Reddit mentions: The best coffee grinders

Well this is gonna get kinda long and will only scratch the surface but I'll break down the pros and cons of some of the most popular entry-level gear in as un-confusing of a way as I can. First up, let's look at grinders.

First off, you want a burr grinder, particularly a conical burr grinder because those blender-y blade grinders they sell at wal-mart for $5 don't get any kind of a consistent grind. Varying sizes in a grind means varying levels of extraction in the cup and that means off flavors. Because burr grinders are more expensive, hand crank conical burr grinders are commonly recommended to beginners because of their lower price point compared to similar quality electrics. They're cheap and work well but do have some drawbacks beyond the extra effort involved in grinding. First, most of them don't have actual grind settings and you adjust the grind size by twisting a wheel until it looks as fine/coarse as you want it to. If you use different brew methods and switch grind size a lot, this can be a bit of a pain. Second, most hand grinders aren't ideal for french press because of the way the burrs are stabilized; they'll give fantastic fine/medium grinds but the coarse grind is a tad inconsistent. That said, I use a hand grinder for french press all the time and am relatively happy with the results. A few common ones are:

The Hario Skerton. I personally have one and love it. As I said, not perfect for french press but it's a durable daily driver that never lets me down and can do an espresso grind damn near as well as a $300 baratza

The hario mini is essentially the same grinder in a different, smaller package. Perfect for travel

The porlex JP-30 is a tad more expensive but has grind settings that, while unmarked, do "click" into place making adjusting grind coarseness a bit easier


If you wanted to go the electric route, I've seen refurbished Baratza encore grinders for around $100. This will give you a mediocre espresso grind but a perfect and much easier drip and french press grind


Next up: preparation methods

French presses use a metal mesh filter, which gives you all of the oils in the cup and lets a tiny bit of really fine coffee solids through, which gives the cup a rich, full-bodied, velvety character They're also very easy to use as there's pretty much one accepted way to brew in them. And here's Philly's own Todd Carmichael demonstrating it. As far as which one to buy, they're all pretty much the same: a glass tube with a stick in it and some mesh on the end of the stick. I like my sterlingpro a lot but the bodum chambord is hugely popular and looks just as nice. Even a cheapo will do the job just as well, though, even if it doesn't look as nice.

pourovers do essentially the same thing as a drip coffee machine just with a lot more input from you, which is good because all but the most ludicrously expensive drip machines are very inconsistent and don't work as well as just doing it your own damn self. With a pourover, you're going to use a kettle or measuring cup with a spout to pour the water over the grounds in a set amount of time (3-4 minutes depending on the grind size) and usually in a very specific manner. Because these use a paper filter, there are no oils or insoluble solids in the cup so the coffee is clearer, tastes cleaner and usually a bit brighter than french press coffee. Popular models include the Hario v60 which is one of the more finicky models. If you decide on one of these, be sure to use a gooseneck kettle like Mr. Carmichael was using in the french press video above. Slightly more forgiving are the kalita wave and the melitta both of which would work fine with a normal kettle so long as it has some type of pour spout. If you want something with very thick filters, so as to produce a very clear cup, and also looks very nice, the chemex is a beautiful thing that produces great coffee, has a built-in carafe, and can make more than one cup at a time. Really more of a replacement for a large-volume drip machine than most pourovers.

The Aeropress is an absurdly popular, extremely versatile, and very well priced coffee brewer which is essentially a huge syringe with a paper filter instead of a needle. There's a thousand recipes online with different ways to use it, all of which produce a different cup.



Also worth noting is that you may want a kettle with temperature control, coffee should be brewed at 195-205F, so knowing what temp your water is helps reduce a lot of the headaches of cooling off boiled water for a vague amount of time. This bonavita is a little on the pricey side but has temp control and a gooseneck, which is always useful

There are some very affordable burr grinders out there, and it's worth the investment. You'll use it pretty much everyday. Hand grinders can be very cheap, and work great. Hario Skerton is a popular choice (I've seen it around for cheaper, but this is at least what's on amazon). Plenty of options, all varying in price. There's a pretty decent burr grinder from Kona I've used before, which I got for like $20.

But manual grinding can take some time. And if you're like me, and you want some quick coffee in the morning, then it's worth investing in an electric. There are some pretty decent electric burr grinders out there. You really don't have to pay a fortune. Here are a few cheap options:

Capresso Infinity

Bodum Bistro

Baratza Encore

But you can get far snobbier than just grind...

What kind of water are you using? Hopefully filtered, not tap. And definitely not distilled, since you want some of those minerals for flavor. Now, if you want to get even fancier, try using these mineral packets. I think each packet mixes in with 1 gallon of distilled water. I haven't tried it myself (I just use a brita) but I've heard good things. The quality of water makes a huge difference. This was the first "eureka" moment for me, when I moved from tap to filtered.

Next, how are you making your coffee? There are some great, cheap equipment out there. In this sub, here are some pretty cheap and popular choices:

Aeropress

Chemex

Pour-over

French press

We're getting pretty deep in the rabbit hole, right? Not yet! How about measuring the weight of the coffee? Consistency is important. You need the same, proper coffee-to-water ratio for the best cup. You can find people debating over the best scales, some costing hundreds. I'd just get a cheap one if I were you. You can find some decent cheap ones from like $10 to $30. If you want the best bang for your buck, look into American Weigh Scales.

I guess I can mention temperature of water as well. You can get thermometers or even electric kettles with built-in thermometers (like this). I think temperature matters so much more for tea than coffee, but it's something you need to keep in mind for coffee as well.

Here's probably the most important thing, in my opinion: where are you getting your coffee? What is the roast date? Unless you're buying your coffee directly from the roaster, you're probably not buying freshly roasted beans. It makes a world of difference. Try finding a local roaster and getting your beans from them, freshly roasted.

I'm sure there's plenty of other ways you can splurge money on coffee, but I'll let you figure it out!

(edited to fix the links)

> I really want to learn to make good coffee at home so that my wife is happy to wake up in the morning. Plus, I'd like to save some money instead of going to Starbucks every morning. I don't personally like coffee (I wish I did. Closest I came to enjoying coffee was drinking a caramel brulée latte from Starbucks last Christmas) but I find the craft of it absolutely fascinating. And I'm really interested in learning to get my wife's perfect cup of coffee down to a science. (And if I learn to enjoy coffee, all the better)

So I started down this exact path about 8 or 9 years ago for my gal as well. I also had no interest in coffee but enjoyed the convergence of art & science.

Anyway the following is what I ended up with [and what I paid].

• [$100 refurbished from the Baratza Store] Baratza Encore - Most people argue this is the best grinder for the money when the budget is tight
  
• [$30] Aeropress - This is a great way to make a single cup of coffee
  
• [$40 on sale] Bonavita BV382510V 1.7L Digital Variable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle - Awesome way to manage the temperature of the water for brewing
  
• [$40 on sale] Hario V60 Drip Coffee Scale and Timer - very important to measure the weight of Water and Coffee PLUS extraction time
  
  
  You can be patient like I did and buy over time to get things on sale but after owning each item for multiple years now I can wholeheartedly recommend each component.
  
  All in a buddy was using a Keurig for the past few years and when it broke he reached out to me for the same thing. He bought everything but the scale (it was almost $70 when he was buying) and his wife is in LOVE with the setup. The neat thing is once you get the grinder and scale your options to multiple brewing methods opens up. Then with the water kettle you can then use it all for the Aeroporess, Kalita Wave, Chemex, V60, Clever Dripper (ETC) brewing methods.
  
  Anyway once you have good enough gear you can then start trying finding local roasters and different beans. We have tried a few local joints and just recently found a few beans roasted fresh that are substantially better than anything we were purchasing in grocery stores. Alternatively there are SO many online stores to try (and a biweekly friday thread on r/coffee for what beans people are currently trying).
  
  Compared to the $5+ a drink at starbucks we make great coffee at home for typically less than $1 a cup and it takes less than 5 minutes all in, including cleanup.

Hey man, let me hit you with my personal coffee journey. It worked super well for me, and it starts pretty entry-level. I highly recommend.

So, first and foremost, you need to start with pourover. Here's a pretty cheap starter set. Then you'll also need a kitchen scale, here's one of the smallest, most accurate ones I've found.

I'd also recommend getting an automatic burr grinder, which isn't exactly entry level, so it could be a secondary purchase if you find that you really want to get ball-deep into coffee. I started off with the Infinity Grinder, which worked well for me until I got an espresso machine (more on that later). But for pourover and most other methods (aeropress, coffee maker, even shit like siphon coffee, it's perfectly fine). Having an electric grinder is just going to make your life easier overall. But if you don't want to jump right into that, you could use the grinder included in the set I listed (I've never used it - it's probably not great, but I'm sure it'll work).

And that's all you need to make one god damn good cup of coffee. I've spent thousands of dollars on coffee equipment over the years, but for me, the best way to brew a simple cup of coffee is using a pourover method. And it's incredibly fun!

Now, once you've got a few months of pourover under your belt, it may be time to move onto other methods of brewing. Grab yourself an Aeropress. Aeropress effectively is the midpoint between normal coffee and espresso. It absolutely does not make real espresso, regardless of what anyone tells you, but that doesn't mean what it makes isn't super delicious. Plus it lets you start experimenting with the closest thing you'll be able to get to cappuccinos, and other fun things like flavored lattes when you have company over and want to impress them with some tasty java.

The Aeropress is fantastic, and it's ridiculously easy to clean. It's a nice way to be able to travel with a decent coffee maker, too.

Then, once you've got a couple years of delicious coffee down, it's time to get into the big leagues. Espresso.

Holy fuck dude. Espresso is complicated, and you really have to throw away everything you thought you knew about coffee. I know how pretentious that sounds, but it's super true. What I went with was a Crossland CC1, which was mainly because I got it for cheap on Craigslist for $400. But, warning, the Infinity Grinder will not grind accurate enough for espresso. For that you'll need something like a Baratza Hario or Sette 270 (I went with the Sette 270).

Anyway, that's waaaaaaaaay in your future. I'd highly recommend just starting off with pourover and some great beans (check locally, or order from Intelligentsia).

Enjoy your journey, bro. It's a great world out there.

This won't be 100% relevant but I already have it typed so I'mma just copy paste it here and make some notes at the end:

>Well here's the thing about coffee, it's finicky stuff. Much moreso than most Americans would give it credit for. Automatic machines like you have can deliver quality coffee, but unless the one you have cost $200 or more, it won't really be up to the task of making cafe quality coffee. If you want coffee of the same quality (or even better) you'd find at a cafe, you're going to have to know a couple things. Don't worry, I'll tl;dr this with a few specifics at the end, but right now I'm going to go over the things that affect how coffee tastes:

>Bean quality: probably the most esoteric and taste-dependent part of coffee, it's not much worth getting into grading, processing, etc, just suffice it to say that folger's is definitely not using top-rate beans and they're mixing robusta (high caffeine, very bitter) in with arabica (moderate caffeine, much better flavor), whereas a decent coffee shop is using 100% arabica

>Freshness: Coffee goes stale quick and the flavors dull within about three weeks, a month tops after roasting. Those mass market beans are months old by the time you get them off the shelf. The good news is that there's almost definitely a roaster near you who sells decent beans that are nice and fresh roasted. The bad news is that the cheapest decent coffee you'll find is ~$10/lb most places.

>Grind: piggybacking on my last point, coffee, even when sealed in those cans, goes stale VERY fast after being ground (like, within an hour), so buy whole bean and grind it yourself right before brewing

>Grind consistency: if the grind isn't uniform, the coffee won't extract evenly and will taste off. The normal blade grinders you think of when you think "coffee grinder" won't work, you'll need a burr grinder, whether hand crank or electric. Doesn't have to be fancy but it does have to be a burr grinder

>Brew ratio: coffee will optimally be brewed (for most methods) with 16 or 17g of water (a fat tablespoon) for each gram of coffee. You can guestimate it but digital kitchen scales that read in grams can be had for dirt cheap on amazon. IME people who don't know about brewing coffee tend to use way too little coffee for the amount they brew. This extracts too much from the grounds and makes it watery and bitter

>Brew time: each method has its own ideal brew time but for most, like pourover or french press, ~4 minutes is optimal

>Water temperature: Coffee should ideally be brewed between 195-205Fthis is where the vast majority of home drip machines fail, the reason that /r/coffee approved drip machines start off at like $200 is that they have big, heavy copper heaters that can reach ideal brew temp, most drip machines have crummy weak heating coils that end up brewing at lower temperatures and making the coffee taste flat and sour.

>#TL;DR
I know this seems overwhelming, so I'll give you a nice, easy starter kit and instructions how to use it to get you started. And I know you said your bank account was getting crushed, so I'll make this nice and wallet-friendly

>For a grinder, go with either this manual one which has the advantage of being really cheap and producing decent grinds, but will take some effort to grind your coffee (2-3 minutes) and setting the grind size can be a pain, or if you want to spend a little bit more and get an electric, go for this one, it's not the greatest in the world but for a starting point it works ok and it's darn cheap.

>You can either keep brewing with your auto drip or, if you're still not satisfied, get a french press. They're crazy easy to use (weigh coffee, put in press. Place press on scale and tare. Pour in water. wait four minutes. drink), and they can be had for damn cheap

>Then find someone who roasts coffee near you, get some beans, and enjoy!

>Anyway sorry to bombard you with the wall of text but coffee's a complicated thing and we're hobbyists (and snobs) around here. Hope that helps! Feel free to ask more questions

>EDIT: forgot to add in Todd Carmichael's awesome instruction video for the french press.


If you're brewing for one, though, I'd look at the Aeropress, the learning curve is a bit steeper than FP but it makes wicked good coffee, is extremely versatile, and (my favorite part) cleanup is super quick and easy. And if you're willing to shell out a little more for a grinder take a peek at the Baratza encore.

EDIT: link to the aeropress and just one of many, many recipes for it. I actually used that recipe just last night and it came out fantastic. Might make myself one right now, actually...

Don't listen to the Aeropress people (like me). They're a cult. ;-)

J/K (sorta) . . . but if his general aesthetic shies away from the modern, he may use it quite rarely. I love my Aeropress, but it still feels all "modern and plastic" to me, and there are times I just don't want my coffee to involve anything modern or plastic, so I leave it in the cabinet and reach for my Chemex or French press.

In general, for any hobby, I recommend the things that are both the most useful and the least specific.

