Coffeemaker Blues

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by Arthur Blake

I use Starbucks instant. You'd be surprised. It is very good, very quick and easy. Boil water. I microwave half and half in the bottom of the cup for 30 seconds, and empty the pouch over that, then add some boiling water, stir, add again. Doesn't take much longer than 30 seconds for the whole process.

Tried most varieties but prefer the Columbia.

Found some double walled glass mugs on Amazon that hold the heat longer.

I must be using the French Press wrong. It's a hassle to clean, and the coffee tasted terrible, like drip.

Get a metal wire strainer, fill the french Press with water, pour the coffee grounds into the strainer, put the grounds in the trash or your garden. Makes cleaning much easier.

If you’re using good beans and brewing it right, the coffee should be amazing. Coarse grind the coffee beans. Make sure they’re fresh. Put enough water to wet the grounds and let them bloom for 30 seconds, then fill the rest of the press. Wait 3 1/2-4 minutes, press and pour.

I get these amazing Ugandan beans from my corner coffee shop and I’m addicted!

[kathyson]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

I refuse to be a part of the pollution/k-cup problem...plus, my Technivorm MoccaMaster combined with home-roasted beans (Costa Rican, exclusively) makes the perfect cup of coffee...morning after morning after morning after...

You are my kind of guy. I use a Technivorm MoccaMaster as well along with a premium, slow burr grinder. I was roasting my own but found I was allergic to the smoke so I now have a friend roast for me. What most don't understand is that you have to have the proper water tempeature to brew a good cup. There are only a handful of drip makers that I know of, that are able to brew at the proper temp. The Technivorm is one, the Capresso MT600, the Bonavita BV1800SS and a couple of others. Using Purified water instead of tap water is another biggie. To the un-initiated, the difference in taste is dramatic. It's like a different beverage.

[Basalt Beach]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

If you’re using good beans and brewing it right, the coffee should be amazing. Coarse grind the coffee beans. Make sure they’re fresh. Put enough water to wet the grounds and let them bloom for 30 seconds, then fill the rest of the press. Wait 3 1/2-4 minutes, press and pour.

Kid, For out best results, after pouring in the boiling water, we always stir the water and grounds combination for between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then let it sit for a another 2 to to 2 1/2 minutes before pressing.

[PeteCady]

Originally Posted by imwjl

I'm in the Melitta #4 camp and enjoyed finding this in the paper.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/o...verlooked.html

For years we've travelled with a plastic cone and I recently learned Ortlieb makes a folding cone.

I'm here too. Fresh ground beans, using the plastic cone and filter. The resulting coffee is totally above and beyond any produced by any other method.

That being said, I'm prepared to use the Keurig if I'm someplace where there is wrong. The result isn't BAD. It's just not the same.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by Basalt Beach

Kid, For out best results, after pouring in the boiling water, we always stir the water and grounds combination for between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then let it sit for a another 2 to to 2 1/2 minutes before pressing.

I’ll try that today!

[HHP]

The one thing about the Keurig I had to fool with is the My K-Cup to use ground coffee. It a 3 piece assembly and the filter basket is a small diameter. Getting coffee in without spilling it is about impossible. Got a tiny funnel and some tapered measuring spoons at Walmart.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by HHP

The one thing about the Keurig I had to fool with is the My K-Cup to use ground coffee. It a 3 piece assembly and the filter basket is a small diameter. Getting coffee in without spilling it is about impossible. Got a tiny funnel and some tapered measuring spoons at Walmart.

I use those things all the time. I just hold the basket over the coffee container and fill it using a spoon or a coffee scoop. I then scrape the excess back into the coffee container and that's that.

[Chicago Sandy]

The My K-Cup can get very messy--there's another brand that is solid (not mesh) with a removable snap cap. It takes paper filters (that's their cash cow) but it works better because you can grind a little finer and lower the risk of grounds leaking into the machine. When I do use it, I empty the grounds (confined to the paper liner) into the compost pail. (As I do with the "pucks" from my espresso machine & the grounds from the Aeropress, when I am using actual coffee instead of K-Cups or Nespresso capsules--the latter of which you take back to the store for recycling and get a free drink in return).

But most large Keurig machines with tanks & readout screens don't last long--you can get 3, maybe 4 years out of one before it starts short-cupping and no amount of descaling it and cleaning its needles will resurrect it. But the travel, hotel-room or dorm-size ones you have to fill for each cup will probably outlive you. Our son took ours to his new apt.--by then we'd had it for 12 years. He had no desire for a new one.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by HHP

Used the My K-Cup I bought with the unit yesterday. Very strong, flavorful cup using very little ground coffee. Its a pretty overengineered piece as it is 3 parts but it works very well.

My K-Cup ... is that a k-cup where you add your own coffee?

[Fogducker]

Coffee results from fresh ground coffee beans steeped in hot water! One can get as complicate as you wish";

1. Coffee beans are grown all around the globe (Second most traded commodity in the world) so LOTS of discussion there, country, drying method, free trade/picking considerations, elevation--- ad infinitum.

2. Grinder type, abrasive (preferred) blade, how long ago.

3. Roast time and resulting "doneness" 1st crack, second crack, city, French roast etc.

4. Apparatus, "cowboy/camp/steam-boat" crushed and thrown in pot of hot water, percolator, (This really sucks because the water is too hot and no-one knows how long it's been perking), drip, elec. drip--"Mr Coffee), French press (My favorite), Aeropress, K-Cup and I'm sure I've left out a couple.

As you can see, this allows plenty to discuss. I read them all as I enjoy my Sunday morning brew.

Fog

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

My K-Cup ... is that a k-cup where you add your own coffee?

Yes, its an adapter with a removable filter. I am adding 3-4 Tsp. of ground to get the strength I like. Cost about what 1 box of K-cups run.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Fogducker

Coffee results from fresh ground coffee beans steeped in hot water! One can get as complicate as you wish";

1. Coffee beans are grown all around the globe (Second most traded commodity in the world) so LOTS of discussion there, country, drying method, free trade/picking considerations, elevation--- ad infinitum.

2. Grinder type, abrasive (preferred) blade, how long ago.

3. Roast time and resulting "doneness" 1st crack, second crack, city, French roast etc.

4. Apparatus, "cowboy/camp/steam-boat" crushed and thrown in pot of hot water, percolator, (This really sucks because the water is too hot and no-one knows how long it's been perking), drip, elec. drip--"Mr Coffee), French press (My favorite), Aeropress, K-Cup and I'm sure I've left out a couple.

As you can see, this allows plenty to discuss. I read them all as I enjoy my Sunday morning brew.

Fog

I get it, but I just want a hot beverage, not a new hobby or lifestyle.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by HHP

I get it, but I just want a hot beverage, not a new hobby or lifestyle.

I want a tasty hot beverage, and it’s worth it to me to put in some effort...since *I* will be the beneficiary.

[Tahitijack]

I'm starting a campaign to make Hawaii the preferred source for coffee in America. Sugar cane and pineapple is gone. We need to support the Hawaiian coffee industry. Yes, it's a little more cost, but it tastes great and is home grown. Aloha and Mahalo!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by HHP

Yes, its an adapter with a removable filter. I am adding 3-4 Tsp. of ground to get the strength I like. Cost about what 1 box of K-cups run.

I'm going to look into that for my dad. He tried something once and it made a big mess with the water overflowing.