buy another one.

I have a bodum and the top of the line paper filter machine... if I put coffee in it and water and set it, it will brew my coffee at 6:50, then when I wake up at 7:00 I can drink coffee as I get ready. It rules... but not as good as the bodum on flavor.

 

[bluebug32]

I have a few stovetop espresso makers and could send you one...

J

We had one of those that someone gave us and it ended up exploding on its first use and shooting the metal top into the ceiling. The entire kitchen also had to be repainted because there were brown splatters EVERYWHERE!

 

[Westy]

I can't recommend anything good but will say that percolators are supposed to make the worse cup's around. Reaheating the brew makes it turn nasty.

 

[N8 v2.0]

We have this one. Makes GREAT coffee.

We just picked one of these in black:

http://www.1stincoffee.com/detail.asp?Product_ID=DGB-500

 

[bluebug32]

I can't recommend anything good but will say that percolators are supposed to make the worse cup's around. Reaheating the brew makes it turn nasty.

They definately do. Does anyone under 80 actually own one of these???

 

[spincrazy]

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2280.html

Most important: use good coffee. use good water. The article says to use boiling water, I disagree on that one as it can scorch the beans, but less than boiling or nearly you have to drink it right away or it's cold.

 

[MMike]

I dunno...I'd stick with french press.....(I have one at work) The crap they sell here is undrinkable.

 

[golgiaparatus]

I dunno...I'd stick with french press.....(I have one at work) The crap they sell here is undrinkable.

I feel you... I have the Bodum press mug at work... they have one of those industrial 3 burner/3 pot coffee makers at the office with Maxwell House in bulk... it is fawnkay! I cant drink it. Tastes sour and stale, always.

 

[golgiaparatus]

We just picked one of these in black[/IMG]

Looks similar to ours... sort of. Programable and sh!t right?

 

[Jozz]

Thanks for all the info.

When I got home, the little lady had already purchased a replacement French press.

As far as beans, we buy freshly ground (fair trade) beans in small quantity (2 weeks). But I heard it is even better to have your own grinder to have the best coffee experience... any truth to that?

 

[Jeremy R]

Thanks for all the info.

When I got home, the little lady had already purchased a replacement French press.

As far as beans, we buy freshly ground (fair trade) beans in small quantity (2 weeks). But I heard it is even better to have your own grinder to have the best coffee experience... any truth to that?

Yes, get a burr grinder that is adjustable. For coffee in a french press, you want it coarse, and that will keep the grounds from getting through.
Its the only scanario I know of where coarse grinding is a good thing.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

At camp we use pre-ground, at the house we grind our own. I can't tell the difference. At some point all the fussiness turns into the art of unscrewing the inscrutable.

 

[OGRipper]

I hate the sound of a coffee grinder before I've had my coffee.

I get it ground at the time of purchase. I go through about a pound a week. In that short time the flavor loss is not so bad, and not enough for me to deal with the extra steps, cleaning, and noise first thing in the AM.

But yeah course grinding is key with a press.

 

[BikeMike]

As far as beans, we buy freshly ground (fair trade) beans in small quantity (2 weeks). But I heard it is even better to have your own grinder to have the best coffee experience... any truth to that?

According to a guest lecturer in my sister's bio class a Berkeley, the grinder makes all the difference. This guy was apparently quite passionate about coffee. His take was that people who spend big money on a fancy machine are throwing their money away if they don't also have a nice grinder. You get better coffee from an expensive grinder and mediocre coffee machine than you do from a fancy machine and a poor grinder. And a good grinder is one that gives you a very consistent particle size.

I still don't own a grinder and I'm happy drinking espresso made from roasts that don't taste burnt.