Who wants a coffee?

After seeing the recent Ben's Lens about Vietnamese coffee makers I decided to get one. I like coffee a lot so seeing a weird different way to make it gets me interested, and since my fiancee doesn't like coffee a single serve maker is right up my street. I asked Jan about it on Twitter and he advised me to get either a 6oz or 8oz maker, which is just the right size for my TNG cups.

I've only had one brew out of it as of this writing, but so far I'm very pleased. Strong and sweet. Next time I think I'll use a little less coffee for a slightly weaker batch, but I think this thing is a winner. I like the Cafe Du Monde coffee on its own so this also gave me an excuse to splurge for better coffee than I usually buy.

I'm curious about what you folks make your coffee with and what kind of coffee you buy. I usually tend to use a reusable K-Cup filled with store-brand 100% Colombian coffee because I can't really afford to be a snob. When I have places to go I will sometimes use a travel press which I like quite a bit. Now that I have this fun metal contraption though I might use it as my usual brewer for a while and see how it goes. I've also been thinking about getting one of those pour-over reusable metal filters. Thoughts?

My partner is a big fan of vietnamese coffee, and your post makes me wonder if I should get one of these. Thanks for sharing.

As for what I make and use:

Generally use an espresso maker to produce cappucinos these days. Heat some milk in a small pot and froth it a bit with one of those cheap IKEA frothers.

Otherwise mainly make espressos or americanos. For all of the above use some decent pre-ground espresso, but am planning to get a grinder (automatic that is).

Will do machine coffee if coffee is needed in larger quantities for addicts visiting.

AeroPress has been my go to method of making coffee for years. I think I maybe saw it on Tested originally? I'm definitely a coffee 'heathen' though as I have milk and sugar.

@vamino: That thing looks pretty cool! Might have to keep an eye out for one of those...

I swear by my AeroPress [usually inverted, but I sometimes do a quick and easy brew], but I occasionally use the Chemex if I plan on drinking more than one cup. I honestly way prefer the taste and body from the AeroPress, but I just don't want to go through the whole process more than once.

Lately, though, I've been brewing batch after batch of cold brew concentrate, because I'm in Houston and it might as well be the surface of sun for as hot as it feels outside at this time of year.

I never had Vietnamese coffee so I am curious to try it. What makes it Vietnamese is just the apparatus? What type of grind does it need?

I use a italian moka pot for my everyday use, and once in a while I make greek/turkish/cyprus coffee in a simple brikki pan, since I don't have a fancy copper one. Now that I'm travelling I have a cloth filter with me, it does the job, it's portable and environment friendly.

Now for the coffee itself, I found the best thing is to go to a coffee store, explain what you like, and get them grinded to whatever you need (expresso, filter, french press). It's usually slightly more expensive, sometimes the same price as the supermarket. If I have to buy in the supermarket I usually go for Illy or Lavazza, but I like to try new brands from time to time, I always alternate every time I buy, so I don't get tired of the same coffee.

Is this Cafe du Monde good? A friend once brought me coffee from Louisiana but I don't remember if it was this, the package was yellow but it was not a can.

I don't drink much coffee but when I order one I just usually order it black

Looks amazing but waaaay too sweet for me to handle.

Personally, I just have a cheap French press that I absolutely love. Quick and easy to use, but makes a much stronger and tastier brew than my Keurig. Bought one of those handheld frothers as well and have made some pretty tasty stuff.

The café du monde actually makes New Orleans-style coffee because of the chicory.

A proper vietnamese coffee has, well, only vietnamese coffee in it.

I have one of those bean grinding coffee machines, I don't think I can live without it anymore.

I don’t have a coffee maker. The best coffee I had was while camping. Someone brought a percolator. They made some reall strong black coffee.

I usually just buy a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, Panera Bread, or Dunkin Donuts. I like my coffee simple, strong, hot, and black. The darker the better.

I just grab cheap cups as I rarely drink coffee anyhow (3-5 times a year), and don’t really care to shop around.

@joronimo said:

Man I know what you mean. I'm in DFW and it's hot as balls, but I also much prefer hot coffee over cold. I guess I'll just cook!

Cuba Serrano Superior. My one and only choice.

Beans. Grind 'em yourself. Always fresh coffee.

Hey fellow human beans,

I usually filter-drip a black coffee for myself, although I want to start experimenting with beans that aren't just from the supermarket. I grind 'em fresh with a magic bullet. I should freeze them to store but I usually just leave them at room temp. in their bag.

I bought a $10 milk frother last week and am digging it. I've been making lattes and earl grey "london fog" tea with it. I was surprised at how much less sweet mine were than the Starbucks ones I've had, until I googled their ingredients and saw they add 31g of sugar to theirs. As much as a can of coke! Wild.

I also wanted to make a quick stand against Keurig machines, while I realize that I'm still using paper filters and stuff for my methods, K-cups are generally not recyclable and an environmental problem. I don't wanna shame any duders who don't have the time on their hands to brew, but I've always found they don't make enough coffee/aren't great tasting anyway.

Cheers!

P.S. for those of you who have the Aeropress, would you recommend it? What do you use it to make?

I can't afford to be the coffee snob I want to be in my heart, so I have a Keurig, or right now I have an even cheaper pretend Keurig because my actual one broke.

Some day...

I'm a cheapass, so I get whatever K-Cups or grounds are on sale, but it has to be dark roast.

I use it to make a concentrate (used to do an inverted method but non-inverted is fine too). End up with ~100mL of coffee. I then heat about a cup of milk in the microwave (cheapest and quickest, and good enough). When I was trying to make it a little 'fancier' I had a hand frother thing so would use less milk and froth it up for something approaching a latte. Without the frothing I guess it's closer to a flat-white. I usually have 2tsp of sugar in mine, and I have quite the sweet tooth.

