Coffee novice - what machine to buy? Newbie questions...

BoardsMember

My wife and I are occasional coffee drinkers. We enjoy nice coffee but never really got into it properly. We have a Nespresso machine, a wedding present, which is great for us as it is fool-proof, it ensures our coffee is always fresh.

The main downsides with the Nespresso are twofold: the cups it makes are pretty small, so to get a decent quantity that isnt really weak you need two capsules; the main issue with it is for dinner parties - you'd be in the kitchen for ages making coffee for ten.

So what I was looking for was guidance on what machine we should look to buy. We just came back from a holiday and the apartment had a filter things, you put the paper filter in, put coffee in that, pour cold water into the machine, and put the glass jug. It's pretty foolproof and is good at making larger quantities. We bought decent enough supermarket coffee, Lavazza Arabic blende I think it was, and the result was a nice medium-strong smooth cup.

So if I was to buy a similar type of filter one, what brand/model should I be looking at? What do I look out for? Are the plungers as good?

Last question - where do I buy good quality coffee? I presume the preference would be for beans, and to grind them as required? If so, what sort of grinder and where to get the beans....

Sorry for all the questions. I'm new to this, and I'd prefer to get good quality maker, grinder, and coffee. I'm in the Dublin area and comfortable with buying online, pretty open minded on price, though would be great to get the coffee reasonably priced.

Thanks for reading!!

get a french press (plunger). makes good coffee - better than filter machine.

Procedure.
1. heat empty press with hot water.
2. add coffee.
3. add hot water (not boiling - let boil in kettle and finish boiling)
4. stir (with wooden item to avoid cracking glass).
5. wait 3 mins
6. press

serve.....

Bodum make decent french presses.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bodum-Chambord-French-Coffee-0-35lt/dp/B00005LM0R

for best results you should really be grinding your own beans but that's optional...

BoardsMember

Thanks glasso.

Any recommendation where to buy good coffee in Dublin city centre/southside welcome.

Because we are occasional drinkers I thinks beans are preferable. I read up a little on grinders and see a Krups one on Amazon that looks good value: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Krups-Twin-Blade-Coffee-Mill/dp/B00004SPEU/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1341408651&sr=1-1

PPC

Both Coffeeangel http://coffeeangel.ie/ and 3FE http://3fe.com/ sell fresh beans in town. Can't go wrong with either of them.

donnacha

I reckon a chemex should also be on your shopping list. Much cleaner cup without the sludge you get with a french press - and it terms of clean up its much less work than a french press:
http://coffeeangel.com/product/chemex-classic-woodneck-6-cup/

you'll also need filters:
http://coffeeangel.com/product/chemex-pre-folded-filter-circles-fc-100/

and I'd recommend a pouring kettle to control the flow:
http://coffeeangel.com/product/hario-buono-kettle/

this is a brewguide to using it:
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/pages/Chemex-Brew-Guide.html

BoardsMember

Thanks donncha...glasso was suggesting that the French press makes better coffee than the filter machines. Is that a commonly shared opinion? Is the chemex an exception to that?

donnacha

I think glasso was referring to those automatic filter machines that heat up water and the jug sits on a warming plate. The same coffee bean brewed via french press and chemex will taste different, both are excellent once you use freshly roasted/ground coffee - its really a matter of taste.

What I love about the chemex is the simplicty of it and the size - it also looks pretty cool. It has an added benefit in that the coffee grounds don't sit in with the grounds. Once you have brewed a French press you almost need to pour immediately as the coffee grounds keeps extracting - with the chemex you can leave the coffee in the vessel (The flavours in the brewed coffee will also change as the coffee cools). Have a google for some of the brew guides on french press also and you'll get a feel for the work involved in both methods and how you can get the best results - hasbean have one here:
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/pages/French-Press-Brew-Guide.html

The most important step is for you to forget about those pre-ground packs of coffee you've been experimenting with and take the plunge on freshly roasted coffee and buy yourself a good burr grinder.

zagmund

I dunno, I think taste has a *lot* to do with things. I've never ground beans in my life, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with the stuff that comes out of my assorted coffee making apparatuses apparati apparatussess things based on an input of a range of different pre-ground stuff.

I have a vague feeling that the grinding your own beans thing is a little like asking a home brewer whether he thinks the taste from <insert brand beer name> is better than the stuff he lovingly hand makes at home. Or asking a petrol head whether to use Hastrogroffengurger Super Extract of Rare Turtle (BMW 2012 Q1 specific) oil or the stuff up in Halfords. There's only ever going to be one answer. Doesn't mean that the brand stuff is *necessarily* crap. Much of it is, mind you . . .

