How do you brew your coffee?

A Nespresso fanboy here... the strong ones!

Alternating percolator and instant coffee

I much prefer to grind my own beans of choice at my preferred leveled of coarseness followed by my preference of espresso or ristretto or maybe even a latte. Which I did for 3 years. My and 3 colleagues bought a proper espresso machine that grinder beans and allowed you to set all options (sadly except pressure). It was wonderful.

Then I got promoted and moved to a different floor. I was planning on doing the same thing with other people from my floor but the previous 2 years left a sour taste (pun intended) in my mouth. At first those hooligans were excited an always did thier rota of bringing coffee and milk. Then towards the end of the year no one was bringing anything. They were leeching off of my coffee and milk, which is ok but then a new group (friends of 9£3 of the initial owners) started bringing , pardon me, shitty coffee which I know funked up the taste. Also we ran out of cleaning fluid (de-salinaters) and i surely wasn't going to drive an hour out of my way to get more. Lucky i got promoted and got my own nespresso machine which sits in my side desk in my office. Sole ownership ^_^. Just the way such personal items are meant to be. I'd say though, i "settled" because there is nothing like having freshly ground beans. But the nespresso pods coffee quality has significantly improved in the last 3 years which make using it not a major downgrade.

Nothing like the first espresso machiatto of the day






Trickling espresso into the ice filled shaker for an ice espresso.




Shaking the shaker




I add half and half to the shaker with the espresso.

Most of all, it's strong espresso with excellent aroma and flavor. It's expensive coffee, but here I don't care. Espresso/ristretto black and no sugar is a life-essential, partly because my blood pressure is very low.

A Bialetti/Moka pot. I buy a local product of Italian Roast with a touch of grapefruit mixed in.

Electric Drip

at home i drink espresso.

i have a double boiler, pid controlled machine, the expobar brewtus iv. plus a professional grinder (a good grinder is very important) and i roast my beans at home. i can make seriously good coffee, and i love it.

when i'm out and about i drink my espresso with mil and sugar, because straight espresso is almost always very disappointing.

We have an electric drip coffee pot and a Bosch Tassimo machine that uses discs for espresso and capuccino. I drink tea, but DH likes coffee. I like using the Tassimo machine, it's fun, but I don't drink the coffee.

I love commitment Brian.

Sadly i can't use he shaker anymore. Earlier when I got this machine, my office was strategically located at the veery end of the office floor, almost secluded. I loved it.

There was a recent layout change and now my office, albeit a sea view, is bang at the entrance of the office floor.

There's no way I can get away with shaking the shaker like i did before LOL.

So my shaker is in temporary hiatus till I find a way to use it.

I suppose note. :-/ Maybe one of those immersion blender sticks would do the trick. At least it wouldn't look like Margaritaville at 9:00 a.m.

I buy it from the lady at work after I drain some from a machine. But judging by the grounds in the bottom of the cup, the machine has gone cowboy!

Haha hilariously true.

I'll look into the immersion stick thingy but really there's no substitute for the foamy text from shaking.

With a Keurig B40. It makes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and espresso. The K-cups taste amazing and there is no cleanup necessary. I just throw away the kcup after it brews. If you want to brew your own coffee you can buy a "My K-Cup" that holds grounded coffee of your choice and brew that instead of the K-cups. I haven't been to a Starbucks since I bought it a month ago. Slowly but surely it will pay itself off.



Just pop in one of these:

Gido - Next time I visit the 'dam I want a shot of your coffe ! Sounds fantastic.

I have to admit I have a Nespresso machine too. I'm an espresso junkie and it is just so convenient. Kazaar is my favourite blend.

Me too!!!
Gary

In the half dozen or so times a year I brew coffee I use fresh ground Dunkin Donuts whole bean from my sealed glass jar, stored in the freezer, and add a few tablespoons of quality green tea leaves to the mix in the brown paper filter. Delicious. and the green tea never intrudes on the great Dunkin Donuts taste.

