Ask HN: How do you brew your coffee? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you brew your coffee?

23 pointsleonagano66 comments

With so many different methods and tools, what is your method and tool to make a good coffee? Pour over is my daily method of simple and good coffee.

Different methods and tools are also shown here on PH: https://www.producthunt.com/ask/946-how-do-you-brew-your-coffee

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I find roasting my own beans makes the world of difference. I buy my green coffee in 20lb patches from https://www.sweetmarias.com/category/green-coffee and use a small automated roaster. Roasted beans have a shelf life and a lot of times I was getting sold old coffee that didn't taste as well as other times.

After roasting I have 3 basic methods for making coffee first being the basic Bunn drip pot. I also own a french press for when I don't need a pot to help get me through the day. Finally I have one of those stove top espresso devices for when I need to make espresso.

What roaster do you use?

A tiny one nesco brand I got it on sell for $60 at the time. Currently working on turning a convection oven that has a rotisserie attachment on it into a bean roast using a arduino

I own a big variety of methods because I think it's fun, but get the most use out of our Toddy [1].

You can make 15-20 cups of cold brew at once (which has a decent shelf life) and if you use the optional filter bags, cleanup is super easy.

With nice beans you can also make some really flavorful coffee, but it's extremely tolerant of cheap/old beans in a pinch.

For hot coffee the aeropress has the best convenience to consistent quality ratio, but v60 pourover cone gives you the most control over all the variables, for better or for worse.

If you're new to coffee, don't sweat the method and focus on getting decent beans that are less than a week old. A good filter for roaster quality is if they have a 'roasted on' date, vs no date or a 'best by' date.

[1] - https://toddycafe.com/

I like the cheap freeze-dried stuff. Boil the water, put the coffee in the cup, put the water in the cup, done.

OMG NOT TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED? OH MA GOD!

Carefully crack a can of Monster open ensuring that none of the factory air escapes in a temperature controlled environment, usually 1:1 ratio. Drink it in about 5 minutes.

Aeropress is the best coffee I can make at home, but only a single cup.

For some reason my pour over is never good as "the one grandma used to make".

Seconded on the Aeropress. It beats the French press, which it most closely resembles, in pretty much every metric: you can grind the coffee more finely which gives you better extraction, and you can use less of it to get coffee of the same strength. It's also faster and easier to clean up. And to my palate, it just tastes better.

I'm of the opinion that the easiest and most important step one can take to make one's coffee taste better is to grind the beans before brewing. Better quality coffee obviously improves the flavor for sure, but preground gourmet coffee is about as competitive as freshly ground Eight O'Clock Joe.

I usually use drip coffee because I'm lazy, but prefer French press.

I love french press but the problem is that the glass is so fragile that I gave up french press after the third time I broke it.

You can get a stainless steel french press. Typically they are vacuum insulated as well, which is nice.

Most retailers carry plastic french presses now

have you heard of aeropress you might want to give it a try

Coffee snob here.

At the office I keep my own stash of good beans. I use a manual burr grinder and a cheapo pour-over system with the hot water that comes out of the big BUNN coffee maker. I will say that I think an Aeropress makes some of the best coffee I've ever had, but it's just too much of a pain to do in the office.

Ever once in awhile I'll have the office BUNN coffee if I'm in it for quick caffeine rather than coffee experience. There is absolutely a time and place for bad coffee. For instance, I would be very sad if Waffle House started serving good coffee.

At home it depends. Sometimes a moka pot, sometimes a pour-over, sometimes a french press. Depends on the roast and what I'm in the mood for.

Clean French press, fresh / burr ground beans (12:1, so usually ~60g ground), temperature controlled H20 (96C), 4:30 minute brew.

Bunn coffee maker. Makes a unbeatable pot in 3 minutes flat.

Same way they make drip dinner coffee - water is heated to just the right temperature, unlike a Mr. Coffee which is too hot and sours the coffee because it uses the steam as a pump.

Have been thinking about getting a Bunn to replace my aged Mr. Coffee. Have tried many other ways of making coffee and really just prefer the convenience of drip.

In the summer I make a gallon of cold brew at a time in a big jug on the counter.

My parents had a Bunn while I was growing up, I got a Mr, Coffee immediately after moving out. Had it for years. It just wasn’t the same. Couple years back I made the jump to a Bunn and have not regretted it.

Which Bunn coffee maker do you have? I'm looking to get one and they have many different versions.

