coffee anyone?

[Baeyer-Drewson]

methylphenidate (10).

[gramps]

yeah jokes on you Baeyer cause I couldn't even spell that well enough to google it.

[wayoutwest]

I live with my grandmother. I found this in the basement. could be from the 50's or 60's. Could also be from the 80's or 90's. No way to know.

brewed with it the first time tonight. chemex'ers, do you prefer the unbleached or bleached filters? NYTimes says bleached.

[mpcec]

Definitely bleached! Also that's really awesome, would love to know when it's from, looks exactly like the ones they produce today.

[kiya]

I live with my grandmother. I found this in the basement. could be from the 50's or 60's. Could also be from the 80's or 90's. No way to know.

brewed with it the first time tonight. chemex'ers, do you prefer the unbleached or bleached filters? NYTimes says bleached.

It's hard to tell...

Most of the really old ones had a leather handle, then they went with a plastic heat resistant handle, then with wood with a little olive looking leather buckle, then the way they are now with wood handle and no olive (the leather is just tied).

[GregoryH]

Definitely bleached! Also that's really awesome, would love to know when it's from, looks exactly like the ones they produce today.

Bleached or Kone, Kone allows for more oils to pass thru, resulting in a fuller body / more complex cup (paper is super crisp and clean)

[Happy Hooligan]

looks late 60's to me maybe 70's.

Why bleached. I use unbleached as I don't want the extra chemicals in my coffee that bleach will give you.

[Baeyer-Drewson]

I never really understood bleached paper used for any purpose other than writing/printing (even then...). Bleached toilet paper? Bleached napkins? Bleached coffee filters? It's extra chemicals purely for aesthetics.

[mpcec]

I find it's much harder to get rid of the paper taste when using the unbleached filters.

[Guest roastedchickenwing]

I use to be a coffee addict until i realize how yellow my teeth got, and stopped.

[herpsky]

i need a grinder. preferably something portable as I move around quite a bit.

are burr grinders far superior to blade-based ones?

[mpcec]

Yes! If you want automatic, Baratza Maestro is a good starter... if manual then I'm a little out of touch with what's good. I like the Hario Skerton but I imagine a better alternative must have come out that has both burrs fixed...

e: looks like hario or porlex have good options, with hario giving the best bang for your buck.

[JackCrank]

What kind of "moving around" are you doing and how do you make your coffee? French Press? Espresso? Pour over?

i need a grinder. preferably something portable as I move around quite a bit.

are burr grinders far superior to blade-based ones?

[herpsky]

What kind of "moving around" are you doing and how do you make your coffee? French Press? Espresso? Pour over?

I'm a total beginner. I know very little about coffee.

About me:

I currently live in the tristate area but moving to new england in a month. I'll be there for the next 6 months but will be traveling to the south, hawaii, and the west coast starting in May, 2012. I basically need to put everything into my car so having an elaborate coffee machine isn't really a viable option.

I've been thinking about getting a bodum french press.

I honestly don't have the patience or the time to grind beans manually.

I want to pick up some beans before i leave this area. where should i go in manhattan for good beans? stumptown?

people say that blade-based grinders cut up the beans unevenly and result in sub-par aroma.

i don't even know if i can even justify spending more than 50 bucks on a grinder.

[wayoutwest]

i need a grinder. preferably something portable as I move around quite a bit.

are burr grinders far superior to blade-based ones?

I love my Hario Burr Mill Slim. It's super portable and light, and very effective. You can really fine tune your grind to exactly what you want or need. It's also manual, there is less chance of something breaking. The only thing I have noticed that might be breakable, is the crank. Can't recommend this mill enough. It's around $35 shipped on Amazon.

[Sugar Mountain]

Herpsky -- honestly, it's very little bother to grind beans manually and the difference in your cup is massive. For a single cup, I can grind the beans in the time it takes for my kettle to boil and it's all part of the 'ritual' if you will.

As I understand, the main problem with a blade grinder is that the heat from the blades will seriously affect the beans and produce a sub-par cup. I'm with wayoutwest in recommending a Hario Slim and combined with a good french press (ala Bodum), you're all set to start enjoying good coffee at home.