I have on occasion put the grounds and tea leaves in a sealed jar of the proper amount of spring water in my fridge overnight and filter then heat the brew in a microwave in the am. No harsh oils that way. Very good!

You have great taste as always, G.!

Same here...with the addition of a tad of soja milk.

i tried these bialetti moka pots years ago, but found no solution to always having a more or less burned flavor. how do you get around this, or do you guys actually like this burned flavor? i find it destroys all the fine nuances and messes up the profile, much more so than a too dark toasted bean (which gives a roasted flavor that can be nice in latte).

i had an opposite impression of the french press, some people might find it mild but to me it's bland and rather fuzzy, lacking definition.

i never really like filter coffee, but some time ago i started to realize it's not the method but the coffee that's commonly used that is the fault. bad quality robusta (mind you, it's not all bad) that's roasted and grinded a long time ago.

i am thinking of exploring 'cupping', which is the trade professionals way of evaluation. it could be a great way to evaluate a new single origin coffee.

This is something very traditional in Italy. I guess what you call the "burned flavor" is something that we italians are very used to being the Bialetti Moka Pot a staple in every house since ages. Tradition also wants that the moka pot needs to be a very old one to work properly. When new, these type of pots may release a subtle rubbery aroma which disappear after several usage. They're like a new couch or pillow...they need to be used and used to become really comfortable, but once you get used to them, there's nothing like your couch or pillow....Last but not least, they should never be washed with any kind of detergent or soap...just water.

alfarom,

the charm of these pots (and their tradition) isn't lost on me.

i'm thinking, are they more popular in the south? because i understand southern italians roast their beans much darker, too. my preference is more of a northern type roast, except for coffee with sugar and milk. i've got a hunch that maybe these moka pots might be more popular in napoli than in most northern cities.. but i could be wrong.

is there anyone using a vacuum pot or a siphon? i find these instruments rather charming. my parents used to have one when i was a little kid, they hardly ever used it but when they did (in a romantic mood i suppose) i was following the process with some fascination.

They're still pretty popular all over Italy. I live in the center/north and almost everybody owns a Bialetti. Nespresso and the likes are gaining more space lately as they offer a lot of additional services such as coffee supplies delivered at home with an huge selection of blends and aromas. Plus you don't have to buy the espresso machine but simply rent it.

French press for me - I like the simple things

I missed this one ROFTL!

Other.

(while sleepwalking)

Unless I make it the night before.

I've used a Nespresso at work for over 7 years.

I have a Keurig at home. The cost is about the same, but you can get cocoa, tea, "cappuccino" and other stuff for the Keurig, and my wife likes that sometimes.

Nitrogen-filled aluminum pods and no contact of coffee with dirty surfaces makes for excellent coffee with no effort.

I have an espresso machine, electric drip and french press. I alternate since they all taste so different, just depends on my mood.

I'm so glad I came across this thread! I'm actually in the middle of a coffee dilemma. I like coffee that is very dense and strong with rich, bold flavor. Even the "Bold" coffee at Starbucks tastes like water. I have a Keurig but the coffee always comes out too watery to me. I've tried the boldest, darkest K-cups for the Keurig I can find and nothing is bold enough. I tried a Senseo machine and that didn't do it for me either. I also have an electric-drip coffee maker which I did really enjoy because it had a "bold" selection feature that definitely improved the quality of the cup if used with grounds of sufficient quality but that coffee maker recently died and they don't produce that particular machine anymore So, now I'm going to be shopping for a new machine but I'm not sure which route to take. For someone with my tastes do you think I should just go strait for an espresso machine or would some of the other methods suit my needs better? Any recommendations on choosing a particular machine?

Oh, and on a side note, has anyone here ever tried the Kopi Luwak (civet cat coffee)? My birthday is coming up and I was thinking of scratching that off my "bucket list"

I just Googled this and read the Wikipedia article. I had to think for a second to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of a civet?

