rethinking the FRENCH PRESS.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

I actually enjoy the coffee process of our semi-automatic espresso machine. It's very much like the last breville linked with the cat picture - but was sold through Starbucks. It still runs fine (12+ years now) but the portafilter is toast and I need to order a new one @ $90 or the rebuild parts kit for $50.

I guess the reliability of the full automatic machines have gone way up, my anecdotal experience being years old and from friends who spent a couple $K on one that lasted just past the warranty cutoff - so 1 year or so. Repair was ghastly $$ so they tossed it and went back to drip coffee. So many complex steps in grinding, tamping, pressurizing, and then dumping - just listening to that machine struggle through convinced me I made the right choice with my simple one.

More going on more to go wrong.

[zakthor]

Used a single cup melitta for years, still use it camping or if espresso machine is out of order. With the right paper filters I think the melitta makes a terrific cup.

Many fancy friends advocate for the French press but I think they're tasting with their eyes or just love the process - the sediment it lets into the coffee tastes bad to me, is ok if you drink right away but just bad if it takes 20 minutes to finish a cup. Some actually say to pour the result through a paper filter to remove the sediment... Polly right but I've never tried it. Hard to clean and fragile.

Friend had a jura, I think it makes terrible coffee, not espresso.

I've been using an expobar brewtus for more than 12 years, huge grinder, the machine needs minor maintenance every year or so (o-rings, etch) and forces me to spend for good beans but result makes me happy.

I've had shots from the latest $1300 Breville, wow its good but looks default to maintain.

[Otter74]

Years ago I got handed a nice home espresso maker brand new as a freebie - don't remember what it was, but it made good coffee. Was kind of fastidious to clean every time. Then I discovered the AeroPress - ordered one and from the first time I used it, never used the espresso machine again. Well, maybe once just for nostalgia. AeroPress made equally-great coffee once I learned how to do it right, and was like 1/5 the work. Later sold the espresso machine on eBay for over $300, not bad for $0 cost. Still use the AeroPress every day. Nespresso milk steamer/frother does well for my daily cafe con leche.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

How do you get the bird to whistle at 195? By pre-heat, do you mean swirl some hot water around first? Like you would a teapot?

I'm guessing he has an electric kettle?

Elton Brown suggests bringing the water to a boil, turn off the heat and let is set for 5-10 seconds, should bring the water temp to 195-200 (at least that is what he says).

That is if you don't want to spring for an electric kettle, don't think they are expensive. Someone abandoned one in our break room.

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

How do you get the bird to whistle at 195? By pre-heat, do you mean swirl some hot water around first? Like you would a teapot?

Yes and yes. Electric kettle with thermostatic settings and pour hot water into the cups or Press Pot, let sit while the Pavoni warms up, then pour out.


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[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

I'm guessing he has an electric kettle?

Elton Brown suggests bringing the water to a boil, turn off the heat and let is set for 5-10 seconds, should bring the water temp to 195-200 (at least that is what he says).

That is if you don't want to spring for an electric kettle, don't think they are expensive. Someone abandoned one in our break room.

I held off in buying an electric for years.. when the current routine (Tea, Pavoni and sometimes PP all in the same session) evolved into a daily routine I went ahead and got one. I think it was $50 or so. BTW, the weak link in the electric kettle is the thermo-fuse thing. It’s a $2 part. When it dies the whole thing quits. You can hotwire around it or replace. If you hotwire don’t ever let it run dry....


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[recycled sixtie]

Just recently we bought an electric kettle with a thermostat at Costco. Not expensive and their return policy is excellent.

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Gotcha. Had my fair share of disposable electric kettles - some with lift off stands, some without. Never seen one with a thermostat on it though. I'm a little old school with my Alessi over gas. I was in the UK recently and I've gotta say I was impressed by the speed of a modern 240v electric.

Oh yeah... 240 works way better for anything that's got a heater element in it....