I honestly wouldn't get him any brewing device, since he's still at the stage where he's learning what he likes. If he decides he doesn't like an Aeropress or a V60 or a Chemex or anything else we like, it'll never be used. However, a good kettle, a good scale, and a good grinder are all very versatile (he can use them immediately with his press) and very non-specific (he can use them with any brewing method he settles on).

My recommendations are:

1. Hario Slim or Hario Skerton hand grinder, depending on whether you think being small for travel or large for serving more than two people will be more important to him.
   
2. Bonavita electronic kettle to enable him to brew any temperature he wants, for any brewing method he wants. The gooseneck spout is really important if he ends up liking manual pourover methods, too, even though it's more expensive than the plain kettle. (Versatility, and all that.)
   
3. Any of the scales recommended in the brew guide: weighing both the coffee and the water become very important the more into coffee fanaticism you get. :-)
   
   You're right to leave the beans out of your calculations. Besides being entirely a matter of taste, it goes stale very quickly (a month old is pushing it). Though a gift certificate to a local coffee roaster wouldn't be amiss!
   
   I'm not sure what your price range is, but since you say that a nice mug was one option, I'm going to guess it's $30 or less. In that case, probably the hand grinder or the scale are your most likely options. Either of them will be something he'll use forever (regardless of what brewing methods he ends up liking), and will be a great contribution to his hobby.
   
   (Also, my gf just asked me, "So what are you telling her?" Maybe I can spin this for some good gear for me too! :-D )
   
   Edit: As far as the scale goes, a cheap electronic scale from Harbor Freight in the $15 range is perfectly serviceable (and in fact, I use one from there at work). You're looking for hundredths of an ounce or tenths of a gram precision.

My favorite thing about coffee as a "hobby" is that, like some have said, it's a hobby that isn't just a waste of money. Fresh beans are a huge 1st step, they really just have tons of flavors that change almost as you work through the bag, and sometimes I feel like the first sip of a french press is different than the middle, etc. For me the different methods I use just work better for different beans, I'm still figuring that out myself. I prefer to french press african beans, pour over on more typically "harsh" beans, and I'm still dialing in aeropress, but I feel like it takes a lot out of the coffee so it seems to work best if I'm like "hmm I'm not sure I like this bean", aeropress... oh nevermind it's great.

You could buy:

Good grinder ~$140

Scale $15

Kettle $25

And three interesting and different types of brewers:

Aeropress ~$30

V60 ~$20

French Press ~$20

That's all the gear for now, you're SET until you become a crazy coffee nut, but for me 90% of the coffee I make is in one of those 3 methods. I have a moka pot, and they're cool too. But that's $250 for gear, and you could probably save a bit with different grinder options but plan to drop the biggest amount of that.

Add in $20 for some high quality beans (S&W is great and their reddit discount is on this page somewhere) and you're around $270 to be brewing great coffee a few different ways. Now you have 4+ different coffees, 3 ways to make it, and the equipment to make sure you're doing it "right".

Okay that's a lot and I hate this "if you buy a cup of coffee a day" crap, but let's just say you drink work swill most of the time, but get a cup of coffee out 3x a week. At $3/cup maybe you tip a quarter each time, you pay off this stuff in 6 months and these things pretty much last forever.

The point is, yes, some of the costs of entry (specifically the grinder) can be a little daunting, and sometimes we get carried away, but overall, the cost of making great coffee at home is significantly less than going out. You're actually getting BETTER coffee too, trying different ways to make it, and enjoying yourself. Wow, okay rambling there. Good luck!

Ok I am going to try to answer every question

1. 100% worth it. The difference in taste is indescribable. With a good burr grinder and an aero press the coffee will be immeasurably better. And, you can measure a system were it will take you maybe 5 minutes, tops. Heck, you can even pre measure the water and coffee the night before if you need to save time.
   
   
2. This is hard to answer since everyone's choices are different. I have never seen a mug recommend on here that I loved, they always seem to be really tacky in my opinion, I guess I just don't like novelty mugs. One thing that is mostly a safe bet is going to a local roaster or a good roster online and buying there branded mugs, a lot of those are really cool. This one from Kickapoo Roatsers is really cool for instance. A lot of stump towns diner mugs are really nice.In addition, A lot of these are really unique, albeit pricy. But these are all personal preferences, find what you like.
   
   
3. Starbucks is very contervesial on this subreddit. What follows here is my personal opinion. First, if there is a Starbucks that sells reserve near you, you are in luck because those bags are mostly quite good. The problem with most of Starbucks roasts is that they are so dark most are undrinkable, as lighter roasts typically bring out the natural flavors in coffee. The only semi good ones are there "light" or "blond" roasts, and even then those are pretty average. Some of there single origin, like the (now out of season) Guatemalan Casi Cielo were decent quality. I would first try out local roasters with actually freshly roasted beans, and if there are absolutely none with some good freshly roasted beans near you, then online would be a good place to start. Try some of the big (all good) ones like blue bottle, intelligentsia, or stump town. One I don't see recommended on here a lot is La Colombe, which is quite delicious, I loved there Hatian.
   
   Lastly, and most importantly, BUY A GOOD BURR GRINDER. Freshly ground truly does make all the difference. A good starter is the Hario Skerton availiable on Amazon, or a Hario mini mill, also on Amazon.
   
   I hope this helps! Good luck man!

I'm in a similar situation as you, and I've recently gotten my coffee tools up to a level that I'm happy to stick with for a while. Last week I bought a cheap CuisinArt burr grinder on sale for $50. This grinder is a huge step up from my blade grinder. It obviously isn't as consistent as a $200+ grinder, but it does exactly what I need it to do.

Last week ago I also ordered one of these as a cheap substitute for fancier pouring kettles. It just came in a few days ago and it works great. It's a lot smaller than it looks in the pictures (check the dimensions on the website), but it's perfect for brewing a single cup like I typically do.

We have one of those pour-overs at work and it works pretty well, but honestly I don't use it enough to have a good opinion on it. It's definitely better designed than a Melitta though (I like the wide whole at the bottom, compared to Melitta's dripper). I personally use a Chemex, which isn't too cheap, but I've fallen in love with the coffee it produces. (On a side note, the Chemex filters are what do the trick, and I've even heard about people using the filters with the harios. I'd look into it if it sounds like something you might be interested in.)

Also, I think the major thing that will make you better coffee with a simple setup like this is to find good beans. I found a local roaster that makes some beans I've quickly fallen in love with. (And I must be doing something right because I think I make better coffee than what I can order there.)

Broke college student here, I'm also a barista that's use to having amazing, freshly roasted coffee. So far, no one has lied. AMAZING espresso IS expensive. But can you make a latte as well as your local cafe? With a little practice, time and money, yes.

My current home setup consists of a Delonghi EC155, this is a true espresso machine, it's not steam powered and with a little modification and practice makes good espresso. Modification wise the only thing I'd recommend is depressurizing the portafilter basket, which is easy. If you ever want a better machine but don't want to spend the money you can modify it even more. They're vary popular machines and can be modified to pull amazing shots. They go anywhere from 70-130, however, occasionally things get repacked or the packaging gets damaged in the warehouse. They'll offer them at a hefty discount, I just got mine "reboxed" from amazon for 47 dollars, wait a few days and one will come up. If you use your student email you can get Amazon Prime for free, take advantage of that.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC155-Espresso-Cappuccino-Maker/dp/B000F49XXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396498476&sr=8-1&keywords=delonghi+ec155

I also got this tamper, works well, it's a little light for my tastes but for home use it's fine. The EC155 has a 52mm basket, if having a 50mm tamper bothers you then pay the extra few bucks for a 52mm tamper. Personally doesn't bother me, and it was only 7 bucks.

http://www.amazon.com/Espresso-Tamper-Sizes-Alloy-Coffee/dp/B0001XRNEM/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_z

Here's a milk frothing cup, you'll need it to properly froth milk. You can poorly froth milk in a microwave but why do that when you can spend an extra 8 dollars and do it properly? I personally got mine for a dollar from a thrift store.

http://www.amazon.com/Update-International-EP-12-Stainless-Frothing/dp/B000MR6I9I/ref=pd_bxgy_hg_text_y

I got one of these grinders years ago for around 20 dollars. I've seen them used, repackaged, and refurbished for about that much. Wait around and a deal will come up. You can also get a Hario Mini and a number of other hand grinders. But this one does just fine. Now out of the box it won't grind fine enough for espresso, however, with about 20 minutes worth of work you can shim it and it'll grind perfectly for espresso. It's not hard and anyone can do it with a screw driver and some tin foil.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1396498766&sr=1-1&keywords=cuisinart+grinder

At this point if you're willing to wait for a deal on the EC155 you've only spent 107 dollars. Even less if you're willing to wait on a deal for the burr grinder as well. If you want AMAZING coffee you can spend another 27 dollars and get an Aeropress, or wait for a deal and get it for 20 dollars. It will make a coffee concentrate which will taste "okay" for a latte.

At this point, I cannot recommend going to your local coffee houses and asking if you can buy green beans. They typically sell green coffee for 5-8 dollars a pound. You can roast your own coffee with a skillet and a whisk, or a popcorn popper, there are hundreds of ways to do it cheaply and it easy. You'll save money and you'll be drinking tastier coffee.

Don't let these people get you down, good espresso doesn't have to be expensive. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

I think to best answer this request, we'll need a bit more info. Are you ok with a manual grinder, or do you prefer an electric grinder? Do you want a drip brewer or a pour over set up? Are you looking to get into espresso? And, what is your actual budget in your local currency?

And now for a guess at what might work for you...

A [Melitta Plastic Pour Over Dripper](https://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Ready-Single-Coffee-Brewer/dp/B0014CVEH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527536804&sr=8-1&keywords=mellita) $5 to $6 (a lot of grocery stores carry these in stock)

A box of #2 Cone filters at your local grocery store $2

If you want an automatic drip brewer, and you are making smaller amounts for just you, the [Bonavita 5 cup](https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV1500TS-Carafe-Coffee-Stainless/dp/B00SK5IXPQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537674&sr=8-4&keywords=bonavita+brewer) is wroth a look. it runs about $66. I have the 8 cup for the wife and I and we love it.

Filters can be purchased, again, at your local grocery store for about $2.

[Brewista SmartPour Kettle w. Thermometer](https://www.amazon.com/Brewista-Variable-Temperature-Kettle-BKV12S02NA/dp/B01CFBBUVY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537033&sr=8-1&keywords=brewista%2Bsmart%2Bpour&th=1) $40. There are cheaper ones, but I personally have this one and have loved it.

[Scale](https://www.amazon.com/Jennings-CJ-4000-Compact-Digital-Adapter/dp/B004C3CAB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537139&sr=8-1&keywords=Jennings+CJ4000) This is a must. $30

[Bratza Encore](https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527537371&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baratza+encore&psc=1&smid=A302OQK4GZWXCC) Grinder is the default recommendation around here, and for good reason. It's high quality, and easily serviceable. New they run $139, but you can save $40 and pick up a [refurb](https://www.baratza.com/product/encore-refurb/) (still with the 1 year warrantee) for $99 direct from Baratza.

If you want a cheaper option, and don't mind a manual hand grinder, there are a few options, but the [Hario Skerton Pro](https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Grinder-MMCS-2B/dp/B01MXJI90S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527537536&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+skerton+pro) is about the lowest cost / still decent quality grinders, grinder that most would recommend. It runs about $60, and personally, I'd spend the extra $30 on an Encore refurb.

Happy Mug Beans are a pretty great option. I really enjoy the Big Foot Espresso blend (despite it's name) as a pour over, and even like it in my drip brewer. The Inspirational Artist Blend is a great option too. But really just try them out and see what you like. Their bags (for 1lbs of whole beans) run $11 - $13

Hope that helps.

Hey there. I'll give you a little summary of what I think most people on here will tell you in response to your questions.

Books: Blue Bottle ,Coffee Comprehensive and Uncommon Grounds are all good books to cover most of coffee and its processes.

This Capresso Infinity is considered a pretty decent burr grinder for the price. It will not do espresso but will be good enough for most other coffee brewing methods.

Getting a set up that is acceptable for "real" espresso is kind of expensive. A Gaggia classic is considered the bare minimum espresso machine for a "real" espresso. A Baratza Virtuoso is considered bare minimum for a decent espresso grinder. Now, you can (and many people do) find these items used, which obviously reduces the cost greatly. But depending on your area, finding these items up on craigslist or similar sites can be pretty rare.

I'm not from Rhode Island, but googling local roasters will provide some results. As for online ordering, tonx, blue bottle and stumptown are favorites around here for their price and quality. Beans are broken down on what region they came from, how they were processed and how dark they are roasted. Each region has different flavor profiles in their beans. African beans are known for being more fruity than other beans, for example. A little warning, most people on this subreddit believe Starbuck's espresso roast coffee to be too dark. However, many of Starbuck's light/Medium roast coffees have been reviewed as pretty decent. Most websites that sell the beans will list a flavor profile of the beans. The basic saying on this subreddit is that if you have crappy beans, no matter what, your coffee will be crappy. If you are going to overspend anywhere in the process, overspend on quality beans.

The espresso machines that you will be using at starbucks are machines that will basically produce espresso at the push of a button. They will grind, tamp and extract the espresso without any input from you. You should just know right off the bat that there is a whole other world to espresso making that is the exact opposite, with people grinding the beans to the right size, tamping by hand, and extracting shots with a lever that controls pressure. Neither way is right or wrong, you should just know that there are many different types of espresso machines and baristas.

I'll share a little bit of advise, take from it what you will. I was an ambitious college student coffee drinker just like you. I asked for a Breville espresso machine as my first real coffee making device (even before a grinder, how silly of me). I just wanted an espresso machine because that was all I was getting from these coffee shops. Since then I've gotten a nice grinder, a melitta pour over, french press, gooseneck kettle, aeropress, V60, moka pot, and chemex. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't turned on my espresso machine in over a year. There is so much more to coffee than espresso. There are so many methods to brew coffee that are cheaper, more complex and more interesting. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd buy the burr grinder I linked, and an Aeropress or any french press (Starbucks sells some pretty nice ones. You could get one with an employee discount) and just learn to love coffee on its own, without frothed milk and flavorings.