I used to use the filter yokes a good while back - it's hard to beat when (as suggested) making coffee for 10 people after dinner. Or when you're in a campervan - boil kettle, pour over, wait. I find the coffee from them has a hard to beat "long drink" feeling about them. You just can't get that from an espresso machine.

Normally I use my Gaggia classic twice a day or maybe 4 times if I'm working from home. Other times I use a stove top if I want something a little longer.

The only time I've ever managed to make appallingly bad coffee is when using 'filter' coffee in the espresso machine or stove top. It comes out really, really weak. Just keep an eye on the label on the packet - if it says it's suitable for filter machines then don't put it in anything resembling an espresso machine.

z

Gran Hermano

Zagmund, once youve ground freshly roasted beans and immediately made a coffee there is no turning back. A lot of the oils and flavours disappear shortly after grinding hence why it is best to only grind what you plan on using there and then.

The other benefit of grinding your own is that with espresso you have much more control over your shots as tweaking the grind is crucial in adjusting flow and extraction rates. I couldn't contemplate making an espresso using pre-ground as the grind will not be right for my machine.

donnacha

zagmund wrote: »

Normally I use my Gaggia classic twice a day or maybe 4 times if I'm working from home. Other times I use a stove top if I want something a little longer.

You have a pretty damn good espresso machine there zagmund. Honestly pre-ground will never compare to freshly roasted/freshly ground - give it go, you might be surprised.

BoardsMember

Ok. Have followed advice and got a burr grinder. It's a delonghi, model KG79. It has setting for coarseness and numbers of cups. Pretty fool proof. The instructions say that as soon as it has ground as much coffee as is needed for the number of cups selected it turns off. So the question is.... How do people usually manage quantities. You dont really want want to leave beans in the thing unground. So do people usually add as many beans as they need and turn to max number of cups and turn off when all is ground? Or do you quickly get a good idea of how many beans to add and so are not often left with many coffee beans not ground.

I'm livid. Just got back from town and don't have any beans!!!!!

PPC

I normally weight out the beans on a scales using 60g/L rule and grind to order.
My filter grinder has the cups measurements on it, I normally just crank it to the top and when its finishes grinding the beans I manually turn it off if its still running.

BoardsMember

So I made my first "proper" brew this morning. Bit disappointed. I followed one of the brewing methods for French Press that I read on HasBean or somewhere. I used Taylor's of Harrogate, measured out circa 65g, burr grinded to coarsest setting, one litre of water, checked the temp of the water. The output was slightly bitter, so I might try reduce the brew time from 4 mins to 3 mins next time.

When I did it with guesswork on Saturday it was less bitter. I ground the beans medium on the grinder, and probably only had it brew for circa 2 mins.

This is going to take a while to brew a nice cup consistently. With so many variables I am inclined to keep to a single bean type, and vary the stirring, time, coarseness etc, rather than have the bean as a variable too. Now I am not sure if I should stick to this bean, or get a larger volume of beans at better value and stick with them. Decisions decisions.

donnacha

BoardsMember wrote: »

I used Taylor's of Harrogate

Indeed the variables can be frustrating at time - but worth in when you get the hang of it. Do the beans you used have a roast date? Typically freshly roasted beans are best consumed within 4 weeks of roasting.

BoardsMember

donnacha wrote: »

Indeed the variables can be frustrating at time - but worth in when you get the hang of it. Do the beans you used have a roast date? Typically freshly roasted beans are best consumed within 4 weeks of roasting.

Hi..not roasting date that I could see. In a vacuum packed foil bag. I think I will head into town and buy a 1kg bag of something somewhere, talk to the barista and see what they reckon re best for french press brewing method. I actually ground them when frozen yesterday, dont know if that would have an effect.

donnacha

BoardsMember wrote: »

Hi..not roasting date that I could see. In a vacuum packed foil bag. I think I will head into town and buy a 1kg bag of something somewhere, talk to the barista and see what they reckon re best for french press brewing method. I actually ground them when frozen yesterday, dont know if that would have an effect.

Frozen :eek: This could be one of your problems, but the coffee beans you have bought are possibly stale. Personally I refuse to buy any beans without a roast date - I also tend to buy in smaller quantities. The standard amongst roasters in Ireland and the UK is a bag size of between 250g and 350g.

BoardsMember

Ok, didnt realise it would be important to "defrost" before grinding. I suppose if I keep a 250g bag in the press in airtight container, and any other bags frozen, I'll be ok so. Thanks the feedback donnacha.

PPC

I've ground from frozen a few times and its fine, doesn't dampen the flavours too much.
Better than leaving the coffee go stale and becoming undrinkable.