I use an AeroPress and I buy whole beans from a nearby/local roaster or when I'm feeling cheap I'll get a big bag of beans from CostCo. I find that the equipment impacts the coffee a whole lot less than having a good bean that was recently roasted and has been freshly ground. I also use a burr grinder, it may be psychosomatic but I prefer the taste of burr ground coffee over blade ground coffee.

The problem here, of course, is that "good" coffee beans can be hard to find in a given area and are generally speaking expensive (without going in too far in to the ethics of coffee, I am personally willing to pay a little bit more to buy beans that are ethically and sustainably sourced -- which takes a little research and effort on your part when interacting with local roasters). You could buy relatively cheap green beans (check out Sweet Marias) and roast them yourself but the equipment can be expensive and it adds a non-trivial amount of time and effort.

Anyway, I think that the AeroPress makes the best cup of coffee that I have ever had at home. I also have a pour-over that I use sometimes, and a french press that I use sometimes, but both of those options are a lot more effort. The AeroPress takes all of a minute from to get from "I want a cup of coffee" to "Mmm, this coffee tastes good" and that includes clean up. Also, the paper filters are re-useable and I tend to re-use each one of mine dozens of times before getting a new one out.

I use almost the same method. I make my coffee into one of those tall double-walled insulated mugs.

I put the coffee into the AeroPress, add hot water to the top and stir. By the time I'm done stiring, 8 seconds, the water has dripped out an inch or so, which I fill back up and put in the plunger. I push it down a bit to create some pressure, then let it sit for 30 seconds. Push it down the rest of the way and it's ready!

It's pretty hard to beat a French press. A $20 version will last forever and make coffee fit for a king.

I'm with you on this one. My french press outperforms pour-over, Aeropress, Moka pots, and a bunch of other methods when it comes to properly extracting coffee.

I'm particularly sensitive to the bitter flavors in coffee, however, so I really don't like so many coffee making methods which produce bitter coffee.

I'd love to hear the rationale behind what makes french press superior for properly extracted coffee.

I've always thought of each method as driven by preference and context, but if there's an argument to be made for “technical” best, I'd love to hear it.

I don't know all the technical details, and I'm sure it boils down to "it's hard to get wrong" with a french press, but one scoop of beans ground down, half the press' volume in just-off-boil-water, and 5 minutes makes a perfect coffee. Perhaps it's in part due to stealing this "recipie" from Alton Brown, but it really does just work for me.

The Aeropress does a decent job, but the volume of coffee created is so small and very highly concentrated. As a result, the outcome is really easy to get wrong. The paper filters also tends to capture a lot of the essential oils, making for a different tasting coffee when compared to a metal filter.

As for pour-over, it feels like the extraction of the grounds is very un-even, with those near the bottom of the filter being over-extracted, while those nearer to the top are under-extracted. Since over-extraction tends to create more bitter compounds, pour-over is never that good to my tastes.

As for Moka pots - it's hard to catch them right when they're done, and so it's easy to get burnt coffee (small all-metal pots with small amounts of water and coffee). The extraction seems good, but as with the Aeropress it's a very small amount, so it's so easy to get wrong.

Thanks for the answer. Strong point on the directness of the french press: fewer points of failure, and more uniform process.

French press was the first technique I used, long before I gave my coffee technique proper attention, so you've inspired me to dust mine off and give it the same level of attention I give to a pour-over.

Time for a side-by-side test this weekend …

I've also found French press to be the sweet spot wrt quality/time involved/kitchen space. However, I've gone through 3 French presses in the past 3 years. Do you recommend a particular brand/model? (2 of the aforementioned 3 were mid-level Bodums).

I've tried several methods and have settled on grinding high quality beans and throwing them into a regular Mr. Coffee drip machine. The bean quality+grinding immediately before brewing make 90% of the difference taste-wise. After that, the easiest method that turns it into coffee is best.

French press is too gritty unless you add an additional filter or grind the beans just right, and even then it's still a little gritty.

Pour over is far too much work to do every day. I set the pot, do my morning routine, and come back when it's done.

I would do cold brew occasionally, but I enjoy hot coffee especially during the winter, and the heat keeps me from wanting to drink it too quickly. I like to spend about 10am-3pm on 16oz of coffee.

Buying good coffee from a shop daily is 3-10x more expensive and just doesn't make sense to me unless $1000 a year on coffee is a drop in the bucket for you.

I've had better coffee than what I make myself at $4+ upscale coffee shops, but I think my method gets the price/time/taste balance just right for a 2-cup-a-day drinker like me.

I’ve used a chemex + quality grinder for a long time and haven’t found anything better so not much to add there.