There is a ton of info on this subreddit if you stick around for awhile. Questions like yours are posted all the time and answered by very knowledgable people. Your enthusiasm for coffee is extremely exciting to see. Please don't let any of my advise subtract from your enthusiasm. Everyone takes a different path while exploring coffee. That's part of the excitement. You will learn a lot at Starbucks and you will learn a lot if you stay here. Enjoy your stay.

To answer your question, the strength of your coffee is mostly influenced by how much coffee you're using versus how much water. For a strong cup with your Keurig, go with the setting with the smallest amount of water. The Keurig is by no means the "best" method to make coffee, but it will make coffee. If you decide to get a manual brewer (French press, Aeropress, Kalita Wave, etc.) the brew time has some leeway, but I'd recommend just using more coffee than trying to push the recommended brew time too far. Coffee can/should be strong without being bitter, and keeping the water and coffee together too long will create bitterness.


What follows is everything you need to know about making great coffee. Warning, this may be overwhelming:

1. Freshly ground coffee is going to taste better. Consider coffee like bread. A loaf left on the counter will get stale faster if you slice it up. Freshly roasted is better, but it might be more expensive/harder for you to find and you might not want to dive that deep yet.
   
2. Conical burr grinders are better than blade grinders. The problem is that a decent automatic burr grinder is going to be ~$100 and that's a steep price for someone just getting into coffee. Many people will recommend the mini mill, Skerton, or something along those lines that is hand-crank. (Good non-name brand options: 1 and 2) Those are your best bet. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, you can get an automatic blade grinder if you might have an issue with manual grinding/don't want to drop a lot of money. I will mention that darker roasts are easier to grind manually so there's less worry for your wrist. The problem with blade grinders is you get a bunch of differently sized bits, which makes it more difficult to get consistency and figure out a grind size/brew time you like.
   
3. Each method of brewing calls for a differently sized grind. This is pretty important. If it's too small, you'll get a bitter cup. If it's too big, you'll get a sour cup. The same goes for brew time. Too long will make a bitter cup, and too short will make a sour cup. However, there's some leeway on both of these to your taste.
   
4. There are a bunch of ways to make coffee that change how it tastes. Methods that involve filtering through paper make a cleaner cup, but you lose most of the oils in the coffee. Metal filters leave in these oils, but can also leave a lot of sediment/mud in the bottom of your cup. You might drink this if you drink that last sip, and it isn't really nice.
   
5. Weighing your coffee is much more accurate if you want to make a consistent cup. A tablespoon of a darker roast might be 5 grams while a tablespoon of a lighter roast might be 7 grams.
   
6. You'll need something to boil water in. If you have a kettle, great. If you don't, you can use a pan or you can buy a kettle. It doesn't need to be a fancy/expensive gooseneck-style one (1 and 2), but you might want one of those if you get into pourover methods.
   
   I would recommend a French press (1 2 3 4) or Aeropress for someone just getting into coffee. They're much more forgiving than pour-over methods, meaning you're less likely to make a bitter cup. They each have their own drawbacks, too. An Aeropress is easier to clean up, but can only make one cup at a time. A French press takes more time to clean, but can make about 3 cups at a time. (By cups I mean a standard 12-ounce mug.) Definitely get a grinder, too (see above). A scale (1 and 2) is optional but recommended. For beans, seek out a local roaster/coffee shop, but there are tons of online options available, too.
   
   Welcome to the wonderful (and sometimes crazy) world of coffee!

The Wave is good. Other easy methods for beginners would be the Aeropress or the French Press.

More importantly I would find a local roaster from which to get fresh beans. Quality beans will be a huge difference in flavor for you regardless of brewing method (though drip maker is still not recommended over other methods mentioned). I know you said you are frugal, as am I, but I found myself drinking LESS coffee when I was spending more on quality not because it was more expensive but because the flavor was so much more intense and fulfilling. I savored it more and instead of drinking 1200mL of store bought drip I was enjoying 700mL of Chemex (similar pour over method) tremendously more.

If you are anything like me you will take your time to build your equipment and slowly buy more. I enjoyed doing it this way because I could move as my tastes evolved. As you mentioned, investing in a good burr grinder should probably be the most important thing. I think my Baratza Encore is worth its weight in gold. After that I slowly added more brewing methods and this Hario scale. The weighing of your water and coffee is so much simpler when it comes to make a consistently great cup of coffee.

I know this is a long reply and a list of stuff but it is three years worth of accumulation, mostly thanks to Amazon gift cards at Christmas time! Most importantly, just enjoy yourself and your coffee! If you like a method others don't or don't like weighing things then don't. Your taste is yours, enjoy it.

I like a good hand-crank one. My Porlex Mini is ceramic burr and perfectly fits 26g of beans so it's ideal for me and getting the one shot. I bought it for camping but now I use it daily because it's actually a pretty great feeling to grind it yourself. Been using it every day for almost a year with only good things to say about it. It was $50 on Amazon, plus shipping. There's also a larger variety.

As for electric ones, I think you'll be looking at one in the $100-150 range like the Baratza Encore to get something that will be consistent as well as not wear out in a year like many other grinders do after the first few hundred uses.There are better versions of the Baratza that are good enough to be used in small Cafes that may better suit your needs. Do some searches in r/Coffee and there's probably some good choices there. I found for my use (Moka pot/Aeropress) that my hand crank works best and that I don't need a big grinder. The few sub $100 that I have owned never lasted longer than a year, and were inconsistent and eventually simply unable to work at all due to the lower quality grinders cutting the beans rather than truly grinding them.

I will also put in my +1 for Caffe Fantastico beans. The Ethiopia Kaffa Forest beans are wonderful.

Grocery stores I'd say

• Kicking Horse
  
• Level Ground
  
• Saltspring Island

Hi David! Huge fan of your show, btw.

​

If you want something simple, go with a Rancilio Silvia, which you can find here. https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/rancilio-silvia-espresso-machine-version-m. It’s not as high tech as something that Saeco or La Marzocco would put out but when paired with a Rancilio Rocky grinder they are a great duo worth their price.

​

On the higher end of the price range, the Saeco Superautomatic Xelsis is literally all you will ever need. Anecdata here: a close friend of mine uses it, and it's great. It's fully digitized, it's smaller, it looks great, and the performance is second to none for home espresso IMO. https://www.amazon.com/Saeco-SM7684-04-Automatic-Espresso/dp/B07G3XYR3R. ($2,399)

​

My personal espresso machine I have used for the past 5 years is a Gaggia Classic Semi-auto espresso maker. I can't find it on amazon, however the Gaggia Anima is very similar and actually a bit better than mine. https://www.amazon.com/Gaggia-Automatic-Macchiato-Cappuccino-Programmable/dp/B016RYODRS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=gaggia+classic&qid=1558640715&s=home-garden&sr=1-4 ($899)

​

As for grinders, I would definitely recommend getting an automated burr grinder. I personally hand grind my coffee just because I like the control it gives you, but it is time consuming. If you want a good hand grinder, start with the Hario Skerton. https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill/dp/B001802PIQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=hario+skerton&qid=1558640805&s=home-garden&sr=1-2 ($40)

​

For an automated grinder, I would start with the Baratza Virtuoso. It's roughly $250 USD and the quality is up there

Thanks for the update. That's plenty of money to start.

The two big things you can do to drastically improve your cup is 1.) fresh WHOLE coffee beans (check the roast date); none of that pre-ground stuff. If you are looking for speed and cheap this is a decent grinder that will meet your needs, however if you have the time, (effort) and want to do it right. I would strongly recommend something like this. It is a burr grinder and will give you MUCH better results (rather than chopping beans you are actually grinding them. Burr grinder = squeezing out the best aromas and flavor into your coffee). You can buy one for ~$40 (along with ~$30 for a decent french press).. Get the beans whole and grind them before each use (two scoops of coffee per 6 ounces of water); don't let the beans sit for more than a month. They lose freshness and aroma/taste each day after it's been opened. 2.) use good water. You don't have to use bottled, Brita is fine or tap if you have good water.

and that's it. From there you can explore the types of roast you like, the different regions, blends, etc since you will be making consistent coffee each time this way (very few variables unlike many of the methods of brewing- but hey, isn't that half the fun? Although most would suggest getting a scale right away, I would recommend holding off. A scale can then help you fine tune your technique, but is IMHO a bit too complicated to start with. Instead, I would take the money saved and check out some good coffee shops in your area, particularly ones that roast their own coffee. You'll quickly learn what you like and what you don't.

Good luck, have fun and feel free to msg me if you have anymore questions.

Also: you can try to adjust the grind for the strength of your coffee (to taste). More fine = stronger. More coarse = less strong. That will affect not just the strength, but also the body and "mouth feel" of the coffee (if you do go with a french press, you want a "coarse" grind).

I got the Breville Infuser and Smart Grinder Pro from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. I love them. By no means am I an expert, but I enjoy the shots I pull just as much as from coffee shops using La Marzoccos. Yes the beans, barista, and placebo all play into that, but it still pulls a great shot and is pretty affordable. You could even go cheaper and get the Duo Temp Pro which could functionally be the same as the Infuser and is $100 cheaper so you could spend it on cups, knockbox, distributor but the infuser would still put you under budget. I went with the infuser because you can adjust the temperature and you can pull manually or preset volume, which allows you to eliminate that variable for a consistent shot and you can see how your tamp/grind are as the program pulls 60mL (2oz) no matter what and so you can gauge what you need to do to dial that volume in for the proper extraction time. Downside is that if you want a naked portafilter then you gotta DIY or buy one from Aus for like $150, but I don’t think it’s a huge deal and if you do then maybe that’s where your extra budget could go. The pressure gauge is also nice although it won’t really tell you what you don’t already know from extraction time.

I can’t say this is the best machine for the price (although Seattle Coffee Gear did so take that as you will) but I can highly recommend it. I would get it over the Barista Express as the extra $50 for a dedicated grinder is totally worth it as it is more versatile and I’ve heard it’s a better grinder than the built in one. I also recommend it over the Gaggia. Although it does not have the modabilitiy of the Classic, it has most of the features that people mod the Gaggia for already, plus it uses a traditional steam arm instead of a panarello like the Gaggia, and has stainless steel lined thermocoil instead of aluminum thermoblock.

Overall would definitely recommend going separate grinder and machine no matter what.

I started getting into coffee nearly a year and a half ago, and here is what I did to start:

I bought

• A Hario V60 02 Pour-Over Dripper ~$20, with filters, ~$30
  
  
• A Hario Buono Gooseneck Kettle ~$50
  
  
• A Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder ~$150
  
  
• A scale ~$25
  
  
• Freshly, locally roasted whole beans ~$10/lb. Dark roasts tend to be less acidic, sweeter, and have less caffeine (when brewed correctly); light roasts are the opposite: acidic, fruity, and more caffeine.
  
  Now, bear in mind that I knew that I loved coffee before I invested all this money into it; you should obviously really consider your situation and really get into "good" coffee before splurging on all of this equipment. I now have a French press, a moka pot, and am going to invest in an Aeropress soon, but I still prefer the pour-over method to any other coffee that I've had, thus why I recommend you go that route. It can take some definite getting used to and has a bit of a learning curve, but it is easily worth the effort (tutorial videos will help immensely.
  
  Keep in mind, you needn't buy exactly what I did. Shop around, see what you like and what is in your price range. I will say this, however: if you do go the pour-over method, go for the V60 or the Chemex, they are both easily the best on the market, and the same goes for the Buono kettle, though if necessary you can purchase a different kettle, just so long as it is a gooseneck (which is required to finely control the flow of water).
  
  Many other people will tell you to go with a French press. This is good advice as it has a very slight learning curve in comparison to pretty much every other method (besides maybe the Aeropress, depending on who you talk to): it is literally grinding the coffee coarsely and letting it sit in water for X-amount of time. It also does not take filters, is easy to clean, and is a relatively cheap initial investment (~$20). I like the Brazil model that Bodum makes.
  
  No matter which method you choose to brew with, there are three things that you should not underestimate the importance of (and thus should not skimp on):
  
  
• Freshly ground and roasted beans are a must. The fresher, the better.
  
• A blade grinder will always do a worse job of grinding than a burr grinder. It is worth it to spend the extra cash for a burr grinder right off the bat, as, if you get at all serious about coffee, you will eventually purchase one anyway, rendering your blade grinder useless and a waste of money in hindsight. Blade grinders make it nigh impossible to control how fine or coarse the grind is, which is one of the biggest variables in coffee brewing. There are absolutely cheaper models out there than the one that I linked to, especially if you get a manual one rather than the electric one that I own.
  
  
• A scale is essential. Coffee brewing is very much an exact science. Making sure the ratio of water to coffee is exact and being able to fine tune down to the gram/milliliter can create some of the biggest deviances between batches next to grind size. This cannot be overstated.
  
  Best of luck. There's a lot of good knowledge on this sub, on this sub's How to Coffee: A Primer, and on the Internet in general. Check it all out, pick your path, and enjoy the ride!

If you're in Salt Lake, there are a lot of good coffee shops up there! My favorites are Publik, Coffee Garden, and Raw Bean Coffee. All three of those shops have some very good coffee. Google is your best friend, if you do some searching you'll come across a lot of super good coffee shops.

I haven't personally tried any local beans, but I know Publik has some great stuff. As far as making your own coffee - I'm partial to the Hario V60, but a French Press or Aeropress are also great. If you want something that makes more coffee, you could pick up a chemex. I've owned all four of those, they're fairly simple and they all make great coffee. I personally use a hand burr grinder that cost $24, here's a link for you. It's nothing super special, but it works for what I use it for. You probably wouldn't want to use it for espresso, but I find that it works great for pourover/french press coffee. The grind is a little inconsistent, but I've still been able to get great results.

As far as ordering beans, I always go through Happy Mug. I've ordered a lot through them, and their stuff has never let me down. Their prices are great, and they have $3 flat rate shipping that takes 2-3 days to get to me. I usually order 3 half-pound bags at a time, those will last me about a month personally. I haven't really branched out past Happy Mug because I've been so happy with what I've received from them, but I know there are plenty of other places to buy from. If you do some searching on this sub you can find a lot of info about online vendors.

Honestly, the easiest way to start is probably an Aeropress and a decent kettle. Get a gooseneck early, then you won't have to buy a second kettle later if you decide to start playing with pour-overs. If you want to make boiling water a little more passive, get an electric one. I have this one and it works like a charm.

