Hacker News Reader

Comment by kaoD | Hacker News Reader

Just get an espresso machine (the real ones, no capsules) and a bean grinder. Coffee from freshly-ground beans tastes way better than Starbucks, is still $.03 per cup and takes only a few seconds to make with an electric grinder.

Moka pots work too and are cheaper (though espresso machines are real cheap at least here in Europe) but the coffee isn't as creamy and it takes a few minutes to boil (even though it needs no attention). With a large moka pot it's easier to make large quantities though (but I hate stale coffee so I favor espresso machines). Still better than drip.

If you're really into coffee get a superautomatic machine. Best coffee I've ever had, instant and with zero effort.

View on HN

"A few seconds to make" is a slight exaggeration no? I had such a grinder/Gaggia set-up and it took time and effort. Producing good espresso at home without very expensive automated machines, is a commitment.

There's a lot of fiddly cleaning involved - the grinder has to be cleaned meticulously after use as do the various bits of the espresso machine. The finely ground coffee is very sensitive to static so tends to jump/attach itself to white t-shirts and plastic kitchenware - more cleaning. All this cleaning is required even if you just want to make one espresso - otherwise later uses will have a nasty taint.

There's a lot of experimentation required to produce a decent espresso with crema from such a set-up. Depending on the beans, their age, the weather, etc., the fineness for grinding and how tightly you packed the portafilter would vary. On good days I was getting 3 out of 4 but that still meant 1 in 4 (or more) were dreck.

That wasn't my experience. The grinder and espresso machines I used just needed rinsing between cups and a quick scrub at the end, plus cleaning the water tank once a week (depending on water quality, tap water is gross).

Moka pots are a pain to clean though, but you can buy a huge one to produce a large quantity.

As a fan of epsresso I a absolutely agree with that fact that you should consider your own grinder and machine, but mostly for the massive increase in quality, certainly not saved costs. Even with second hand gear you are easily looking at an investment of 600 euro upwards. And as often, the sky is the limit. With the 0.3€ per coffee you mention, that's the equivalent of 2000 drinks, or 5 years of usage.

Also fresh high quality beans often result in costs per coffee a lot higher than your number. While I would encourage people to get into espresso as an hobby, I wouldn't recommend it to save on Starbucks cost.

> fresh high quality beans often result in costs per coffee a lot higher than your number.

Don't buy high quality beans.

IMHO the end result is influenced mostly by preparation and water quality. I'd had to double blind it, but I've had store brand and expensive beans and the difference is negligible.

Note: I'm in Europe. Market differences might apply.

Honestly, I drip-brew a pot a day for the caffeine ... and coffee flavor. Fresh grind is better, and the Espresso/French press/etc stuff often tastes better. But day after day, year after year? too much fuss. When you need a transfusion, ASAP is the best way.

The drip machine is also about $20, and lasts for about a year of daily use.

I'm suspicious of the espresso machines, though, as they reportedly leech cadmium into the coffee. Not something I want to drink all day.

Interesting. I get 28 oz of fair trade organic beans from Trader Joes for $15. I then make one-off 12oz "big mug" espressos using a full packed tin of 0.25oz of ground coffee, which seems is 13.4 cents of very high quality beans. Cost of water is 0. Cost of electricity, less than 1 cent.

The most important thing I found was not to use municipal water. Bean quality is far less important than water quality. Great beans and city water is undrinkable. Lousy beans and good water is tolerable in a pinch.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com