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Yeah, for those of you who like the simplicity, get a french press and a grinder. Grind the beans while you boil the water. Put both in the french press and wait for 5 minutes and you are done. In summer, use filtered water and let it sit in a fridge overnight, and you get yourself the perfect cold brew.

Yep, my favorite setup as well, french press and grinder. Easy to make and very satisfying.

After trying many methods, the French Press + grinder is my conclusion too. Quick, simple, makes good coffee.

It also makes it easy to brew coffee with cinnamon, hot spice, or whatever else you like with your coffee. Blends it all together nicely.

Cleaning is not quite as easy as it is with an Aeropress or other paper filter device, but it’s close.

I am clumsy so I am always terrified of breaking the press when I clean it.

There are a ton of models that are 100% steel and impossible to break, just search for "french press stainless steel plunger".

For example: https://www.amazon.com/French-Coffee-Press-Espresso-Stainles...

I already have a million coffee things but I'll check it out. I do have a plastic one for camping but prefer to use a percolator pot instead.

I've settled into using a 2 or 4 cup kitchen measuring cup, and pouring it through a fine tea filter into cups (one of these, because its mesh is finer than any french press I've seen: https://www.finum.com/portfolio/brewing-basket-m/ they last for decades). Cheaper, more durable, and easier to clean than french press carafes / their filter-structure with its many crevices. Plus I can scale up by just using a larger container.

This. French press isn't the "ultimate" in good coffee, but it occupies a nice sweet spot of "tastes great, not too much work."

I don't disagree but the best cup of coffee I've ever had in my 49 years on this planet was from a French Press.

My wife and I walked into a random coffee shop in Salem, MA and ordered coffee. A Swiss teenager prepared it while reading a paperback (used to live in Zurich so I recognized the accent when he was conversing with his mother). It took forever and he didn't bring it over until it was ready to be pressed.

Never had a better cup in my life, I forget what beans and roast, have no idea what the place was called, etc (I was a tourist on my honeymoon from Canada and I didn't have a roaming plan so I had turned off my phone, forgot to bring a notepad, and I have a terrible me memory for nouns).

My wife thought it was "just ok". :)

> My wife thought it was "just ok". :)

Sounds like you wife is a German :)

Ok, I will concede that the "honeymoon french press" method is better than mine, however the practicality leaves a lot to be desired.

I grind up some beans and put them into a portafilter on a small scale, to a rough ~16-17g weight, then tamp it down and run a no-fuss ~$100USD breville espresso machine on it until it's about 34-40g pulled, then pour in ~140g of water I boiled in an electric kettle.

Your method sounds to me like it'd have some grounds and fines floating around in it, which is okay but I'm not a huge fan personally, and it'll also be multiple things to wash (though, they sound like easy washes). I also don't have nice coverable drinking bowls, or even very nice cookware for boiling water up in.

My method's pretty easy twice a day, but it's not perfect either: I couldn't make this somewhere else, but... I do live here. :) That said, it did take a while for me to find a good grind size with my machine, and to find scales and cups that fit under my espresso machine's group head and had the right range etc required, and I've got to wash my little espresso cup I pour into, and I had to buy my own non-pressurized portafilter basket, so it took some real time to come together right.

I'll have to try your way out!

What is this $100 Breville Espresso Machine? The Bambino is $299.

oof, good callout!

I received it as a christmas present and must have lowered the cost in my memory: it's a breville café roma, which isn't listed on their site in the US these days, but is still in Canada? Which is where we ordered it!

At the time I think it was actually ~$200 CAD, but it appears to be about $200 USD now when I view US Amazon. Sorry for the misinformation :)

I have the same machine and have learned I can get really good results but need to be precise. I even trained myself to do a consistent tamp (I mean I do my best).

What I wanted to say is a year or so ago I started doing a pre infusion. Run the pump for about 5 seconds until the first drip comes out. Then turn it off and let it sit until the heating indicator turns off again. Now pull your full shot. I get a much better result doing this.

Do you have a grinder that works well with it? I have just been buying Illy espresso as I find it gets the best result compared to any grinder I willing to buy (I love the cans, too). I'd like to get back into roasting and grinding but just haven't found the right grinder in my admittedly cheap price range.

