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

Ask HN: How do you make your coffee?

9 pointsezekg29 comments

I recently bought an AeroPress and have been enjoying lighter roasts with it, something I didn't think I'd ever enjoy. Before that, I usually preferred a dark roast french press, or a Nespresso if I didn't feel like making coffee. Black, no cream or sugar.

I'm sure some of you here are much more of a connoisseur than I am, so feel free to share.

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I make a pot of drip coffee from a $15 machine every weekday and drink it black. I've tried other methods, mostly cold brew, but they were all more expensive and less satisfying

I typically order beans from either Coffee AM (I usually go for their Jamaican Blue Mountain Estate or Hawaiian Kona Reserve) or Moka Joe whose based in in Anacortes, WA (usually getting their PNW Wanderer or Mt. Baker Blend from their Coyote Coffee sub-brand. I mix in about a tablespoon of their White Coffee for some extra brightness and a stronger kick)

Mhhhhmmm Moka Joe! Small world. How do you like the new site/e-commerce?

I really liked the different sections for each sub-brand they had previously. The new design has all of the products together which is easy to navigate but it is less distinguishing about the offerings. Overall, the experience is still a positive one

I'm a drip coffee guy, too. I used a French press for years, but I finally got tired of cleaning up the mess and the fact that it's not better than a cheap drip coffee machine.

The roast type is the most important. How you make it does very little. It's an Italian roast for me but I like the strong taste.

Same. I tried a bunch of fancier methods like pour-over, french press, and moka pot with expensive whole beans but I always come back to the trusty cheapo drip machine with pre-ground coffee beans.

I use a cheap espresso machine (~$200) and highly recommend it. My morning cup tends to be a 2oz shot of Cafe Bustelo made into an 8oz Americano, which I drink black. Tastes significantly better than a pour-over, takes maybe 2 minutes to make from scratch and is cheap as chips. Cost of the machine plus pre-ground espresso amortized over one year comes out to ~$0.80/day, which is a steal for me as a daily coffee drinker.

I once used a manual grinder and a pourover with a water percolator at the top (look up Oxo brand good grips pourover for an example) so I could just put the pourover on my mug, a filter in there, the grounds from my manual grinder, and pour hot water in its percolator and then leave it for a minute and I'd have a cup of pretty solid coffee.

But my partner usually can't be bothered with that and would send me out to get Starbucks a lot. Eventually we decided to get an $800 espresso machine with the help of $400 of Crate & Barrel gift cards we had accumulated, and now I just use that every day, have it make a shot or two of espresso and pour that over ice and milk. It includes an attachment to steam and froth milk but I don't really like going through the hassle of cleaning it so I usually don't bother.

It's already more than paid for itself because I've been sent out to get Starbucks way less since then.

I have all manner of coffee making devices, including a French press, AeroPress, pour over V60, Chemex, etc.

In the end, the one I most often use is a $10 Mr Coffee drip coffee maker, simply because I honestly can't be bothered to spend so much time every day to make coffee.

I also only drink decaf as I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine.

I do so love my perfectly adequate* Jura automatic espresso machine: https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines

Push a button, a shot comes out, I add some ice and oatmilk for a nice iced latte every morning. Sometimes I like an iced americano too (watered-down espresso with ice cubes). It's the kind of thing that makes coffee snobs go "yeeeack!", but I go "mmmm... the sweet taste of mediocrity."

*By "perfectly adequate", I mean this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292958

I have a Moka pot, a manual coffee grinder, and an electric milk frother. I grind coffee beans every morning, place them in the Moka pot to brew, and finally add heated milk.

I buy the 2nd cheapest store-brand instant coffee, of which I shovel 2 spoonful into a cup of hot water a few minutes before taking the first dump of the day.

t. chad

I used an AeroPress for nearly a decade but recently switched to a Hario #2 dripper. It takes roughly the same amount of time as the AeroPress and the coffee is tastes a bit cleaner or brighter. I primarily switched to avoid the plastic in an AeroPress, but was also interested to try something different after using AeroPress for so long. I also have a subscription to Trade coffee for fresh beans that I highly recommend.

Aeropress: Invert it so the plunger is upside down and on your counter. Add the grinds. Pour the water in near to the top, can stir with a spoon if you want. Put the filter (stainless steel mesh) + top cap on. Now, invert (right side up) onto your large cup. Let it sit for a minute. Plunge it about half way down, pull the plunger out, add more water to the top again. Wait a bit, plunge again.

I've seen the inverted method but haven't tried it. What do you think the benefits are, especially in your case where you're still getting some drip after the second fill?

The benefit is that it is (arguably) easier to work with.

Very little drip on the second (optional) fill as the filter is already fairly clogged at that point.

I bought a Bunn VP-17 commercial coffee maker over a decade ago and use that. It makes a fresh pot in 3 minutes and it can make 4 gallons of coffee an hour.

Edit: I just looked at the prices these go for currently and I definitely did not pay that much for one. At the time it was around $200 instead of the $400+ they sell for today.

Bialetti. Get the grind and roast spot on and you'll never have a better cup.

That's a moka pot, right? Hoping to get one of those for Christmas!

Yup. Hint: the larger ones have a better grounds to water ratio than the smaller ones. 12 cup or bigger is my recommendation.

I use an espresso machine at home, and an Aeropress when traveling.

The Aeropress is awesome indeed. I would probably use it at home as well, except that I want to be able to steam milk as well.

Depends on my mood. Usually either:

  - Espresso from a ROK (I bought one along with their grinder)
  - Filter coffe in a Chemex clone
  - A small dose from a 1 cup Bialetti

Bodum French Press and I drink it black. I prefer medium or light roast, I personally think they taste better than dark roast.

I rarely drink coffee, but I'll do medium roast in a Mr Coffee, black. Cheap, easy, convenient.

Also use an aeropress, I put the press over a cup and first put just enough hot water to wet the grounds. Then I wait about 30 seconds and fill it to the top. Mix it for 10-20 seconds and put the top in to hold the water inside. Leave it for about 1-2min and then press. This makes a nice strong cup with a single scoop of coffee.

Have you tried the inverted method?

I did, and it worked okay too, but it makes less coffee than I want to have in one cup :)

When it is over the cup, pull the plunger back out and add more water.

Put the plunger back let sit for a minute and plunge again.

Interesting idea. I just saw this https://aeropress.com/products/aeropress-flow-control-filter..., so you can do the inverted without the inversion, could be interesting! I order one to see :)

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