laff66 Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2004 Posts: 5 Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2004, 2:12pm Subject: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
Could someone please tell me if I'm expecting too much? Just as a benchmark, I like coffees like Breakfast Blend, and Verona at Starbucks. My machine at home, an inexpensive Krups, makes terrible coffee; even if I use the coffee mentioned above. Once or twice, it got close to being good, maybe not quite so bitter, but not great. I don't know if I need to use more grounds or what. I have a Toddy maker as well, which makes coffee MUCH closer to what I like, but its kind of a pain. I guess my main question is, can a home drip machine make coffee that is smooth and rich like I am buying at starbucks? I don't mind buying a more expensive machine, but if its not going to help, I'd rather not.
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2004, 4:23pm Subject: Re: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
French press coffee is easy to make. Granted it is not the "dump grounds in, hit a button, walk away" routine that drip is however with a little more work great coffee can be made. The greatest part with French press is that it gives you complete control over every aspect of the brewing. This means that with a little practice you can dial in your perfect cup. To make French press coffee heat water in a kettle. Grind your beans and add to the carafe just before water comes to boil. Once at boil remove kettle from heat wait about 2 seconds (so you don't add boiling water) pour over the grounds then stir if needed (to submerge all the rounds). Put the lid on with plunger up. Wait 4-5 minutes then slowly depress the plunger. Pour and enjoy. For me making the coffee is as therapeutic as drinking the coffee. Maybe that is why I polish my press so often. See the shine...
I've just recently started drinking coffee, for the first time in my life- and I bought a French Press as my first pot- and it was a great investment! It's fast and easy to use and clean- makes GREAT coffee- and gives me total control over the brewing process.
I've never owned a drip machine- the press is my first and only pot....and I'm very happy with it.
Get one....you'll never go back to drip! (I've already become a coffee snob- i won't bother having coffee at someone's house from a drip machine)
WarCat Senior Member Joined: 20 Aug 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Chicago Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Krups steamy toy Grinder: Capresso Infinity Drip: Capresso CoffeeTEC Roaster: my favorite shop
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2004, 8:06pm Subject: Re: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
Laff:
Give us some more info on how you're making the coffee. Are you buying it pre-ground or are you buying whole beans and grinding them just before brewing? How much ground coffee are you using for how much water? Are there any adjustable settings on the coffee maker and where are they set?
I had a Krups drip machine that brewed too fast. Eventually I experimented with more coffee per cup of water and brewing even whole pots on the "1-3 cup" setting, and got a better cup of coffee.
Today, I use a Capresso CoffeeTEC coffee maker and grind just before with a Capresso Infinity burr grinder. I get a much more flavorful cup of coffee than I did with any of my old machines; I even can use a bit less coffee and I have to brew on the "full pot" cycle to avoid over-extraction -- the Capresso is set up right so the workarounds of the old Krups machine don't work around.
If you're coffee's too weak on the Krups machine try experimenting with the coffee to water ratio and try the 1-3 cup workaround. Be sure to report back on your results.
laff66 Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2004 Posts: 5 Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2004, 9:00pm Subject: Re: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
I have tried grinding and buying ground. Neither tastes very good. More grounds seem to make it a little better. Lately, I've been buying 2.5 lb bags of Starbucks coffee at Sam's, grinding it in the store, and using a lb at a time with the Toddy maker, which turns out really well. But the exact same coffee tastes terrible out of the drip maker. It makes me nuts. I have tried using 1 tablespoon of coffee per cup, and even up to 2, as the instructions on the Starbucks bag suggests. Unfortunately that gets really expensive. My machine has no adjustments on it, so I'm considering buying a small 4 cup machine, as I usually only need one or two cups per use. I usually make much more with the Krups, to try to make it taste better. Any suggestions on a good 4 cup machine? The french press sounds like a good idea, as well.
joepfohl Senior Member Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 205 Location: Pompey, NY Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: Bodum+BonJour FP, Melitta... Roaster: Fresh Roast Plus 8, Cast...
Posted Wed Oct 6, 2004, 9:53am Subject: Re: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
As far as buying a big 2.5 pound bag of coffee from Sam's goes I would not recommend it. One of the very best ways to get REALLY good coffee is to roast your own (which is what I do). When I first started getting into my coffee craze was when I had coffee from a friend who roasts his own. Now up to that point I thought I had had good coffee, but when i tasted the first sip of that AMAZING fresh roasted and brewed coffee I was truly blown away. The thing you need to know is that when you buy a big bag of coffee like that, once you open the bag you are exposing the coffee to oxygen, which by the way, is coffee's worst enemy. Also. When you grind all the coffee like that it increases the surface area of the coffee which can be exposed to the air therefore causing the coffee to stale very quickly. If you take freshly ground coffee and brew it then leave freshly ground coffee out for 45 minutes and THEN brew it you will definately be able to notice a palipable difference. One more thing then I will be done with my rant. The consistency of your grind makes a huge difference to the flavor. Since you are using the grinder at the store you are getting a good grind but the freshness is really the issue. If you want to get a really good grind at home I would recommend checking out an inexpensive burr grinder. A good place to check is ebay or use the froogle product search engine.
laff66 Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2004 Posts: 5 Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Oct 6, 2004, 10:29am Subject: Re: I have NEVER liked coffee from my drip machine...
The only reason I buy such a big quantity is for the Toddy maker. It uses a pound at a time, and even after freezing the remaining for 3-4 weeks, the Toddy results are pretty good. I think you're right about the temp coming out of a drip. I have to nuke it if I add any creamer from the fridge. I'll probably go the French Press route today. Unfortunately, I really don't have the patience to clean a grinder every day, although I tried it for a while. I guess it goes without saying I probably won't be roasting my own either, although I'm sure it probably is worth the effort. Thanks for all the good advice!
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