We admittedly splurged on the grinder and got another breville product, the Dose Control Pro I think, which was as much as the darn espresso machine. It has a timer and a good grind setting dial, and you can put the portafilter right into it, but I still just grind into a little tupperware container and then measure out by weight with a spoon though, as right into the basket always makes a mess imo.

I've never got the preinfusion step to work the way I want. I tried it a bunch after buying the non-pressurized basket, and found I'd get pours coming out way too fast (like <5s) no matter how hard I tamped, even at >18g in the basket, doing almost exactly what you mentioned! I think they worked okay in the pressurized one though.

I've since settled on ~16.5-17.5g at ~12.5 on the grinder (from 1-50), and tamped briefly about as hard as I can comfortably press. Comes out good enough every time that I stopped timing anything and just pull to the 34g weight (+5-6g of drip after) these days.

I'm inspired to go grab a coffee. :)

Thank you for this great info. I forgot too mention I'm using an older portafilter from a machine I had years ago. I put it in storage when my son was born (counter space) and the pump siezed while in storage. I was unable up repair it and my wife took pity on me getting me the current one for me as a gift. :) I kept the old portafilter as it much heavier than the one that came with the machine and seems to pull a better shot.

My Aeropress makes a very nice cup! Also uses an immersion technique, but produces a clean cup without coffee grounds and is slightly quicker.

No inverted method but just doing as it said on the box, except I let it steep for a minute or so before plunging. Freshly ground beans, just using (Dutch) tap water from an all metal kettle.

The Aeropress is one of the best methods I know, and I concede that it makes a slightly better tasting cup than what I describe, because the coffee is boiled for a short while. (Same goes for Turkish method.)

The downside for me is that it requires hardware I don't have already and is difficult to travel with. Metal pots and glass/ceramic bowls are available in most kitchens.

I find the aeropress to be especially good for traveling, since i cant take my V60 with me on planes.

Wait, what? Which model V60?

Sorry, i meant in combination wuth a kettle etc. Of course.

I've traveled all over the world with the Aeropress - Boston, NY, Iceland, Shanghai, Japan, Melbourne. My Porlex mini fits perfectly inside the plunger and all told it takes up less space then a rolled up shirt. I'm not entirely sure how it could be any easier to travel with.

I brew without equipment: leave the grounds in the mug. This is the easiest possible method to travel with :-)

I like your method better because the Aeropress is plastic. Plastic+boiling water is an absolute no-go for me. "BPA free" is marketing bullshit from the plastic industry, it absolutely will leech into the water.

I wonder if an equivalent to the AeroPress could be made out of metal or glass or ceramic. I'd pay for that. I'd pay a lot for that.

It seems crazy that the best coffee maker in the world is only available in plastic.

Same here, the concept is great, ease of use and results are great, but the plastic construction - at least for home and office use - not so much.

how much BPA can leech from constant usage of aeropress? are we talking about miniscule amounts here?

They don't have BPA, that's the marketing and it is true. But that doesn't mean that other estrogenic chemicals are not leaching, or that the non-estrogenic chemicals that leach are safe to ingest everyday for a lifetime.

Right, the rubber gasket worries me with the boiling water. I also had to stop using sous vide machine because silicone bags leech chemicals above a certain temp. I was mortified when my friends mentioned they use ziploc bags in the Sous vide baths.

"Miniscule amounts" is a very confusing term in situations where even one part per million or billion matters and has a negative effect.

I agree. Over the years I have tried most methods and acquired equipment, currently settling on V60 when I have time and instant coffee when in hurry, but have always hesitated to get Aeropress due to the plastic.

As you said, boiling water in plastic just doesn't work for me.

On a more snobby note, the thing that surprised me was how easy it is to roast coffee using a popcorn maker. I got the coffee sampler and popcorn maker and it was off the charts good. Absolutely fresh coffee, with the added advantage of sometimes just eating a few coffee beans after roasting :)

Correction: I misunderstood what was meant by "Aeropress", I thought it was another term for a "Moka pot".

I don't like the Aeropress because it's plastic, requires cleaning of separate parts, and requires purchasing a new product, which as much negative karmic weight.

