Seriously, I have finally gotten to a cup of coffee that I love and I look forward to the morning. I found a distributor of 100% Colombian coffee - he imports it, called Cafe Cultivo. I found the perfect ratio of coffee to water for my Wilfa Coffee pot, which is quite sensitive. I am afraid to make a larger potful as I may not get the ratio right! Who else loves that first cup???
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raising my hand. I like everything about the ritual of enjoying coffee. Our Krupps grinds and brews but I prefer french press no more than two cups at a time so we use the machine for company. The closest roaster is about 8 miles away. We use Peet’s whole bean in the grinder when we don’t get to the roaster. Mocha java and medium roasts is my jam. I dont enjoy flavored coffee.
We have a French Press that we really like, but only take it out for holidays when we usually buy whole beans at a small batch roaster nearby.
Our everyday coffee maker is a 10 cup, (four mug), stove top Percolator. Been using this brew method for more than 40 years. We control the perc time and temp, and always get a bracing, tasty morning cup.
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Talk to me about your grinding and storage method. Do you buy whole beans? Grind as you brew? Storage? How do you keep the beans as fresh as possible.
I have an Oxo burr grinder with a built in scale. I grind just before I brew. I buy 6 packages of whole bean at a time and keep them in a dark room in the basement. One package at a time is in my kitchen cabinet and in the hopper of my grinder.
That 1st cup is so important! Trader Joe’s dark roast Bay Blend beans ground each morning. Chemex pour over set up for 6 (really 3) cups of coffee.
Perfect every time.
I have a Baratza Encore Burr grinder that I love. For a while we were into local beans until the roaster significantly raised prices. Then I switched to Kenya AA beans from Trader Joe’s, which were almost as good and produced a nice smooth, rich, chocolatey cup. TJ started having supply issues right around the time I switched grocery shopping to Aldi (I hear the AA was discontinued). Instead I picked up Aldi’s ground German coffee, which is cheap and tasty, and haven’t looked back (much). I do miss grinding my own beans, but the noise used to really scare my infant son! So it seemed not worth the hassle. I filter coffee using the Clever Dripper, a truly ingenious contraption provided you don’t let the coffee over-extract. I use a French press when making more than a couple cups for company.
The other day I answered the phone and it was a telephone poll. I had nothing else to do, so figured okay, I’ll play.
Here’s a small piece of the dialog (word for word…Im not making this up!)
On a scale from 1 to 7, how many days a week do you drink coffee?
Ten.
Do you have a:
Drip coffee maker?
Yes
Pod style coffee maker like a Keurig?
Yes
Single-cup specialty coffee maker like a Nespresso?
Yes.
Pour over cone filter like a Melitta?
Yes.
French press?
Yes.
Italian Moka pot?
Yes.
Wow. Ma’am, you really like coffee!
…
I might have a problem.
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Love this gadget and we have a similar single serve dripper for loose leaf teas.
Had my eyes on this version, no paper filter req.
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Yes, paper filters are my only issue. I used to get the Wilfa paper filters but they are discontinued in the US. I can’t find a decent paper filter now and you can’t use gold in the Wilfa coffee maker.
As with most things I went off the deep end with coffee many years ago and started home roasting. Went through the espresso phase and ended up with this tank of a grinder, a Mazzer mini. It will out live me.
May get back into espresso but for the last several years it’s just been regular drip with the Bonavita. Only drink a couple of mugs in the morning
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We have a variety of ways to make coffee around here. Although it doesn’t produce the best cup, I make a big batch of cold brew weekly. On the weekends, my husband usually will brew us a chemex or a single pour over with beans ground on demand. He typically picks up beans at Blue Bottle. The cabinet has an aeropress and a french press too that are rarely used. We have an automatic drip maker somewhere too but it hasn’t been used in years…
I have so many coffee prep methods
Most mornings Chemex, french press if I’ve gotten out of bed late. I seem to have misplaced the moka and the drip only comes out for larger groups of people. I broke the ceramic pour over and haven’t replaced it.
My current fave beans are Sumatra from a small batch roaster that does mail order but is local to me and sells through a store we love (www.madeshopriverside,) owned by some really awesome people we like to support.
I drink my coffee black.
I go between a Bialetti for mornings i only have time for one mug before i run out the door, or i use an insulated french press for when i have more time and can have a few cups.
I occasionally buy fancy beans but Peet’s major dickason is my go to. Nothing special grinder but i do grind just before brewing, that does make a big difference to me.
I make it rather strong and add sweetner and a splash of vanilla soymilk, otherwise my tummy gets mad.
There’s a nespresso classic machine in the cupboard that I haven’t used for a long time, the pods get expensive quickly and for a small strong coffee i prefer the bialetti.
The place i stay at in philly has a drip coffee maker that’s fine, does the job. They have La Columbe coffee which is preground and lackluster- i’m always the first up so i make a pot for whomever wants some and just use a lot of coffee so it’s good enough. The coffee shop on the campus makes a good cup, (better than starbucks, not as good as my favorite shop cafe grumpy) so i end up there later in the morning for either a drip coffee with hot soy milk or they do a nice cortado.
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2nd cup is nearly as good as that 1st cup!! 
i have a range of coffeemaking devices from manual to machine, but the one that most owns my heart is the Aeropress. It’s traveled literally around the world with me a few times over, given its portability and durability, yet even at home it still gets its fair-share of use. Being an immersion-type brewer, it gives me another brewing variable to play with (immersion time) that my drip methods don’t, so i can really tailor my extractions to match my appetite for experimentation. It’s also friendly to variation on filtration (metal vs paper; 1 paper or 2?; etc), and excels too when using bypass brewing method . Lastly, it’s among the most grind-insensitive of the brewing methods I use, so i get consistent coffee if i keep my other variables fixed (which i rarely wish to do though, lol).
I hope this doesn’t sound like a shill-post for Aeropress; i’m just a happy customer!
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aeropress invented by a frisbee co. a road rats best brew. countless tours where a-press and frisbee kept us from killing each other. cult following.
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After buying using and not liking drip makers, French presses, electric percolators, vacuum which wasn’t bad we have gone back to basics … If it isn’t broken don’t fix it. Always grind whole beans … https://portorico.com/store/
Shop rite filters are fine
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Very few things can help ensure an improved cup better than ‘… always grinding fresh’.
reminds me of the old coffee industry mantra, 'The Rule of 15" :
-Roast within 15 months of receiving green beans
-Grind within 15 days of Roasting beans
-Brew within 15 minutes of Grinding beans
-Drink within 15 seconds of brewing
(the last one was really meant to apply for espresso shots, IIRC)
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I loved my aeropress for many years, but finally splurged on a Nespresso machine last year and there’s no turning back now. I refuse to get rid of my aeropress… just in case.