Another cheap starter option for brewing is the V60 and its various clones. The original is plastic, but this one is ceramic and only $20. It takes some practice to get pour-overs just right, but it's worth it. And for $20, it's not a bad way to give it a shot or just to have in your collection.

Grinders are a whole discussion. I have a Baratza Encore that I really like. It's easy to maintain and Baratza's support was pretty good to me when I needed them. If you want to go a little cheaper, you might consider a Skerton or Mini Mill.

For beans, have fun. There are a ton of places to get decent beans, and part of the fun is finding new places. There are a number of redditors that roast and will probably sell beans to you if you like. (Including me!) I would suggest some, but I actually skipped this part and went straight to roasting.

EDIT: Oh, and good luck. You're opening a door to a rabbit hole, now.

After much experimentation, you have a few options:

1. On-campus
   

• EngSoc C&D: Though not world-class, the coffee is very inexpensive. It runs at about $1 per cup. It's less if you bring your own mug. A++ would recommend if caffeine boost is all you need. Cash only. Profits go to Engsoc.
  
• Mathsoc C&D: Similar quality to the EngSoc C&D, and around the same price as the EngSoc C&D. Cash, Debit, and Visa. Profits go toward C&D improvements (furniture & appliances).
  
• Science C&D: I've only stopped by once while it was open, and didn't buy coffee :(. Cash only. I assume profits fund SciSoc.
  
• ENV C&D: I've heard amazing things about the C&D, and it seems like it's run very well. Similar to Science, I've never had a chance to stop by, but will try to this term. They seem to be very entrepreneurial, and are one of the few non-school-run places on campus to offer catering (of limited size). Unsurprisingly, things are green/fair trade. Cash only. Profits go to improving the C&D.
  
• Arts C&D: I've never seen it open. ¯\(ツ)/¯
  
• UW Food Services (Various Locations): Coffee is consistent, both in high-prices and low-quality. Cash & Watcard everywhere, debit in some places. Profits go to the school.
  
• Williams, EV3: I've never ordered a latte, but they probably serve them here. Expect worse service & selection than the off-campus Williams, with prices ≥ off-campus. If you're choosing this, just walk to the plaza for less expensive food and improved service. They take cash, watcard, (and probably debit).
  
• 24H News, SLC: "Emergency Coffee" - don't bother, unless it's really necessary, and everywhere else is closed.
  
• Turnkey Desk, SLC: This is "Emergency Coffee" - don't bother, unless it's an emergency. Choose 24H News over Turnkey.
  
• Tim Hortons (Various Locations): Going to skip this, since it's probably well known to you.
  
  

2. Selected off-campus locations:
   

• Sweet Dreams: Despite being a tea shop, they have well-priced coffee, and awesome employees. Expect to wait a bit longer, since there's usually a line, and they use a french-press to brew the coffee after you order :'). They take cash/visa, and probably watcard.
  
• Williams, Plaza: Miles better than the one in EV3. They have better food selection than the on-campus location. Cash/visa/watcard are all accepted.
  
• Mel's Diner: Their coffee is ok, but they refill it as long as you continue to eat.
  
• DVLB: I've only been for scotch, but something tells me that I'll be holed up at DVLB for a few afternoons this term. It's a nice place to be, and they (apparently) have wifi.
  
• Second Cup: There's a second cup in the plaza. A friend worked there once, and swore to never go back. They may have what you want, but idk.
  
• Starbucks: There's a starbucks at Uni & King. Starbucks is Starbucks is Starbucks.
  
  Many places off-campus & within a reasonable walk serve coffee, but I don't know of any other notable options.
  
  At home, I use an incredibly inexpensive coffee maker: Aerobie Aeropress, with a Hario Hand Mill, both of which are highly-recommended by /r/coffee. I haven't been able to find an amazing place to buy unground coffee beans near campus yet, and I tend to buy beans when in Toronto.
  
  Hope this helps.

I would advice against buying that electric grinder. It won't be very good and pretty hard to make consistent tasting coffee with.

This one uses blades. Blades to grind coffee is like using a rock to cut vegetables. Yes it gets "the job done" but with a lot of compromise.

Blade grinders (as opposed to burr grinders) are unable to grind coffee in consistent size particles. Meaning hot water won't extract your coffee evenly. Which makes a huge difference.

Cheapest "good" hand grinder is the Hario Skerton or Hario Mini Mill. A step up from that is the Porlex Mini which offers a bit better grind quality, alluminium instead of plastic, and fits inside the aeropress.

If you want to go electric the cheapest good option is this Bodum grinder but at that point you might as well go with the Baratza Encore which is a great iconic grinder that is a great grinder for everything up to espresso.

Manual grinding isn't too bad. If you enjoy "the ritual". Grinding for the Aeropress takes about 1 minute. The thing is, if you want to start brewing more, for say French Press or V60, you really want to invest in an electric grinder. Because grinding for 4 cups of coffee by hand suuuucks! Also, early in the morning, you really appreciate an electric grinder.

Ideal is to have both. But I know that's kinda crazy. Electric at home, manual for at work/while travelling.

Hey there! I am also from Ohio! I'll give you two answers.

Cheapest possible way to get into it is a whirly blade grinder and a french press. No filters needed, just fresh ground coffee made rather quickly and easily. This was my first ever coffee set up, and really got me into drinking better coffee. If you tell me what city in Ohio you are closest to I will give you a recommendation on a local roaster to get beans from. Buying locally from a reputable roaster will be the best option for quality beans for a good price.

​

The other answer, is to buy nice or buy twice. After using the above set up for a few months I was hooked and decided to upgrade everything. So I will send you some options for the cheapest way to make specialty level coffee. For this I would look at a nicer grinder and a pour over. While hand grinders are great, almost everyone upgrades to an electric one. The linked options there are my favorite for the money. The electric model from baratza can be found refurbished on their website from time to time for addtional savings.

The next thing you'll need is a pour over and a kettle to pour with. I recommend a Chemexhere as they are good for serving one to three cups comfortably. I recommended a glass handle chemex because they are beautiful, but wood necked models are a little cheaper. I would get the white square filters with it as they impart less papery flavor. As for a kettle you have a ton of options. I am going to link a budget electric kettle as I find the stovetop models to be more of a hassle.

​

As for healthy sweeteners, brewing it well I hope you won't need them as much, which would be the healthiest. But whole milk and stevia in the raw are your best healthy fixins.

​

Hope this is helpful! Happy brewing and welcome to the fam!

I make large batches of cold brew once a month (almost 5 gallons) to fit into my kegerator and the process is really simple. For what it's worth, my coffee breaks down to about $1 a day for a large Nitro Cold Brew coffee on tap (which sells around me for nearly $4-5 a cup) and I get a lot more coffee, plus very high quality. You could get this price even lower without the kegerator because I included the price for nitro and I also use relatively expensive beans.

Here are the basic tools I would recommend:

​

• brewing bucket or jar
  
• coffee grinder
  
• something to filter the coffee
  
• beans of choice (use whatever you like)
  
  ​
  
  Depending on how much coffee you're looking to make, you can use a different sized vessel. For example, I use a 5 gallon bucket for my keg, whereas if you don't need that much cold brew at once, you can use something like a large mason jar or a smaller sized bucket (say 1 or 2 gallon bucket). I'll definitely recommend you get a bucket with a spout. This makes it very easy to dispense your cold brew.
  
  ​
  
  As for a coffee grinder, buy what you can afford, there are plenty of options on the market. Obviously you're going to have a better grind if you invest a little more but if you can't, at the end of the day, it's not really going to break you. If you're doing large batches, I'd recommend buying an electric grinder. I use a Bodum Bistro Grinder which is less than $90 and works great. You could use a handheld grinder if you wanted to save more money, obviously it's just more work.
  
  ​
  
  To filter the coffee, I use a fine mesh food grade bag (they sell these for things like almond milk) and sit that on top of a mesh strainer that sits on top of my bucket. You don't need the mesh strainer part, it just makes it easier for us since we have more coffee. You might want to strain your cold brew before you pour it but to be honest, I don't always and I don't have much problem. You can always double bag your beans to remove some of this too. Most of it settles on the bottom of the bucket underneath the spout anyway, so you just throw away that part.
  
  ​
  
  Get whatever beans you like. I buy mine in bulk from a local coffee shop. I'd suggest doing a coarse grind and using a 2:1 water to coffee ratio until you figure out your particular preference. That would be to drink it straight out of the gallon. If you want to do more of a coffee concentrate, use more coffee and less water and then add water/milk/cream or whatever when you're preparing your cup.
  
  ​
  
  I hope that helps. Enjoy!

Better coffee helps. I've been drinking my coffee like a cowboy for quite a while now, and don't ever think twice about it anymore. But if I'm stuck with shit (like the crap you find in hotels) I'll throw a bit of sugar in there.

If you haven't already, start making your coffee at home. You'll not only save money, but your coffee can be exponentially better than what you can get at Starbucks (Who overroasts the shit out of their beans, resulting in cups that taste burnt.)

Buy a hand burr grinder and a French Press, and start buying fresh roasted beans from a local shop.

I own this grinder, and love it.

If you don't have an independent shop around, online companies like Intelligentsia ship amazing coffee out at what can be called reasonable prices. I never buy more than a pound at a time. Keep your beans airtight and in a dark, cool place.

Never grind your beans until right before brewing, as grounds begin to go stale after twenty minutes. For French Press, you'll want to use a coarser grind.

Try out different blends until you find something tasty, and gradually subtract creamers and sweeteners until you're in the black. I've converted more friends than I can count to black coffee simply by giving them something truly fresh.

I don't know about that manufacturer for the grinder, but most people haven't had great luck with similar types. There are lots of reports of them breaking or being of inconsistent build quality. Almost universally on this sub, people recommend hario for introductory grinders (sub 30$) and nothing else. It should be noted that non-coffee enthusiasts may quickly tire of manually grinding their coffee. And imo, while freshly grounded is superior, many may feel that increase in quality not worth the extra effort. you know your dad. he may be one of these people. in which case, a manual grinder might only just take up space.

french press seems good. it's pretty! It'll be a full bodied murky coffee because there isn't a paper filter. A cleaner coffee can be achieved via a v60 cone or aeropress like you were thinking about. This is all up for preference and i will note that the cost of filters is near negligible. It comes down to like a nickle per brew. As for cleaning, the aeropress is slightly more annoying to clean and dry than a cone, but it's not that troublesome.

As for the beans, i have no idea. i'm a part of the camp that believes the process is superior to the materials. So, so long as it isn't bad, then it should be good. And accordingly, I buy bargain bin beans because i don't care. They taste good enough for me. But some of my friends believe in only single origin beans from an expensive and artisan roaster like blue bottle. I don't think either of us is wrong. again: just preference.

all in all, looks decent. hope he enjoys the gifts!

When buying new gear like this, I often find it worthwhile to buy the good stuff from the beginning. It'll cost more upfront, but in the long run you save money by not sinking it into gear that you're just going to upgrade away from. I know you're looking for a starter kit, so I'll outline some entry level stuff and then some recommended upgrades.

For a burr grinder, a decent entry level manual grinder is the Hario Skerton. One complaint with this is inconsistent coarse grind size, which is what you'll be using with a French Press. Orphan Espresso makes an upgrade kit that fixes this problem, but personally I feel that if you're going to spend $40 on the Skerton and $15 on the upgrade kit, you should just spend a few more bucks and get something like the Capresso Infinity. This grinder is going to be way more convenient, versatile, and consistent than the hand grinder. For one last option, there's the Baratza Encore. This is probably the best grinder you'd want for French Press, because anything better / more expensive would just be overkill as they're primarily aimed at espresso.

The Press itself isn't too important. Bodum is usually the recommended brand.

You'll also need a way to heat water. You could go with a stovetop kettle, but I think electric kettles are more convenient, and are roughly the same price anyway. You can get a pretty standard one for less than $25. But getting a gooseneck kettle is going to help control your pour better and ensure the coffee grounds are completely saturated. If you don't want to worry about getting the perfect temperature for brewing, a variable temperature kettle will take care of it for you.

Other than that, you might want a kitchen scale to get the right coffee-to-water ratio, and a thermometer to check your water temperature.

Gooseneck kettle is a must for pour overs if that's what you see in your future! I have the Bonavita 1L electric kettle. Looking back, I would have invested in the more expensive version that lets you vary temperature, but I've had great results with mine regardless.

I started out with a v60, then a Chemex, then the Aeropress. Of the 3, I use the Chemex the most often; it gives the best quality brew with the highest quantity (37g @ ~600mL of water). It took me quite a while master the pour, but it was definitely worth it!

Hope this helps and good luck on your coffee journey!

EDIT: For grinders, I have the Hario skerton. It takes a while to grind the beans, but was marvelous for my budget at the time. Once I have the money though, I'm going for the Baratza Encore. It's cheaper than the Virtuoso, but an old roommate had the Encore and I LOVED having all my beans ground in such a short amount of time.

Just some food for thought!

The answer to your question is really dependent on budget. A quick perusal through the sub will show you that the Aeropress is a popular option because it is one of the least expensive ways to get a solid cup of coffee.

If you have some cash to part with, it might be worth looking at setting yourself up with a pourover setup - I'd probably suggest the v60. You would need the v60, the hario buono, and you'd probably want a scale to weigh coffee (there are a LOT of options, many cheaper than what I've linked). You would also need to get a reasonably good grinder - check out the sidebar for a list of grinders. Yes, it's a lot of capital to get started, but the coffee is fantastic and the equipment is very durable. This equipment, properly cared for, could potentially outlast you in many cases.

There's also the standard drip coffee maker, but from my experience if you go that route you ought to just invest in the cheapest one. The quality coffee from most drip machines is pretty similar. A better question is what grinder to get - that will improve your brew quality across all methods. Again, sidebar has great advice, but a really popular grinder here is the[ Baratza Encore] (http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00LW8122Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459250167&sr=8-1&keywords=baratza+encore+coffee+grinder) which you can sometimes find on their refurb page for discounted prices.

No matter what you choose - good luck and happy caffienation

It sounds like you're busy, but willing to spend a little bit of time and money to feed your new addiction. This is a good place to start!

To consistently brew good strong coffee, follow these steps:

1. Buy fresh coffee. Good roasters will put the roast date on the bag. Look for bags roasted within 1-2 weeks.
   
2. If possible, purchase an electric burr grinder like the Baratza Encore or Bodum Bistro because fresh ground coffee is always going to taste better. If not, just ask the coffee shop to grind it for you.
   
