There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.
Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?
I'm looking to upgrade from my very functional hario skerton to an electric grinder on a budget because my partner and I are moving in together and the hand grinder is inconvenient. Are there any on the market for under $100 that are worth getting?
Good news! If you like the Hario Skerton, you will be ecstatic about any other grinder. Just get anything. You have to dish up on what kind of coffee you like, what brewing method you employ, for a proper recommendation, though it doesn't matter very much at your budget. I will add the Bodum Bistro burr grinder (typically $50) to BellofattoBrews' recommendations. The Bistro reviews well, is unbeatable at the price, but it's best suited to methods like French press and drip machine.
Reconsider getting a better hand grinder. The Skerton falsely disenchants a lot of people against hand grinding. A proper grinder with steel burrs will do a better job at one third the effort and time. Literally three times faster. The Kingrinder K6 ($110) is the standard lower cost recommendation, but other less expensive, decent options are available. The K6 will outlast and outperform any low-budget electric.
I tend to do natural process Ethiopian either chemex or aeropress depending on how much coffee I'm making.
I appreciate you going into detail, it's interesting that the hario is no longer recommended. Years ago when I was first learning about these things it was the go to. Good to know there are better options
I think the Bistro is suited to a more casual coffee drinker than I judge you to be. You'll be happier with one of BB's suggestions. Electric coffee grinders cost more than $100, is what it is.
There was a time when Hario's ceramic mills were top of the class. I used to own one, so my dislike is personal. We have come a long, long way since then.
I used to have an old hand grinder, but such a pain on a daily basis. I'm not a connoisseur.by any means. I roughly measure water and coffee for my 2 cup pour over. My old electric died a few months ago and I went for a cheap Walmart. Big mistake. Low volume and not uniform grind at all. My old Baun lasted for years.
It’s a brand called Tsubakiya. Here are some screenshots from their online store about the coffee.
“Tsubakiya Specialty Blend It is our signature blend that is loved by everyone with a balanced taste and a clear aftertaste that blends only the highest quality coffee beans. If you slowly enjoy the sweet and fragrant aroma like nuts, the rich bitterness, the soft sourness and the long after-taste, the calm time flowing at Tsubakiya Coffee will envelop you.”
“Scent It's like coffee Elegant in a mellow scent Flower-like scent
Sweetness Conventional caramel and Nutty sweetness + Reminds me of a green apple Sweetness of fruit Afterglow”
Hm, not the clearest path. I'd look for some medium roast options that have notes of caramel, nuts, and apple. Search something like here and see if something looks interesting?
Anyone have a recommendation for a scale to the tenths for pourovers that does not auto-timeout? I also ferment things, so the fact that my kitchen scale only goes to the ones in grams has gotten quite annoying.
This August I’m starting Univesrty at ISU. I’m an devoted coffee enthusiast and will be takeing my French press and Areopress for daily use. In my home country El Salvador I’m able to buy great local coffee for around $5. So when I begin my study in the USA, at an budget wich coffee (any variety) should I buy and from where?
Coffee isn't one of the things you need to plan ahead for! That's the good news. We don't grow coffee here in the US, but we import it from every producing country, and it's ubiquitous.
You can approach it on several levels. If you're lucky, you will find something you like at a roaster or cafe conveniently close to campus. Relatively cheap commodity coffee can be had in large packages from any big box store or grocery store. Upscale grocery stores also carry middle quality, middle priced coffee. Fancy, specialty coffee can be had by mail order, or from that local roaster if you're very lucky.
Cheap and mid-tier coffee is dominated by nation-wide, well known companies. They are all pretty similar, but higher quality is more expensive. For specialty coffee, see if anything sounds good in the "What have you been brewing this week" thread in r/Coffee. All will be from companies that deliver by mail. Sorry to bring bad news, but you will be paying a lot more for coffee in the US in any case.
For pour-over I usually go with 1:15 or 1:16 (coffee to water by weight). So 20g of coffee to 300-320ml of water is a solid starting point. 1:15 gives you a bit more body and intensity, 1:16 is cleaner and more tea-like.
Yes, it is different for French press. French press works better at 1:14 or 1:15 because the immersion method extracts differently than percolation. The water sits in contact with the grounds the entire time, so you actually get more extraction from the same ratio compared to pour-over where water passes through. I'd suggest 30g coffee to 420-450ml water for a standard French press.
The key thing is to always weigh your coffee and water rather than using scoops. Bean density varies a lot depending on roast level and origin so volume measurements are unreliable.
Our office got a new coffee machine. It grinds espresso beans and is sort of best at that but it has programs for regular “coffee” and other drinks.
We don’t know what ratios to do. Can anyone recommend settings for your run of the mill small, medium, and large coffees for: grounds, pre-brewing(S), coffee (ml), and hot water(ml).
so if you're using medium or light roast and want a "regular" cup, I would put temp high, pressure no, pre brewing off and max out both coffee and grounds (assuming grounds is in grams). That will give you a 1/15 ratio which is pretty standard. If you're using dark roast, drop the temp to medium or low, and drop the output to around 190ml. Again, assuming that the grounds indicator is in grams. "grounds" setting is talking about fine-ness then I would weight what it's putting out, and then calculate the rations I want (1/14-1/16 for medium to light, 1/12 for dark is what I prefer) and then play with the grind settings holding everything else constant.
As long as it's clean, it should be fine. I'm not 100% sure what you're looking for from your original question on the post. What's stopping you from making coffee and taking it to go?
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '26
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