Cheap burr grinder, Melitta pourover, paper filters. Total cost maybe $50 and better than any single-portioned crap which is going to have a ridiculously high total cost of ownership because the coffee (which is pre-ground, and therefore pre-staled) is so expensive.
My home espresso setup is coffee geekdom- Nuova Simonelli Oscar espresso machine and Baratza Vario grinder, about $1700 for the pair, but at my office I have a kettle, an $80 Zassenhaus hand grinder (which will last forever) and a Melitta one-shot and filters that cost me maybe $7 total. Best drip coffee imaginable, but then I also use fresh beans.
We bought the Bosch Tassimo about six months ago and we are very pleased with it. I like that you can just make one cup of coffee - fresh. I got fed up throwing out half used pots of filter coffee.
Hey all - Bumping an old thread in hopes to get some more 'coffee talk' going on. Have any of the local CP coffee geeks tried the Aeropress? It was invented by the same guy who invented the Aerobie frisbie. http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm - I am thinking about getting one for the office as I tire of drinking the office coffee. Sounds like it is pretty simple to use and makes a great cup.
Also, where's do you buy your beans? Any recommendations for current single origins or blends available right now at your favourite roaster?
I bought the Cuisinart Keurig on Boxing Day...helluva deal at Future Shop for $149.99. I was very skeptical as well about these things. As a matter of fact I had just bought a nice, fancy Cuisinart drip a month earlier, but had read all these great reviews on Keurig that I pulled the trigger when I saw the Future Shop sale. I must say it makes just as damn good coffee as either my drip, or French press. I do consider myself a bit of a coffee snob as well.
Now I think I have the best of all methods depending on need. The drip for company or crowds, as it has a large thermal carafe, the Keurig for quick cups on the go, or French press for quality gourmet beans anytime. I gott admit though, I havnt left that Keurig alone since I got it. I've been up to Singlecup.ca's store twice now for coffee orders. They have anawesome selection...anything you'd like as far as coffee, and they have lots of teas and flavored stuff as well. I'm not a tea drinker but my wife is. I've plopped a few of the Keurig teas in the machine as well...she says they taste just as good as brewed. She's pretty fussy with her teas as well. All in all, this Keurig thing kicks ass, although if you get it, be prepared to be coffee buzzing more than usual in the following weeks!
.....an awesome selection...anything you'd like as far as coffee, and they have lots of teas and flavored stuff as well. I'm not a tea drinker but my wife is. I've plopped a few of the Keurig teas in the machine as well...she says they taste just as good as brewed. She's pretty fussy with her teas as well. All in all, this Keurig thing kicks ass, although if you get it, be prepared to be coffee buzzing more than usual in the following weeks!
I will disagree. Coffee is great, hot chocolate is good too, tea is awful.
The 'hario drip' was hands down my best xmas gift. Need to pick up a decent burr grinder to make it work well. But when it does, man o man..
It's fun to make them and easy to do (pour hot water onto beans in the end). The thing is the way you pour it affects the outcome. A very clean, tasty brew!
We are on our second Tassimo after many good years with the first. Before buying the second one I attempted to do a Keurig / Tassimo comparison to make sure I was getting what we wanted.
At the end of the day it comes down to what you want to use the machine for. If it is only coffee, the Keurig seems to win the day. If you want cappuccinos and lattes out of the same machine, the Tassimo wins.
Trust me this is one of the greatest inventions ever, and may even win over espresso snobs.
There's really only such thing as a coffee snob. Anyone who is a snob over coffee shouldn't discriminate between methods as long as its being brewed in a proper fashion and brings out the best qualities in the bean. Its all about the type of extraction method and making sure that its done properly.
There are fantastic drip machines (Technivorm), vacuum presses, espresso makers, filter methods (per above), that all allow great coffee to be made.
Coffee snobs just hate when coffee is made with garbage inputs (old beans, old roast, bad grind, bad method, temperatures all over the place).
Last edited by Ducay; 01-06-2011 at 12:07 PM.
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There's really only such thing as a coffee snob. Anyone who is a snob over coffee; doesn't discriminate between methods as long as its being brewed in a proper fashion and brings out the best qualities in the bean. Its all about the type of extraction method and making sure that its done properly.