I’ve started experimenting with roasting at home, though, and am surprised at how easy it is. Time since roast seems to be one of the most important variables for taste and beans are by far the largest expense. You can buy a 3lb bag of unroasted green coffee on Amazon for $20:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014THN4OI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_L1Rl...

It takes about 13 minutes to roast a hopper’s worth of beans. I use a normal castiron skillet over medium heat. Just keep the beans moving the whole time.

Cold brew is easy to make, and taste is really smooth and sweet, and preserves the flavor without the bitterness. However, it takes a long time for the process to finish, so I start it before I go to bed, and have the coffee ready to drink in the morning. I use Cold Bruer, as I prefer the drip method, not infusion. I prefer single origin over blend, especially for cold brew. If you're curious about its taste, try Blue Bottle's cold brew. I don't recommend Starbucks' version, as it is not good.

EDIT: Cold brew is not iced coffee! Iced coffee is a common hot brewed coffee that is consumed cold, often by pouring hot coffee over ice, and popular in summer.

I have a stainless steel, insulated French press. Stainless steel because I broke ~3 of the glass ones while dumping out old coffee grounds. Insulated because I love my coffee to be hot.

Here's the process for how I actually brew a Fresh press:

0. Heat up water in electric water pot.

1. Dump a couple of scoops of coffee (I eyeball it, no formula) into the FP.

2. Slowly pour hot water onto coffee in FP in a somewhat circular fashion. "Somewhat" because I make adjustments to make sure all the coffee is getting wet and mixed in.

3. I take a long spoon and stir/whip the coffee, so that there is a rich foam at the top of the FP.

4. Put the top on the FP.

5. Wait 2-20 minutes, depending on the day, then slowly press the strainer down.

The coffee is then ready to drink.

I broke a glass one and it dumped near-boiling water on my pants and resulted in a large 2nd degree burn. Glass boiling water receptacles may be one of those things we someday look back on with horror, like those Victorian mills with overhead belt drives. Stainless is the way to go.

When I'm on the streets, I always have espressos. Here in the UK, they have very good ones. When I was in Brazil I always had espressos and pour over. French press and Aeropress are not popular down there.

started roasting our own coffee on the stove. best decision ever. takes about 10-15min 2x a week (1/2lb per roast). still experimenting with the 7lb sampler at happymug.

moccasmaster + baratza grinder

What do you put the coffee in when you roast it on the stove? And how strong is the smell when it's roasting?

I want to roast at home but I'm afraid neighbors may complain if the odor is too much.

I use a wok, an oven thermometer to get it to the initial heat (~200F), and a wooden spoon to stir. I try and finish my roast by 9-12min.

You get a little bit of smoke but nothing like what I read online. That said, I don't generally roast to expresso dark but have roasted to 30-60sec past 2nd crack with no problems (happymug gives tips on how much to roast in their green bean profile).

We live in an apt and no one has ever complained. Also, it's not foul smelling at all. Generally just a little burnt coffee smell. The beans and grind, however, smell superb!!

I usually brew on an Aeropress - ~20g coffee @ medium grind (~18 on the Baratza Encore), inverted, no stir (maybe a wiggle), about a minute of contact time. I bought an Able Disk mesh filter but lost it, I don't really miss it.

In terms of beans, I usually go for Blue Bottle (Three Africas is always a solid option, also their holiday Oakland Lights blend is really good right now). That said, Trader Joe's Lys Kaffe blend is like $6, it's like 80% as good as specialty coffee for half the price!

Depends on where I am and what I feel like.

I have an Aeropress at my desk at work. I keep some freshly ground coffee there so I can make nice coffee instead of the random brew in the lunchroom.

I have a pour over and a drip machine at home. The drip machine is programmed to make me a pot of coffee that is ready when I get out of bed, it's not the best coffee I've ever had but it gets my day going.

The pour over is for when I want a single cup or if I feel like making a nicer coffee. Usually when I buy some nicer beans as a treat.

At home I usually use a cheap electric grinder (I don't even know the name right now, I got it from the parents' place since they weren't using it) along with a gooseneck electric kettle for pour over[1]. Every now and then I use a moka pot. On the go I usually get macchiatos. I see others mentioning French press; I tried that for a while but I always ended up either too watery or too oily.

[1] 23 grams of coffee beans ground to sea salt consistency, 300 grams of water.

I've tried and loved a lot of different coffee methods over the years, but my daily drink is a knock off keurig with Newmen's Own coffee.

