I like espressos (especially mochas) but they take a bit of work to prepare a single cup. With drip brew, I can do very little and get unhealthy amounts of caffeination into my corpse. Also, I pour ungodly amounts of creamer into my coffee. That Mason jar is quite literally half coffee half creamer.
I was rocking a $20 Proctor-Silex drip maker for the last 5+ years until it started leaking out the bottom. I ponied up and bought a Bunn Speed Brew earlier this year. Now I get a full pot of drip made in 4 minutes or less. chef kiss
I also have an espresso machine, aeropress, and French press, but I commit horrific coffee sins like making a double shot of espresso into my mug and then filling the rest with drip coffee. I may have a caffeine problem
That’s called a red eye on a lot of coffee shops in new England, just a little extra kick
Yes! I’ve heard it called that here, too. I think my “sin” is that I spend a lot of time and effort making my shot and then immediately pour drip into it.
Does it make you happy? Then you do you with the resources you have. Treasure those fleeting moments of warm bliss. They are becoming rarer and rarer these days.
Espresso is a type of coffee. Some like Café Crème, some Americano, some Lungo, some filter coffee, some french press.
My recommendation for you: try the french press. Even more simple and mostly glass/metal instead of plastic.
Upvote for French press, there is a double-walled steel version that keeps the coffee nice and hot.
Grind the coffee yourself and it’s miles better than drip.
Eh I always end up with fines and they really bother me.
There are definitely quality levels of filter brewing too. From cheap drip machines that don’t get to the right temperature to really fancy drip machines can effectively simulate a pourover.
Just depends what you like really. Would say that a $20 French press setup will almost certainly produce better coffee than a $20 drip machine, but a better comp is a $20 pour over setup imo.
Counter point, tossing a filter with grounds into the trash is easier than washing the French press.
I still can’t get a consensus definition of the difference between Café Crème and Americano.
Café crema was the original name for espresso because of the crema it produced. Café crème is the French translation. Espresso became the more popular word.
Now it’s when you make a long black / americano style drink but instead of adding water before / after pulling the shot, you run the full amount of water through a coarser grind when making the espresso.
Americano = water after shot
Long black = water before shot
Café crema = water through shotThanks for your input! Then this would be similar to a “lungo” or “allongé”?
My issue is more in the consensus side of things…
Some coffee places in Switzerland told me (with 100% certainty) that “Café crema” and “Americano” was the same thing, and the fancy espresso machine at work offers “allongé” and “cafe crema” as different choices…
Personally I’ve never heard of a cafe crème before, but one website says it’s an espresso to which you add a bunch of milk. Another website says it’s supposed to be less foamy than a cappuccino and less milky than a latte. Found a swiss Site which makes it sound even more complicated.
As for the others… lungo and allongé are the same thing, which is usually an espresso but you let more water flow through the coffee. Usually at least twice as much. Americano is usually just an espresso to which you add a bunch of hot water. Usually to fill one of those bigger mugs till you get to like 150-200ml
In German café crème is the same as lungo / allongé (wich are the same word just translated) but in French café crème is lungo + milk. Apparently Switzerland takes inspiration from the former :')
I couldn’t have explained it any better; well done!
Milk with some brown flavoring?
Yes
I’m not from the US, but creamer isn’t typically milk, right? It’s some kind of protein-heavy vegetable fat?
Powdered creamer is usually corn syrup solids, others vary. I personally just add a splash of milk to my coffee and sweeten slightly with Splenda (I’m T2 diabetic, no sugar).
Never bothered with espresso, it’s not my thing. I keep it simple. French press, Hario v60, or Clever dripper. Gets it done.
That and I have multiple kettles. An electric kettle for my daily, but also a small stovetop gooseneck and another standard kettle for when I’m traveling or in the worst case if I don’t have power and need to heat with fire.
While I like the idea of having a French press because it makes my kettle more handy, I don’t like the idea of switching to a coarser grind. I like a mild coffee brewed from a little bit of fine grounds and the drip maker does that well. Plus you use a lot less beans over time.
I’m not sure what you mean about using less beans over time. I weigh my grind on a food scale and use the same amount regardless of brewing method and grind size.
I just find drip machines to be kind of gross and hard to fully clean. Plus, there’s the plastics. My main brewing methods (French press and Hario) are stainless steel.
