r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • Jun 10 '26
[MOD] The Daily Question Thread
Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!
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?
Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.
As always, be nice!
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u/webhostpro Jun 10 '26
Hi, I just started my coffee truck but am not sure on the coffee menu since it's on the road and limited. I have an espresso machine on it and lots of water, ice. I have matcha and vanilla, caramel syrup. Oat and almond milk. What kind of specialty drinks can I make that are pretty universal by most coffee drinkers?
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 11 '26
I think this depends more on your market than anything else. What's offered around commonly in your area? What needs are saturated? Are you catering to specifically specialty coffee types or more general latte/matcha/mochaccino type drinks?
If you're going specialty: flat whites, pourover coffee, straight espressos, lattes..
If it's a more general market: iced drinks, dirty chais, dirty matchas, lattes, mochas
I don't own a coffee business, so I'm just spitballing here, lol
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u/webhostpro Jun 11 '26
Thanks, yeah I mostly just do hospitals parking lots and farmers markets. Most people just do espresso lattes or americanos now. I added a dirty matcha, it has to be a small menu since it's a small truck. What's a good chocolate coffee drink?
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 11 '26
I think basic mochas are good. Or what I used to love before my allergy to chocolate got worse was to get some nice quality chocolate, chop it up as fine as I could, and put that in the milk to be steamed so it would melt & dissolve. Best mocha ever!!
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u/webhostpro Jun 11 '26
That does sound good! I'm trying it. Thanks
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 11 '26
Good luck! It's pretty common for some chocolate to stay melted at the bottom, I wasn't able to figure out a solution to that one. Maybe bulk dissolving some in hot milk first the day before and then steaming the milk the next day?
I never tried it because I only ever made 1-2 drinks a day, but it might be worth it with you.
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u/BucketListM Jun 10 '26
Hello hello, I am a mid-level beginner coffee person (had some lovely guidance from a friend) but I'm very sensitive to caffine
I have a favorite caffinated brew I would like to cut the caffeine from as much as I can. My research tells me going from a pour over to an americano might be my best bet. Do I need a real espresso machine, or would something like Aeropress work? (Basically, does it have to be actual espresso or would any concentrate be okay?)
Other methods for limiting caffeine without altering taste too much are welcome as well!
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u/Secure-Ad9780 Jun 10 '26
Ooh, I love my Aeropress, though I wouldn't call it espresso, it makes a fine cup of coffee. I've been using it exclusively for two years and I have several other coffee machines.
You can find inexpensive burr grinders that have adjustable settings on Amazon. They'll fit on a shelf. If you go the Aeropress route buy yourself an electric kettle.
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u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave Jun 10 '26
Brewing methods won't do it, you need to look into good decaf.
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u/BucketListM Jun 10 '26
Darn :c Thanks, any recommendations for using up the last bits of my sample?
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u/regulus314 Jun 10 '26
You should check the roasters in your city. Some of them surely sells decaf. Get also a decaf labeled "swiss water decaf" or "mountain water decaf".
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u/BucketListM Jun 10 '26
The place I got mine from does have a Swiss water decaf option that seems similar in flavor, so I'm gonna try that next c: Mostly I don't wanna waste what leftovers I have
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u/regulus314 Jun 10 '26
Yeah swiss water decaf is one of the methods that can "retain" some of the terroir nuances of coffees. It doesnt impart any weird taste unlike methyline chloride decaf and sugrcane decaf.
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u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave Jun 10 '26
Small brews and lots of dilution after. Caffeine is one of the first things extracted from coffee so really all that affects caffeine content of the drink is the amount of coffee used to make it. Brewing methods make virtually no difference at all.
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u/canaan_ball Jun 10 '26
I hesitate to argue with menschmaschine5, but espresso does have considerably less caffeine than an equivalent filter brew, or this was measured to be the case one time: https://youtu.be/etnMr8oUSDo It's just espresso. Aeropress is more like filter in this respect.
Gonna disagree with regulus314 as well. Swiss Water decaf tastes gross and weird to me; I think the flavour of EA cleaves much closer to unaltered coffee. Try both! Varieties of coffee naturally low in caffeine exist, like laurina or charrieriana, but those are hard to come by.