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

I'm guessing he has an electric kettle?

Elton Brown suggests bringing the water to a boil, turn off the heat and let is set for 5-10 seconds, should bring the water temp to 195-200 (at least that is what he says).

That is if you don't want to spring for an electric kettle, don't think they are expensive. Someone abandoned one in our break room.

I think a French Press trick is....boil water and let it stand a few moments, but also add a dash of cold water to the coffee in the pot, swirl then add the hot water to the now wet coffee. Then give it a really good stir. The wife then adds a sprinkle of coffee to the top (we disagree on this) and let stand. She with lid off, me with lid on. Stand a least 5 minutes before pressing. This is a benefit of the insulated steel pots, also.

As for the Press being a bit fancy... is there a more basic coffee making implement? Maybe a little Turkish coffee pot.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by Charles Freeborn

Oh yeah... 240 works way better for anything that's got a heater element in it....

Thats the truth. The wattage difference didn't sink in until I used an electric kettle in england. A whole kettle of water boils in like a minute. I guess it makes sense what with all the tea they drink. It sure felt like water boiled more than twice as fast.

If I ever buy a bigger espresso machine I'm defiantly getting a dedicated 240 line for it.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Okay, that is pretty cool... especially seeing as I usually do multiple shots of coffee.

However convincing my wife I need a $800 coffee maker might be a hard sell

On the other hand the reason she shot down a espresso machine was that "they are so messy" and a super automatic would eliminate the grinder (grind my own beans every morning and some spillage is inevitable) and the mess of tamping/loading.

Hmmmmm

So I did some online research of the Breville that you linked earlier and couldn't find anything but positive reviews and comments. I saw that BedBathBeyond sells those things and we have a load of coupons... So we head over to their local store and in the same mall is a high end kitchen shop (Sur La Table) that I know sells espresso machines. Sure enough they have a table lined with Jira automatics (wow $5600 for the top model) and free coffee samples. At the other side of the table are the semi-automatics and the single serve (Nespresso) options. We leave convinced that Breville is a decent product and $415 later walk out of BBB with our https://www.wholelattelove.com/breville-bes870xl-barista-express.



I like that it comes with it's own burr grinder but is not dependent on it for ultimately making an espresso. Getting the right grind is critical and changes from bean to bean. We get it home, unpacked, cleaned, and prepped. It took me 3-4 tries to get the grind and volume settings correct but now pulls a double shot of Pete's espresso like a champ. Sure it's messy (coffee grounds) compared to the Jura and single serve machines but it fits my needs, has a quality appearance, and is simple to operate.

To appease the karma gods my wife did buy a copper whisk and a new lid handle for our Le Creuset dutch oven from the fancy place. I'm still going to get a new portafilter for the old machine we have and give that to our daughter for her college apartment.

[dan79brooklyn]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

So I did some online research of the Breville that you linked earlier and couldn't find anything but positive reviews and comments. I saw that BedBathBeyond sells those things and we have a load of coupons... So we head over to their local store and in the same mall is a high end kitchen shop (Sur La Table) that I know sells espresso machines. Sure enough they have a table lined with Jira automatics (wow $5600 for the top model) and free coffee samples. At the other side of the table are the semi-automatics and the single serve (Nespresso) options. We leave convinced that Breville is a decent product and $415 later walk out of BBB with our https://www.wholelattelove.com/breville-bes870xl-barista-express.



I like that it comes with it's own burr grinder but is not dependent on it for ultimately making an espresso. Getting the right grind is critical and changes from bean to bean. We get it home, unpacked, cleaned, and prepped. It took me 3-4 tries to get the grind and volume settings correct but now pulls a double shot of Pete's espresso like a champ. Sure it's messy (coffee grounds) compared to the Jura and single serve machines but it fits my needs, has a quality appearance, and is simple to operate.

To appease the karma gods my wife did buy a copper whisk and a new lid handle for our Le Creuset dutch oven from the fancy place. I'm still going to get a new portafilter for the old machine we have and give that to our daughter for her college apartment.

