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Best method for making one cup of coffee?

Is there a difference between letting the water drain through in a pour over, vs. continually adding water into the cone and pulling the whole thing when the correct time/volume is reached?
Yes, and I would argue that different coffees prefer different methods. Some coffees require more agitation to coax a higher extraction out of it, or you risk under-extraction. Some coffees prefer less agitation, or you risk over-extraction.

Which approach to take requires that you take just a little time to get to know the coffee before you brew it. Is it dense? Is it brittle? How light is the roast? What is the bag fragrance and how would you brew it to extract the desirable aromatics into the cup?

Yes, it's a little "esoteric" in the approach, but it's always worked well for me. I approach roasting in much the same way.
 
I work in a department store and the Keuring machines are flying off the shelves.
I've only tried them in the waiting room of a Jiffy-Lube,
but I must admit it looks like a pretty good gadget to have around the house.
I know I'd be going heavy on those DIY refills, too.

I'm in that 1 or 2 cups a day category, but I like LARGE cups.
My total coffee habit during the workweek is about a quart a day.

I had one of those Senseo pod machines awhile back, I got it free with a Gevalia subscription. I have to admit, its fast and quick and easy and convenient to make coffee, but the coffee itself was always weak and lacked character. I gave up on it after a year or so.

Now, I have auto-drip waiting for me whenever I wake up,
my landlord provides it
and I kick in the occasional can of Traditional or French roast when I can find it on sale.
Its my turn to buy milk again, too.

I may be getting my own place pretty soon, so I'll be needing a new coffeepot.
I'll be watching this thread even closer now.
 
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SWMBO pushed me to espesso as our full time drink about a year ago, so our primary brewer is a Gaggia platinum Swing-up super automatic brewer. It makes wonderful coffee with just a couple of button pushes to grind and brew. I can also make you a beautiful cappuccino or macchiato in minutes
 
I just bought a "6 cup" Bialetti. It makes exactly 1 regular sized mug and tastes amazing.
This is the coffee I grew up with. My father had a 9-cup Bialetti that would make 2 cups for he and I to split. He used Medallia D'Oro brand ground coffee. Even though there was only about 8oz of coffee in each cup, that was more than enough caffeine, and plenty of flavor to start the day off right. I still remember the mud in the bottom of the cup.
 
My every day coffee is made using a Melitta $2.99 Plastic pour over cone and Melitta natural #2 filters. 2 scoops of beans ground almost espresso fine through my Hario Skerton. $8 for a 12oz bag of Peets, and that gets me 2 weeks (I do french press on weekends). Under $250/year if I drank coffee all year long, in this style. Summer, I make iced coffee and use Chock full o' nuts. Its cheap, and has a metal can...and I like re-using coffee cans! :) I also had half n half and "splenda" (to the iced coffee, hot coffee is drank black!) so it adds up...

Oh, and the coffee from the pour over rivals any coffee I've ever had. I love french press, and LOVE the taste that sediment really does add, but when I just want a smooth sediment free cup of coffee, I have yet to find anything close to pour over. 3rd on the list would be percolator. Espresso I don't drink without steamed/frothed milk so that doesn't count :)
 
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I asked myself that same question several years ago and began experimenting with various methods including drip, siphon pot, moka pot, presses and have settled on an Aeropress that I use nearly everyday. (Oddly enough I used a siphon pot this morning) I highly recommend the Aeropress.

There are reviews everywhere so if by chance you have not heard about it you can check it out online. It is simple to use and clean and it travels well. Most importantly it makes a good cup of coffee.

It makes about 8 ounces of coffee which can be made as strong as you like for Americano or cafe' au lait. Some say it approaches an expresso with the right roast. I buy coffee beans roasted and green and roast my own most of the time. I'm currently waiting on an 13# order from Sweet Maria's with both Indonesian and African beans. My coffee this morning was a Sumatra cafe' au lait.
 
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Even though I like a Keurig machine, why not just use a one cup "Brew N' Go" by Black and Decker? Keurig, and pour overs are just that, pour overs and the Brew N' Go is just a self-contained pour over. It has a small foot print and no need for an electric kettle. When finished, pick up the filter and throw it away--simple, easy, no mess and good coffee.
 
French press brother. All the way. You can even get small ones for one cup. I got mine at ikea as an impulse buy for $6
 
French press brother. All the way. You can even get small ones for one cup. I got mine at ikea as an impulse buy for $6
The best home-made coffee I ever had was from a French Press. I'd use it every day if clean-up were easier. Once I redo my kitchen and get a garbage disposal installed, it will be French Press all the way.

You'll also want a burr grinder at home. Or buy whole beans at the store and grind them on one of their machines. Use the coarsest setting they have. Regular auto-drip grind coffee is too fine for the FP process.
 
Hard to get any more convenient than a pour over filter holder or a one cup French press.

+1! Agreed!

When I want to make 1 cup of Coffee, (my cup holds 24oz.) I use a Melitta 1 cup pour over maker. I put 4 Espresso scoops for each cup.
I was taught how to make a cup of coffee by a Navy CPO. If it will not take the paint off of a USNavy Ship 2 fathoms aka 12ft. below the water line it's not worth drinking.
 
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Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
When I want to make 1 cup of Coffee, (my cup holds 24oz.) I use a Melitta 1 cup pour over maker. I put 4 Espresso scoops for each cup.
I was taught how to make a cup of coffee by a Navy CPO. If it will not take the paint off of a USNavy Ship 2 fathoms aka 12ft. below the water line it's not worth drinking.

I like my coffee strong too. I was thinking of the huge cups Abby from the original NCIS uses . . . Caf-Pow.
 
I can't stay in the shadows any longer! This thread seems so relevant today since my opinion has changed notably since the first comment was posted 3 or so years ago. I think I have tried every method mentioned here (alas, I am a coffee nerd (~20 years since I first started to notice the difference)). I have come full circle - and now I'm back to the 1+ cup pourover. To be honest, a 30-50 dollar drip machine is a solid choice if you're brewing for a crowd, especially if they put cream in it. But every day now I find myself heating up a kettle and reaching for that $3.95 Melitta sit on top. My girlfriend makes a small pot in the machine, and I make a standard size mug (about 8 oz). She drinks two to-go travel cups (16 oz) over the course of an hour and a half, and I drink one mug over about twenty minutes. To me the test of a good cup is whether the last sip or two still taste good after they've gotten cold, and by this method they almost always do. A trick I've picked up is to pour really slow and use a knife or spoon or anything to 'agitate' the grounds as you pour. Once there's a nice golden-brown crown on top of the filter you're on the right track. Also, the fundamentals are equally as important as the method - cold clean water, fresh evenly ground beans, and a vessel that suits your taste.
 
Most of the time that I want to make a single cup of coffee, which is rare since someone in my family usually wants some coffee too, I'll use the glass Kalita Wave 155 using 14 grams of coffee and pouring in 225 grams of water with a thirty second bloom and a four minute pour. I tried a V60-01 for single cup pour-over but find that the flat bottomed Wave is more forgiving of the grind and the pour. I used to use the Aeropress quite a bit with a metal filter but it's been a while and I seem to prefer the coffee from the Wave. The filters are expensive, and sometimes hard to find, but you can take a 4 cup Melitta filter and fold it over an Aeropress or canning funnel to get it to fit if you run out or just want to save money.


$Kalita Wave 155.jpg
 
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