Oh, I guess my Keurig sucks and I should throw it out and only use an airopress. Thanks for telling us we were so wrong as to settle for anything less then coffee perfection.
The point of a lot of the responses in this thread is that, compared to a Keurig or similar device, it is possible to get coffee that is a) cheaper, b) better, and c) not difficult or time-consuming to make.
A Keurig makes convenient coffee. It doesn’t make good coffee. Any time I see someone making the claim that the coffee from a Keurig is good, it always makes me wonder what their frame of reference is.
Anyways, it doesn’t matter to me what you choose to drink. As a point of this thread ostensibly being about providing advice for coffee-brewing methods, I’d only agree with recommending the Keurig if convenience was the sole priority. The coffee it makes simply does not compare in quality with fresh ground non-stale coffee, for which there have been numerous postings with excellent advice for inexpensive and efficient brewing solutions. It also is more expensive, cup for cup, than buying fresh roasted beans. There is only one thing it truly excels at - convenience - and this only insofar that you require your coffee in 2 minutes rather than 4-5.
I know what good coffee is. My grinder and french press has seen plenty of use, thank you. Keurig makes good coffee. I’m not going to fall to my knees and cry tears of joy after every sip, but I like it all the same.
It’s not sludge. It’s coffee, just about 2-3x as concentrated as normal. My wife LOVES the fact that there’s a nice carafe of excellent coffee concentrate in the fridge, and she’s a minute away from good coffee without operating anything but a microwave.
My wife actually picked this solution out. Kudos to her, it’s a nice alternative, especially since she can’t operate the espresso maker.
I agree, and it’s also foolish to put espresso shots over ice with a little cream. Who would drink such a ridiculous concoction? It’s obviously against the natural order.
I approve of the massive amounts of “Get an Aeropress” in this thread. I did the same in June as a VERY occasional coffee drinker knowing he’d need some getting back into school. I’m also extremely picky about anything bitter or acidic, so this is a big deal to me that I’m drinking black coffee regularly.
I fucking love the coffee out of this, even straight espresso. It’s a wonderful added bonus that I can add a little chocolate, milk, ice, etc. and have a spectacular mocha in less time than it would take even just to drive up to a coffee shop. Or to put on pants so that I can do it.
It’s really worth getting a cheap grinder, though, and buying fresh beans from a store (I get mine from Sprouts, a nice farmers’ market chain in the southwest). Throw water in the microwave for between 2:00 and 2:07 (depending on outside temp), grind however many scoops I need for the drink, put a filter in the press and fill it, all done in that two minutes. Measure out the water (made easy by the fact the plunger is empty, and marked for how many cups of water to use per scoop), pour, stir, press. 40 seconds there, and coffee’s ready. If I want more, it really takes no time at all to make something fancy. Spray some whipped cream on top, or mix something in the blender even to slush it up. Even if I get fancy, I’m not looking at anything over five minutes.
I can’t recommend the thing enough.
At one point, my wife and I seriously considered opening a coffee cart that would serve a variety of coffees from around the world, made to order using aeropresses. Just the concept of serving a variety of fresh coffees with different origins is something I would love to see but haven’t found to be common in any coffeehouses or carts I’ve had the privelege of visiting. The aeropress offers a brewing method that produces results similar to drip but in a fraction of the time, which I think would make it perfect for this purpose.
I give props to coffeehouses that make cold coffee drinks out of actually cold-brewed coffee. Using hot espresso is a shortcut that results in an inferior ice coffee drink that is either more bitter or more sweet (to mask the bitterness) than it should be.
I’ve sincerely thought about doing the same thing, Reldan, making espressos and similar drinks on demand. My friends love to insist I bring coffee making supplies to parties, and I’ve converted even the most hardcore Starbuckers (not like that should be hard, because who likes burnt and stomachache?) to my own brew. Doesn’t hurt that the Aeropress is probably as close to cold brewing as you’re gonna get without taking a day, since it’s fairly specific about keeping the temperature at 175 or even a bit under to avoid acidity.
