Good Coffee & Good Inexpensive Machines?

[mingc]

The problem is not so much budget, but the Mrs. is not a connoisseur, or for that matter, someone with an acute palate, who appreciates higher quality. Star Bucks is unfortunately quality to her LOL

I have some training to do on the Mrs. to bring her up, but, some people just can’t appreciate or tell the differences either, so it’s also, I believe, better to start at the bottom and work up.

Hell, I’m going to go for a Bratza Encore, that is already an extreme step up around here! LOL

I think for a Star Buck Consumer a $300 Dripper might be overkill at this point. LOL

@onestrangeone I’m thinking to go the Encore and Chemex route for now and show her this way instead.

@woodsroad thanks for all the pics!

I’ve always had a good knack for figuring out what I don’t know.

Since making this post it took me a little over 3 hours to make up my mind, and with all the great information, I think I have some good stuff now.

Bought all these...

Dark Matter Santaclause

Santanaclaus (December 2023 Limited Blend)

Shop Santanclaus, the December limited Monthly coffee blend. Notes: fudge, cinnamon sticks, pistachio.

www.darkmattercoffee.com

Baratza Encore

Baratza | Encore™

The Baratza Encore™ is the top barista-recommended grinder to elevate your filter brew journey. From simple "set it and forget it" brews to precision-dialed pour overs, the Encore™ is your first step to a perfect sip.

www.baratza.com

Chemex Pour Over 10 Cup

Amazon.com

Chemex Bonded Filter Circle

Amazon.com

This is for my wife’s birthday 12/31...

THANKS guys, for all the info/input, you’re awesome!

I hope you all have a great Holiday and New Year!

You have a working wife I see. And all this for her birthday! Is her nickname "Lucky"?

 

[PipeIT]

You have a working wife I see. And all this for her birthday! Is her nickname "Lucky"?

LOL

Well, I want to get into it too, all the manual geeky stuff is about me, but hopefully in time the wife will enjoy doing French Press and Pour Over.

 

[Sigmund]

@jpmcwjr i did it like that becaues if you quote from somewhere legit people these days tell you its not legit because it doesnt say what they wanted it to say.

There is a whole page of different discourse. If someone is interested they can pick the choice they trust

If it was an isolated instance I would cite it. Last time I cited the national institute of health. It wasnt good enough. Im not interested in an argument.

 

[PipeIT]

@didimauw We have a Bodum French Press, I really recommend getting one of theirs if you haven’t tried them.



The quality on this thing is amazing, I can’t believe how inexpensive they are.

Bodum 1928-16US4 Chambord French Press Coffee Maker, 1 Liter, 34 Ounce, Chrome, here on Amazon;

Amazon.com

@Sigmund I’m going test putting the grinds inside a filter, and then pressing down on the filter and this method;

 

[Sigmund]

As I said. My motivation is that press coffee started to give me a lot of indigestion. That was my motivation and I found it has helped a significant amount. I think eating all the cheese in france is way worse than coffee.

 

[PipeIT]

As I said. My motivation is that press coffee started to give me a lot of indigestion. That was my motivation and I found it has helped a significant amount. I think eating all the cheese in france is way worse than coffee.

I sailed through the pacific for a few years with my father, sailed around 6000 nautical miles.

We sailed and stayed at New Caledonia for a few months. I loved it, it’s as close to France that I’ve ever come.

New Caledonia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

It was nuts, everywhere we went were pictures of American flags, on people wearing tshirts, patches on jackets, cars with flag emblems, motorcycle helmets with flag stickers, etc...

At the main/central bus stop in Noumea, spray painted on a wall in huge letters; Viva La USA.

I even saw on Citron truck, the entire thing painted like the flag too.

Everywhere we went walking, the locals would stop and grab our hands and ask if we were American, it was a very humbling experience.

The locals treated us like Royalty, I’ll never forget staying at New Caledonia, it was amazing. ❤

Viva La France!

 

[ssjones]

I know a lot of people who swear by Black Rifle Coffee Co. I think it’s owned and run by Vets?

My daughter, the coffee aficionado in the family is a fan. (her business venture is titled "Plays Well With Coffee")

 

[woodsroad]

Sigh. It really is a rabbit hole. I was in the same position as the OP about 3 years ago, and here I am with a Technivorm (with tweaks), Fellow Ode grinder, Timemore scale, and the coffee is only marginally better than when I had a Mr. Coffee and a blade grinder. Oh, and now things are too complex for my wife to make coffee. Sigh.

Unfortunately the biggest problem with most all reasonably priced drip machines is that they are all planned obsolescence chinesium junk in the end. As far as I know, only the overpriced Technivorm machines are repairable, but they are all flawed with poorly designed shower heads that don't evenly wet the grinds. So you are then either babysitting the machine with a spoon to mix the grinds or buying other dohickies to rectify the issue.

A base unit Mr. Coffee with preground Gevalia isn't that bad, if you are okay with a bit of stale coffee taste. It's simple, and it works good enough. FYI, the consistency of a Gevalia grind can only be achieved with industrial ball mills (or something like that). You cannot fit one of those in your house, I don't think, and nothing on the commercial market can match them for grind consistency. It's why Illy and Lavazza coffee is so good also for coming preground.

Actually, it’s a roller mill, then the ground coffee is then run through classifying screens.

 

[WhiteCrown]

It's "not done" to reply "google it" when asked to back up one's statement.

I simply don't believe that a press pot pulls out more bad cholesterol than drip, pour over, etc.

It's up to you to back up your statement.

