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Comment by Empact | Hacker News Reader

Likewise, the french press and moka pot are extremely simple, easy to use and require no electricity to operate.

I haven't owned a drip machine in over a decade. Moka pots are probably my favorite quick coffee, and french press is easy. Both are easier to clean.

However last year I got a Gaggia espresso machine, and espresso is a whole other world of complexity. My Gaggia only has the pressure mod, but I did plan to add a PID to it. It's still simple, turn on and let it get hot, then I usually do long pulls for like 40-50 seconds on a double shot portafilter. But there are other espresso machines with more electronics that feel desirable.

Of course I chose getting a Gaggia by going to Github and seeing which espresso machines are developer friendly. :)

https://github.com/Zer0-bit/gaggiuino

However I just make coffee for myself. Maybe a Keurig is easier if you have guests. It seems most of the people I know who have it, have it for that reason.

Fun project! And espresso is fun too. I have a la pavoni, but was interested in the Gagguinio after my bad experience with the Decent (can't really hack on it at all).

The beauty of machines like the Gaggia (I have a Classic) is their simplicity. I can get spare parts to replace everything in the machine, and work on it myself (I'm not mechanically-minded, but it's very straight forward). The biggest repair I've had to make is to replace a thermostat and themal-fuse, and it cost me about £10 in parts and 30 mins of work.

I use a Stanley full-metal-jacket french press on camping trips and for just-in-case situations like power failures. Unlike most moka pots that can eventually have seal failures, only the wire mesh of a french press plunger ever needs tweaking back into shape.

Except to boil the kettle!

... unless you have a normal stovetop kettle, and a gas cooktop. Technically no electricity required then, though it does consume fuel.

That's a good justification for buyers of outdoor grilles to purchase one with a side burner that has enough output to bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil. No electricity needed.

I have a $20 “camp stove” and cheap butane cylinders that are in aerosol cans.

If things get real bad, the Wood stick camp stove that’s just folding metal plates.

Propane burners are just an annoying in between, but our outages are rarely long.

A stovetop kettle would not be considered normal in the UK in the 21st century

Stovetop kettle would be considered normal maybe in a nursing home.

Not in case of moka pot.

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