For those using Aeropress, are you using boiling water? I use 165 degree water...just curious.

I believe the water should be just below boiling. I tested it with a thermometer and it seems to settle at the right temperature in a few seconds after boiling, if I open the electric kettle and let it vent.

Almost boiling, up to the point where the kettle really starts to make noise and bubbles are forming.

I just eyeball it honestly. You'll know when you poured the water too hot from the bitter taste :)

They recommend 80°C / 175°F: https://aeropress.com/use-it-now/getting-started/#steps

I think it depends on beans (dark roast is fine with lower temperatures), but I go with ~99ºC water.

Correction: I misunderstood what was meant by "Aeropress", I thought it was another term for a "Moka pot".

I don't like the Aeropress because it's plastic, requires cleaning of separate parts, and requires purchasing a new product, which as much negative karmic weight.

Avoiding disposable filters is a small lever for reducing negative impact compared to most consumptive behaviors by the average person. Any kind of subscription printed material will likely have significantly more impact, as well as napkins, grocery bags, paper towels, boxes, etc.

Or, say, coffee imported from another continent?

You can save on both types of items, it's not either or.

Whataboutism doesn't help here and paper ruins the coffee anyway.

Disposable filters are my biggest conundrum. For years I would either use Aeropress with a metal filter, or French Press (metal carafe + press), or pour-over with something like the Bodum (metal filter). But I wasn't satisfied with my coffee. I went back to paper and it was like a breath of fresh air. I enjoy it so much more. I tried to tell myself I preferred the oils, etc. but in the end I greatly prefer the smoothness of filtered coffee.

So that's where I'm at now, buying big packs of paper filters for my Aeropress and V60. I'm not sure how to move past it. I guess I just tell myself it's infinitely better than Keurig for less waste and massively better flavor.

Consider that paper filters may be more environmentally friendly than metal ones. Just look at a comparison of CO2 emissions between reusable bags and paper ones as an example. You’ll probably have to use a metal filter thousands of times more past its expected life span to break even with how much CO2 making it released into the atmosphere.

Even in case that is true - 1000 uses is about a year at 3 brews a day and my french press is still going strong after 15 years and I fail to see a reason why it wouldn't hold up another 15 years.

Do you have any sources on paper vs metal? It seems highly unlikely to me, that paper filters could be more environmentally friendly.

The paper ones are very reusable. At our current rate, the press itself came with more than a lifetime supply.

Paper-filtered coffee seems to taste of wood or paper (slightly). I have used the same metal filter since the 80's. It is the oldest piece of brewing equipment I have.

Agreed. Paper filter is way better. Getting good quality filters makes a difference too, there are a lot out there for Aeropress, Chemex, etc.

Anecdotally I had some cholesterol issues and found that going to paper of metal made a difference, surprisingly. Probably not significant but seemed to help in my case (I was drinking a lot of coffee then). Now I can't stand the oily texture of a French press.

I find that pouring boiling water into coffee grounds makes a bitter brew. Instead I pour boiling water into a metal container, which is enough to drop it a couple degrees, and then mix grounds into it.

Same here, I plunge a thermometer in the kettle and stop it as soon as it reaches 94-95°C

I'm lucky to live at altitude, so the boiling point is already ~200F making coffee made with boiling water taste great.

I have to give it a minute when I visit the folks though.

Cool technique!

Wondering if there’s a low-bullshit reusable coffee filter medium to remove some of the oils.

What I want to get sorted most right now is water. I use tap water, but I need to filter it because it’s really, really calcareous. Most filters are made of plastic, or at least plastic cartridges with the filter medium. I was thinking about using glass or metal instead and somehow machine a container for the filter medium and buy that stuff in bulk. I really don‘t want to buy bottled water to make coffee.

Any thoughts?

Yes there is. Cloth filters are a thing. Coffee sock is one brand I know of that make filters for V60s and others. Obviously you need to clean it and occasionally boil it remove oil buildup.

These are what most of the old-school kissaten (the ones with the vacuum siphons) use in Japan.

What a great idea! Thanks!

Do you know what kind of cloth is commonly used? I imagine it's something like linen, cotton, or hemp?

I've only used the Coffee sock ones I mentioned and those are cotton.

