Coffee

[SoCal250]

Happy National Coffee Day! (Sep 29)

[pidjones]

Happy National Coffee Day! (Sep 29)

I started off with three mugs. May have to make more this afternoon. And tonight is Bike Night at the Time Warp Tea Room, so medium Americano then!

[quocle603]

I recently had to cut down on my coffee intake (kills me). I think it's linking me to my chronic canker sores.

[teazer]

It all depends.  We use a French Press when visitors are around (remember those days).

We also have a really cheap expresso machine that makes great froth to put on top. My son went nuts and bought a professional grade expresso machine for his office, but I'm not sure the coffee is any better than from a cheap one like ours.

Most days we just use a stove top Stainless Steel Bialetti.  We still have a couple of old Bialetti Moka pots but I'm sure the aluminum gets into the coffee, so we use the stainless one most days.  Heat some milk in a mug, pour in the coffee.  Instant flat white.

And every so often we make Lebanese coffee in a small pot with coffee from Lebanon with cardamom in it. Coffee and sugar in the pot.  Bring it to a rolling boil and pour into small demi tasse cups.

Coffee comes in many flavors and varieties. Experiment.

[sav0r]

Since I started this thread I have pretty much done what I always do, that being spend way too much time researching stuff and ultimately waffling on a decision. Just ask my wife, she'll tell you all about it.

I am definitely going to go the espresso route. I just have to pick a price point and feature set. Some of the $300-400 machines look awesome. But I'm hesitant to spend that much right now, we just have too many projects going on.

[quocle603]

  coffee saved my life.

[teazer]

Chris,
if you value convenience, go with a Keurig type machine.  If you value flavor and the ability to change the brew and don't want to spend a lot of cash, get a stove top espresso machine.

Unless you need froth and in that case get a cheap machine like this one:  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr-Coffee-Caf-Steam-Automatic-Espresso-and-Cappuccino-Machine-20-oz-Silver/169775663?wpa_bd=&wpa_pg_seller_id=F55CDC31AB754BB68FE0B39041159D63&wpa_ref_id=wpaqs:HG3cD2bRhssl5oKH806W2uahA-Sr_CvVp-CpPTSeVeNIYPgQAsp6jmUmkwzZFwGZ9YYJoTUwhNTE3zkULQJUA6gcg98ZMQ6G3R94cAgRma7ZHgO9D2XNv2rzTxASxY9F3aFZCMVRxXNGYPCn89XFvWtJJ-e48Xf7oqOk_3O2b7QWrq5LLJN_82rtEjyYEfeXlNjY_3WoYkVJIUxhnI3EXQ&wpa_tag=&wpa_aux_info=&wpa_pos=2&wpa_plmt=1145x1145_T-C-IG_TI_1-2_HL-INGRID-GRID-NY&wpa_aduid=b5d090cc-29ff-494d-8952-04bbc92df72d&wpa_pg=browse&wpa_pg_id=4044_90548_90546_1115306&wpa_st=Coffee%2B%2BEspresso%2BMakers&wpa_tax=4044_90548_90546_1115306&wpa_bucket=__bkt__

No bells, no whistles but good enough perhaps to get you through until some projects are finished

[Halmic]

I took delivery of a Breville Bambino Plus today (and the matching Breville grinder), I'll keep you posted as to how it performs.  We have a Breville Oracle Touch at the office and it's amazing, but too pricey for your average home espresso setup!

[pidjones]

The wife just got the doctors order to cut out caffeine. So, hot brown water for her now.

[Evans Ward]

Enjoying this morning

[pdxjim]

I took delivery of a Breville Bambino Plus today (and the matching Breville grinder), I'll keep you posted as to how it performs.  We have a Breville Oracle Touch at the office and it's amazing, but too pricey for your average home espresso setup!

Why did you choose the Bambino + grinder over the Barista Express with built in grinder?

From experience, I can tell you consistency is everything when it comes to these machines.  Getting the grind coarseness and amount just right is crucial to a successful pull. 

With the Barista Express, the grind and amount comes out exactly the same every time. 

[DesmoDrew]

Locally roasted free trade beans
Hario Skerton Pro ceramic burr hand grinder
Kalita 155 stainless pour-over dripper
Cusimax gooseneck kettel

Each cup takes about five minutes to hand grind and drip.  I enjoy the process.  Often I can get raw cream from a local farmer, and I add a bit of that.

[speedygw]

Day to day we use a Cuisinart 12 cup. It's a work horse that has lasted over ten years and when set up properly every night gives us a consistently good cup of coffee ever morning. We were recently gifted a Nespresso machine. It's expensive as hell to run every day but there's no ignoring that it produces a wide variety of really good coffees. Maybe I'm wrong but the coffee choices lean towards Italian varieties. It's not like running to Peet's for a pound of Sumatra. The coffee is great though and when we have pods on hand we generally take that over the drip stuff. We have a french press that I really like. It produces a delicious and robust cup of coffee and setup isn't too much trouble. We use it for camping as well. Last, we have a stove top espresso maker. It's mostly for when I need espresso for a recipe (tiramisu). The all have their redeeming qualities and not one can be termed "best".

[sav0r]

I've been pounding away with our Chulux (K-cup). It makes pretty good coffee and the off brand pods from Aldi's actually make some good coffee.

Of course since posting this my TV has blown up, my car ended up back at the stealership for (going on) ten days, and so realistically it's just not the right time to drop $500 on a new espresso machine. Hopefully I will soon though.

[SoCal250]

Enjoying this morning

I bet the coffee tastes better in that mug!