Coffee

audioluvr

Nightfall wrote: »

Do you guys think you could taste the difference using the same water the same grinder the same coffee beans between $100 drip and the $300 one

My hearing might be "F"ed up but my sense of taste is superb. So no... What makes the difference to me is the 150,000 year old glacial water that comes out of my 290 ft. deep well at 46 deg. F year around.

JayCee

maxward wrote: »

I use half and half most of the time, so I guess that disqualifies me as a coffee snob. Will have Americanos black sometimes. @JayCee , I like your Vivaldi II, it’s on my short list of machines to check out when the Breville goes belly up.

Thanks, the Vivaladi's been a really nice investment and worth consideration. Definitely no snob but appreciate a good cup. Not afraid of a standard cup 'o Joe when not at home.

My dad was in the Army and I was born in Italy, so thought it would be nice to have a true Italian machine...which was my starting point when researching. Also, during my travels to Italy, one of my best cups was in Florence. Other, was 100% Kona, in Kona, on a trip to the Hawaiian Islands.

Tried my hand at brewing beer many years ago and it's not a simple or easy hobby. Decided to attempt roasting on a whim and realized, literally, in less than 1/2 an hour I could have the freshest roast of any bean that strikes my interest...and fun to boot. I no longer buy roasted beans and pay, on average $5-6.50 for a lb of whatever's interesting.

Enter the Vivaldi. Used to have a Jura F5 when Costco sold them at a reasonable price (like audio, very subjective). Made an okay cup but I got to thinking...if I can roast and have it come out great, why not do the same making a cup. Lots of research and I concluded the LaSpaziale is the Polk of espresso machines. Although not cheap, great bang for buck. Same w/my grinder. I did my homework and didn't buy hype (big name) on either. As long as the shot's good you can make anyone a drink to their liking. I don't think you'd be disappointed with it. An FYI, people in the "biz" say spend the big bucks on an excellent grinder. It's more important to the quality of a shot than the machine.

I start my day w/2 good cups and I'm done. Sometimes, I'll have a third in the afternoon.

Kind of like audio...I have people shake their head when they see my audio hobby and same goes with coffee. I strive to please no one but myself...and the misses.

skrol

We stayed at an Airbnb vacation house in Shenandoah VA and the owner had a Saeco Exprelia EVO that made superb espresso shots. It was hard to leave it behind and go back to our Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista. By the way, I can't complain about the Cafe Barista. It has had very heavy use since the pandemic and makes fairly good, though sometimes inconsistent, shots.

For beans, give North Bound Coffee a try.

Dabutcher

I used to use a Keureg . Buy pods when they were in sale to save money and tried not to spend over 35 cents a pod.
Then I started Intermittent Fasting. 8/16 . Eating only between 11 am and 7 pm. And not eating anything but water for the other 16 hours. You can have black coffee or tea. No pleasure for me with only black coffee so I quit all caffeine too. In three or four months now it is so easy. I went from 230 pounds to 203 pounds. There are many other health benefits too. I will probably do this the rest of my life. Good luck with the quest for a good cup of Joe. Love yours. D

Jstas

I feel like troglodyte.

I have one of these:


That I use to heat up one of these:


That's filled with whole bean 100% Kona I get straight from the plantation:


That I grind up with one of these:


That's it.

maxward

With regard to the question of tasting the difference, here’s what we did when we got our Moccamaster to replace our very old Braun. I made a small pot in each with the same beans and had our son bring my wife and I two cups to taste blind. We both preferred the coffee from the old Braun right off the bat. I think that it was because we were so familiar with that flavor. The Braun is our backup and we take it with us whenever we know there won’t be a coffee pot where we’re going.

Willow

We use a Cuisinart CPO 850. Its the Pour-over coffee maker. We use a metal filter and get our coffee from a local shop called Bridgehead. Excellent coffee beans from them.

tonyb

I dunno, most better 100-150 buck makers have spray heads to saturate the beans. I think only the cheapo ones like Mr. Coffee still drip it in the middle.