Reminds me of that scene in Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke. "It's Maui Wowie ... but it's got some Labrador in it ..."

I love my French press, but I save that for special occasions. For daily use I have a basic Black & Decker drip coffeemaker--it's nothing amazing, but my mom got it for me for Christmas a few years ago, so I have a slight sentimental attachment to it.

However I do have a great grinder. It's a Bodum Bistro burr grinder with an electric orange finish (to match my kitchen). I love this grinder so much. I've had it for a few months and it's incredible how easy it is to use and how clean it is-- no mess at all. I notice a huge difference in the quality I get with this grinder versus my old blade grinder. Well worth the hundred bucks I spent on it.

For the beans, I usually go with a local roaster called Kaldi. Every month they come out with a limited edition "World Tour" coffee of a single location and I'm always impressed with the differences of each month's beans.

I love coffee!

i think you need an espresso machine, and learn how to make a ristretto. you are in control, you can make it a strong as you like (especially on the better machines, the cheaper ones tend to 'choke' all too soon). espresso also has the most body of all types, not only the taste but also the mouthfeel or consistency is far from watery. i recommend you use the south-italian roast, and a blend with some good quality robusta in the mix would probably suit you as well.

i have tried kopi luwak (i still have a small batch of green beans here) and i doubt it's much too taste. it's mellow and subtle stuff.

Nepresso is the way to go. Very acceptable quality espresso. It does make you drink 600% more espresso than you normally would though.

I sometimes do drip. Sumatra,French roast or Monsooned Malabar and grind the beans to powder.

I roast my own beans.

When I have time, I use a French Press, but I drink a LOT of coffee and the only drip machine that actually brews at the correct temp and makes AMAZING coffee is the handmade Technivorm.

Yes, the price is very high, but very high quality, few parts and it will last ages.

I more often have strong instant coffee (which shocks my relatives in Italy), though I occasionally use an electric espresso machine or an electric drip machine, or even more rarely one of those Italian espresso machines one puts over stove tops. An occasional alternative is the Robert Timms coffee bag, which produces very smooth coffee similar to the drip machine.

Every time I tried plunger coffee - well it's never hot enough for me.

I'm often fascinated with the way some packets of ground coffee taste foul from my espresso machine, but taste pretty good in my drip machine.

Down here, the cost of Nespresso is about 70 cents a cup, which means the cost is about six times greater than that of buying a packet of good standard ground coffee and putting it into the espresso machine, or three times greater than buying a packet of premium ground coffee. I think the Nespresso premium is a tad too high for the convenience.

My wife likes making cappucino's from our automatic espresso machine that grinds the beans, but I tend to like cappucinos in the afternoons. Though recently I learned from a visiting Italian barrista, that that is something only foreigners do, as cappucinos are a morning drink over there.
Regards,
Renato

Yes Renato, Cappucino is drank in the mornings only in Italia.

Only drink coffee that has been brewed for me.

Voted Other. I don't (want to) drink a lot of coffee so I usually don't have any at home. When having guests they will have to put up with either tea or some of these Nescafe instant packs, I'm afraid. Well, or have one in a cafe.

Double

this sounds good, jzzbassman.

Renato is right to highlight the cost: Here in the UK, the pods are around 30-35 pence each, which does (rather quickly) add up. Still cheaper than buying a coffee, and it does make a very passable espresso:

yes, i agree with that. my way of doing it starts with quite an investment, but at the end of the day (after a year or two) i save money. and to top that, i get much better results. nespresso is enjoyable as a surrogate but it's just not the real thing.

my costs: 1200 euro for the espresso machine, 400 euro for the grinder, 50 euro for the roaster (i did get it second hand). a kilo of great quality single origin green beans is about 11 euro.

you do have to go through some trouble to make really great espresso (mediocre is easy though) so if you don't want to make the effort to learn some barista skills then nespresso might be the right choice. on the other hand, with those skills you can control everything, and make the cup exactly as you like it.