I’ve been tempted to buy that Breville to replace my old Saeco. Glad to hear you’re pleased with it.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

So I did some online research of the Breville that you linked earlier and couldn't find anything but positive reviews and comments. I saw that BedBathBeyond sells those things and we have a load of coupons... So we head over to their local store and in the same mall is a high end kitchen shop (Sur La Table) that I know sells espresso machines. Sure enough they have a table lined with Jira automatics (wow $5600 for the top model) and free coffee samples. At the other side of the table are the semi-automatics and the single serve (Nespresso) options. We leave convinced that Breville is a decent product and $415 later walk out of BBB with our https://www.wholelattelove.com/breville-bes870xl-barista-express.



I like that it comes with it's own burr grinder but is not dependent on it for ultimately making an espresso. Getting the right grind is critical and changes from bean to bean. We get it home, unpacked, cleaned, and prepped. It took me 3-4 tries to get the grind and volume settings correct but now pulls a double shot of Pete's espresso like a champ. Sure it's messy (coffee grounds) compared to the Jura and single serve machines but it fits my needs, has a quality appearance, and is simple to operate.

To appease the karma gods my wife did buy a copper whisk and a new lid handle for our Le Creuset dutch oven from the fancy place. I'm still going to get a new portafilter for the old machine we have and give that to our daughter for her college apartment.

Congrats. Slippery slope.

Doesn't make much sense to me to integrate a crappy grinder - i'm now on my 4th grinder and finally happy. Is really amazing how much difference the grinder makes. See if you can demo one at home.

I demoed the new brevilles. With high end grinders I had trouble pulling good shots with the 870, but the 920 was cake to use. I was just pulling shots, no steaming, I suspect the 870 isn't so temp stable or the unit I demoed wasn't working well.

Biggest problem is how they drive you to buy expensive beans.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by zakthor

Biggest problem is how they drive you to buy expensive beans.

I disagree. Try 100% Columbian from Eight-o-Clock

[sammyg2]

Darn whipper-snappers and yer fancy foo-foo drinks.
Back in my day men drank COFFEE!

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by TimT

You might want to try an Aeropress

I take one of these camping. Its a lot more fiddly then a french press, but way easier to pack.

All the guys on our Baja trip made fun of me for bringing it on a dirt bike tour - but they changed their tune when they didnt have coffee in the morning.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

That's the brown bag, right? Tried a couple of times, but always seems a bit light to me...

If there is a Trader Joe's near you they have a whole rack of reasonably price whole beans. Columbia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Kona, Bolivia, etc.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

That's the brown bag, right? Tried a couple of times, but always seems a bit light to me...

Red bag - brown stripe

[astrochex]

Coffee tip if you’re in the Dayton OH area. Press Coffee bar roasts their own beans under the Wood Burl Coffee brand. They do not, I repeat, do not roast their beans to a campfire aroma but actually let the flavor of the beans come out. Had a nice Ethiopian French press this morning.

They were just named best coffee in Ohio by Food & Wine magazine.

I’m going to try their cappuccino tomorrow, my go to beverage for measuring the quality of a cafe.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Darn whipper-snappers and yer fancy foo-foo drinks.
Back in my day men drank COFFEE!

Yeah... just about every morning I pull a shot where I stop and smack my lips and curse because it tastes so good. There is something in good espresso that lights me up. I bring a hand grinder, beans, miletta cone when traveling, cup in the morning, but never lights me up like good espresso.

The problem though is that anything but the best beans makes for horrible espresso, no/bad crema, you can taste every rancid burned detail. Much better to make drip.

We've been hooked on vivace dolce blend (Espresso Vivace | Product categories | Coffee For Home) for years and years. Hate the price and occasionally we switch it up but always come back. At $30/week i figure the joy it gives is significantly more than expensive wine that we don't drink.