You can make stronger coffee using less bean by grinding finer, I thought that basically how espresso works. In any case it creates more surface area for the water to interact with the bean during brewing. You are probably right and I should just pour over or something, but I am indeed a lazy bastard.
Same. I tried espresso at specialty cafés a few times and it’s too intense for me. I much more prefer pour over, but my hone setup is an aeropress though.
If my non coffee weirdo friends offer me coffee usually it will be a café latte or anything I can add milk myself to hide the burnt coffee flavor 😬
Although I have to say in my country there’s plenty of non mega corp coffee chain (like Starbucks) that are using quality blends and cheaper than mega corps. And they’re local/regional companies.
Only time I’ve enjoyed espresso was in an Americano. But they’re not worth the trouble IMO, since you’re essentially just using espresso to make a regular cup coffee.
I still occasionally get burnt coffee now, but it’s partly due to the process, as I’ve been roasting my own beans for several months now. It takes some batches to figure out roughly how much time and how fast I have to keep it moving (stovetop roast in a stainless steel popcorn popper), and the process can vary a bit depending on the bean variety, so it feels much more art than science. I’ve had some really good batches, some mid, and some bad ones. All drinkable though.
Ethiopian beans seem to handle just about any roasting method with aplomb and generally turn out great (fantastic for me, as Ethiopian Sidamo Guji is my favorite bean region). Mexican Terruño is easy as well, and is happy up to a medium to medium-dark while still keeping its profile. These are go-to beans for me since they’re tasty and easy to roast.
I’ve had mixed results with Kenyan beans, some regions are rather finicky, and even within the same batch I’ve had some turn out great and others mediocre. They seem more prone to smoking and burning due to high amounts of chaff. And Peaberry can be great, but is hard to roast because it’s difficult to get first crack right since the beans are very small and have low moisture content. They may not crack at all.
Personally tea is my everyday thing. Coffee is a special treat; but I do have a fondness for drip coffee. It makes me feel like I’m at a deli!
I also drink tea fairly often. Not as regularly as coffee, but often. Usually black with a dollop of honey.
If it’s a real hot day, I like to throw a bunch of hibiscus leaves in there too. Makes me feel tropical lol
Hibiscus tea is my board game drink for some reason. Every time I play a board game I need to have hibiscus tea. No idea why anymore but I can’t go without it now.
Same, but more so because too much caffeine gives me anxiety, and not enough caffeine gives me headaches. I’m not addicted, I can quit whenever I want!
That’s true. I like that with tea I can be nearly constantly drinking it during the work day!
I love coffee, but Twinings Irish Breakfast tea is delicious. I usually have a cup in the afternoon/evening.
Twinings anything really
You might also enjoy Harney & Sons Scottish Morn (loose tea). That’s a good gateway into loose teas. Can get a metal tea basket for it cheap from Amazon. Then after that you might try a CTC like Darsam CTC.
I use the Clever for loose tea to save on cleanup. I buy Ceylon and Assam from various places to make my own blends but nothing ever seems to quite match up to Twinings, dunno what magic they’re doing.
This is indeed a great workhorse tea!
reeeeeeeeeeeee
A friend once tried to convince me to purchase a Rocket Appartmento to upgrade my morning experience. Having to wait 30 m for the boiler was a no go. My ol’ reliable does just fine for the first hit.
I have that exact machine. Toss it on a smart switch so you can set a power-on timer and its a game changer. Also, just drink a whole pot of drip coffee while you wait for it to heat. That’s what I do…
Since we’re doing abominations:
Look at you with your recognizable brand name! I prefer to spend my money on the beans, so I order my beans from Groundwork. Here’s my cheapo, super simple machine.
https://coffeemakers.us.com/product/dayum-white-12-cup-drip-coffee-maker/
No black plastic, no timers, just on/off. Brown paper filters. I made it even simpler by ripping out the little spring, so it can’t stop and it can’t jam. You’re getting better coffee when you wait for the full brew anyway. Dayum, it makes good coffee.
And for the full abomination, a big slosh of Atkins Vanilla Shake as my creamer.
Opens link👀
Dayum
I love shitty coffee, I love fancy coffee, I love coffee.
You love the java jive and i do too
Waiter, waiter, percolator
This is my take too, any coffee is good. I just wanna talk about this drink, I don’t care how people like to actually drink it. I’ve got my preferences, and accept that others may have different preferences. It’s what makes this hobby so much fun. Life would be boring if we all had the same likes and dislikes.