But to me, the most important ingredient in how well the coffee tastes is the water. Tap water with lots of tastes will make the best beans taste like junk. Filtered water can make mediocre beans taste much better. Plus if you use a machine, it means you dont have to descale :)

Stove-top siphon pot (Yama 5 cup). I've found it to be the best method after trying all (according to my personal tastes and style). Metal filter only.

French Press or Clever comes in second place. Also metal filter only.

For cold brew: two glass 3L jugs, a funnel and metal filter.

Other things:

Baratza Virtuoso Grinder, Lavatools digital thermometer, timer (any will do), gram scale (any will do).

Coffee: Fresh beans from Portorico importing (NYC). Light-roast only.

I drink the coffee purely for the caffeine, and don't have high standards. I just buy ground coffee, typically from a local shop, but sometimes starbucks. Then use a French press, purely because I can make a small amount of coffee with it, and not waste a whole pot. You do have to be careful about pre-ground sometimes its too small and can make it through the press, not ideal.

Single-cup Vietnamese coffee filter (http://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/about-vietnamese-coffee-f...)

Mostly out of convenience (easiest clean-up, second only to turkish coffee where you use no filter at all), and out of nostalgia (lived 1 year in Viet Nam)

I use my Keurig with its reusable coffee filter. Occasionally I'll buy a bag of beans to grind, but I usually stick to Folgers.

For me convenience beats the rest so it is whatever comes out of a Nespresso machine, I particularly like the Roma blend.

Aeropress (95C water), ground with a hario conical burr hand grinder.

I like WholeFoods' Mocha Java. It's the best value coffee.

I grind my beans on demand and usually brew with an aeropress if I’m making one, or the appropriate sized moka pot for making several. (I also have a couple of coffee syphons, which are fun to watch, but too fiddly and too much cleanup for everyday use.)

Aeropress makes a good cup and is super easy for cleanup.

Exactly what I do. Aeropress for myself, moka pot if I'm doing >1. Beans ground as needed in a completely non-fancy spice grinder.

I love the taste of Aeropress, but don't expect it to be like espresso. The workflow for a single cup is great, important when I've had <1 coffee so far in the day.

I've toyed with buying an espresso machine but given I have 1 cup a day at home, it seems extravagant.

I would suggest investing in a burr grinder. You really want the granules of ground coffee to be reasonably uniform in size.

I do the following: 1) Organic beans 2) Burr grinder 3) Bonavita Coffee Maker (This will brew at a specific temp for the beans and distributes the water evenly over the grounds.) 4) Post: add coconut oil for energy boost

Chemex or French press on weekday mornings. On weekends, I like to indulge: sometimes I make a moka pot cubano, at others I'll make the Indian style super strong 'kaapi' in the steel coffee filter.

Oh and if you are here in Seattle, Espresso Vivace 'dolce' fresh beans are the ones to beat.

When I used to drink regular coffee seriously, I degraded from making it with a Melita drip cup using Cafe Grumpy’s beans or something like that to a Keurig machine.

I have a 9-cup Moka pot and a burr grinder.

One day when I am rich and not-famous, i will have an espresso machine of the form that gets patched directly into the house water line.

i got Breville The Barista Express BES870XL machine that grind beans and makes super atomic strong coffee . Best coffee i ever had.

I have one of these too and it's amazing if you can swing it!

My go-to is a pour over.

I actually prefer the richer result of a French press, but I'm lazy and don't want to clean it out afterwards.

Target Brand Coffee maker with the cheapest/ounce pre-ground coffee, bottom shelf. The thing's heater coils blow out every 90 days or so, but Target has a year warranty on them, so I keep getting replacements for 'free'.

Everyone is all fancy with their coffee, but it tastes just fine to me.

EDIT: Well now, reading through the comments is like stepping into a niche aquarium manufacturing forum: I've no idea what anyone is talking about, but they are all very certain of it.

Chemex, Aeropress, or Cafe Bustelo + Moka Pot. Really depends on how lazy I feel and how many beans I have left.

I stand by my percolator. I love it but you can easily 'burn' the coffee.

Chemex. Great flavor.

Burr hand grinder, then brew using French press.

electric grinder and mokapot in the morning.

Sometimes a cafetiere

inb4 thisforumisturningintoreddit

Everything except coffee capsules/pods/bars. These pre-apportioned single-use container of ground coffee beans produce way too much waste, are 10 times more expensive and are no better than instant coffee.

Your favorite traditional coffee culture that was popular before the hype around coffee capsules/pods/bars are fast, as convinent (fully automatic machines) and taste great.

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