Least alluring name for a thing ever, but love the concept. Will definitely check it out :)

Most pro/under-sink water filters can be recycled. I use a body glove system, and you send back the cartridge for recycling after you've replaced it. I didn't install mine (came with my place), but I think it's around $1000 to get a full system with filter, instant hot water, tap, etc. Drop the instant hot water, and and you're probably down to $500 or less.

If you're concerned about waste, a filter is far preferable to bottles of water or consumer-grade water pitchers, even if there's plastic involved.

Thanks for the advice! Definitely getting an everything-water system for the next place.

Finding clean water is a major challenge in today's world, and I'm afraid I don't have any easy answers for you. You have to dig deep...

Not all filters can remove all the impurities added by today's water channels and sources...

Bottled water which is single-source, in bottles which leach less, AND has a short travel distance is rare...

In most areas, well water and other natural bodies is best tested regularly by a lab which will tell you the results...

I've heard of a few other methods of water purification, such as multi-step macro-process, but I've yet to try them myself.

I’ll probably settle for filtering local tap water as well as I can. There are a couple of restaurants and cafés in town who obsess about water quality so I should probably talk to them.

How does this compare in oil content? I used to be a big, BIG coffee drinker, and I've been using a french press for 15ish years, but I get heartburn now and it hurts more than it used to.

What can be done to enjoy coffee, without so much oil?

I know what you mean... I think I would make a more watery coffee, using less grounds.

In order to make it still tasty, I would prioritize getting whole beans and smashing them up yourself not long before brewing.

I would do this while avoiding plastic contact, e.g. a metal-bowl coffee grinder or one of those hand grinders (which I have not tried but assume work pretty well.)

Okay, I will try that. I actually have a commercial countertop grinder from a junk sale. I'll grind fresh and I'm seeing other people say use filters?

I've had cowboy coffee like you described, boiling-brewing-pouring, it was tasty. I'm a bit lazier than you are, I think.

Edit: thanks for sharing, btw. I love being able to hear from someone so knowledgeable.

I have learned empirically during the last year or so that using darker coffee variants causes me less heartburn.

I personally prefer darker roasts as well, because lighter roasts are more acidic and sour-tasting to me.

To me, medium roasts sit in the best spot. I agree that light roasts can be too sour. The problem I have with dark roasts is that in many cases it means the bean has been nearly charred. That ends up making it taste bitter and overly strong (despite actually having a teeny bit less caffeine).

You're right, I agree and I can't think of anything to add at this time.

I second this.

You might want to try cold brew as well.

The French press is the reason. Switch to paper filters.

If you want to reduce oils, use any method that takes a paper filter. You might even want to try doubling them up. I've done that with my aeropress before.

I'd be interested to know if reducing that oil actually helps with heartburn though because I'm surprised there'd be enough there to cause problems. Or at least to cause noticably more problems than the caffeine and acidity of the coffee.

It definitely does help.

It's still acidic, but for instance Aeropress says coffee brewed with an Aeropress and paper filter has about 20% the acidity of a regular drip brew (and about 10% of a french press). (As far as I know this is largely down to paper filters and lower brewing temperature, both of which you can emulate other ways.)

Obviously only a personal anecdote, and for most people it'll never make a difference, but as your stomach becomes irritated it doesn't take much to make it worse. On a bad week, just drinking some black tea (ph~5) rather than green (ph~8) or putting a bit of black pepper on something can be enough to have me in pain for hours. Think like, normally it might not hurt to poke your arm, but if you've got a big bruise it doesn't take much to make it hurt.

On a good week, drip coffee through a metal filter is largely fine. On a bad week, it's painful but coffee from the aeropress still sits mostly okay.

You could also try adding just a tiny pinch of baking soda to the water or grounds, that can buffer the acid.

What an interesting idea! I'll have to try it, just to see what it tastes like. Thanks!

I had to switch back to drip for this very reason. I compensated by getting a good grinder and a solid whole bean subscription.

I dont see how this differs much from using a french press.

I appreciate the french press, and it has the following shortcomings for me:

1) Many parts which must be cleaned.

2) Often the parts are plastic, which is unacceptable combined with hot water (or any, really.)