You have me intrigued - you obviously have expertise.
What sort of espresso machine is it that costs 1200 Euro and doesn't automatically grind its own beans?
What makes it that much better than say a 200 Euro machine - eg a basic Delonghi unit?

Cheers,
Renato

You can imagine my surprise - I spent 2 months there in 2005, 3 months in 2007 and 2 months in 2009 - and never knew this.

One thing though - I'd been in Italy for 5 weeks in 2005 when we had a cappucino in Vicenza. Whereupon I was compelled to go back into the shop and compliment the owner, as his was the first decent cappucino I'd had in Italy - decent as in similar to what I would usually get anywhere in Australia, having lots of milk in it, instead of just lots of froth.
He thanked me, and stated that yes, most others were cheapskates preferring to sell lots of froth and saving the money on the milk.
Regards,
Renato

True, I think it that the fact that Nespresso is still cheaper than buying a coffee in a store has to be a factor in the decision to buy one.

Down here the Aldi's supermarket chain have just introduced their alternative to Nespresso. Whereas a Nespresso machine typically costs $300 to $400, the Aldi's Espressi machine costs $89. And Aldi's offer 16 different flavours of Espressi pods at about half the price of Nespresso pods. But only two of the Aldi's pods are "lungo" i.e. designed for 160ml of coffee, whereas the rest are for 80ml of coffee.

Which raises the interesting question - when people here say they are drinking espresso coffeee, what do they mean?
Are they drinking 80ml cups, 160ml cups or larger cups?

I typically make a 200ml cup with the nice crema on top, whereas my wife usually makes a 250ml cup.
Regards,
Renato

http://coffeegeek.com/forums

People who are into coffee are even more psychotic than people who are into fragrances......
Try asking about which is the best machine or best way to roast on that forum.

I used to have 3 to 4 espressos when we would visit italia.
Italy is the best.

First of all, have to say that soluble one is more of a chemical-like product, food giants can easily make an Arabica taste out of Robusta (additives and flavours involved largely). Ok, let's not get started on that... well, toilet freshener has a fragrance too, if you get what I mean.

Back to real coffee.
No gadgets for me except for a simple electric coffee grinder.
I grind it and add a just boiled water to brew it in paper cup.
Then I stir the brew a couple of times, 5-10 mins and viola!
Sometimes I like it strong and about 2/3 to 3/4 volume of 200ml paper cup is ground coffee.
It's only a matter of finding the right grain of grinding to get the full taste. It is fun with each particular blend I try.
Thing that matters is it'd better be roasted within a month or two back from the current date.

I know it's weird, but works for me as I don't drink coffee every day... matter of taste rather than addiction.
Unlike tea, coffee doesn't take away my sleep.

Regards, Odor.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/cof...ion-cunn,1005/

I like it when the baristas at Sbux brew mine, I know, but I do love me the Sbux! I usually have electric drip..until I can afford something fancy like a cappuccino machine.

well, first of all, i'm not really an expert, i do know some people who are and i have some way to go. but i guess i know a great deal more about espresso than the average person. practicing with a manual lever machine for a year was particularly instructive.

i can tell you, 1200 euro isn't really that expensive. if i had more money, i would've gone for this baby. costs? 5000 euro! and of course no integrated grinder. but that's not a bad thing, as i will explain later.

i've owned a braun, a krups and a delonghi in the distant past, with these machine you can make something close to a half-decent espresso if you learn a few tricks, like temperature surfing. flush until the heater element is activated, then time the starting point from the shots from the moment the heater turns off again. immediately is often right, but in some cases too hot.

the most inexpensive machines aren't really espresso machines. they basically heat the water and build pressure on the fly, they just create steam from cold water. this method is actually closer related to moka coffee than to espresso.