I definitely recommend the aeropress if you only have to make coffee for yourself. It's not always the quickest thing (I think 10 or so minutes for me, but we're usually talking first thing in the morning when I'm basically a mindless zombie, using a method I have gotten quicker with), and you can't really make multiple cups in one go. I think the grinder is probably the most important thing in the end though? I'm far from an expert, but if you don't have decent control over how fine the grounds are going to be you can end up with a lot of pressure while pushing down (you want it more coarse than espresso grind, but finer than french press).

I use a french press with freshly ground coffee. I've settled on the Stumptown Brooklyn blend from Whole Foods as my go-to because it's the best compromise between quality, price, and accessibility that I've found. I used Blue Bottle for a while, but the shipping costs from Oakland just made that stupid. I'm not that rich. I also typically keep an inferior type of coffee handy to preserve the more expensive stuff if I wake up and find myself not caring what my caffeine tastes like.

I have a bodum burr grinder along with their pourover container. I have also used the Aeropress with the same grinder. I think it works great. There's a roaster near me that I go to when I have the time (their hours aren't friendly to my work schedule), if I don't get that I'll buy something out of the grocery store from a company called Kicking Horse Coffee. Usually medium roast.

That Vietnamese coffee contraption looks good though.

On a fun side note of all of the afficionado stuff - how about what is the lowest you've gone to make coffee. I one time smashed beans in a ziploc bag, tossed em in a pot with water and then ran them through a sieve when my french press broke before I bought my grinder. The cup of coffee was surprisingly good.

@totsboy said:

It basically uses a French press grind. The taste is really full flavored. Like you taste it in the back of your tongue and I find it to be quite acidic. The sweetened condensed milk offsets the intensiveness of the taste. I especially like it over ice. I have a phin filter but its a pretty bad quality one. A good quality one with tiny holes wouldn't allow the grinds to seep through. :) Trung Nguyen is usually the go to brand for Vietnamese coffee.

@creigz: Cowboy Coffee while camping.

It is not surprisingly good.

@efesell: Haha the one I had was pretty good. I didn't expect the results.

What I'm gathering so far is that in most cases if you heat water and have it interact with ground coffee beans until the water gets all dark you'll get a decent cup of coffee.

I use a Bodum Chambord french press, and I love it. I typically use it twice a day, and it's really easy to use and maintain. It's about $40 at Target most of the time, but you can also find it at TJ Maxx for ~$20 from time to time.

For coffee beans, I like Ethiopian and Sumatran a lot. Most of the time, I just get Costco whole bean bulk bags.

I'm interested in looking into a Turkish coffee setup to play with that for a while. If anyone has suggestions, that would be great!

I drink enough coffee, particularly on weeknights, that I stick to a coffee maker. Completely independent of anything related to the site, I've been using a machine from Zojirushi that brews into a thermal carafe and somewhat recently replaced, after the previous unit--which lasted for longer than I can remember--finally died.

As for beans, I buy both whole and pre-ground. In terms of more mainstream and retail friendly brands, I like La Colombe (particularly their Corsica) and a consistent go-to is Starbuck's Italian & French Roasts.

I do regulatory and safety compliance for a coffee roaster. 100% Colombian doesn't really guarantee there is any Colombian beans in your coffee. I buy in bulk, go by smell, and use a French press.

Siphon'ed coffee is really excellent. I've only had it a few times, and have thought about getting the stuff to do it at home. But, I can't justify having kitchen gadgets for a single purpose. In hindsight, I do wish I had gotten a video of this. The first time I saw the draw, my mind was blown.

I'm also a fan of Turkish coffee, though that stuff will kick your ass. I drink it sparingly as I'm pretty sure it'll burn a hole through my stomach if I drink too much.

umm this might be too technical for this thread but I have a Keurig... You push a button and coffee comes out and you drink it. Kay, bye.

@fatalbanana: Damn, dude! I don't have time to read a novel!

Suddenly thinking about how much I love Percolated coffee because no machine can achieve the best feature there which is liquid hot enough to cause serious injury if you drink poorly.

I got a french press that I usually only use on the weekends. During the week I got one of those old school coffee makers with a timer so I can set it before I go to bed. I also got one those cold brew coffee pitchers that works surprisingly well for being only $20 that I use during the summer.

I've only taken to coffee over the last couple of years thanks to editing binges, but I usually just buy whatever's cheap and strong, then dump a spoonful of Ghirardelli cocoa into it to make it actually drinkable. I use a Keurig too.

The Starbucks iced coffee pods for the thing really aren't bad either.

Yes please

I used Kalita Wave - dripper, carafe and filters. This is basically for a "pour over" method. The coffee comes out really smooth and because its is a paper filter (compostable) the whole thing and it cleans faster than metal mesh or plastic drippers. The carafe (server) is nice, the top fill line in enough for two big mugs of coffee, which that is plenty for me.

If you have a Keurig or just an old coffee pot, I HIGHLY recommend switching to a "pour over" system. You will spend less money for much better tasting coffee; and/or you can afford to put that money towards really fresh beans.

I recently lived in new Zealand and I have never had better coffee. I now have issues finding coffee I like in Ireland

1 cup please OP!

I’ve been to Vietnam and of course tried coffee, but didn’t like that much ! I prefer cappuccino

I enjoy my coffee many ways, but my two favorites are Greek/Turkish coffee or Greek style Frappe. With the Greek coffee you can use your favorite beans just ground to powder. I like mine black but most have it with equal parts coffee and sugar (metrio). I like the Nektar brand frappe instant coffee with a splash of heavy cream or evaporated milk.