3) The glass is very fragile, potentially leading to breaking and even injury. Usually top-heavy designs, too.

I appreciate your reply, my experience

1) Agree, personally I am too lazy to clean it every time, just rinse it in water

2) Agree, though, everything in contact when brewing is metal or glass

3) Had my current french press for 6 years without issue.

Nonetheless, guess the difference boils down to personal practicality.

I have a stainless steel french press to after breaking one too many glass ones.

Mine is a Stanley 48oz french press made of 18/8 stainless. It was not cheap, but it is quite durable for camping and travel. I use a manual grinder with it and I try to use filtered water for boiling.

I only clean my FP every third usage or so (that is, scrub down with soap to remove oils and residue).

My FP doesn't have any plastic components in the filter area, only in the top.

Yes, I have broken some FPs, one by juggling it out of a high cabinet and one by scrubbing it too aggressively while soapy. Like someone said, there are steel presses available as well.

You clean it?! That's where most of the flavor comes from! Like a perpetual stew.

Yes, coffee equipment is best rinsed. Mokka pots even explicitly instruct you not to use soap and let the residues build to mask any potential flavor from the metal.

I think that's specifically for aluminum moka pots. If you've got a stainless steel model, you can wash it properly without fear iirc.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing ads from Nespresso with catchphrases such as “Did you know aluminum makes your coffee even tastier?”.

> The glass is very fragile, potentially leading to breaking and even injury. Usually top-heavy designs, too.

After cracking my umpteenth glass cafetiere (what you call a french press in the US), I bought a metal one - that was around 10 years ago, and it's still going strong!

It's easy to clean too, but then every one I've had has been.

Doesn't really, I feel like s/he's just paying extra attention to some details s/he feels are important for them. Anyone doing this could also consider Turkish coffee. I personally don't like the soot of either so I'll do a Chemex-style instead (yes, filters..).

Cowboy coffee! Never tried it myself, but now I kinda want to.

Like the detail. I used to put a lot more effort into coffee. Then I had two kids and we were in the pandemic.

My no-effort method is to get a technivorm (not cheap, but not super expensive) and run that first thing in the morning with fresh grinds -> Super fast for 3+ people and good quality coffee. If I have the time - I'll do a pour over.

For 'normal' coffee this is indeed super nice, but I'm into the taste of espresso so I like what my Cafelat Robot produces more. Fairly simple manual espresso routine. Kinda hard to explain me I'm wrong because a) it's a bit of an apple/oranges comparison and b) taste is subjective anyway :)

Aeropress rivals anything I can get at Starbucks or anywhere else. I use the expresso base to make any coffee drink I want (without any milk frothing).

It cleans up quick, pop out the compressed spent coffee grind puck into the trash and rinse under water then you are done!

Was using Aeropress, the coffee was great. However, I noticed that it irritates my stomach a lot more than the V60, so I switched back. I wonder if it is because of the added pressure getting small particles through the filter or something else.

The same dark roast [edit, added same] from V60 is much easier on my stomach. I wonder what might be the cause.

You use paper or metal filter?

Paper only. I also tried using more than one paper filter in the aeropress, but it did not help with the irritation.

Metal filter / no filter coffee usually is the most irritating, so I’m trying to aviod that.

Really interesting, I wonder if it’s irritating me as well. What materials did you use with V60 so I can experiment?

No one here seems to have mentioned stove top espresso makers, like Bialetti. After ceramic V60 it's my second best way of making coffee. Not so conv much richer.

It's a bit controversial to call moka pots espresso makers, tho I do adore them and their coffee.

Oh yes, the moka pot (poured on ice) has become my preferred method for daily preparation too.

The funny thing is I've never really considered it before, since the whole process of starting up a stove and cleaning up carefully seemed like such a hassle, but I got a stainless steel model (Bialetti Venus) which is both induction-capable and soap-friendly. :)

I quite like french press; when I'm not using one, I usually use a moka pot. What are your thoughts on moka pots?

Cowboy coffee! I also tell everyone this is the best way to brew coffee but no one believes me.

any opinion on pour over basket/filter types? kalita wave vs 102 vs v60?

You know what is unnecessary material harvesting? Having coffee.

But I suppose a disposable filter is slightly more.