For some reason I find myself in a lot of conversations about coffee equipment. Maybe it’s because I talk about it constantly. Maybe it’s because I link to James Hoffmann and Seattle Coffee Gear videos constantly. Maybe (probably) it’s because I insert myself into those conversations when someone says, Oh, just get a Chemex.*
* Don’t. (Probably.)
Anyway, it seems like watching a ton of coffee YouTube is good for something like talking/writing at some length about tradeoffs between various brewing systems. I’m tired of writing it out every time, so maybe I can just link to this.
(NB: Most links here are Amazon affiliate links.)
As with many things, home coffee is a “Quality, convenience, cost: pick two” situation. Quick links to:
Caveat: very little personal experience here. You might could skip this section. Life’s too short for bad coffee (and coffee is too environmentally destructive to waste it on bad brewing).
Maximally convenient, cheap... and bad? Black & Decker plastic Mr Coffee-esque brewer and preground grocery store coffee. Done.
Still here? Good.
A little better (still not great), a little more time-consuming, and a little more expensive would be this Hamilton Beach and a blade grinder like this. Blade grinders don’t do a great job at producing even grounds, but they’re better than stale grocery store coffee. (You’d probably be better off getting beans ground freshly from a coffee shop and using them within a week.) James Hoffman talks about the disadvantages of a blade grinder and a few ways to improve results with them in this video. (Again, a little less convenient with each step, but also a little better with each step.)
The real problem with inexpensive brewers is that they just don’t get hot enough. The Hamilton Beach placed highly in Wirecutter’s testing because they say it brews up to the mid-180s (ºF), which isn’t great considering that SCAA guidelines are more like 200°F ± 5° (93.0°C ± 3°). Cooler brewing water leads to underextraction, which leads to sour coffee. Different flavors come out of beans at different extractions, and sour comes out first.
But I have a kettle that will easily boil water to 212ºF! Can’t I just use that? Sure can! Sounds like you want…
Sacrificing convenience for quality is on trend, and there are tons of ways to do/brew it.
The best way to start is with a good inexpensive hand grinder. Consistent grind is important, especially with these methods. Bonus: arm workout! James Hoffmann has a video on the best hand grinders (some quite outrageous), and the best cheap hand grinders. You should definitely watch, but under $100 he likes the Hario Slim (about $40) and the KT Porex (about $80).
(Since I mentioned something in the $80 range, I’ll say that I’ve never used a hand grinder on the day-to-day because many years ago (9–10 I think) I got this Capresso burr grinder. I think it was about $60 when I got it; I’m not sure if it’s worth $80, but it’s held up. Works totally well enough for drip (mostly what I did with it) and Aeropress, unsure about pourover or French Press. Whole Latte Love has a rundown of some inexpensive burr grinders.)
For brewing methods under $50 you have a ton of choices: French press, Aeropress, moka pot, Chemex, pourover.
Perhaps obvious: all of them need a hot water source. The 195–205ºF SCAA range means that you’re taking water off the boil and letting it cool for some indeterminate amount of time, which is fine with a decent thermometer*.
* I know, slightly outrageous, but I cook with it too. And now they run on AAAs instead of coin cell! Indispensable.
If you want to pay a little more for some convenience, I really prefer temperature control kettles, especially with a gooseneck spout. I love this Bonavita one (currently $45 and an absolute steal at that price).
I don’t Aeropress much anymore, but enjoyed the quick, clean single-cup when I did. It was actually my first regular hot-brew method that I stuck with.
Aeropress is kind of like espresso. Less so than many people think. It differs because it’s an immersion method (pour+wait, like French press) which yields a super different result in the cup. I like it because it’s clean without being too neutral thanks to a thin paper filter, or you can use a mesh filter if you want more fines and oils.
Immersion also means it’s more grind-forgiving than espresso — I regularly Aeropressed with my Capresso burr grinder. I bet a blade grinder with some mitigation hacks would work well too.