3. Buy a coffee maker certified by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) like the Bonavita or Wilfa. These machines make sure you'll get a consistent brew.
   
4. To make strong coffee, simply use more coffee per pot. The SCAA Golden Ratio is 55g of coffee (just over 3.5 tablespoons) for every liter of water. I would start with this ratio and adjust to your liking.
   
5. That's it! Enjoy

Cool, so now we have a better idea what we're working with. I can run through some options/limitations and you can take it from there.

• An espresso machine with a built-in grinder (superauto) is going to be way over your budget, so you can scratch that off the list.
  
  
• I don't know of a drip coffee machine with a built in grinder that will actually do a good job brewing.
  
  
• There is no machine that can make even halfway decent espresso and drip. You're going to have to choose here. She can dilute an espresso with hot water to make an Americano, which she can then treat like regular coffee but won't be exactly the same (though probably won't be vastly different once she adds her creamer and sugar).
  
  
• Making an espresso with a machine like the Mr. Coffee you mentioned or one of the De'Longhis is going to be a bit of a faff. She'll have to grind, dose, tamp, brew, and clean. With a bit of practice she'll get this down, but it'll be hard not to get some coffee grind spillage no matter how quick/good she gets at doing it. If she's going to want a latte, the Mr. Coffee will froth the milk for you (but I don't know how well), but if it's a machine with the wand, she'll have to steam her own milk which is another skill to learn (and involves another layer of process/cleanup). Again, this should become second nature fairly quickly, but you'd know better if she'll go through the effort until it gets to that point.
  
  
• My advice, if you don't think she'll go through the hassle of making the espresso/latte, would be to go with this machine which is SCAA certified (long story short: coffee-snob approved) and this or this grinder. I linked BB&B because the Americans on here frequently talk about being able to get coupons fairly easily that knock the price down to $80. So either way you'll get her a very respectable coffee-brewing setup for right around your target budget. Get her some good beans and she'll be leaving home to go back to her dorm and make coffee.
  
  
• If you are going to go the espresso route, I'd definitely go for the Capresso over the Bodum grinder.
  
  Based on the way you've described her tastes, I think she'd probably do ok with 15-bar pump espresso maker, but avoid 'steam' espresso makers at all costs. In the first instance you're making something that doesn't have all the glory of a truly great espresso, in the second case you're making something that shouldn't really be called espresso at all.
  
  Anyway, I hope this is somewhat helpful.

1. You should get a gooseneck kettle. I prefer them to not have hotplate attached (just use stovetop) and to have a built-in thermometer so you can be versatile with what you use it for. Small spouts are much better than larger spouts to control flow, however this may be hard to find when looking. Unfortunately, the one I bought is no longer up for sale on amazon, however this one is very similar: https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Kettle-Outstanding-Thermometer-40floz/dp/B07GPWZFRW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550204612&sr=8-5&keywords=pour+over+kettle+gooseneck
   
2. Just a regular food scale should do. This one works and is popular in the coffee community. It's also super cheap. Only problem is that it is battery run and turns off without activity for a minute or so. I use it daily. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IP8KRXS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
3. This is by-far the hardest part. You must get a burr grinder. It's the only way to maintain consistent grinds. You can buy a cheap one for around 30-40$ that do pretty well for a pour over grind but not well for really anything else. The upper end of the cheaper burr grinders would be the baratza encore (https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1550204913&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baratza+encore+grinder&psc=1), but i probably wouldn't drop the money unless you've got an experienced taste. Honestly, i've made better pour overs with a low budget burr than with a mahlkonig ek43.
   
   I do have another recommendation. IMO, pour overs are the absolute best way to brew coffee, as they extract flavor the best. For this reason, you want to optimize your setup for better results. You're already doing this by buying a scale, good kettle, and grinder for home. What I would also do is buy a paper filter based system. They are often cheaper or the same price than what you're considering buying. I use this V60 at home (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA2I7A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and it produces amazing results. Additionally, filters are cheap and probably impact the environment equally to stainless steel filters (due to dumping grounds and excess water use), even though this is usually a big appeal for the permanent filters. Paper is significantly better for taste than the steel filters IMO.
   
   Buying good beans is also very important. I hate to use price as a reference point, but most high quality specialty beans are going to be around 15-20 for 8 to 12 oz bags. Stick with single origin light roasts. Look locally or online and build a sense for the flavor based on region and processing.
   
   ​
   
   Feel free to ask any questions!

A tablet + a server running plex.

Replaces a TV, DVD player, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon et al accounts. Provides tons of entertainment when at home and when traveling.

Sleep Stuff

Personally I think there's really no proper way to value a good night's sleep. After years of dealing with poor sleep due to breathing problems in a dry climate and living with obnoxious neighbors whose religion prohibits using headphones figuring out some cheap solutions to my sleep issues has yielded immeasurable quality of life improvements.

Nasal dialaters.

I was having a lot of problems sleeping due to narrow nasal pathways + seasonal changes and my BP was off the charts. The quality of life improvement from quality sleep is hard to quantify as a value.

[Really comfy sleep masks.] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FJQFJX8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1)
The inner lining on these ones reliably peels off for me but I still use mine and I think I could put these on 1 mile from the sun and not see light.

Super comfortable noise canceling ear buds
I have a ridiculously loud 300lb stomping upstairs neighbor who enjoys putting together furniture at 3am due to either meth or sleep apnea or both. He also really enjoys his shitty 1990s R&B. I've had several confrontations and he's changed some of it but you can't request someone not walk around their apartment when they want. I think he has knee problems so his steps are really heavy. These things are the best answer I could find. If I put these on + a TV show it drowns him out. It sucks to rely on noise to cancel out other noise but I love these things, they're super comfortable and they do the job I need.

Coffee Stuff

GeneCafe Coffee Roaster

So I'm the sort of person who is willing to spend the right amount of money when there's value. For me roasting my own coffee provides tons of value. For starters you can order green beans online for $3-5 a lb. I order 6+ months worth of coffee at a time for around $100, give or take. This roaster has now paid for itself compared to buying coffee at my favorite roaster and is in line with the stale, burnt tasting shit you can buy in giant vats at the grocery store.

But beyond just that I get the supreme joy of truly fresh roasted coffee roasted to a level I like which is a lot different than the black and greasy shit you'll get at Kroger's or whatever. I also love that I can bring this is going to be useful if/when I'm living on a homestead somewhere.

Stainless Steel French Press

Goes with the above. I used to buy glass ones and break them, but this $40 french press will probably last for a very long time with only the screen to worry about replacing and god only knows how long that will take.

[Rough Bur Grinder] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001804CLY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I really enjoy replacing electronic equipment with stuff I can power with elbow grease. It's not much of a workout, but it's quieter and still does the same job as the electric one I had purchased and unless other electric ones I'm not sure this one will ever break. My previous ones would break/clog constantly, this one has been trucking without issue for a year and I suspect will last several.

what are you going to be making primarily? I personally have a Bodum Bistro and love it. It's not the highest rated grinder and I may get better results from a better grinder but honestly I've been using it for years and it's never let me down for drip coffee. For a french press it's not terrible but I do find a bit of silt in the bottom of the cup but if that doesn't bother you then you'll do just fine with a Bistro. However, I will say for sure that it is NOT good for espresso. I bought a Lido E for my espresso and it's the best purchase I've made for my coffee collection. The difference is astounding. I'd definitely recommend a dedicated grinder for espresso.

I will also add that I enjoy the process of hand grinding for my espresso because I don't drink it that often and the process isn't that bad. However I drink drop coffee every day (and I might make the occasional cup for my wife) so if I had to hand grind for drip coffee every single time I would probably get really tired of it really fast. So keep that in mind. If you drink a lot of coffee then you're going to be grinding that all by hand.

I'd go for an aeropress. It's what got myself, and later on my girlfriend, into coffee, and it's pretty cheap. It will make a strong, small batch of coffee each time, somewhere between an espresso and a french press (in my opinion).

I'm guessing the macchiatos your fiance is talking about is the Starbucks variety. Macchiatos are supposed to be an espresso shot with very little milk added.

Anyway, continuing on the assumption that the drink she likes is 1-2 shots of espresso and a mug of foamed milk (and flavoring), I would start by making a copy of that at home with the aeropress.

The way I did that is I'd warm up a mug of milk while I'm boiling the water, and use a handheld frother to froth the heated milk. (This won't create the same caliber of foamed milk as you'd get from an espresso machine/steamer but I'm guessing you don't want to drop the cash on one quite yet)... Once the milk is frothed and the water is heated I'd add freshly ground beans(important that they're fresh!) to to the aeropress, and then water, and brew the coffee right into the mug of frothed milk.

At this point you have a pretty close replica to a latte. Since you are newcomers to coffee, you might want to add some sort of flavoring to it. I rarely do, but when I did, I'd just add a little vanilla extract and sugar.

Tips:

• 
  You're going to want to grind your beans at home. Buying preground beans almost guarantees they're going to be stale.
  
• Following what I said above, freshness is key. Try to buy freshly roasted beans.
  
• A lot of the process of coffee making is tinkering to your own taste. If you make a cup of coffee and it's way too strong, don't give up. Try something else untill it's good for you!
  
• Once you get used to the milk-laden coffees, try to broaden your horizons. There are a wide range of coffee types, and they all have their bonuses.
  
  Gear:
  
  
• Aeropress $25.95
  
• Milk frother $2.00
  
• Hario Skerton Hand Grinder $48.50 (Ceramic burr grinders are the best type of coffee grinders, but they run around $300 on average, this one, however is $50.00 but requires some work. I own one and it's worth the effort in my opinion)
  
  Beans: (Places I've tried)
  
  
• Intelligentsia
  
• The Roasterie
  
• Klatch Coffee
  
  Mugs:
  
  
• Great mug
  
• Also great mug, but pretty large
  
  If you have any questions, or if I'm wrong about something let me know! I think this is all for now.

Coffee has a lot of interesting natural flavors, and you can easily and inexpensively step up your coffee game for even better coffee that has it's own nutty or caramel notes, that will be even tastier than Starbucks or Duncan Donuts. :)

• Brewing: There are a couple easy, inexpensive brewing options. I think the most universally favored for beginners and pro's alike is a weird device called an Aeropress. Another option is a pour-over coffee cone, like this Hario V6. Or what I use: a French Press. What I like about the French Press is that you can almost always find one at a thrift store or yard sale for like $2.
  
  
• Grinding: Coffee starts to get stale once it's ground. Ideally you can grind it before you make it. A quality inexpensive grinder is the Hario Skerton But here's what I do: I get my coffee ground in the store and put it in an air-tight container. I put 1 weeks worth in a separate bag.
  
  
• Grind size is important too, if you use a French Press you want "course" grind. Which you can get in pre-ground coffee.
  
  
• Water: use filtered water.
  
  
• The coffee itself: Starbucks heavily roasts their coffee, but would still be better quality than Dunkin Donuts. Entry-level good coffee can be had at Costco or Trader Joes. Even better coffee comes from 3rd wave coffee shops, or ordering online. Those are higher priced but you get what you pay for.
  
  Honestly though the great thing is you can pick ONE of these things and have better coffee, and each thing you do will improve your cup. And then you can go to /r/coffee and go down the rabbit hole of "the perfect cup". I'm kind of a coffee-snob poser: I get my beans from Trader Joe's and don't own a grinder. But what I get from my French Press is miles ahead of what I used to drink, it allowed me to cut out sugar or sweeteners.

AeroPress, for sure. Here is probably the cheapest setup you can do, and still get the best flavour/experience.

Aerobie AeroPress + Able DISK Fine - $40 (I strongly suggest the DISK Fine over paper filters, but the AeroPress does come with a bunch of filters.)

Pocket Scale - $7

Carafe - $7 (so you press straight into this, and measure yield, as most mugs will not fit on the scale; also great for serving two)

Hario Slim burr grinder - $34 (if you'd rather go electric, the Bodum Bistro burr is a great buy and can be had for $120 new or under $100 used/refurbished)

Bonavita Gooseneck kettle - $50 (You do not need a gooseneck for the AeroPress, but you do for any type of pour over, so why not?)

Good luck, and have fun! Give my video a gander to see how to prepare with the AeroPress. It is fun! Almost as fun as an espresso machine. Ha! Yeah, right! But definitely worth the small coin.

Mmk.

Let's ignore the espresso machine route, and go for something that will give you strong coffee. Either a moka pot, or maybe an aeropress. (I personally recommend the aeropress.)

As for the milk, the cheaper route would be to heat it up (microwave?) and then use a milk frother to blend air into it. You'll get these big bubbles as opposed to microfoam like you'd get at an actual coffee shop. OR. You can go for a stovetop steam wand like this. You'll need to invest some time/money into this to learn how to make microfoam, but the results will be worth it. I'm actually about to embark on this step :/ (Note, you don't HAVE to foam/froth your milk. It just makes it a little tastier.)

NOW. Back onto the coffee. So we have your "machine/maker" figured out. Let's talk about the ACTUAL coffee. Depending on what you've picked from above, you're in $30-$100+ deep. If you have a local roaster, that's great! Buy beans freshly roasted from them. Learn from them. Ask them to make recommendations. If not, there are a few online sources good for buying roasted coffee. Remember, buy what you can use in about 1-2 weeks. Longer than that and you'll have stale coffee.

If you can, you should buy whole coffee beans, and grind them yourself. The cheaper method is to buy a hand grinder. The Hario Skeleton/Skerton is always highly recommended. A few drawbacks to this, but you'll learn about them on your coffee journey. (Don't want to bombard you with too much information for now.) The Hario Mini Mill is also a great option, especially for travelling, but grinds less.

As for electric grinders, the Baratza Maestro is a good entry level burr grinder, but at a pretty steep price :/ Note: always buy a burr grinder, and note a blade grinder. Bear in mind that using the hand grinders is actually quite a lot of work, especially if you're not a morning type of person. The entire Baratza line of grinders are all highly recommended, but as always, the better the grinder, the higher the cost.

What is your budget?

The aergrind is possibly the best valued grinder, but it is a manual grinder. This guy can grind espresso quality and will greatly improve your mokapot and aeropress. Their Feld2 is also great but less portable. These expensive manual grinders are much easier to grind than the cheaper ones, you dont need nearly as much force. They grind as good as electrics 4x the cost.

If thats out of your budget you could go for this porlex or mini mill but these produce far less consistent grinds, harder to turn, and cant grind as fine.

