I'd recommend the process I'm using here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/360603-Coffee-On-The-Go
A lot of folk are headed back to school. What equipment would you recommend for Coffee / Tea preparation.
- Should be minimalistic
- Relatively inexpensive
I really like my Aeropress for the office along with (gasp) an electric blade grinder.
What do you guys suggest? (Tea and Coffee)
My son and I was talking dorm room coffee today. He purchased a 4 cup Mr Coffee or Black and Decker, Not really sure. He said the coffee was tasting a bit more "acidic" compared to our home brew with the same coffee. Any ideas, he is using bottled water, at home we used a simple filtered water from the fridge. Our local roaster grinds it for use when we purchase ever Saturday. Any ideas? My suggestions was to change filter type, allow more break in, and maybe a bit coarser grind.
First, the grinder.
http://compare.ebay.com/like/281147284900?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar#
This is a Turkish type grinder and I have a couple and they work okay. More convenient than the wood box type grinder. The problem is, the grind only adjusts just so much. It comes out fine, even at the coarsest possible adjustment. Good for espresso. So-so for drip. Worthless for FP. But you can do like me, and disassemble the grinder, and carefully grind down the burr cone on a bench grinder to increase the gap, if you want to use it for FP coffee. These go for about $10 in Istanbul. Elsewhere if you get it including shipping for $20 you are getting a good deal.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/grinders/manual-grinders/zassenhaus-175-m-turkish-mill.html
Zassenhaus is well known in Europe. This is a Turkish style grinder made by them, with a much higher quality burr and it grinds much coarser. In fact I would guess that it can't grind fine enough for espresso. It certainly grinds too coarse for Turkish coffee. For pourover, perfect. However, for THIS price, you could just as well have a Hario.
If you pass by a grocery every day, just use the store grinder. Get just a few ounces of coffee, run it through the grinder, and use it til it's gone, hopefully no more than a couple of days. Store it in a SMALL airtight container for best results. Okay, not as good as fresh ground right when you brew it, but nearly there. And you are in college, after all. Your station in life is to endure hardship LOL!
Now the coffee maker. For a dorm room might I suggest a $3.99 Melitta pourover from the grocery store? More and more are stocking this cheap little unit. Don't look for it at walmart, though. They make too much money selling applicances for 10x that amount that do the same job. A French Press makes better coffee (YMMV) and is cheap, but you got to scoop out the grounds and stuff. With a pourover just toss filter and all. Easy Sneezy.
Hot water... try to find a "stinger" type immersion heater if you are just wanting to make a cup for yourself. Yes, you can boil water in a microwave. The popsicle stick trick just makes it a little faster. Be sure your water container has no metal and won't melt in the micro. Any cheap electric kettle will do, too. Don't expect it to last more than a year, unless you move up a notch in quality and price.
I think an Aeropress is perfect for coffee for one. Far far better than any instant I've tasted and close to as quick as instant.
That's not an old picture, that's my desk right now at work...