Brew Temp was one of the things I liked about my old Kitchen aid maker. My Cuisinart one now has the insulated pot which I can't stand. Doesn't brew the coffee hot enough and doesn't keep it hot for any length of time. Also amount of cups brewed is an issue for me. a 12 CUP POT is just on the border of making it, 14 cup would be more ideal. Lots of these higher end machines only do 10 cup, which is kinda a deal killer for me.

lightman1

Deathwish pods through a keurig thingy. I'm not gonna take a half an hour to brew a cup of coffee. Asshats...

PSOVLSK

I used to buys beans and grind. I had what I thought was a nice Bunn maker, but I’ve retired it for the convenience of a Kuerig.
So yeah…asshats

Jstas

lightman1 wrote: »

Deathwish pods through a keurig thingy. I'm not gonna take a half an hour to brew a cup of coffee. Asshats...

You're not allowed to borrow my stove top percolator when your pod people thingy breaks.

Meany.

treitz3

tonyb wrote: »

Lots of these higher end machines only do 10 cup, which is kinda a deal killer for me.

I personally wasn't too fond of a lower "cup" amount but I always keep my coffee in a Yeti 30oz travel mug, so I just adjusted the amount I make to exactly that. 26 ounces water, 8.45 seconds of grind (3.5 2oz scoops), one ice cube, level spoonful of Truvia (to cut down on the sugar) and a little bit of Hazelnut coffee creamer (usually to just below the top of the ice cube. Fill the rest of the Yeti up with a high pour of coffee and it's ready to go.

Yeah, I have to brew another batch if I want more but at only 5 minutes per brew? That's fast enough that I can't complain. The Yeti (even the cheap look alike knockoffs) will keep it hot enough to enjoy for about 4 hours.

I never did like the coffee after it sat on the burner for more than about 10 minutes. The flavor just had an off taste to it. I guess that's the "burnt" taste that was mentioned a couple of times in the reviews I read. I don't even like it on the MM after it sits on the burner....even with it on the lower setting.

I have never really been a picky coffee guy. Usually drank the crap at gas stations (certain trusted ones), like Trey does. That MM has spoiled me and introduced me to something that I never thought I would be picky about. Great coffee. I have only bought two coffees after I got the MM. The first one, I took a sip and threw it out. The second one was half way between the Southern end of FL and SC. That, shall I say, was not a preferred cup o'Joe...I guess now one could label me as a "picky" coffee guy.

Definitely not a coffee snob but, definitely picky. I even take the entire set up with me when I go on vacation.....it has it's own travel bag and everything. Who knows, maybe I'm just old and getting set in my ways. Either that or I am bat s**t crazy. One of the two.

Tom

JayCee

For you guys looking to keep your coffee hot this is a solid product...wife prefers her cup piping hot and uses this for work/travel when she doesn't have time for an actual sit down cup. Swears by it, claims it works for hours and retains decent heat all day.
https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SM-KHE48AG-Stainless-Steel-16-Ounce/dp/B005PO9T44/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Zojirushi+Stainless+Steel+Mug,+16oz,+Smoky+Blue&qid=1631311636&s=home-garden&sr=1-2

mantis

We rock a Keurig and I've been using them for years and years. We had a Tosimo but we didn't use it as much as the pods aren't as readily available .

But I'm looking to up my home coffee game to another level so this thread is very useful. Thanks for starting it.

Willow

Jstas wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

Deathwish pods through a keurig thingy. I'm not gonna take a half an hour to brew a cup of coffee. Asshats...

You're not allowed to borrow my stove top percolator when your pod people thingy breaks.

Meany.

