I drink espresso, Americanos and lattes mostly. I have been spending too much at Starbucks so I got set up to brew my own espresso a few days ago. It cost an arm and a leg to get the machine (semi-automatic heat exchanger) and a good grinder to grind the beans fresh, but man-o-man it makes a mean shot. I'm actually happy to report that I like the espresso that I make at home better than starbucks now, but I must admit that I am not the equal of the baristas in the specialty shops. Maybe with time heh.
I am also thinking of getting an Aeropress to take to and keep at the office.
I really find that buying good, freshly roasted beans and grinding them just prior to use makes a huge difference.
Coffee black. My wife drinks it with half and half. The three ridgebacks like it that way so she goes through two cups to every one that I drink. Watching her chasing them off and having to get a new cup would make a great scene in a comedy. They can's stand black coffee.
I have gone through durn near every coffee making method/machine in the past, from cowboy to aeropress to expensive Italian espresso machines. Lately I have settled on a Bonavita 1900 machine, which is probably in the top 95% of machines according to recently made up statistics. It has no bells and whistles, no burner plate, just a stainless steel thermo carafe. Sometimes drink it black, sometimes with a bit of low fat milk, and on weekends (right now, as a matter of fact) with just a touch (!) of Bailey's.
I stay away from Starbucks if at all possible. My beans come from Peet's, French Roast, ground fresh.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks Square DOT
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Joule Turbo Sous Vide Circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
"Are you supposed to get a large amount of granules with French press? A veterinarian supervisor I had years ago was bragging about his French press and gave me some to try, and it looked like I had eaten a handful full of black pepper."
Jerod Broussard - For a French press, you've got to grind it really coarse using a good burr grinder that puts out really uniform grounds to avoid the problem that you describe. It's more than a little ironic that you need a $500 grinder to make a $15 French press work properly.
I like the Aero Press if I'm just doing one cup but there's too many parts to fiddle with first thing in the morning. Ditto for a French press.
I used a Cuisinart 12-cup coffee maker for years, it does OK and it has a 3-position warmer control so you don't smoke the remaining coffee too badly. Then I saw the review on coffee makers at America's Test Kitchen and bought the Technivorm Moccamaster 10-cup and it makes a really good cup of coffee. The insulated carafe keeps the brew at temp for 2-3 hours, long enough for me to finish the pot. And I grind the beans with a Capresso burr grinder, it's about the only burr grinder I've found that I can tolerate using early in the morning. It doesn't even scare the cats!
As kingdarb said, freshly ground coffee makes a big difference in the taste. Using enough coffee helps with the bitterness: 2 tablespoons/6 oz. is recommended, that's a LOT of ground coffee. But it really helps.
I just use an electric percolator. It has no filter, but a basket with a very fine grid in it that allows water through, and not too much of the grounds. Yeah, there are a few grounds in the pot, but hey, it's real coffee. As for additives, I only add a mug to hold it. Black for me. Wife uses the fancy creamers and sweeteners.
Not previously mentioned, is that with a percolator, ya git them great grounds ya can dry out for yer rubs ;-) I also use BAC in some marinades, especially for beef
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ", Raichlen’s “Brisket Chronicles”
Current MCBS - Momofuku
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
At home - french press with a decent Krups grinder.
on the road - whatever coffee joint is handy
fishing - my one burner white gas stove and 8 cup camp percolator
I use a ceramic French press and a Espresso machine that has a built in coffee grinder and a frother. I don't like paying Starbucks big bucks for what I can make at home for a fraction of what they charge me.👍
Cookers:
Large Big Green Egg with a Ceramic Grill Store rack system, and the SnS setup.
Weber Genesis SA-E-330 LP INDIGO with SS Grates, Weber Crafted frame kit, baking stone, griddle (2/3), all from Ace Hardware.
For the first time in a long time I have no kettles as I gave them all away.
Everything Else:
SnS #3 with certificate. I was their first customer.
Sous Vide equipment.
SnS and Thermoworks instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates for BGE.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church Holy Cow.
Rubs without salt: Home-mixed versions of previously sold SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef using their recipe. SPOG.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
Cookers:
Oklahoma Joe Offset (older thick steel version!)
Camp Chef Woodwind
OK Joe Bronco
Weber Genesis
Ooni Karu
Weber Kettle
My goal is to eventually have at least one of every style of cooker….. I have work to do. Lol!
Thermometers:
ThermoWorks Thermapen MK4
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
ThermoWorks Thermopop
ThermoWorks RFX
ThermoWorks IRK-2 Infrared
Maverick XR-50
TempSpike Plus
Other Gear:
Megaforce 3000 Meat Grinder
Weston 7-pound sausage stuffer
Jerky Gun for making poppers. (Game changer!)
Amaz-N-Tube
Original SnS with drip n griddle
Weber Chimney
Fuels Used:
Splits/Chunks, whatever I can get. Usually B&B competition. Favorites are Cherry, Apple, Post Oak, and Hickory.
Pellets, Lumberjack.
Charcoal, whatever is on sale. Currently have a bunch of KBB. Will eventually try B&B. Use whatever lump is on sale in my Ooni.
Propane, Blue Rhino.
Rubs:
Usually make my own riff’s on Memphis Dust and BBBR. Also use Meathead’s commercial rubs and occasionally try something new. I like a couple from Tuffy Stone and Kinder’s. After several surgeries, I’m very sensitive to “spicy” stuff, so I need to be careful about heat levels.
I'll usually brew it in my Keurig as I am the only coffee drinker in the house. I do frequently brew coffee in a standard 12 cup jobbie at work because I like good coffee. Black Rifle Coffee Company is my coffee of choice, awesome coffee and a veteran owned business...... Win Win!
I was looking for a new coffee maker and I just ordered an Arepress after reading about here and on line. Interesting fact that boiling hot water is not required.
If you like your coffee to have more body than you're getting with the aeropress paper filters, there's an inexpensive metal filter that makes a big difference. Some people say the paper changes the taste too, but I can't claim to have taste buds that refined.
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