coffee anyone?

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

coffee is the new premium denim

No way. For a roughly $50 investment, you can have top-grade coffee.

$15 for the best 1/2 pound of coffee from Intelligentsia / Metropolis (chicago guys)

$25-30 for a good French Press (Bodum)

$10-15 for an ok grinder, or a great hand-grinder

Bam, coffee for weeks.

[Pavlov's Bell]

Pour over single origin @ Brindle Room in NYC is the truth.

[hypsterism]

anyone in PDX, I just moved here and went to college in Chicago last year so I don't really know what is good around here. Stumptown is okay (at least I don't have to potentially wait through a Siberian winter for a mocha *cough* Inteligentsia *cough*), but I am looking for something that is a little darker and more...bitter, I guess?

bitterness is a result of overextraction and usually an undesirable trait. I'm all about drinking coffee the way you like it, but i don't think you're gonna get it at the kind of places you listed.

[mateotrono]

bitterness is a result of overextraction and usually an undesirable trait. I'm all about drinking coffee the way you like it, but i don't think you're gonna get it at the kind of places you listed.

You're right. Bitter was the wrong choice of word. I guess I mean a nice strong cup of coffee that can stand on it's own, where I don't have to get a flavored mocha or latte in order to forget the taste of the coffee.

[super]

No way. For a roughly $50 investment, you can have top-grade coffee.

$15 for the best 1/2 pound of coffee from Intelligentsia / Metropolis (chicago guys)

$25-30 for a good French Press (Bodum)

$10-15 for an ok grinder, or a great hand-grinder

Bam, coffee for weeks.

LOL $10 for a grinder? I hope you're not talking about shitty blade grinders.

A good grinder is an investment you definitely do not want to skimp on. The $75 Kyocera CM-45 is a great choice for those looking to pick up a hand grinder and it's still a whole lot cheaper than getting a decent electric grinder.

Here's what I paid for my legit drip coffee set-up:

$70 - Kyocera CM-50 grinder (modded by OrphanEspresso)

$50 - Hario Buono Kettle

$20 - My Weigh Triton T2 pocket scale

$8 - Hario V60, 02 size

$6 - Pack of 100 Hario V60 filters

Last purchase would be $11-14 for ~12 oz of freshly roasted beans from my neighborhood coffee roaster, lasting a few weeks up to a month.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

I understand that a great electric grinder is key, but for people on a budget, I was referring to hand grind ( which can often be as expensive as electric, lol), something like this:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/index.php/grinders/manual-grinders.html

The Hario is a great grinder, but I will admit to cheating and using a shitty $10 grinder when I'm lazy/it's before 7am.

[Baeyer-Drewson]

^Damn... that turkish mill looks pretty good for that price. Really gotta get down to my local coffee supply store and pick up a mill for Turkish-style. It's just far too easy first thing in the morning when you want a good, strong cup of coffee with minimal effort.

Using the Hario for French press at the mo. Pretty good value for money.

[DaBestSpoona]

No way. For a roughly $50 investment, you can have top-grade coffee.

$15 for the best 1/2 pound of coffee from Intelligentsia / Metropolis (chicago guys)

$25-30 for a good French Press (Bodum)

$10-15 for an ok grinder, or a great hand-grinder

Bam, coffee for weeks.

I meant to compare the levels of pretentiousness coffee has reached.

My current setup

Chemex + Kone $70

Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder $80

1lb bag from Strongtree $13

Hario Buono Kettle $27

[hypsterism]

where'd you get your kettle for $27?

[mpcec]

Hario skerton is a good grinder but is too inconsistent for a French Press grind, IMO. Of course it is still fine, this is me just getting in on the snobbery. Also ya'll ain't got no scales?

[Pavlov's Bell]

Someone school me on the benefits of these pricey grinders vs you typical Braun.

[Arsenal!]

The most obvious reason is the consistency of grind. With a blade grinder (like Braun) you will get a huge disparity in the size of your resulting grind. Just look at the edges of the grinder when you are done, and you will see a fine powder, while there are larger chunks in the middle. This is a particularly large problem for French press and espresso, where the larger particles go through the filter, but in any brewing technique it leads to a less flavorful extraction.

Also, the high speed of the blade creates heat through friction, which can actually start to process the beans, leading to an over-extracted, less flavorful product.

A bur grinder gives you more consistency, keeps the beans at a lower temperature, and exposes more of the inside of the bean, creating a larger surface area for extraction.

For a long time I didnt want to spend money on a grinder, but even the step up from a blade grinder to a Hario Mini Mill made a world of difference.

That said, grinding beans yourself in a cheap blade grinder is still less detrimental to taste then buying pre-ground beans and storying them.

