I’m open to any suggestions to improve my morning brew without adding much effort. Many of the replies involve grinding and transferring the beans into a brewing device. That’s too much work for me. Maybe my only option is to buy different beans for my Grind and Brew? Would buying ground coffee and using a drip coffee maker possibly produce better results?
I’m open to any ideas if they improve the quality of my coffee. We make a pot of coffee (8 cups) in the morning and use the Keurig later in the day if I want more.
IMO, grinding and then transferring to my drip maker is less work than buying ground coffee and transferring it to my drip maker because if I bought it ground, I would have to measure the ground coffee with a scoop each time. With a grinder (or at least with my grinder, which is on a timer), once you know how long it takes to grind the quantity of beans you want for a pot, you push the button one time and the machine spits out just the right amount of ground coffee for your needs - all you have to do is dump the cup into your drip maker. Assuming you make the same amount of coffee every day, that is.
Possibly. It depends on the quality of the coffee and how long ago it was ground. All coffee starts to lose quality at the moment of grinding, so a ground coffee sitting on a store’s shelves for weeks or months at a time won’t taste very fresh no matter how good the packaging is. You could buy beans from a store that will grind them for you right there (tell them that you want an auto drip grind), then try to use the grounds fairly quickly.
For storage, keep the coffee in the original packaging in an airtight container away from light and heat. Don’t store it in the fridge or freezer–you’ll be subjecting it to temperature shocks every time you take it out plus there’s a very good chance it’ll pick up odors.
Here’s a list of home brewing machines certified by the Specialty Coffee Association: Certified Home Brewers — Specialty Coffee Association (sca.coffee)
Jura S8 super automatic
In an ideal world, you could take your preground coffee to a place like Williams Sonoma and test it in an SCA approved device before purchasing. I doubt you can actually do this at WS, but maybe you can find a dedicated coffee equipment store in your town that will accommodate such a request. Technivorm must have a deal with the devil; sometimes my pourovers aren’t as good as what I’ve had from one of their Moccamaster machines. (But not a fan of some of their carafes and haven’t tried it with preground coffee.) Also, since you are a sugar and cream person, temperature will likely be more important to you. I like black coffee, so I’m not as sensitive to final brew temp.
For your afternoon cup, I would recommend a Clever Dripper. It’s no fuss, but you have to boil water yourself (you can use a microwave.)
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Not sure if it’s an improvement, but you could try switching it up with one of the flavour syrups that Starbucks uses instead of sugar.
I keep it as simple as possible. I dont want to have to need coffee so I can figure out how to make coffee.
I set the automatic brew the night before…so all I have to do is stumble to the kitchen and grab a mug.
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Since I’m not at my sharpest at 6am pre-caffiine, KISS coffee works for me.
i buy ground coffee (Peet’s or comparable), measure two heaping scoops into a French press-pot the night before. In morning, click on almost-instant water boiler; pour to fill mark, add and press plunger, pour. Excellent strong brew in a couple of minutes.
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No one should take my advice because it’s usually bad…but if the op’s coffee is drip then perhaps an inexpensive entry level grinder would be the simplest way to improve.
My guess is that generally for drip the grind is more course than espresso so there are many entry level models that will be more than sufficient. However, if espresso is the main coffee, then I would go with the best quality grinder that’s affordable.
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I should note that for years I ground my coffee with a conical burr grinder then transferred the grounds to an automatic drip machine. For many years now I’ve used the grind and brew, all in one machines from several manufacturers. I’ve had four or five Cuisinart’s over the last twenty years. I don’t want to give up this type of convenience but realize this is not the best way to brew coffee, just the easiest.
Curious as to what, exactly, you hate about it. I use Peet’s Major Dickason’s or French Roast pre-ground in re-usable K cups and I’m fine with them in my Keurig machine.
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Just got a Nespresso 2 months ago after having a Keurig for years. Everyone who has tried it agrees it’s an upgrade.
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Because I tried the premade capsules, grinding my own,
the jig with a filter, the jig without a filter, making the entire carafe, and making a single cup,
There was not a single day, across every possible coffee I thought would be something I would like, did I get a cup that was anything other than soupy and bitter, or insipid and watery with bitter after notes.
I tries for most of a year to like it, and I just don’t.
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This is so fascinating to me. I also have never had a cup of coffee from a K machine that I thought was good cup of coffee. Drinkable at best. K cup is all about convenience and taste is only a secondary or tertiary consideration.
We have a delonghi nespresso machine. That actually made a good cup of espresso and americano. If I bothered to hook up the milk frother, the cappuccino was alright. But bloody expensive for the pods and how much we were drinking during the lockdown.
Two machine similar in concept but with very different results. Why? Is it the tech of the machine or the coffee in the kups versus pods?
After 6 months or so with the nespresso and paying up for pods, I decided to go all in and spring for a super-automatic. That has changed my coffee drinking life. So easy and so good. Load the beans, fill the water carafe and adjust the strength and how much crema I want. Touch a button. Its only downside is how loud it is when it grinds the coffee.
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For me to consider a machine that expensive I’d need warranty service for a long period, a minimum of five years that included free shipping both ways. These Rube Goldbergesqe machines have many moving parts so they are prone to breakage. I get an average of 4 years from my grind and brew contraptions. How’s the warranty on your machine?
It has a two year warranty, not 5. Don’t know of many things that have 5. Very high quality machine. Its a beast. Weighs probably 10-12 pounds.
The way I think about it is that there a steep upfront cost, but when you amortize that over time, its paid off very quickly. The pods for the nespresso were $1 each. Used to go through half a dozen or more each day. A one pound bag of beans is $10-12 and makes dozens of espresso shots and lasts a week or more. $10 a day versus $10 a week. You can amortize the cost even more quickly if you trade off a starbucks or other coffee house habit at $5-6 a cup.
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It’s just me here, and I stop at 2 cups of coffee so the Nespresso works for me.Plus, I can buy the pods online and have them sent to my house.
Does the warranty include free shipping both ways? That’s a lot of weight to ship.
Don’t they both use pods/k-cups? I will google but what is the upgrate?