I recommend getting an Aeropress. I like the inverted brew method but there are** so many** different techniques and recipes, and you can experiment to your heart’s content. There’s an Aeropress World Championship. Enough said.
For me these days it’s the Hario V60, and I really like the decanter model, inspired by James Hoffmann’s technique video. **Technique is important. **It’s not set-and-forget. It’s perhaps the least set-and-forget method out there. You’re basically always doing something — grinding, stirring, pouring, swirling, etc. A temperature-controlled gooseneck kettle like the Bonavita is, in my opinion, a necessity.
My current ratio with the decanter V60 is 35g coffee at a 10 setting on my Rocky with 500 mL of just-off-the-boil water. My working timeline:
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0:00 — pour 90 g water and stir with espresso spoon to try to make an even sludge
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0:45 — start pouring, keeping level as high as possible, to get up to 300 grams water in the cone by…
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1:15 — slow down a bit to get up to final 500 grams water by…
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1:45 — should have all the water in the cone. Final stir (1x clockwise, 1x counterclockwise), and small swirl when the level is low enough for it to be possible. Then wait until…
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3:00–3:30 — brewing should be done.
Other pourover devices include the Kalita Wave and the Clever Dripper, which IIRC are more forgiving than the Hario. Also other V60 cones that can brew directly into a mug. (Make sure to preheat the ceramic ones!)
Methods in this category that I personally am not a fan of, though they have their advocates and their advantages.
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Chemex: Again I’ll link James Hoffmann. The filter paper is really thick and filters out a lot of the flavor. Also, the suction/stalling thing. Also, relatively kind of expensive. Looks great, though, and needs less precise technique than pourover. Could be a good carafe?
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French press: I know, I’m a monster for not liking French press. I find that if you don’t have a grinder that excels at coarse grinding (tougher than it sounds) you end up with muddy coffee, which I can’t stand. Here’s a technique video, and here’s a good press that I think I still have around here somewhere.
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Moka pot: I just don’t get it I think. It’s low-pressure, low-temperature-control espresso kind of. Mostly I think you need a better grinder than is worth it in this category (paying 5–10x as much on the grinder as you do on the brewer seems a little iffy). Also I find it fiddly. Here’s a technique video though. Whatever you do, don’t put the classic aluminum ones in the dishwasher.
tk
😬
Okay, there are caveats, but usually: 😬. For “Cheap and convenient” I can’t think of a situation where it’s worth it. It’s not worth the headache, or the heartache when you make a big outlay for low-end machine (under ~$400) and a decent grinder (under ~$200) and come away with something really disappointing. Generally you’re better off spending $2–$3 at your local coffee shop, which is a steal since that bag of good beans that costs $16 makes probably 17 shots (12 oz / 20 g), and that’s with no waste. You’re gonna waste a lot figuring out espresso. Or just spend the $250+ on the “good and convenient” coffee solution and go to your coffee shop to have little a espresso, as a treat.
The exception — *maybe — *is doing it by hand. I have a friend who loves his ROK Grinder and Flair Signature lever machine. You can do some really cool pressure profiling on it but there’s a learning curve and you need to add your own hot water (and hand-applied pressure). It’s definitely the Hario V60 of the espresso world — inexpensive (relatively) and good. You’re still running well into the $400 range for the set, and you’re doing a lot by hand.
Okay, the other exception is spending a ton of money. I have a Rancilio Rocky and Rancilio Silvia with PID that I got used (still about 50% retail) that really sent me down the rabbit hole. I spent a ton more on accessories (tamper, bottomless portafilter, baskets, scale, 3D printed (!) grinder chute) and a lot more time figuring out how to pull a decent shot. And I don’t even steam milk! Also I sometimes make videos of extractions for some reason. Also I’m eyeing really expensive new machines. People get weird with home hobbyist espresso (or maybe it’s just me).