When I was in university, and it was finals time and they opened the study areas 24/7, they would wheel out big coffee dispensers, the kind I associate with hospitals or bad hotels. Just a big insulated metal cylinder filled with almost rancid, mealy, astringent black liquid, with rickety little spouts.
The default coffee here is Turkish-style (we call it Turkish or Arabic coffee), but this was a weird halfway between batch brew drip coffee and Turkish style coffee. And being a few hours old it was basically the absolute worst of both worlds.
I think they don’t allow any food or coffee anymore there now which sucks, maybe one too many spills. Never an issue when I was there.
My friends knew I would only get coffee from particular places, and they would be shocked to see me drink what I called hospital coffee. But for me this was the coffee called for by the situation I was in, hopelessly cramming control systems at three in the morning. The bad coffee is integral (don’t clap) to the experience. I’m participating in the ritual that is finals here, so this is part of that ritual. The fact that the coffee tastes like bitumen is just part of me taking the moment in. I know it’s shit. I want it to be shit. Let me enjoy the diversity the world offers.
no you’re onto something. i call them taste memories. when a flavor is ingrained with an experience
I’ve got one like that, but in the military. We got little packets of instant coffee in our rations, I’d just pour that in my mouth and drink some water. I think that’s still technically coffee. Tasted like shit but woke you up, first from the taste and then from the caffeine. Mission accomplished, that’s a good coffee in my book.
Getting down those concentrated bitter coffee crystals with semi cool water (that might be a bit mildewey or plasticky depending on the age of the camelbak you’re drinking from) on a long shitty ruck just feels proper.
yeah, i’m not a coffee snob, i’m a food snob. i appreciate the delicacy in the coffee but if it’s brown, drink it down. if it’s black, drink it back. if it’s white, tastes alright. i can rhyme these all day.
*I can rhyme these for all time
i never said i could rhyme them good
just that i got rhyming time on my hands
if it’s blue drink your stew yeah that works well enough
Methnks you don’t actually like coffee. There are other ways to get ungodly amounts of caffeine.
You’re right I don’t, I hate the bitterness of black coffee, hence why I drink pale coffee.
I do, on occasion, drink energy drinks, but they’re a lot more intense than coffee imo, and tea is too weak.
Have you tried black tea? I have heard it has the most amount of caffeine out of all the different types of tea.
I have, and do often drink black tea. Not enough caffeine content though.
Darn, OK.
Like… via the butt?
Why’s it always the butt with you Janx?
Where else are they supposed to have a prostate?
I mean you dont like coffee then, you’re addicted to the caffeine and make a milkshake with caffeine in it lmao
Espresso is coffee.
There is nothing magical about espressoWhile espresso is pure magic, it’s still made from standard coffee beans. Lol
By the way, that machine is actually pretty great for a topdrip. That Strong button is brilliant!
Personally, I don’t like creamer, but if you like it, then keep at it.that’s… no.
i’m not into the fancy stuff, i have only whatever was cheap to get (plastic v60, first-gen aeropress, a french press i got for free) but… if you want to drink coffee, at least drink coffee.
I’d always used one of these machines because that’s how I’d seen my parents drink it. But someone at work brought in a French press and it blew my mind. I was already considering replacing the drip machine but I immediately picked up a French press instead. Plus it was creaper than a new machine and no more paper filters.
A Mr. Coffee does make coffee. It’s kinda shit for multiple reasons, but then again nobody drinks it for its flavor as a coworker likes to remind me…
I like the flavor of coffee :(
I think he means the coffee that comes from a Mr. Coffee.
I think we drink it because it’s there, not because it’s good.
no, i don’t care about the machine. you do you. just don’t put other stuff in it. coffee is expensive.
Or people can enjoy what they like
yeah but then you drink the coffee. you don’t dilute it.
Boo, fuck off.
I assume you only ever drink straight espresso.
As opposed to gay espresso?
Made me snort.
Enjoy the upvote.
👀
As someone who almost exclusively drinks straight espresso I see nothing wrong with the pic in the post. They seem to be enjoying themselves so who gives a shit? Like, seriously. I might not like it personally, but I can guarantee they’d hate what I drink. We should all just drink what we enjoy.
So, my cuppa Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong tea is right out then?
(Enjoy your coffees. no matter how you make it, everyone!)
It’s just bulk espresso /s
- thin soup espresso…