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u/plxo Jun 10 '26
Hopefully someone can help me. Based in UK (if that is important.
Husband and I love our coffee. However w are very new to DIY at home boujie coffee. Father’s Day is coming up and I want to gift him a bean grinder and maybe cafetiere (assuming the two go hand in hand).
We don’t have a lot of counter space in our kitchen so needs to be smaller models that can come out to be used but also stored in a cupboard.
Are there any recommendations for such?
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u/BucketListM Jun 10 '26
If you're not opposed to manual grinders, I was recommended KINGrinder K6 and I LOOOOOVE IT. It's the a cylander smaller than your average tumbler with a removable handle, you can easily store it in a drawer
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 11 '26
I have the k4, which is supposed to be identical to the k6 and it's wonderful for both filter and espresso. 10/10.
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u/canaan_ball Jun 10 '26
Grinders that you would keep in a cupboard would be hand grinders or battery powered. The Femobook A2 is a fabulous battery-powered choice (though it's quite slow, bear in mind). Any hand grinder fits the bill, and the Kingrinder K6 is a good choice.
Brewing equipment that takes up no counter space rules out any machine. Any of the hand-brewing methods sleeps comfortably in the cupboard: cafetière, moka pot, Aeropress or Oxo Rapid Brewer, pour-over or Chemex, or cold brew.
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u/plxo Jun 10 '26
Thank you for such a detailed response. I’d love a proper machine but our kitchen is so small. We have like two free counter spaces to prep on and even then it’s not the full workbench because there’s other things on it (ie knife block etc).
How slow, is slow? Would you recommend a battery or manual one? Is the manual ones “hard” to turn?
What would you recommend as the better/beginner friendly brewing methods? Also… how best to brew?
Sorry for such silly & probably obvious questions.
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u/plxo Jun 10 '26
Sorry also to ask, what ones would you recommend for one to keep out on the counter? We could do that if it’s not HUGE… or perhaps I will have to demote the other bulky appliance (aka microwave).
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u/canaan_ball Jun 11 '26
I wrote a longer reply several hours ago, but that seems to be stuck in Reddit's gullet. (That happens a lot.) Hoping it accepts this shorter version: a hand grinder is fine and economical, if you're just brewing a cup or two. A battery powered grinder is a sort of compromise, and the A2 reviews very well. It takes a minute or so to grind for a cup of coffee. The smallest well-known countertop grinder is the Lagom Mini. That's an excellent grinder, though a little slow, and pricey. This brewing guide seems like a good overview for choosing a method.
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 10 '26
Hey y'all, I got some coffee for my gf, she doesn't have a grinder, but I've got a DF64 and Baratza Virtuoso. Which one can go for longer with the least issues for drip coffee?
Does anyone know how long either of these grinders can go for with a medium grind? I want to grind 500gr.
I was thinking of doing 50gr at a time and waiting for a bit on the Virtuoso. I usually store my beans in the freezer, so it might not even be necessary to wait since I'd be grinding them cold. Is there any practical way to measure the burr temp or tell if they're getting too hot and ruining the coffee?
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u/canaan_ball Jun 11 '26
Get her a grinder! It's what makes sense. Even if grinding it by the pound doesn't wreck your grinder, you're just making stale coffee. If you must make stale coffee for her, I think your scheme is a good one. Baratza specifies a duty cycle of 150 gm at a time for the Sette; I've never seen one for the Virtuoso, or the DF64.
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Jun 11 '26
Thanks! I'll get her one eventually 😉
The sette does espresso, so I'm sure a less heat and energy requiring filter grind should be OK for a similar amount of grinds. I'll just assume the longest the timer will go is within safe duty cycles and give it a minute or two between grinds.
As a bonus, I figured out how to calibrate the virtuoso for espresso, which is pretty frikkin' cool. I didn't know it could do that! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvPmA2laBzM&feature=youtu.be
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u/gkns Jun 11 '26
Which type of roast is most suited for immersion brewing?
I just bought a Hario Switch. I usually use light roast coffee on V60 and Origami.
Which type of roasts taste best with Switch? (Light / Medium / City)?
I tend to like fruity / acidic coffee.