[JackCrank]

Fuck that, get a refurbed Baratza maestro for $40 and be done with it.

[ajchen]

Fuck that, get a refurbed Baratza maestro for $40 and be done with it.

Where? It's $70 on the Baratza website.

[grilled cheese]

just copped a baratza virtuoso preciso... incredibly excited. will report back with details.

[asher_roslynn]

I love my Hario Burr Mill Slim. It's super portable and light, and very effective. You can really fine tune your grind to exactly what you want or need. It's also manual, there is less chance of something breaking. The only thing I have noticed that might be breakable, is the crank. Can't recommend this mill enough. It's around $35 shipped on Amazon.

Definitely looking into this- is it ample enough to do french-press coarse grind, consistently of course? From a few youtube vids, looks like it's def capable of finer grinds...but if I can get my coarse grind on a budget, that's a winner.

[wayoutwest]

my girlfriend gave me a Hario Swan Neck for my birthday.

it's pretty awesome.

[grilled cheese]

^^^ awesome. I want one badly. You like?

Quick update on the Baratza Virtuoso Preciso. I'm coming from a simple blade grinder, and I'm a relative noob to coffee, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

This thing is badass. I've really only used it for three types of applications: press pot, moka pot, and chemex. I don't yet have a real deal espresso maker so I can't speak to its efficacy for that application--but I'm convinced it can do what it needs to. Grinds are incredibly consistent, with practically no fines. I've noticed the biggest difference in the press pot (which I use most frequently)--it's possible that my last three cups of press pot coffee were the best cups of coffee I've had in my life. I generally prefer my coffee black, and I can't get over how smooth and delicious it is. To date, I've only tried one chemex brew but it was a major crowd pleaser at last weekend's brunch. I'm still very much dialing-in my grind preferences (there are 400+), particularly with the moka pot, where I've had the most inconsistent results (not grind inconsistency--just overall product inconsistency), but I think that is more due to the method and my relative inexperience.

Overall two thumbs up. Going from the blade grinder to a quality burr grinder was, in fact, life changing/saving.

[mpcec]

That's a huge upgrade, definitely gonna be the next grinder I buy.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

Second the Hario Swan Neck.

That thing is bulletproof, and works really well for pourover and other methods. I accidentally put the flame on too high one day, and roasted the handle, but no lasting damage was had. Super happy about that.

Does it whistle for you when it's boiling? Mine doesn't. :confused:

[ben_253]

there's also the hario electric kettle, looks basically the same but has a base that connects to power

[dhopz]

the electric one has a smaller capacity and costs almost twice as much

but it could be worth it if the heating source is solid and reliable

[blm14]

Finally convinced the wife to ditch the drip coffeemaker, and we're now french-press only. Woo hoo!

[wayoutwest]

Does it whistle for you when it's boiling? Mine doesn't. :confused:

I actually don't use it to boil the water. It's one more step, but I find it useful because I can measure out the right amount of water for the entire brew, and pour that into the hario. It takes maybe 30 seconds. Th extra water is used for rinsing the filter, warming a coffee cup or thermos, etc.

here's my morning setup:

(is this pic too large?)

total brew time is 7-8 minutes. Time in between stuff happening lets me do other things.

Finally convinced the wife to ditch the drip coffeemaker, and we're now french-press only. Woo hoo!

solid victory.

[blm14]

^ she was constantly complaining that the coffee was either a) not hot enough or burned. That warmer plate is SUCH a fail on the mr. coffee. French press you get maximal heat - boiling - and zero burnage because the grounds are never directly exposed to the heating element.

I wonder if I could somehow use my pressure cooker to get insane extraction...

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

I actually don't use it to boil the water. It's one more step, but I find it useful because I can measure out the right amount of water for the entire brew, and pour that into the hario.

Seriously? There are little nubbins on the inside of the Swan Neck that make it ridiculously easy to determine how much water you have inside. If you want to be super technical, use a scale to ensure the correct weight.

I understand being accurate and all, but that just seems extraneous.