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Quality Coffee on a Budget

Hard to beat an Aero Press for making coffee. http://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-AeroP...UTF8&qid=1393034216&sr=8-2&keywords=aeropress

Get yourself a manual burr style coffee grinder like a Hario off amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-...93034293&sr=8-3&keywords=hario+coffee+grinder

buy some good quality green beans and roast them yourself using a modified popcorn maker. http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php
Check out the sweet maria's forum too, has a ton of info about home roasting on the cheep.
 
Hard to beat an Aero Press for making coffee.

That is another one I have not tried. Been "rediscovering" all of my coffee "stuff" in the basement and dragging it back into the kitchen.

I got away from "coffee crazy" a number of years ago and put a lot of things away. Recently I have gotten back to my old coffee crazy ways :001_smile
 
I buy me greens either from the Greencoffeebuyingclub.com or SweetMarias.com I recommend looking the library at SweetMarias, it has all the info you could want on home roasting and so does GCBC.
 
There is a difference between a European cup (6 oz) and an American mug (16 oz and more) in size.

Watch out when you read cups when relating to coffee as it can range anywhere from a 2 oz espresso shot all the way to a big gulp.

I have one of the "3 cup" presses and I can get (almost) 2 cups out of it but I use a 10 oz coffee cup.

That looks just like my French press. Please, if you stole mine, make sure to return it :lol:
 
Seriously just gave one just like that away to someone who needed it. I think there is an AD here too. CAD?
I have more invested in fresh coffee and espresso than I have in shaving. The most expensive thing I ever bought for shaving was a Tim Zowada razor I had him clad in ivory. Have you priced Espresso machines?..... Then there is the grinder, the roaster,etc... I won't list all the Chemex, and Hario goodies either....
 
I have always enjoyed coffee ever since I was a teenager. My parents made their coffee in a siphon pot and it was some of the best I had ever tasted until I started blending and brewing my own long after I moved out.

I started with a Chemex 4 cup in college and stayed with that almost exclusively for 10 years. Maybe this is why I still like the smooth taste of coffee made with that brewer. Even today I will use one of my Chemex pots 2 to 1 over the next popular one around here which is either the espresso machine or the commercial Bunn CWTF-15 brewer.

I think anyone wanting to improve their coffee "experience" should

#1: Find a local specialty roasting house and buy only 1 lb of freshly roasted beans a week
#2: Get a Chemex pot (any size). Use the white/bleached filters (Chemex brand)
#3: Use water at the proper temp (195º yo 205º)

With a Chemex the grinder is not all that important (really it isn't). You can use a whirly blade grinder and get a decent enough grind for use in a Chemex, just pulse it not slam away at the beans and stop when it looks a little finer than table salt. I used a Braun whirly blade grinder until I got an espresso machine as the blade was just fine for grinding for making coffee with a Chemex

Put the kettle on.

Put 2 cups of water into the microwave for 3 minutes then pour it into the Chemex with the EMPTY filter on it to rinse the paper

Pour out the water (I Pour mine into my cup to warm it,,, no point wasting heat)

After your brew water comes to a boil, let the boiling water set for 2 minutes to cool down below 205º

Grind your beans while you wait for your boiled water to drop to brew temp and add them to the filter in the Chemex

Lightly/gently pour ONLY enough water over the beans to wet them and STOP for 30-45 seconds to allow the coffee to "bloom" (absorb the water). You should see the beans rise up in the filter with a mushroom domed top if they are fresh.

Then pour your water into the center of the bloom breaking it up until your water level reaches the top of the glass funnel

Always pour the center in a circle motion until you are almost out of water than rinse the sides with the last bit of water.

You want coffee on the side of the filter while brewing so that the water does not get through the paper filter before having time to remove all the coffee "goodness".
 
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Just wanted to give you guys an update. I stopped by wally world yesterday an picked up a pack of miletta filters to go in my loaned dripper. I also took a look at the grinders, but they only had 2 mr coffee ones available. Scott (life2short1971) has sent me a 2, 1/2lb bags of his freshly roasted beans. Which I am extremely excited to give a try! And I was able to procure a loaned grinder for the time being. I will be ordering a decent burr grinder off of amazon shortly.

As far as my misfit b&d coffee maker, I was able to get it totally descaled. But I don't think it is reaching proper brewing temp. Using a manual thermometer, I read the temp in the basket at 175F. I am going to give it a couple more tries now that it has been thoroughly cleaned out.
 
I almost forgot, I had a question regarding proper grind size. Basically, what is it? This would be in regards to a pour over dripper. Should I be going for sand consistency, or rock salt?
 
I almost forgot, I had a question regarding proper grind size. Basically, what is it? This would be in regards to a pour over dripper. Should I be going for sand consistency, or rock salt?


For the Melitta you should be a little coarser than sand, more to the table salt consistency.

Now this is assuming you are using the stock 1 hole Melitta dripper and not a 3 hole in which case you want to be a little finer.

Rule of thumb for drippers. The faster the water runs through an unrestricted dripper the finer you need to grind. You want to "bloom" your coffee for 30-45 seconds (just wet the grounds and wait for it to swell). Then you want the brew time to be right around 3 minutes for a single cup size, more for a larger pot size brew.

If your brew time is too fast you need to grind coarser. If your brew time is too slow you need to grind finer. Trial and error will give you the correct answer to what you need as far as a grind for the brew method you have selected.

Now should you end up with a Hario you need finer grind same goes for Chemex (finer). The grind size depends on the speed at which the water flows through the grounds.

As far as my misfit b&d coffee maker, I was able to get it totally descaled. But I don't think it is reaching proper brewing temp. Using a manual thermometer, I read the temp in the basket at 175F. I am going to give it a couple more tries now that it has been thoroughly cleaned out.


175º sounds about right for a "store/consumer" coffee maker. That is why most people recommend against using them
 
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If you end up with the Hario Mini Mill or for anyone else that has one you can use a electric screwdriver in place of the handle. It fits directly on on the shaft.
 
Well gents I have seen the light! I tried some of Scott's fresh roasted coffee beans tonight. It was hands down the best cup of coffee I have had. I think I have just stepped into a whole new rabbit hole.
 
Well gents I have seen the light! I tried some of Scott's fresh roasted coffee beans tonight. It was hands down the best cup of coffee I have had. I think I have just stepped into a whole new rabbit hole.



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Truck stop coffee black! After driving rigs for 14 yrs I can drink any coffee. I haven't been a driver for over a decade now so its Folgers simply smooth in the Keurig. Its easy on the stomach so they advertise.
 
Truck stop coffee black! After driving rigs for 14 yrs I can drink any coffee. I haven't been a driver for over a decade now so its Folgers simply smooth in the Keurig. Its easy on the stomach so they advertise.

though I enjoy freshly roasted and ground coffee I still enjoy a cup of basic Folgers.

There is a difference but I enjoy the taste of just about every coffee I have ever tried.
 
I have always had difficulty with stale coffee. I can't go back to the "truck stop" coffee regardless of name brand. The cheapest I can go is the Kirkland 3lb bags but I can't drink that fast enough before they go stale so I used to just fill the pot at work each time.

I drink my coffee with whole milk so I can take little off taste. If it is way off, I just grab some sugar for it. Hey, it's still caffeine....

I don't think I have had a cup of coffee away from my house (or made by me somewhere else) in a long time. Don't think I have been in a truck stop other than to pay for fuel, then off again.

I will admit that I have had my Thermos filled at McDonald's on a number of occasions and find their coffee very acceptable
 
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