I may yet do it. Get some fresh grounds, whip up espressos for a set of companies over in the Biltmore Fashion Square corporate office. They’d eat it up, guaranteed.
My local farmer’s market brews to order from their selection of various beans, using just hot water heated on a propane stove & paper filters.
Dude, living in phoenix, you must have one weak-ass microwave or make 4 cups at a time. I generally make 2 cups servings, and it takes my microwave 1:05 to heat the water to 80C, the recommended temperature. I prefer it “just off the boil” at 90C for a bit more edge, and nuke for 1:20.
The former. 600 watts. Seriously, it turns out they still make those in oven combo units.
If you enjoy coffee, you really owe it to yourself to try an espresso over ice (with maybe a touch of cream.) It’s really quite good, and I have them often over the summer. Granted, I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into my “coffee solution”, which involves a semi-commercial espresso maker, commercial grinder, and I roast and blend my own beans. So, perhaps it’s a bit better when it’s done correctly…your comment about espresso being bitter is a hint that you haven’t had good espresso yet. Protip: your espresso has been over extracted or the water temp is too high if it’s bitter. You need to find a competent coffee shop.
And for reference, we drink the toddy coffee cold over the summer as well, but it’s a completely different flavor profile. I like both for different reasons.
No, my reference to your espresso suggestion being bitter is relative -if you chill hot espresso it’s going to be more bitter than a true cold-brew would be. Not that I’m saying we’re talking substantially bitter, and not that a bit of cream wouldn’t cover it up pretty much completely.
But thanks, I have had good espresso. I know that it’s not bitter if it’s done right - however my point is that sense of taste changes substantially between eating hot and cold foods, especially in regards to how you perceive sweetness and bitterness in them. A perfectly good espresso hot can develop off-flavors when chilled and drunken straight (probably hence the addition of a touch of cream). If you always pull absolutely perfect shots then I’d be happy to try your drink, but to be perfectly honest I prefer a well-made drip to espresso to begin with - my focus on enjoying coffee is to bring out the distinct flavors from the various regions where the coffee was grown and I find that methods with longer extraction times develop those distinct flavors more fully. I typically buy single-origin coffees instead of blends.
I’m not sure if your original sarcastic comment was intended to be helpful or not. You clearly care about coffee and have tried it prepared many different ways, and have your own personal preferences and opinions, as do I. I have had an iced espresso before and it’s fine, but I’d rather drink a cold-brewed coffee for a cold coffee drink any day - the same as I’d rather drink a cup of hot black coffee to almost any espresso drink.
That’s fair, I can’t argue with someone else’s personal preference. I like both cold brewed coffee and cold espresso, as well as any other number of permutations, dependent on mood and desired flavor profiles. Each gives shows off something a bit different, and it’s an interesting way to explore what the same bean/roast tastes like under different extraction conditions.
Hey, other Aeropress owners, here’s a question. Have you tried using it to press other ingredients into your coffee/tea? I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work, really, as long as I measure from the plunger, not the base. I’m considering dropping some pomegranate or raspberries in there, but trying to figure out if I should mix them together, or layer them on top after stirring. Or just try to lay them on the bottom, but I think that’d get the least pressure.
I can’t imagine a problem here, but it’s worth checking. If it goes well, I think the press would do nicely, since hey, I’m crushing the juice out of the berries like people have always done, and that’s a process that works best with hot fruit anyway. I might need to raise the water temperature a bit to compensate, though, for anything from the fridge or freezer.
What’s to recommend them are the superb espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos, and very good coffees. Better than Keurig (cousin owns) or Tassimo (I owned) or typical home espresso machines in really obvious ways (taste and the consistently perfect crema, chiefly, with a massive dollop of convenience).
They are not cheap. The milk frother is fabulous. Their delivery service is outstanding as well (usually arrives the next day after calling in the afternoon, despite “2 day” shipping).
Recommended.
Yeah, I’ve not tried the Nespresso, but these guys seem to like them (watch the video review), despite being predisposed toward low expectations.
That site has a lot of great video reviews for coffee/espresso gear, BTW, and a great three-part buying guide for grinders. Decent prices, too.