[DaBestSpoona]

where'd you get your kettle for $27?

Rakuten. I had it shipped to my wife's friend's place before she visited.

All Hario stuff is cheaper in Japan. 100 unbleached paper filters for v60 are like 2 bucks.

[DaBestSpoona]

Also ya'll ain't got no scales?

Got an escali scale

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

Hario skerton is a good grinder but is too inconsistent for a French Press grind, IMO. Of course it is still fine, this is me just getting in on the snobbery. Also ya'll ain't got no scales?

Possibly moving in a month concept.

But after picking up an Aeropress and nerding out, I want to pick up:

a) good electric grinder

a good set of scales (or just call some labmates and have them steal me some)

c) purified water.

I also want just a week I can fuck around with all the variables for making coffee (temperature, bean grind, water quality, weight, steep times, brewing types) and figure out my personal preferences, but that's not going to happen for awhile.

In uh, terms of pretentiousness, I'm also keeping a journal recording different methods of coffee preparation using Aeropress / French press and trying (trying!) to figure out if I can taste high/mid/low notes from my coffee.

[super]

^If you have friends who are like grad students w/ access to really nice scales, that would be awesome. But if not, this site is a pretty good resource for scale reviews:

http://www.digitalscale.com/

Many of the cheap scales in abundance these days aren't really well made so you should make sure you get something good. I picked up the cheap, but reliable My Weigh Triton T2 pocket scale + 200 gram calibration weight. The scale performs really well and is very sensitive. Works great for measuring both coffee and "oregano."

If you want the best purified water that readily available, you should get Nestle Pure Life bottle water. Tastes good and it's supposed to be the best rated bottled water, but in my experience, "high end" purified water doesn't really make that much of a difference in the taste of the coffee. I've tried using Nestle, Fiji, and bulk cheap purified water and couldn't really tell a difference. YMMV though

About the Hario Skerton, I would advise against getting that grinder because the burr is not secured. This results in grinds that might be uneven at coarser settings (though it's good for espresso grinds). I'd recommend Zassenhaus or Kyocera hand grinders from Orphan Espresso. Or you could lurk around and robocop a nice vintage hand grinder too.

[Arsenal!]

Yah, I've heard bad things about the Skerton on coarse settings. They addressed the problem on the Mini Mill by making the burr spring loaded. Its not perfect, but still been a damn good value for me.

And Just Another XY, I dont think a journal is pretentious at all. I keep a written record of each new roast I try with as much info about the beans as I have, my brewing method, and my thoughts on their taste. I think its a great way to remember what you like, and help develop your tastes.

[GregoryH]

salter scales,

affordable, easy to get and they work well, we use them in shop and I use one at home daily, no issues whatsoever.

[GregoryH]

Hario skerton is a good grinder but is too inconsistent for a French Press grind, IMO. Of course it is still fine, this is me just getting in on the snobbery. Also ya'll ain't got no scales?

if anything you don't need a super consistent grind for a press pot of all things...

if you are considering brewing on something like a Kone filter or say a clever (or any other full immersion brew aside from a press) you're looking for consistency, but for a press?...

[bryantyj]

any good percolator brands?

[Happy Hooligan]

any good percolator brands?

I like vintage ones. All stainless with real glass tops... Here's my old Revere

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

if anything you don't need a super consistent grind for a press pot of all things...

if you are considering brewing on something like a Kone filter or say a clever (or any other full immersion brew aside from a press) you're looking for consistency, but for a press?...

From what I've heard, not so much,

but a coarse grind still requires 'uniform' particles, so I think having a uniform coarse is still pretty essential. (electric grinder makes happy coffee anyways tho)

[mpcec]

if anything you don't need a super consistent grind for a press pot of all things...

if you are considering brewing on something like a Kone filter or say a clever (or any other full immersion brew aside from a press) you're looking for consistency, but for a press?...

Why doesn't grind consistency matter for a press? I don't follow.

[GregoryH]

Press pots are probably the most forgiving brew method period. Consistency is still important but you have much less to worry about with a press when it comes to your grind.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

Do you guys have any external coffee forums you browse?

Just curious.

[hypsterism]

only one i know is coffeegeek.com

[broneck]

that coffee gave me diarrhea

[mpcec]

Ah I hear you. Also I bought a salter scale last week and I'm loving it!

[iRX]

Hey, I'm in Hawaii for an internship until the end of summer... I wanted to get a friend some coffee since she loves the stuff. Anyone recommend any place to look besides the tourist spots? I want something with good quality and price isn't too much of an issue. Thanks.

[kiya]

June 11th, Self Edge Los Angeles.

If you like coffee, be there.

It's gonna be a big one.