all the good machines have boilers. you can make good espresso with a single boiler machine.

my machine is pid controlled, and has two boilers. one for frothing milk, one for making coffee (these tasks are performed under different conditions, what's good for coffee isn't good for milk). these boilers exchange heat/water, no cold water ever enters the boiler during extraction. the temperature remains very stable. the brewtus is one of the few machines under the 2000 dollars mark that has this feature. in a way, it's a low-budget machine. great value for money in any case.

is this important? yes, very much so! for great espresso, the temperature should stay within 1 degrees celsius during extraction, and the pressure should steadily build up and follow a stable path according to a predetermined curve, or the results will be less than great. typical inexpensive consumer machines are very bad at this. their temperature is a shot in the dark at start and all over the place (dropping for the most part, then heating up again) during extraction. one degree will make a difference between a sour cup (temp too low) or a bitter, burned tasting cup (temp too high).

good pressure for espresso is somewhere between 8 and 10 bar, depending on some factors. with more expensive machines you can adjust the pressure.

look at a cup from a 100$ machine, there is a watery mouthfeel, no rich body, and either palish, thin crema or almost non-existent brown crema. the pressure is never really right! espresso should have a good layer of chestnut colored crema. look at the start of this video to see what i mean. that is the same machine i have, by the way. you can read a review here, it explains some of your questions in more detail.

then, there's the group head. my machine comes with the e61, which is something of an industry standard. inexpensive consumer machines never have anything remotely like it. this particular group head keeps the temperature very stable, and it pre-infuses the coffee, which is something you want. it will reduce the dreaded channeling (water creating a chanel through the puck (coffee bed) and generating a cup that's both under - and over extracted, very bad!) check the link at the start of the paragraph if you want to learn more about the e61.

then the grinder. people who know nothing about coffee don't think the grinder is very important. it should just grind the beans, right? wrong. it's even more important than the actual espresso machine. this section of a very interesting article on home barista explains why.

and by the way, i do not know any experts who use a espresso machine with integrated grinder. perhaps because making a good grinder is a whole different thing from making a good espresso machine?

i have the mazzer mini, you can read about it here in case you're interested. it's a great machine, professional gear, it will last a lifetime.

well. you have something to read now. probably more than you've asked for.

well, the standard is about 1oz (between 25 and 30 ml) for a single and 2oz for a double. here in holland, when you order an espresso you get at least a double, often in a cup that's way too large.

the volume does matter. espresso should extract this volume in a given time frame with a fixed amount of grind coffee (7 grams for a single shot). if it doesn't, you know something is off (if your basket is the right size, it's most likely the grind). of course anyone is free to disregard these rules, especially at home. however, i think they are great guidelines, especially for starters. and some consistency in what you get when you order an espresso et cetera isn't a bad idea, either.

regarding foam to milk ratio, a cappuccino is defined as roughly 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, 1/3 foam. nowadays you see more latte art, which is a slightly different kind of foam than the classic cappuccino. it should be less stiff, and the border between foam and milk is more blurred.

all this caffeine leads to heated discussions, no? home-barista is another one. among all the loud mouths, there are some knowledgeable people around on these forums, though.

actually, in my experience it's two week maximum before it goes bland. you can still drink it after that, no problem, but it's no longer fresh and at it's best.

my personal preference is for coffee that's 2, 3 or 4 days old. fresh coffee should at least rest for half a day before you start brewing with it, some people say more, but it's extremely crema-rich and full. with time it gets more mellow. too much time and it goes bland, too much flavors are gone, it extract too fast (no gas left).

i you know you are going to drink it in more than a month, freezing is the best option. freezing will compromise the beans, but certainly less than not doing so for a month. make sure the beans are back to room temperature before you make coffee with them, or the water will cool when it hits the coffee, and you will not be able to extract all the flavors and aroma's.

and your method is not very different from cupping. cupping is the professional way to determine and compare the subtle aspects of coffee origins.