I agree with you, but it's a bit of a rabbit hole. I researched it years ago and I had to go way deeper into it scientifically than I wanted to in order to achieve anything convincing for myself. To explain it to a convincing manner is probably far too many words than should be in a forum post. Simply, it's bad oils that paper coffee filters usually trap... No paper filters in French press. The rest is doctor-speak. And it's kind theory based iirc.

 

[romaso]

I'd suggest one of these, double wall and indestructible:

 

[didimauw]

@didimauw We have a Bodum French Press, I really recommend getting one of theirs if you haven’t tried them.

View attachment 271701

The quality on this thing is amazing, I can’t believe how inexpensive they are.

Bodum 1928-16US4 Chambord French Press Coffee Maker, 1 Liter, 34 Ounce, Chrome, here on Amazon;

Amazon.com

@Sigmund I’m going test putting the grinds inside a filter, and then pressing down on the filter and this method;

The 2 that I owned before mine now, were bodum, similar to that one. Maybe not as tough as yours, as I had 2 crack and leak lol

 

[PipeIT]

I agree with you, but it's a bit of a rabbit hole. I researched it years ago and I had to go way deeper into it scientifically than I wanted to in order to achieve anything convincing for myself. To explain it to a convincing manner is probably far too many words than should be in a forum post. Simply, it's bad oils that paper coffee filters usually trap... No paper filters in French press. The rest is doctor-speak. And it's kind theory based iirc.

I want to do French Press with a filter, I do consider the health issues, but I also watched some videos, when using a filter produced nice results too.

Has anyone here tested using a French Press with filters, and how it worked out?

It doesn’t seem like using a filter with a French Press is bad, just different, allowing to create different results.

 

[PipeIT]

@romaso I like to do everything glass and ceramic, I’m a bit of a purist. It is a sleek looking press...

@didimauw Oh, sad to hear, this was a gift, and the only first French Press I’ve owned. I’m sure it’s like anything, some good, some bad. I’m certainly no French Press expert, I just assumed Bodum is a good brand.

I also keep the glass beaker in the cage when cleaning, but might remove it every few months to clean it better. As I mentioned before, this one I have is very nice quality.

Hmm is #3 the lucky charm for you? LOL

 

[cshubhra]

Since this thread has derailed a bit already, let me derail a bit further with a funny Starbucks story.

A couple of years ago, we were visiting Washington DC. First thing in the morning I went out for a smoke and coffee. It was still dark and the Starbucks was completely deserted, save a single employee.

After I placed my order he asked for my name. I asked, since he and I are the only two people in the shop, why does he need my name?

He was completely flummoxed . No one has possibly asked this question before. I was also amused and wanted to see what he would do next.

After a minute of awkward silence, he had a brainwave. He beamed brightly : “I will put you as Red Coat”.

From that day in certain establishments I am also known as Red Coat

 

[PipeIT]

Ooops didn’t mean to derail....

Getting back to the hardware/arsenal I forgot I needed a few more goodies for Pour Over that I wanted.

First I wanted to add on a Goose Neck Kettle, and since I have a Bodum French Press, and Bodum has what appear to be decent inexpensive Kettles I bought the Bodum Melior.

Bodum Melior Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle

Amazon.com

Next I spent several hours checking out various scales and reviews. But ultimately I stopped and said, look for those that have better warranties. I assumed if a company was going to have a longer warranty they should be better products, but at least you can still get replacements, fixes, etc., for much longer.

So I went with the Greater Goods Digital Scale that has a 5 year warranty.

Amazon.com

Next, I spent quite some time digging around for thermometers, and eventually I drew the same conclusion, look for the better warranty and came up with CDN, with a 5 year warranty on these analog thermometers, and bought two different ones to experiment, given the low costs, and slightly different dials and sizes.

CDN ProAccurate - 6.5”

Amazon.com

CDN ProAccurate - magnified dial 5”

Amazon.com

I hope others interested in starting out, will find the products I’ve purchased good value. I believe for the price, they’re hard to beat, and do represent possibly the best bang for buck, other than maybe the Baratza Encore, which is a tad pricey, but good grinds are essential.

Once we get the goodies, I’ll post a Manual Hands On Coffee Brewing post, going over how all these items are working out, and for others to post and share their toys and brew methods too.

Stayed tuned for JavaIT with PipeIT! LOL

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Peter Peachfuzz]

Link to retail site:

Stauf's Coffee Roasters - https://www.staufs.com/

 

[jpmcwjr]

I don't think one can beat Peet's for quality.

LINK to site.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The link goes to a specific bean I was going to buy, so just click on the menu bar for full selections.

 

[sham]

speaking of coffee gadgets, how good are these metal double walled french presses at being 'on-the-go'? I enjoy coffee but don't have a refined pallet, I mostly use kcups because they are free at my work place, I will grind & drip or pourover at home when I have time. I'd like to get off the kcups because they taste so bad.

Will a french press allow me to grind & brew and then take the press to work? Do I have to worry about it tipping over in the passenger seat and ruining my morning?

 

[jpmcwjr]

speaking of coffee gadgets, how good are these metal double walled french presses at being 'on-the-go'? I enjoy coffee but don't have a refined pallet, I mostly use kcups because they are free at my work place, I will grind & drip or pourover at home when I have time. I'd like to get off the kcups because they taste so bad.

Will a french press allow me to grind & brew and then take the press to work? Do I have to worry about it tipping over in the passenger seat and ruining my morning?

If you make it at home, I'd use a well sealed thermos, and not take the press pot to work. (And yes, at some point it tips over and you have regrets.....)

Also,
Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why: It will save time for others as to where you live when you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts, and for you in not having to reply to inquiries. .
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. province, etc.