If you want electric, the baratza encore is a popular recommendation. This is good enough for everything thats not espresso. This is very easily repairable, so it can last longer than other options.

But honestly the price difference to the bodum bistro isn't worth it. Id go for this if you wanted a cheap electric. Also wont grind espresso, but good enough for just about everything else.

Hope that answers your questions!

The blade you have will be easier to use, but you should find you get better coffee using the burr grinder. I started out with this guy because they had it at Kitchen Kapers, and I needed something quiet (manual-only) and burr.

I wouldn't recommend that one. The Kyocera doesn't have a lid, so you have to be careful to keep it upright and not grind too fast or beans fly out. Looks like the Hario version of the one I bought has a lid so it would do better, but I see the one you linked as many people's preference, so I'm sure that'll be great.

I stopped using my hand grinder because I'm lazy, and I just ordered my coffee ground for the last couple years, but then last month I bought an Baratza Encore and have been quite happy with that so far and think that will keep me satisfied for as long as it lives.

If you're like me and having to hand grind your coffee results in you not making coffee when you would have otherwise, then just buy it pre-ground and save up for a nicer electric burr grinder.

Not only that but, despite this incredibly long and detailed explanation, making your coffee better is really easy. Any one of these changes will make an improvement. Do all of them and you might never bother going out for coffee again.

1. Use whole bean coffee and grind it yourself. A good grinder doesn't have to be expensive.
   
2. Get a good drip maker. Cheap ones don't always hit the right temperature. I've had this one for years, and it gives me a great pot of coffee even from grocery store beans.
   
3. Make sure you're using the correct amount of coffee. A coffee scoop is 2 tablespoons. Use one scoop per cup. If you like your coffee bold (like I do), use one slightly rounded scoop per cup, and if you're making more than 6 cups, toss in one more.
   
4. If your tap water tastes funky, so will the coffee you make with it. Run it through a brita filter or something first.
   
5. This sounds snobby but bear with me - buy your coffee from a local roaster. It's really not much more expensive. Dunkin Donuts wants $9/lb, my local roaster has some varieties for $10-11/lb. It will be fresher and taste better.
   
   For 1 and 2, I'll admit that buying $110 in equipment just for your coffee is a lot, but both the drip maker and the grinder will last you for years and years and will give you better coffee the whole time. If it saves you from buying just one cup of coffee per week, it pays itself off in a year.
   
   The others cost very little, and will make an improvement immediately.

Little late to this thread and new to the sub, but hopefully someone can still answer my questions! Before I start I'd like to say that I don't have $300 to spend on a good coffee set with a grinder, kettle and etc.

I've never been a huge coffee drinker but I'm really interested in going for it now. I've only ever had regular coffee brands made in an electric coffee maker and I always ended up adding a lot of sugar and milk because it was too strong. This being the case, my research has showed pour over coffee having a smoother taste than something like a french press, although french press is considerably cheaper!

My biggest question is, should I splurge a little for a decent kettle, grinder and pour over coffee maker to achieve what I think to be my preferred taste? Alternatively, I could easily grab a french press from Starbucks via a friend working there for fairly cheap.

That being said, I'm very interested in the art that is pour over coffee and fine tuning it to achieve better taste. The only problem is, everything I've looked at so far is incredibly expensive to start out and I'm not ready to spend that kind of money into this endeavor just yet. The $20-$30 for the coffee maker isn't the problem, it's the $50 hand grinder and $50 kettle that get me thinking that I shouldn't go down that rabbit hole.

Edit: I found a cheap and highly rated Grinder, an easy to use coffee dripper and a decent sized server but I'm unsure of if I'd need one if I'm only making 1-2 cups at a time. Thoughts on these selections and any recommendations for a kettle?

Unfortunately the cost is slowly racking up past the point of me being comfortable spending it all at once.

You need to know that your coffee is about to get a lot tastier. Also siltier. The silt puts some people off, but I love it--just decant carefully. Also, after the four minutes of steeping, press the plunger and get the coffee off of the grind immediately. Transfer it into a thermos or your cup, don't let it keep sitting there on the beans in the press.

But I will say: DO NOT get a french press without also investing in a decent burr grinder and buying fresh, quality beans from a good roaster (or learn to roast at home). I would recommend this one as a quality grinder at a good price. Set your grind to course, and don't grind until your water is near boiling. Your grinder is your most important piece of equipment for world-class coffee brewing; it is not the piece you want to skimp on.

I have had some truly transcendent cups of coffee...and blown the minds of friends who had never had french press before. Happy mornings!

I love my Bodum Brazil press.

Before I start, I should warn you that discovering good coffee can be expensive. It's also a bit time consuming. If you're in it for convenience, stick with the beans you're drinking now.

Freshness of coffee is highly dependent on two things: the time since roasting and the time since grinding. The best thing you can do is find a good local coffee roaster and get whole beans from them. Then get a good burr grinder (I love my Capresso Infinity Grinder) and grind it yourself immediately before brewing. Getting the coffee locally is good because you'll get to know the roaster and they'll almost always print the roasting date on the bag. Grinding it yourself ensures that the flavor stays locked in the beans until you're ready to drink your cup.

If you don't have any local coffee roasters, you can try your luck with some decent coffee from Amazon. Cafe Altura Sumatran is pretty good, although they don't put the roasting date on their bags, so you'll have no idea how fresh it is. Some of the best coffee I've ever ordered online was from The Birds and The Beans.

If you're just starting out, then I recommend getting a french press or an aeropress. You can even use them to make pseudo-lattes. (Obviously, to make a real latte, you'd need an espresso machine. But those get really expensive, really fast for anything decent.)

Hope that helps. :)

Your best bet for dorm room drinks is going to be an Aeropress. It's a weird plastic tube that you use to push hot water through coffee. People here swear by them, and I do too. They don't make espresso, but they can make a terrific cup of coffee as well as a coffee 'concentrate' that can be used as a worthy espresso substitute. In terms of milk, it's really easy to froth milk in a french press. You just put warm milk in a french press and pump the plunger up and down a few times.

Grinding your own beans, if you want to make good tasting drinks, is unfortunately unavoidable. When was first getting into coffee I quickly became bummed out that the expensive and most important part of the process wasn't the exotic, perfectly roasted beans, nor was it the beautiful brewing devices, but instead... the grinder. Fortunately, a basic hand grinder will last you a long time and won't cost too much.

Aeropress - $28
Hand Grinder - $24
French Press - $17

In total that's about $70 worth of stuff. Add a bag of beans and you're at around $80-85 (hey, Christmas is fast approaching!).

Oh, and flavors like french vanilla and pumpkin spice don't really occur naturally in beans, at least not the way you're going to get them somewhere like Starbucks. Cafes typically use syrups, either artificial or natural, to get those flavors.

Yea I didn't really know anything about it until I got it home and researched it. The people that owned it before were grinding flavored beans (i.e. coated in syrup) so it was kinda gross, but cleaned up easily. This is the grinder. I guess it's up to $100 bucks haha. STEAL!

Popcorn popper roasting is pretty easy. You have to do fairly small batches (about 1/3 cup per ~5 minutes), but it's not a big deal. It's kind of relaxing and I enjoy the experience. This is the one I have. I found it on sale for around $14. Totally worth it. The only details I had to get down were blocking the exit chute with a piece of foil and cutting some vent holes in the side. You have to do it outside since the chaff goes EVERYWHERE, and it's hot here, so the machine kept overheating and shutting off. Other than that, you just put the beans in, plug it in, stir them around a little (I just use a long stick I found outside..still going strong) until they get light enough to auto-stir, then listen for the crack and watch the color.

It's immensely satisfying roasting your own coffee, and places like Sweet Marias are very knowledgeable and have great selection. I usually order their sampler packs of 3-4 pounds. I save one cups worth of roasted beans from each sample then when I'm done with all of them I do a taste test. With an AeroPress it's super easy to brew multiple cups of coffee at once.

What kind of grinder do you have? A good grinder goes a long ways. I would recommend at least a Baratza Encore it’s like between 100-200 bucks totally worth the money. But I will probably upgrade to a virtuoso + in time. If you want something more low budget to dip your toes in I recommend a Hario MiniMill.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007F183LK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523307658&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=baratza+encore+grinder&psc=1&smid=A302OQK4GZWXCC


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GPMH590/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523307695&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hario+mini+mill+plus&dpPl=1&dpID=31BVJId0wqL&ref=plSrch

Then as others mentioned combined with a scale is where I would start. My girlfriend got me one from Walmart, most recipes are measured in grams; so you want something that can do that.

If you begin to treat it like a science expirement as I do I recommend a V60 or a chemex. The chemex was much easier to use IMO. It’s not as versatile as the aero but you once you get dialed in it makes a nice cup. But I also recommend a goose neck kettle.


Also if you’re interested you can try and find different aero recipes here to refine what you like the best.

http://www.worldaeropresschampionship.com/recipes/#/lukas-zahradnik/

As far as beans go, I’m a recent convert to HappyMug.com. But Counter Culture and S & W roasters are on the to try list also. The importance is freshness. If you go the way of a local roaster I would ask about when they were roasted if the bags aren’t dated. I was bamboozled into buying a little less than fresher beans than I get from happy mug recently.

I’m still fairly new I creeped for a long time took the plunge in November. I’ll never go back, hopefully you too join the cult.

GL HF mate. Let us know how you’re journey goes.

First off, there are guides for this already which is why people are not responding. They are in the side bar and I linked them again here:

How To Coffee: A Primer

Coffee Gear Suggestions by Price

Now on to my own advice. I am also relatively new to coffee so my advice is based on researching how to get started over the last couple of months

Give us a budget, but under $100 puts you here:

1. Grinder: The Hario Mini Mill ($27) is fairly highly recommended here
   
2. Scale: American Weigh Scales SC-2KGA ($25). The AC-adapter version of a fairly popular scale here. It should work for a long time and work well for most types of brewing. The Jennings CJ4000 ($27) is also very popular and is worth a look. The difference is the Jennings responds way faster - which is useful for pour over - but is less precise (increments of .5 grams instead of .1 grams, though this is not as big of a deal)
   
3. Brew device: Aeropress ($22), French Press ($25), or Pour Over (Melitta Cone or Beehouse) There is only one Aeropress version but there are lots of French Presses, I linked to a Bodum Chambord which is the favorite here. You can decide which one of these will work better for you based on the other responses on this thread or by searching in /r/Coffee.
   
4. Cheap water thermometer or an electric kettle that can set temperatures. If you go with a Pour Over method you need a gooseneck kettle which sets you back another $35-65 depending on how nice. A lot of people go with the Bonavita Variable Temperature Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle ($63).
   
5. The coffee! Try to get freshly roasted (look for a "Roasted On" date instead of an expiry or packaged/binned on date) coffee. Try and buy stuff that is roasted less than 5 days ago and use it before 3 weeks from the roasted on date (some people say 2). You can try to find local roasters and coffee houses that sell fresh whole bean coffee using the /r/Coffee search or Yelp. Be careful with darkly roasted (ie French roast) coffee because a lot of the dark roasts at Grocery Stores and even shops (Starbucks) is considered over roasted and basically burnt. If you want suggestions for brands search /r/Coffee, though really popular and expensive stuff would be Intelligentsia and Stumptown.

i'd say at that price try to find something used. this way:


1.)if you get a cheap pump-driven pressurized portafilter machine, you're not going to regret it after moving up and realizing you spent so much on something that would have little value later (for resale, or just keep as a "backup")


2.)you may be able to find a decent used machine. not sure what the UK market is like but here (vancouver, canada) you can find stuff like the old starbucks machines (with the non-pressurized PF) comfortably in that price range.


either way, if you get used make sure the owner can show you how to pull a shot on the machine. the reason is it can be quite involved (especially for better machines), and it also shows if machine is in good shape (the gaskets, especially). on cheaper machines it may be close to impossible to replace. (i picked up a bar32 for $5 at a thrift sale to play with, and it leaks like crazy. =)

as to the grinder, this article is making more and more sense the more i'm getting into espresso. there is a minor loophole: the hario hand grinders here and here can actually get you to pretty close to the grind that works on most machines.

TL;DR- machine: try get used. grinder: hario hand grinders

For ease and lower cost, I'd recommend getting a hand grinder like a Hario Skerton and a Clever Dripper. If you have a little extra cash, step up to an electric burr grinder like the Baratza Encore. Any kind of electric kettle will be your best way of boiling water.

In a basic coffee system, grinding fresh before you brew is likely to make the greatest positive impact and electric is super easy. A hand grinder might take 30-45 seconds to grind for a batch of coffee, but that's a small time investment for a large return. In terms of brewers, lots of folks like the Aeropress for its portability and its ability to produce fantastic coffee, but I like the Clever because it's also very easy and tends to produce a normal cup of coffee rather than a more intense and concentrated cup that you get from the Aeropress.

Alright, I'll lay out two set ups for two different price points.


Cheap Set Up

Hario Skerton This is the most basic entry level grinder possible, grinds enough for one person pretty easily, and gets "good enough results for a poor college student

Aeropress You can make full cups of coffee or pseudo-espresso that you can mix with milk for a pseudo, its easy to clean, and probably the most forgiving coffee making tool.

And then any kettle and any scale. Look for cheap on both, were going for cheap here, and were not doing rocket science, should be another 25-30 total for both of these, which lands you just under $100 total for this set up. You don't need to bother roasting beans yourselves, and if you're in a college town theres probably a local roaster around that you can get good quality roasted beans from and be happy with. For cold brew just throw grounds and water in jar in you fridge for a day in a 8:1 ratio, then strain the goop the next day for a solid cold brew concentrate



The pricier beginner college set up


Baratza Encore. If you can afford this, then get it. The things great, does everything but espresso grind really well, and because its not manual its doesn't take that long and it doesn't require any real effort on your part. I love mine, but the $140 price tag could be steep (I wouldn't have bought it when I was in college, I was poor as shit).


Brew Methods: I still recommend at least an Aeropress, but pair it with a 1LFrench press too for when you want to make a lot of coffee at once, or coffee for friends. you can also make cold brew in a French press instead of a jar, and you can use it to strain it out. Also, if you really want to make the closest thing to espresso that you can without blowing $300 dollars, get a 3-cup moka pot. You can find a cheap one at your Ross or Home Goods equivalent.



