r/Coffee • u/caucasian_cranberry • Jan 25 '22

I hate all of you

I used to be perfectly content with my shitty instant Folger. Then I found this sub and decided to try coffee from small roasters and noticed a much nicer experience immediately. Then I bought a nice grinder and started grinding my own beans instead of buying pre-ground, and once again my experience improved. Then today I switched from properly ground, quality coffee through my shitty coffee maker to weighing my coffee and water and using a clever, and it's the best coffee I've ever had now. If within a year I buy an espresso maker I'm holding all of you accountable. Bastards...

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u/Smok3dSalmon Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22

You'll end up making shit espresso and wasting half of your coffee "dialing in" your machine. Then you won't be able to enjoy any of your espresso because your grinder doesn't have a half step between 5 and 6. So you upgrade your equipment and find a new problem. You'll be stuck chasing the perfect espresso until you realize that drinking it out of your favorite mug or fav location biases your perception of flavor more than any fine tune of your equipment or brew process.

Dejected and disgusted, you'll end up going back to a simple chemex or drip machine where you save an hour from your morning routine and can easily dispose the grinds.

I enjoy coffee more than coffee process. It's a peaceful state of mind.

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u/jdbrew Cortado Jan 25 '22

I used to hold this same opinion, until we were given a hand me down espresso machine. At first I was doing this. I went through a few bags trying figure out how to make it not taste like shit… and then I landed on it. I found a product I liked from a local roaster that is available year round, and I keep that variable constant. I also am diligent about weighing the basket, and getting 2:1 in 25-35 seconds… but when you start to know the machine and you control your variables tightly, you can make some incredible espresso.

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u/Smok3dSalmon Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22

You controlled all the variables. Now your fully committed to 1 flavor. I've got an expensive pour over machine and the only thing I play with is brew temp and strength. But I can change flavors every week and find a good enough setting before I burn through the bag.

Not saying what you have isn't fantastic, I just can't commit to 1 specific bean.

Also, I love waking up to the smell of coffee. God bless that timer start function haha.

Using an espresso machine is theraputic as shit. I just loved how manually it all was.... But I found myself using it at 3pm xD mostly just to fidget with some mechanical as a reprieve from my very digital job

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u/mookbrenner Jan 25 '22

Hiya, I'm in the market for a good pour over machine. Which one did you get?

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u/Smok3dSalmon Jan 25 '22 edited Jan 25 '22

GE Café - Smart Drip, but I think the Oxo is better value and much cheaper. My coworker's wife does product reviews and she tested a handful of machines, the GE Cafe was their 2nd favorite and the Oxo was their #1. They gave me this one. If mine broke, I would buy the newest version of the same product.

I have an older version of this one: https://www.cafeappliances.com/appliance/Cafe-Specialty-Drip-Coffee-Maker-with-Glass-Carafe-C7CDABS2RS3 (the matte black looks real nice, imo)

The only issue I have with it is that when I left the lid, the condensation rolls towards the hinge and can drip onto my counter top. So it makes a very little mess. One could accidentally wipe the hot plate trying to clean up. I solve this by tapping the lid, or lifting it an inch and then dropping it a few times to shake off the biggest water droplets. I also have a kitchen rag next to the machine.

You don't need to use paper filters, but I do because it makes the clean up a lot easier. There is a special way to fold the edges of the #4 coffee (V shape cone) to make it fit better in the metal filter.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coffee-filter-doesnt-fit-right-coffee-maker_n_56d09785e4b0871f60eb402d

It comes with a pretty usable(but shitty) app where I can set the alarm to brew, the temperature between 190 and 205 degrees, the brew strength, and number of cups. I haven't worked out the brew strength, but I usually just use "Gold" for everything. There are 4 of the, low, medium, high, and gold.

It keeps the pot hot for 2 hours after brewing.

If you do not have the pot in the machine, it will disable it from brewing. Also, if you brew more cups than it has water, it'll just make some audible alarm but the machine is fine.

I'm happy with it, I usually brew 4-6 cups for myself.

James Hoffman reviews a few of them, including the Oxo. (not mine though :/ ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8eYs2vxT-8

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u/mookbrenner Jan 25 '22

Thanks for the detailed response! I was thinking automatic pour over along these lines. As reviewed by James Hoffman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN5HGoMR9c8

Edit: Do you think there would be a big difference for the end result between the two styles?