Don't think you'd want it back after he used it... Just saying

jeremymarcinko

Old Cuisine Art coffee maker and a stand alone cuisine art grinder. Both Probably 15 years old. Favorite coffee is the Hemisfares Rwanda beans from Kroger, but our daily is the Dunkin’ Donuts whole bean coffee.

engtaz

Viking64

Willow

Viking64 wrote: »

Would you like some coffee with your sugar?

Nightfall

Viking64 wrote: »

I like these too. Not vanilla though.

pitdogg2

Nightfall wrote: »

Viking64 wrote: »

I like these too. Not vanilla though.

You strike me as more of a "mocha" man.

Willow

Mocha, mocha man.... I want to be a mocha man....

Nightfall

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Nightfall wrote: »

Viking64 wrote: »

I like these too. Not vanilla though.

You strike me as more of a "mocha" man.

Coffee jungle fever.

ZLTFUL

Depends.
My daily drinker is espresso from a Breville Barista Express using Black Rifle Coffee Co. AK Espresso roast.
https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/products/ak-47-espresso-blend?variant=3921012739
Took me about a month to get the grind coarseness and amount right along with the tamping pressure to get the right flavor and consistency.

I clean it thoroughly on a religious schedule and use water that has been triple filtered (once through the whole home filter, once through the dispenser on the fridge and finally, the filter in the water reservoir on the Breville that is changed every 3 weeks without exception (fridge filter is changed out every 2 months and whole house is 6 month).

From time to time, I do switch up and do a French Press and use the same grind but with Verena Street Coffee's Mississippi Grogg beans.
https://www.verenastreet.com/collections/whole-bean/products/mississippi-grogg-whole-bean-1

scubalab

If I want a REALLY good cup of coffee, all I need to do is spend a weekend at my mother-in-law's. After a weekend's worth of coffee there, the coffee from our 15-20 year old Bunn, using DD traditional roast taste's like coffee fit for royalty.

tonyb

scubalab wrote: »

If I want a REALLY good cup of coffee, all I need to do is spend a weekend at my mother-in-law's. After a weekend's worth of coffee there, the coffee from our 15-20 year old Bunn, using DD traditional roast taste's like coffee fit for royalty.

LOL, I hear ya man. My x mother in law made what she called Hobo coffee. Boiled water in a pot on the stove and dumped the grounds right in. Boil for a few minutes, turn it off and let the grounds settle to the bottom and pour straight into the cup. Not to mention on top of that, she used that stale pre ground Folgers in the big tin back then.

You want to talk about crap that would remove paint....and your colon.

audioluvr

Ya ever notice that people who drink hobo/cowboy coffee live longer?

heiney9

I used to use a French press, grind my own fresh beans in an expensive burr grinder, heat the water to the perfect temp, steep for just the right amount of time, pour that 1st cup, store the rest in a carafe. That 1st cup was excellent, the 2nd sitting in the thermal carafe was less so.

I broke down about a year ago and bought a Keurig Select. I have a local coffee roaster that roasts fresh coffee for generic K-cups. It makes a very consistently excellent cup every time. It's fast, easy and fresh.

I got tired of the routine with the French press. The Keurig with the fresh, local K-cups makes a better tasting, more consistent cup than the French press method. I was actually pleasantly surprised.

In the Summer I make batches of cold brew coffee with this handy little gizmo, that works as advertised.

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-02937-DorothyTM-rapid-brewer/dp/B089B6D4P9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TSO3Z5X5EHAZ&dchild=1&keywords=dorothy+coffee+maker&qid=1631708532&sr=8-1

It works by agitating the grounds in a "tornado" vortex. Saw it for Prime day and got a killer deal thinking it might be just a gimmick...........but holy crap does it work very well!!

H9

CFarrell_SoundUnited

@rooftop59 Are those bookshelf speakers by Usher I see?

rooftop59

CFarrell_SoundUnited wrote: »

@rooftop59 Are those bookshelf speakers by Usher I see?

Yep, Tiny dancers. Love em, especially with the diy powered subwoofer stands.