For kettle, you can get a variable temp one if you want to spend the money, people recommend the Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck but I still just use my cheap 15 dollar kettle and am doing fine.


As far as scales go, I still just say find a cheap scale that works well enough.



Bits and Bobs


Hand held Milk Frother for frother hot milk for lattes. Sounds like something you would like.

Not a coffee maker, of which there are any number of great options, but the thing that's probably more important, a good grinder.

You need a burr grinder for the best coffee. For better coffee, this is the best single upgrade you can make, drip, press or moka pot.

My preferred grinder is the [Baratza Virtuoso] (http://www.amazon.com/kitchen-dining/dp/B000EG70IK). I've had one for years and it's a great performer for drip or press coffee. For a lot less, you can now get the [Encore] (http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK/ref=pd_sbs_k_2). I've never used one - they weren't around when I got mine - but they get good reviews too.

Btw, both Grace in the Kitchen in Kanata and Paradis on Bank sell them in town

I'm a mild coffee snob. So what is key: filtered water, temperature and grinding the beans the moment you make it. Straight tap is okay but check your municipality on how they process the water. If they put add weird stuff to reprocess... don't use. I can taste that stuff and then it makes my coffee taste sad, lol. So if not filtered at home then store bought.

I also use a french press. To get the full taste of coffee you don't want to use a coffee filter. The filter pulls some of the nom nom oils from the coffee. Also, more oils means more caffeine in your system. :)

But I had one of those master baristas tell me that they only keep their coffee (once bag is opened) for a week. Gawh! If I tossed out my coffee every week...nope I don't drink coffee that fast and not gonna waste money like that.

I prefer mostly dark roasts. But the most memorable cup of coffee I made for myself was one I bought from a local store and it was an Organic Italian Dark roast. OMG, that was just superb! So I recommend supporting your local stores.

Therefore, get a hand grinder and french press. Also, this may seem like a lot of work but it's a five to seven minute process and really I love it. Once I did it, I gave away my Breville Coffee maker and have never purchased another one since.

I love coffee!

Before I start, I should note that one of the things that probably attracted you to the Bialetti is the fact that you can just put the coffee in and press a button and your coffee will be ready. I tend to geek out, as do a lot of us on /r/coffee, about coffee and spend a lot of time on the process, but that isn't for everybody. So I don't have any good time-saver recommendations, sorry to say. That said...

I'm not familiar with that De'Longhi but I do have some other ideas in the price range you're looking at.

I've actually never used an Aeropress (I know, I know... sorry everyone), but they're very popular here, not to mention inexpensive. A lot of people get mini hand coffee grinders that can actually fit in the Aeropress for storage. Again I'm not too familiar with those, but I think this is supposed to be a good one. So you should be able to get the Aeropress and a hand grinder for less than $90. Then all you need is a source of hot water.

Pourover is another option, and there's all sorts of different types, some of which have their own proprietary filters. It can be overwhelming. But again the equipment is generally cheap. Prima Coffee has a nice breakdown of some of the more popular cones. A lot of these can also be found on Amazon. The thing with pourovers though, is that for better control, you'd want a gooseneck kettle. But again, I think you can get a cone, some filters, a kettle and a hand grinder for around the $90.

This Krups (I know, I was surprised too) is used by several of my coffee-loving friends at their offices, and gets pretty good reviews. It's not SCAA certified, but at $25-30 used... a pretty cheap choice that actually gets hot enough and takes Melitta filters.

However, if you're really on a budget, you might want to consider even-cheaper alternatives:

• A Clever Dripper is cheap and as easy to use as an auto-drip (you can heat your water in the microwave, but an electric kettle is dead useful in a dorm or small apartment)
  
  
• Cold-press. All you need is a mason jar and some cheese cloth; these are essentially free. Downside: you have to think ahead, because it takes at least 8 hours to "brew". Upside: you don't even need hot water (though you can mix the concentrate it makes with hot water if you prefer hot coffee).
  
  Any of those three choices should keep you well below your $100 budget. Use the rest to buy a good burr grinder (I like the Hario Mini Mill Slim, but there are other good choices); regardless of method, a good way to freshly grind your beans (without smacking them like the cheap blade grinders do) will noticeably improve your coffee!

Hey there! I used to be a coffee heretic and then I started roasting. You can't stick with your old ways and expect consistently incredible results when you're trying to produce something incredible.

With that said, you aren't really a heretic. You just have your preference, and it is different than the rest of us. Sure, buzz words like Starbucks and $20 krups grinder are like poison to some ears, but that's not an issue. At least, if you are happy with it then it isn't.

But if you are wanting to stretch yourself in terms of coffee you'll need to look into different options. I don't know what your budget is, so I'm not going to push the $150 grinder on you. But many people around here like the Hario Slim for being small and effective. You may also see the Aeropress promoted around here. It is a popular item around here as well.

Now, in terms of coffee, there are options for you to get quality coffee online. Roasters like Chromatic Coffee offer free shipping to US customers. They are one of my personal favorites. And you may be surprised what a quick google search of your area can find. I'm in a big city that wasn't exactly known for its coffee, but when I searched on Google I found that there are 6 roasters within an hour of my house.

Wow! With a $500 budget you can actually do so much, and to be honest I don't think that kind of investment is really necessary, especially since overlooking your choices, you seem to be spending way too much for things you can get for a lower price. My setup is only ~$100, and I can get a great brew (though I use a hand grinder). I use a Kalita Wave 155 (this is the smallest size, but feel free to opt for the 185 size if you brew 2+ cups in one sitting). $22.50. The filters are quite pricey at $10.95, but worth it in the long run (for a one cup drinker a-day like me, it will last 3 months+ per pack). A French press from Bodum will only set you back $27 - double walled doesn't really do much because I find temperature loss isn't really a problem. The size I recommend for this one is only suited again for a 1-cup drinker, because my personal experience is using a 1L size for a single or even 2 cup drinker in one sitting will result in extremely sludgey cups. As others have suggested, if looking for a nice electric grinder, spring for the Encore. A good scale is this one for $39. I don't even use a true dedicated gooseneck kettle for this setup, just an adequate tea kettle but I do advocate the variable temp Bonavita you're thinking of. So this all amounts to $313.20. Happy drinking.

Totally! I love talking about gear.

Grinders:

• Bodum Bistro (on the way out, needs new Burrs, but I really like it for course french press brews)
  
• Mazzer Mini (probably the only coffee thing I have bought new...a splurge but my espresso has benefited immensely)
  
• Baratza Virtuoso - Probably the best all around grinder. Can do course and fine grinds, has a timer, no-static grounds catcher. I like it a lot.
  
• Porlex JP-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder - My hand grinder, it's ceramic and does a consistently good pour-over grind..the only issue is it gets very hot when grinding and when grinding you want the beans to suffer no heat at all. It could be because I have to hold it with my hand when grinding and I'm transferring heat + the friction of the burrs? I really don't know how to improve it but I've started using this only on trips when I have to have a grinder and can't tote around my Baratza.
  
  Scale - Hario Drip Scale w/ Timer - It's black, measures to the tenth of a gram, the first one I bought is slow and it struggles to keep up with measuring my water grams...then I bought another a year later and it's much faster so I'd say if you get one that seems sluggish / slow, return it it's like they added a new CPU or something later in the life of the machine.
  
  Aeropress sometimes....it's the fastest way to make coffee with really easy clean-up. For the event I'm just gonna brew 2 batches on everything except espresso (since I don't want to tote that thing in the office). I hope it turns people on to better coffee.

I have a Bodum Bistro burr grinder and really think it does a great job for $70. There is another Bodum grinder here that people dislike, but in general this one gets favorable reviews most everwhere I've looked.

If you want to make a single, easy cup of coffee at home you may look into getting an Aeropress. It is fairly easy to make a good cup of coffee for most anyone using one of these things.

I have no experience with the Ninja coffee bar (but I love my Ninja blender). I would recommend looking for a local coffee shop that maybe roasts their own coffee. It isn't guaranteed to be good coffee, but it will be a good place to start because they will likely have many different choices and you'll be supporting a local roaster. They will probably offer to grind it for you and ask what type of method you are using (pour over, drip, french press, etc) until you get a grinder.

So what you are going to gather here is that you aren't going to be able to obtain "espresso" for that price range. However, if your girlfriend likes strong coffee in milk there are other options that would get you there without breaking the bank.

For the coffee:

1. Aeropress: This is a very versatile tool that can be used to make a number of coffee styles including strong shots of concentrate to be added to milk. Lots of room to grow and try other styles as well as time goes on.
   
   
2. Moka Pot: Can be either stovetop or electric depending on what works best. These are super popular in europe and have been around for ages so they are generally time-tested. They also make strong, pressurized percolated coffee that can be added to milk drinks.
   
   For the grinder:
   
   Hand burr grinders from Hario or Porlex are great and have a good following. You can get a knockoff on amazon for a lot less but it may fall apart after a while. Depends on your estimated use.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill/dp/B001802PIQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1480362440&sr=8-6&keywords=porlex
   
   For the milk:
   
   Frothing Pitcher: https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-GMF215-Detachable-Stainless-Non-Stick/dp/B01MD0AAVJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1480362139&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=frother&psc=1
   
   Frothing wand: https://www.amazon.com/Ikea-Milk-Frother-303-011-67-Black/dp/B013S27CLQ/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1480362139&sr=1-9&keywords=frother
   
   
   
   Both of these together should get you where you need to go and make a nice gift bundle (maybe with some beans if you have a few bucks left over.
   
   I hear that the nespresso are ok but I really have to take a stand against the waste and concept. Putting together a bundle gives you a ton of flexibility and is a more thoughtful gift in my opinion.
   

Sorry people are being jerks. It's definitely not good to reuse the grounds, especially if you're going to drink it black. I would recommend maybe getting a metal filter, so you can just rinse it out after each use and you should use fresh grounds every time. If you want to step up your game a little, you could get a grinder and use whole beans (they taste way fresher). You can either get an electric one like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JFHHMN2/ref=s9_topr_hm_b1DNO_g79_i1

Or you could get a hand grinder like this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001802PIQ/ref=s9_topr_hm_b1DNO_g79_i8

The electric one is more convenient, but the hand grinder will give better results (and it really isn't that time consuming). Beyond that, there's an entire world of stuff to look at - chemex, aeropress, moka pots, hario pourovers, better beans, better grinders, a hot water kettle... It's all just a matter of how much time / money you want to put in. Good luck and I hope this helps!!

This is a totally wide-open question, depending on budget and time commitments, as well as personal tastes.


I hate to sound like a /r/coffee cliche, but Aeropress is probably the most flexible, especially for milk drinks. You can brew a concentrated batch with an espresso blend, or a lighter cup with a more standard recipe and whatever beans you prefer. You can kinda texture milk with a french press. It's not going to be cafe-quality but it should be pretty good. If you don't want to get the french press you can honestly just use warmed milk and make a cortado.

Check out this video for some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_J6Q4oAvLM.

You could probably get away with doing everything with a french press, but it's harder to brew smaller batches with one. You could also consider a Moka Pot instead of an aeropress, but it's more of a one-trick pony, and can be finicky to get consistent results.

I suggest picking up a grinder, a Hario Mini Mill is the best value in the low end. This way you can use fresh beans and get the best flavor. If you're not concerned with all that, the method I described above should work fine with Cafe Bustelo or Lavazza pre-ground coffee.

Never used the Bonavita, but a conical burr grinder is great!

One thing is you can also jump in making great coffee for a lot cheaper than this. This Hario hand grinder and an Aeropress/Hario V60 pour over are a great way to get amazing coffee for half the cost.

Although don't let that persuade you if you have done your research and that's what you want! To a better brew!

I have a Hario Mini Mill which I like and it gets the job done, but I'm really looking for something electric. If you're doing french press, it doesnt take much time to grind beans but if you're doing anything finer than that it probably takes me 5 minutes to grind 45-50g of beans which just isn't what I wanna do right after I wake up. I've heard good things about the Hario Skerton as well.

For electric grinders, I've heard that the Baratza Encore is the best bang for your buck. Also, I would get an adjustable temperature kettle (people perfer goosenecks but I just have a regular one) and a kitchen scale! The scale is super useful for cooking in general and I think they're good to have, especially for coffee.

Also, I have a Chemex and love it. I don't think I could live without it.

There's a few grinders I've found after searching but there's a big difference in price.

These 3 are the ones that are reasonably priced I could find.

Melitta Molino

Baratza Encore

Delonghi KG 520M

Porlex Hand Grinder

Personally the Melitta Molino or Porlex Hand Grinder looks the most attractive due the price and size. But the more important question is does it grind fine enough quality coffee suitable for espresso or is the espresso going to be as bad as a blade grinder that I currently have? Do the other 2 grind fine enough to produce good enough Espresso.

All of these grinders don't have an amazing rating on Amazon. I know this might seem a lil bit low to more enthusiasts espresso drinkers but my machine is pretty much an entree level espresso machine and I'm also a student looking to to slowly get better coffee gear. Right now I am looking to spend around 150 euro but preferably less. What are my best options?

For starters, get a grinder (here's a cheap but decent manual one) and an Aeropress. It's cheap, takes the last amount of time to brew (~3 minutes), lasts forever, requires the least amount of extra equipment, produces a great balanced cup, is super forgiving with regards to methods, beans, and grinders, you can experiment with its variables (brew recipes, steep time, press duration, etc) endlessly, and the cleanup is super simple (eject the puck, rinse under the tap). You don't need a scale or a kettle; just use the included scoop and fill the chamber.

The Aeropress is the device that got me through college. I used to buy coffee, grind it in-store, heat water in a mug, brew using the inverted method, and then press into the same mug. 8 years later and I still use it (though now I have a grinder, scale, and kettle, and I use a metal filter cuz it tastes better and saves money in the long run).

I would personally recommend against a pourover for your first brewer, as it requires more equipment and is less flexible and more finicky.

If you're having trouble finding good beans around the area, there's a huge variety of online vendors. Craft Coffee is the cheapest I've found ($10-14/12oz bag).

> I mean, I bought the good grounds and everything.

OK, this is a big warning flag. Are you saying you bought pre-ground coffee? If so, that is your first problem. Never use pre-ground coffee. Once the bean is ground, it is quickly losing flavor and getting bitter, the chemical process of degradation is in motion, so you want to minimize the time between grinding and brewing. I use this grinder. So get yourself some whole beans and a grinder. The reason I use that grinder is because it is a burr grinder which gives a more consistent grind than the blade style grinders, but those are fine too.

