Are you a fan of espresso, cold brew, aeropress? Do you try new beans and roasters regularly, or stay with what you know and love?
I generally prefer filter coffee (with a re-usable filter, no oil sucking paper!) or plunger, but currently have only the plunger because of lack of space. A good syphon can also be supurb. I’ve also started roasting my own beans - I’m definitely a long way from expert, but am getting pretty solid results and am am slowly improving.
I’m team moka pot…the Brikka variant. I used to just use pre-ground coffee but recently bought a little Kalita hand ginder and I use Humbler beans from Proud Mary…much more tasty. It’s no worse than the 5 buck coffees I get from my local cafe, IMO.
One teaspoon of cheap instant coffee and two splendas, milk.
Water temperature, extraction time, and grind size are the main variables dictating coffee taste. Aeropresses are so handy because you can easily control water temperature and extraction time. Get a burr grinder (not the blade grinder) to play with grind size. I have spent a lot of time playing with these three factors alone.
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Too bitter? Just run the bottom of the pot under a tap before it starts “sputtering”. This ensures the water doesn’t get too hot during extraction.
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Moka pot is real coffee to me. I find everything else some sort of compromise - even buying coffee from a barista with an espresso machine. Espresso machines are comparable in coffee quality, the compromise you are making is price for time. That goes for caffe machines with a barista or the fancy machines you can get at home.
I’m surprised to see how few coffee drinkers seem to make coffee on the stove. It’s the real deal, and while it takes 5-10 minutes longer, it’s the cheapest way to get good coffee.
Love a Moka Pot. It’s all we used to have growing up and still enjoy having it. But it’s not the same as an espresso. Everyone has a preference for how they like coffee, I wouldn’t necessarily call anything other than a Moka Pot a compromise, just a preference.
Moka Pot is what I’ll always recommend to someone who wants to make coffee at home and is starting out with nothing. In my opinion it’s the cheapest and easiest way to get good coffee with little effort.
On the topic of stove coffee, have you ever tried Turkish coffee?
If you happen to be in Melbourne, I ❤️ Istanbul on Lygon St does a good Turkish Coffee with Turkish Delight.
I have! It’s black magic to me how much coffee they get out of that little pot. It looks like the coffee is coming out of the sand itself!
I like Turkish Coffee, but I doubt I’d choose it every day over espresso-style.
I have an aeropress that I haven’t used since I bought a $99 Delonghi espresso machine from Aldi a few years ago. It’s a good little machine and makes a perfectly adequate coffee. I’ve recently upgraded to a Gaggia Classic Pro and the quality of the coffee I make has gone significantly downhill thanks to this machine being more demanding. I’m slowly improving, though.
As for the beans, I like to try local roasters I haven’t tried before, but have a couple I fall back on either because I enjoy them or just for convenience (read: I didn’t realise how low I was getting and ran out, so went with the best option to get beans ASAP.)
International Roast straight from the giant can! With a shitload of sugar and milk!
We got a Delonghi (Dinamica Plus) coffee machine last year. Most of the time I go for an espresso or a cappuccino.
In terms of beans I have found a couple of local roasters nearby and tend to alternate across their blends.
The ones I’ve been enjoying are:
The Cats Pyjamas https://www.sevenmiles.com.au/products/catspjs?variant=39825374281918
Gusto https://www.sevenmiles.com.au/products/gusto?variant=39843759063230
9Bar Blend https://espressoservicesplus.com.au/product/9bar-coffee-bar-blend-1kg/
I tinker with roasting my own coffee (tend to go on the lighter end, highly recommend a hive roaster).
I then grind it (used to use a hand grinder, but doing that for espresso got somewhat painful after a few years) and use a manual espresso press (cafelat robot) to make the coffee.
If I feel like a milk drink I’ll use a bellman stove top steamer to steam the milk.
Gaggia Classic Pro here with the 9 bar spring mod and a VST basket. Using a Baratza Encore grinder. The quintessential “Dipping my toes into espresso” bundle.
18g grams of beans in, 36 grams of liquid out. Froth and pour in 100ml of full cream milk.
