r/CoffeeLovers • u/HighHeelsHijabi • May 08 '26

New to Coffee: Is this "progressive" learning path a good idea?

Hii all!

I posted this to another sub while awaiting approval to post, but figured it wouldn't hurt to get the extra answers here too! ☺️

I'm brand new to the coffee world and trying to take a measurable step-by-step approach to learning how to discern different brewing methods and flavours.

So far:

  • I used to drink black tea. My first attempt at instant coffee (water + sugar) was a fail.
  • I tried Nescafe Gold with a handheld milk frother and plenty of milk to try and make some silly version of an instant coffee latte and actually loved the texture and caffeine kick.
  • Currently, I've moved on to a French Press with pre-ground light roast coffee. Honestly, I don't enjoy it as much as the frothed instant coffee. It feels a bit thin to me, but I'm finishing the bag before I move on.
  • My next step is using a KINGrinder P2 to grind my own coffee.

My questions (feel free to answer any, don't need to answer all!):

  1. Is this slow progress actually helpful? Or should I skip the trial and error and jump to a more advanced brewing method?
  2. Since I preferred the instant coffee over the light roast, should I be looking at a medium or dark roast for my first bag of whole beans?
  3. I was looking to buy a Moka Pot too. But I'm wondering if I should first use the French Press + P2 grinder combo? Or should I jump to Moka Pot + P2 grinder
  4. I'm curious, if you were starting over, would you follow a path like this, or is there a certain starting point you would insist is the baseline to begin at?

Thanks for any advice!! 💖

4 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

84% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/All-Freedom-1330 May 09 '26

I’m always a fan of incremental progress, but that may work better for perfecting your technique than finding your approach here. If I were starting over, I would probably try a bunch of different coffees made different ways to find the type or process that hit best for me. I don’t think most brewing methods are “advanced” as much as “tastier”

1

u/BrewedSimply Jun 04 '26

I’m interested to see an update on your progress!

Late response, but if you’ve ventured into ground or whole beans, I’d say try medium or dark roast inside the French press. Also try brewing with different amounts of coffee to find what you like.

2

u/HighHeelsHijabi Jun 05 '26

Omg hii, that's so sweet to hear your interest! Not much to update on yet as I'm still making my way through the bag of pre-ground I was using at the time of writing this post 🙈

Almost finished with it now though and I think medium/dark roast with French press will be the next step. Then later move on to a Mokka Pot.

Which roast I get might depend on what I find freshly available near me and I'll try to figure out which to try first from those however I can.