Are you a fan of espresso, cold brew, aeropress? Do you try new beans and roasters regularly, or stay with what you know and love?
I generally prefer filter coffee (with a re-usable filter, no oil sucking paper!) or plunger, but currently have only the plunger because of lack of space. A good syphon can also be supurb. I’ve also started roasting my own beans - I’m definitely a long way from expert, but am getting pretty solid results and am am slowly improving.
International Roast straight from the giant can! With a shitload of sugar and milk!
Because I’m broke, I’ve used the same stainless steel Moka Pot for 15 years drinking whatever ground coffee I can get my hands on for a fair price. It’s had 3 new seals put in and uses a Bialetti size.
It was dropped once and the handle is bent but it keeps on keeping on. I see no need to change what’s working. Sure, it could taste better but it’s been consistent.
I even used the same little steel coffee tin for 15 years too but it got left behind on a trip. Shame, it had been picked up so much that it had dents on the tin in the shape of my hand. Luckily, I found that exact same tin like 13 years ago and kept it so I’m back in my tin.
Moka pot is real coffee to me. I find everything else some sort of compromise - even buying coffee from a barista with an espresso machine. Espresso machines are comparable in coffee quality, the compromise you are making is price for time. That goes for caffe machines with a barista or the fancy machines you can get at home.
I’m surprised to see how few coffee drinkers seem to make coffee on the stove. It’s the real deal, and while it takes 5-10 minutes longer, it’s the cheapest way to get good coffee.
Love a Moka Pot. It’s all we used to have growing up and still enjoy having it. But it’s not the same as an espresso. Everyone has a preference for how they like coffee, I wouldn’t necessarily call anything other than a Moka Pot a compromise, just a preference.
Moka Pot is what I’ll always recommend to someone who wants to make coffee at home and is starting out with nothing. In my opinion it’s the cheapest and easiest way to get good coffee with little effort.
I got a little induction stove top and its sped up coffee making by 50%!
On the topic of stove coffee, have you ever tried Turkish coffee?
If you happen to be in Melbourne, I ❤️ Istanbul on Lygon St does a good Turkish Coffee with Turkish Delight.
I have! It’s black magic to me how much coffee they get out of that little pot. It looks like the coffee is coming out of the sand itself!
I like Turkish Coffee, but I doubt I’d choose it every day over espresso-style.
Too bitter? Just run the bottom of the pot under a tap before it starts “sputtering”. This ensures the water doesn’t get too hot during extraction.
I meant like having frothed milk or a set temperature is a nice touch which some people might like an expensive machine for.
Being lazy and letting it sputter doesn’t bother me. The actual coffee grind is probably the greater taste denominator for me personally.
Thanks for the tip though. I’ve also read wrapping it in a moist tea towel is another option at the end. I usually tip it at the moment of sputter and that’s good enough for me.
The sputter is how I know to get up usually. Like a kettle whistle.
I’m team moka pot…the Brikka variant. I used to just use pre-ground coffee but recently bought a little Kalita hand ginder and I use Humbler beans from Proud Mary…much more tasty. It’s no worse than the 5 buck coffees I get from my local cafe, IMO.
We got a Delonghi (Dinamica Plus) coffee machine last year. Most of the time I go for an espresso or a cappuccino.
In terms of beans I have found a couple of local roasters nearby and tend to alternate across their blends.
The ones I’ve been enjoying are:
The Cats Pyjamas https://www.sevenmiles.com.au/products/catspjs?variant=39825374281918
Gusto https://www.sevenmiles.com.au/products/gusto?variant=39843759063230
9Bar Blend https://espressoservicesplus.com.au/product/9bar-coffee-bar-blend-1kg/
I use a plunger at the moment, but I’m getting sick of unavailability of replacement parts. Haven’t been able to get a replacement filter for a 12 cup plunger in ages. Price is going to jump up if/when they’re ever back in stock, too.
Definitely have to grind beans yourself. I use a Hario hand mill. You’re missing out on a lot of the aroma if you buy ground beans.
Latte maker here. Invested in a Gaggia classic pro over Covid. Paid for itself in a few months. I buy preground beans from colesworth; what ever has the prettiest package. I know I need to hit up a boutique roaster at least but I never find the time.
Are you using pressurised baskets with the pre-ground coffee? I strongly suggest investing in a grinder and grinding your own beans. Then you can start using the non-pressurised baskets. It’ll be the next big leap up with your more than capable machine.
Also, don’t fret about trying to get out to a boutique roaster. There’s plenty of places you can buy online now. I found this site that you can buy from several roasters (mainly Melbourne based): directcoffee.com.au
Water temperature, extraction time, and grind size are the main variables dictating coffee taste. Aeropresses are so handy because you can easily control water temperature and extraction time. Get a burr grinder (not the blade grinder) to play with grind size. I have spent a lot of time playing with these three factors alone.
One teaspoon of cheap instant coffee and two splendas, milk.
I have an aeropress that I haven’t used since I bought a $99 Delonghi espresso machine from Aldi a few years ago. It’s a good little machine and makes a perfectly adequate coffee. I’ve recently upgraded to a Gaggia Classic Pro and the quality of the coffee I make has gone significantly downhill thanks to this machine being more demanding. I’m slowly improving, though.
As for the beans, I like to try local roasters I haven’t tried before, but have a couple I fall back on either because I enjoy them or just for convenience (read: I didn’t realise how low I was getting and ran out, so went with the best option to get beans ASAP.)
My preferences are:
- Espresso
- Piccolo
- Moka Pot
I invested in a Breville Dual Boiler a few months ago and haven’t looked back. Using a Kingrinder K4 hand grinder until my electric grinder arrives. Finally able to get coffee on par with what I’d buy out.
Gaggia Classic Pro here with the 9 bar spring mod and a VST basket. Using a Baratza Encore grinder. The quintessential “Dipping my toes into espresso” bundle.
18g grams of beans in, 36 grams of liquid out. Froth and pour in 100ml of full cream milk.
Bought an espresso machine over COVID and have been learning the ropes with milk texture ever since. Almost always a flat white but occasionally a long black or straight espresso.
It’s pretty cool what you can do with a $350 machine, fortunately already had a Bodum grinder which helps a lot.
Has paid itself off probably multiple times over by now and is a fun little hobby nailing a latte heart or tulip or whatever.
I usually just pull espresso for a lomg black from my cheap-o machine, but I do love a good, black, cold brew. Also partial to pour overs with a proper ratio.
I used to have a hario hand grinder and french press.
But I just bought myself a miele full automatic
I have a nespresso machine. For my morning coffee I use 4 pods randomly selected from my huge basket of pods (I buy in bulk every time the boxes of pods are on special at the supermarket), add 285ml of boiled water, and a milk froth cycle from the machine. I have a double-sized mug to put it all in.
I used to drink coffees through the day using two Nespresso pods and frothed milk. But I gave up on buying the Nespresso branded pods because I got sick of their website fighting me. They offer a free thing if you buy x number of pods, but literally every time I ordered and spent time carefully selecting the pods I wanted, when I got to the order screen at least one of my selections was out of stock so I would lose my free thing and have to go back and refigure out my order. Why let me select pods you aren’t going to sell me? Anyway, Nespresso have lost a customer because of that. Once or twice would be tolerable but it was literally every time.
Now my day coffee is nescafe gold, make sure you add the milk before adding the water.
