Papperclippy Senior Member Joined: 8 Apr 2012 Posts: 10 Location: Ohio Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Apr 8, 2012, 11:47am Subject: New grinder and new brewing setup
I used to own a cuisinart grind and brew until it broke recently. Overall, not bad but grinder was loud and I noticed when I had starbucks grind the coffee, it tasted alot better. So instead of getting a new grind n brew, ive decided to get a grinder and try the pour over method myself.
After researching and reading many reviews, it came down to the new baratza encore or breville smart grinder. Im leani.g towards the encore due to its reputation, price point, and grinding spectrum. Im mostly interested in brewing using pour over and french press right now. I might do expresso down the line but not right now.
Ive never down a pour over. Im so confused as to get for the pour over (ceramic,glass,plastic, one he, multihole). Companies sure complicatef such a simple method. Im also not sure if im gonna get a small one for one cup at a time, or a larger one and brew it into a thermal container. When I make a pot of coffee now, I usually make 6 cups as labeled on the coffee pot.
Im asking for help with selecting a pour over as well as any more opinions on the two grinders. Im still in the process of looking up electric kettles but I dont wsnt a plastic one. Thanks for any and all help
kross Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2012 Posts: 16 Location: Seattle, WA Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sun Apr 8, 2012, 12:49pm Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
I'd recommend the Baratza Virtuoso with the new upgraded Preciso burrs. Excellent coarse grind quality with a minimum of fines. It's in roughly the same price range ($229 at Amazon) as the Breville Smart Grinder, but will give a superior grind. It just doesn't have the fancy dosing features of the Breville.
As for a manual brewing method, I really like my Clever Coffee Dripper.
Papperclippy Senior Member Joined: 8 Apr 2012 Posts: 10 Location: Ohio Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Apr 9, 2012, 6:25am Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
Thanks for the suggestion. I was trying not to go over 200 but just looked at the reviews of the virtuoso and it seems like a great buy and more versatility. I just don't know if I need it since I'm not doing expresso right now. Does anybody know if the consistency is that much better for coarser grinds (pour over/french press) compared to the encore that I would need it.
The clever coffee dripper looks promising as well.
Papperclippy Senior Member Joined: 8 Apr 2012 Posts: 10 Location: Ohio Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Apr 9, 2012, 9:07am Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
The virtuoso looks great and for a little bit more it seems like the preciso would be an excellent grinder for the money. I am on the fence though because it seems like the most recent posts are having issues with the preciso plastic ring breaking shortly after purchase. So no I am between the encore and preciso. If I am spending the dough on the virtuoso, for sixty bucks more I get the better preciso which would come in handy in the long run. I am just hesitant based on the issues of teh new one.
jaybar Senior Member Joined: 13 Sep 2011 Posts: 107 Location: Brooklyn Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Apr 9, 2012, 2:19pm Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
I would look for reviews of the encore before purchasing. My sense is that at its price point, you will not get super consistent grind at the coarser or expresso ends. I would think that relative to more costly grinders, the extremes suffer.
I am amused at purchase mentality. We spend $$$$$ for the coffee, which over the life of the grinder, will be thousands and we are reluctant to spend for the optimal grinder. I dont understand.
jake8 Senior Member Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 158 Location: Baltimore Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale S1 Grinder: La Cimbali Max, KYM from... Drip: Aeropress Roaster: Corretto
Posted Mon Apr 9, 2012, 4:02pm Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
Grinder: If you don't mind a little work you will not beat the grind quality of an Orphan Espresso Lido at that price point.
For the brewer you should take a look at your consumption at each session. For one cup at a time it will be hard to beat the Aeropress. I have had some awesome cups out of mine, and regularly use it when I only want a single cup. The only knock I have against it is the plastic body as I prefer to only have inert materials touch my hot coffee. For multiple cups your options really open up. The clever will do up to two smaller cups at once but again its plastic. The Vario V60 and large Beehouse will do 2-3 cups at a time. However if you really want the ability to do several cups I would look at the Chemex series of brewers. Combine a Chemex with the vario filters or the Kone metal filter and you have a really nice pourover.
As a side note I grab my Yama stove top syphon 5 cup model when I want two normal sized cups of coffee.
MoffeeCoff Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 43 Location: Australia Expertise: Professional
Posted Fri Apr 13, 2012, 5:55am Subject: Re: New grinder and new brewing setup
Hi Papperclippy! I am agreed with Kross and I will also recommend you the Baratza Virtuoso with the new upgraded Preciso burrs. I personally use it and I am satisfied with what I do.. :) And I think that Clever Coffee Dripper is an excellent choice for manual brewing.
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