There are fantastic drip machines (Technivorm), vacuum presses, espresso makers, filter methods (per above), that all allow great coffee to be made.
Coffee snobs just hate when coffee is made with garbage inputs (old beans, old roast, bad grind, bad method, temperatures all over the place).
This is why I love my nespresso. I enjoy espresso and it ensures I get beans that are vacuum ground and sealed, so the air doesn't touch them until you begin the extraction process. It literally begins going stale 5 seconds before the water touches it, tough to get fresher than that.
While the bean choice is another matter - you can't get many flavours of nespresso, as compared to what you can in general bean purchases, because of this expensive and centralized vacuum grind and seal process.
So while, in my mind, the freshness of the beans is unparalleled, equaling home roasted and ground immediate brews - it cannot match the breadth of beans that a true espresso snob can acquire, given the limited selection.
With that said, I love the flavour of 2 or 3 of the roasts, and they come out with special different roasts several times a year, so its got enough selection to keep me pleased!
The internal water heater and electronic temperature control keeps the water at a perfect constant temp as well, which is also imperative.
If you're into espresso and love a fine shot, but don't want to deal with roasting and grinding your own, I love the Nespresso as an option.
For coffee, I just grind my own fresh Kicking Horse beans with anice coarse grind and throw them in my french press. yum yum
This is why I love my nespresso. I enjoy espresso and it ensures I get beans that are vacuum ground and sealed, so the air doesn't touch them until you begin the extraction process. It literally begins going stale 5 seconds before the water touches it, tough to get fresher than that.
While the bean choice is another matter - you can't get many flavours of nespresso, as compared to what you can in general bean purchases, because of this expensive and centralized vacuum grind and seal process.
So while, in my mind, the freshness of the beans is unparalleled, equaling home roasted and ground immediate brews
Those beans were sitting around before they got vacuumed up. Otherwise, the gases that freshly roasted beans give off would blow up the bag.
I don't care how much their process costs, it is nowhere near as fresh as buying beans from a quality roaster and grinding them yourself.
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There's really only such thing as a coffee snob. Anyone who is a snob over coffee shouldn't discriminate between methods as long as its being brewed in a proper fashion and brings out the best qualities in the bean. Its all about the type of extraction method and making sure that its done properly.
There are fantastic drip machines (Technivorm), vacuum presses, espresso makers, filter methods (per above), that all allow great coffee to be made.
Coffee snobs just hate when coffee is made with garbage inputs (old beans, old roast, bad grind, bad method, temperatures all over the place).
Oh I agree. All I was trying to say is that a lot of people think that espresso is hands down 'better' than filtered coffee. I'm for sure a coffee hound / snob, and tend to agree mostt of the time. However this hand-filter method is new to me and got me pretty excited
The 'hario drip' was hands down my best xmas gift. Need to pick up a decent burr grinder to make it work well. But when it does, man o man..
Nice, I was looking at one of those yesterday but think I'm going to try the Aeropress first. It seems to get rave reviews from some of the bigger names in coffee down to your casual coffee drinker. Are you going to get that Hario kettle to help with pour control? Where do you buy your beans and any recommendations? I'm always on the lookout to try new ones.
I love the flavor of the Nespresso style coffee but the whole idea of using coffee cartridges makes me feel like I am drinking from my inkjet printer!
Makes me feel like there's a lot of waste and garbage from all the empty cartridge cups and you can't use your own choice of coffee.
I picked up a nespresso machine for xmas. This one to be exact.
We love it so far. Milk frother works great as well!
I've read that the patent on the nespresso runs out.. From wikipedia:
"Nespresso's patents will begin to expire in 2012 [9], eventually allowing competitors to offer capsules and machines compatible with the Nespresso system. Nestlé is working on ways to prevent competitors from doing this"
"Other competitors include a Swiss start-up (Nexpod.ch) which is offering Nespresso-compatible empty capsules which can be filled with the coffee (or tea) by the buyer and a South African company which sells Nespresso-compatible capsules under the brand name Café-Caps."
Also sara lee has started manufacturing capsules that fit nespresso machines...
Could be promising...
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