Also, find a local roaster in your area. You want as fresh of a roast as possible. Some coffee shops roast their own beans, so try those first. If you can't find that check your local grocery store for a local roaster who has their beans carried on the shelves.

Now, if you want stronger coffee the key is to make sure that you use more coffee and brew it the proper amount of time. The problem is there is no perfect answer to how long or what ratio of coffee to water. You start with a four minute brew, then if you want a stronger taste you can try adding a minute or two to your brewing time, or adjusting the amount of coffee. It is a process to find the right ratios, but usually once you figure it out for your particular brew, then you can make good coffee consistently. I have a rotation of about five coffee bean blends that I like to use, and each one has a different ideal time/amount brewing process. My favorite is a good bean from Yemen, but in recent years I have found it hard to find beans from Yemen in the US.

Source: I have had coffee in 26 countries around the world including the Middle East and East Africa where coffee originated. (The Ethiopians claim they were the first to have coffee, but I have met people from Yemen who swear up and down it was in Yemen first.)

Good Eats Episode about Coffee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K6XA7lh7P_Y

Dépends on your budget and how badly you want good grinds. Of course, a burr grinder is an absolute necessity in making coffee. See which of these questions apply to you:

> I like to slow down and enjoy the process, spending a few minutes of continuous hand grinding is a joy in the morning! However, I’m a student and my budget is $30.

The Hario Skerton with a couple modifications. Get this to decrease burr wobble and put a 1/4 inch split lock washer under the top nib.

> I like to slow down and enjoy the process, spending a few minutes of continuous hand grinding is a joy in the morning! I’m ok with spending up to $300 to get that perfect cup every morning.

Any of:

• helor 101
  
  
• kinum47
  
  
• lido3
  
  
• commandante C40
  
  
• knock feld2
  
  > yeah, fuck that I’d rather press a button and get good consistent ground coffee in 12s or less,
  
  Get the Baratza encore and replace the burrs with a set from the virtuoso.
  
  
  
  

I'm in my 20s. I like the headphone idea. Someone suggested Sennheisers and I totally second that motion. I went with a more expensive model (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-Headphones/dp/B000065BPB/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323964715&sr=1-3) and I LOVE them. If he's into music and gaming, these are a godsend.

Not sure exactly your son's living situation, but I live on my own and I tend to err on the side of lazy. Because of this, I'm almost always running low on basic bathroom supplies. New toothbrushes, new razors, shampoo, soap, extra bath towels, those kinds of things. Heck, when I first moved out, I went without a shower mat for almost a year. And ceramic tiles are freaking cold.

As I hit my 20's I discovered coffee and all it's amazing wonder. If your son did too, he may like getting a legitimate coffee making kit. I'm talking a decent french press, a ceramic burr grinder, and a kettle (I just use a pot for now, so I don't have any specific suggestions yet). If you really wanna get fancy and you have the money, you could even get him an electric kettle so he has complete temperature control. And if you're ordering that stuff on amazon, I would get a bag of some well reviewed whole beans. I like the Kicking Horse roasting company, but that's just me.


I also wanted to take a moment and suggest basic kitchen supplies. Like the bathroom supplies, these things tend to go unstocked or simply ignored in my house. Things like a good frying pan or a nice sized pot for making pasta. A brita filter with a few extra cartridges. Extra dish soap. Extra sponges. Even kitchen towels for drying hands/dishes (I currently use an old shirt :/ ). I also would suggest things that make cheap food taste better. I'm talking a pepper mill, some garlic salt, onion salt, basic herbs, and a good hot sauce. My brother was always partial to Chulula, but I tend to just go with whatever Trader Joe's has.

Hope this helps!

Congratulations on becoming a free thinker and embracing everything that life has to offer! Never stop questioning everything! It's all about the beans, it's basically impossible to make good coffee without using freshly ground and good quality beans that have been recently roasted (i.e. not sat on a shelf for months).

You will need 3 things to start making good coffee.

1. A decent grinder, nothing fancy needed if you're just going to use a french press, but try and avoid ones that use blades, and go for a nice burr grinder, like this one.
   
2. a French press
   
3. Some nice beans, have a look online for a local roaster in your area and give them your support/love/money!.
   
   That's pretty much it, just coarsely grind the coffee, put it in the press with water just slightly off the boil, wait a few mins depending on how strong you like it, press down and serve delicious coffee!

I do cold brew for my weekend coffee, and it's wonderful. Less acidic, smooth, and rich. I use a Hario 1000ml pot and use a coffee mill to medium grind my beans (~100g). Espresso blends are a good place to start, flavor-wise. Slowly pour filtered cold water over your grounds. Refrigerate for 18-24 hours. Discard the grounds and enjoy.

My typical cold toddy is:

• 3/4 C cold brew coffee
  
• 1/4 C cold water
  
• 2 Tb half & half
  
• 1-2 Tb simple syrup
  
  Simple syrup is crucial if you want sweetness. Even castor sugar doesn't dissolve enough. Simple syrup is... Simple. Bring equal parts (by weight) of water and sugar to a boil, stirring until fully dissolved. If you want flavors, just simmer for a while with either vanilla bean, lemon peel, cinnamon sticks, honey, lavender, or whatever. Cool and then store. You can even do fancy stuff like buy caramel or chocolate sauces.
  
  Good luck!
  
  Edit: The Hario pot is about $20,and a coffee mill can be had for $20-40. Get some Mason jars or spring-top jars from Goodwill/SA. Get good beans and make your own syrups. Cheap investment for the best coffee you've ever had.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001VPXEBU?cache=4ea5976e2c9e936ae8b097d6c5d0065c&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411452831&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
  
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001802PIQ?cache=4ea5976e2c9e936ae8b097d6c5d0065c&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411453722&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

JrDot13 is right. Once coffee is ground up, it starts to lose its freshness right away. Starting with whole bean and grinding it is the way to go. I too, started with a small and cheap Mr. Coffee blade grinder. It simply does not grind consistent enough and there really isn't a way to control it at all. I know lots of people are recommending the Capresso Infinity Grinder as an entry level grinder that gets the job done pretty well. I was on the fence about either the Capresso or a refurbished Baratza Virtuoso. Keep an eye out on Baratza's website on Thursdays (I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong). On Thursdays Baratza updates their refurbished page. I ended up with the Baratza and I absolutely love it. I've had it for a year now and it's great. Personally I've never used the grinder in the stores so I can't say I know how good they are. But if you find a solid local roaster they'll grind coffee for you when you purchase a bag of beans.

Another option that you might want to consider is buying a vacuum sealed container and having the store/local coffee shop grind the beans for you and then just keep it in that container. I understand that money might be tight and getting the most out of your coffee can cost a bit more than someone might have. Something like this container has some pretty good reviews on amazon. The only downside to that is you're only going to be able to keep it at one grind versus having the flexibility to grind it as you please for whichever method you're using. But it sounds like your family is going to stick to using the Kuerig so one grind size won't be too bad.

I agree with getting a good drip to keep it convenient and to also step up the coffee game a little. Adding timed outlets is a great idea too!

Some bonavitas have a holder for the drip cup, and others the drip cup sits right on the pot, so they seem less convenient. If I were to choose between the two, I would choose a technivorm. The folks at Seattle Coffee review and test a lot of drip machines, and they even did a blind test between the technivorm moccamaster and bonavita, and it seems they mostly agree the techivorm tastes nicer. A grinder would help too, my dad likes to keep things easy, but he LOVES his grinder. He's had 30 years or more.

Grinders: The concensus is get a baratza encore. I don't have one, but they are just loved everywhere. I just recently returned a 200$ breville grinder and bought a 43$ cuisinart grinder and have been extremely pleased with it. I know everyone says to put your money in a good grinder, but I am quite content with the cuisinart for now! https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541103820&sr=8-2&keywords=Cuisinart+DBM-8


​

The Hario Slim is the grinder I use every day. And the Aeropress that I brew my coffee in. Amazon even links them all together in the "commonly bought together" thingus for $65.

Admittedly, $65 sounds like a lot to lay out for anything new. That said, it's very hard to screw up and the Hario/Aeropress duo are, I've found, quite reliable. Mine gets daily use.

A French Press, while terribly fancy, may be more work than you're willing to invest to start yourself off. The Aeropress, conversely, is simple to use, simple to clean up, and well supported by we coffee snobs.

The next thing you'd need are beans. Beans you can get lots of places. Something to be aware of, the reason we prefer going from the bean directly rather than just buying pre-ground is because once you grind the bean you really ought to use it with in a day or two. That tub of Maxwell House was ground up months before you ever opened it. It suffocated long ago and died.

There are numerous roasters that you can order from online with a pound of beans ranging from $13-17 or thereabouts. This is for beans that were usually roasted two or three days before they arrive at your house.

Personally, and not to seem like a shill, but I get my beans from SW Roasting, a fellow redditor. Their sampler pack of beans from multiple continents can be a great introduction and they offer a truly personal service.

If even that seems like a little much for a beginner, I've found the single origin beans on offer from Target's Archer Farms brand aren't terrible. They're cheap, around $9. They're not as freshly roasted as you'd get from one of the online roasters but they're still good.

Admittedly, the initial outlay might seem daunting but you will have set yourself well on your way to coffee snobbery with the rest of us. After that, it's just $15-20 a month for beans depending on how much you drink.

And, really, worlds beyond instant. Go ahead, get the things I mentioned or any of the other options my fellows have suggested. Then, make that instant coffee in a mug you threw in the microwave. Drink it black. Spit it out because you love your tastebuds and wish to apologize to them. Brew some good beans you ground yourself and taste a significant, staggering difference.

I picked up the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder from Amazon for less than $100, and I'm pleased with it. I'm sure someone in here will school me and tell me why it's not acceptable for grinding both espresso and french press coffee, but I do it and I like it. It has a nice consistant grind that goes from very coarse to very fine, and it suits my needs. I'd say it's a nice introductory electric burr grinder for someone interested in making good coffee. Once this one bites the dust, I'm sure I'll upgrade to something fancier, but for now it works great for me.

You say "coffee" and not espresso, so luckily that means you can spend more money on the grinder! Bang-for-your-coffee-loving-buck, the Virtuoso is one that's often recommended. It's good enough to make espresso grinds with, if you ever decide to do that. On the less pricy side, the Encore gets a lot of recommendations. Lower end electric, but still perfectly functional for coffee, are the bodum bistro and the capresso infinity. Check Craig's List for used of any of these.

For manual grinders, the Lido 3 is the higher end, then the Porlex and Hario Skerton are common.

Non-electric devices to check out are french press, aeropress, chemex and other pour overs (v60, kalita, melitta), and moka pots. Also wondering if you're interested in "cold brew" coffee.

Devices for automatic drip are varied. The devices on this page are certified to get the water hot enough for proper extraction, but may be overkill for some folks.

To me, the most important parts for coffee are fresh beans, reliable grinder, good tasting hot water, CLEAN coffee making devices, digital scale, and taking notes. The particular method I'm using isn't as important in the long term. If you pay attention to the above, a $2 melitta dripper and the melitta filters you can buy in nearly any grocery store will give you tasty results once you get the grind size and water temps down. Just look at pictures and videos of people demonstrating devices on a site like Stumptown, maybe, or youtube, and ask yourself what coffee-making process looks like something you'd want to do every morning and how much coffee you need to make at once. If you're just making one cup of coffee for yourself, you might buy something different than if you need to make 10 cups at once.

For full disclosure, my current most frequent coffee-making methods for myself are pour over and my Moccamaster.

My apartment kitchen has the three prongs. I'll check tonight if it works with two prongs + adapter.

It depends on when you plan on buying that espresso machine and how often you plan on using it. Back in the US, I had an aeropress, a moka pot, a chemex, and an espresso machine. I would say that about 90% of the time, I used an aeropress.

My recommendation would be to buy this grinder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AR7SY/ref=pe_2313390_216827310_em_ti

That works perfectly fine for everything except espresso. For an espresso machine, you will need to be spend the money and buy the Virtuoso. The Capresso just doesn't have the ability to grind the beans finely enough for espresso applications.

At the end of the day, it's all up to you, but I think that it would be better to start small and expand the coffee setup later. Plus, when you are ready for an espresso machine, you will love having two separate grinders. Otherwise you would be spending a good amount of beans (expensive) and a bunch of time fine tuning the grinder for the perfect espresso shots every time you swap between different modes of coffee.

Yes. Most people in this sub will tell you to get a burr grinder.

If you're on a budget they'll tell you to get a hand grinder (that uses ceramic burrs) and such.

It depends on how much time you'll have and how much you're going to enjoy the process and how deep you wanna get into coffee. My advice is find the best burr grinder for however much you're willing to pay. (they go as cheap as $30 all the way up to $200-300+, then they go way way higher if they are supposed to be able to grind for espresso). Keep it simple for now. get whatever makes sense for you but most would steer you away from blade grinders, they just do a poor job and the grind is an important part of the process.

For automatic grinders that aren't too crazy expensive, many prefer this one.

Once you get the grinder, you gotta find some good coffee to go with it. Try not to cheap out and buy the stuff at the super market unless it has a "roasted on" date that is fairly recent. Look for craft coffee in your area or some online roasters that will ship coffee to you. coffee subscriptions can be nice but maybe just start slow and look around for a 3rd wave coffee joint that can sell you their recently roasted stuff.

It'll be much better than anything you can get in the store and it will probably even be cheaper than they sell it in the store. There's always places like Blue Bottle, Stumptown, Intelligentsia, etc. that will sell their coffee to you online but you'll get it a bit cheaper if you can go to a local cafe to buy their stuff.

Have fun and don't be afraid to ask more questions in /r/Coffee everyone here is really nice... usually.

Well, if this a regular grinder to you, then this is a blade grinder. Cheap and gets the job done, but the grind size is inconsistent as the grinder is slicing and smacking the beans: as such, you'll get large particles in the grind to very small fine grinds at the same time. It's 10x better than buying pre-ground, but if you want consistent coffee, then you'll need a burr grinder. With the Clever, a blade grinder should be fine as it's a forgiving coffee brewing method. Burr grinders crush (for lack of a better word) the grinds between two metal or ceramic burrs and you get a consistent sized grind which is optimal for brewing. This is a hand cranked burr grinder which will give you that consistent grind but since it's manual, takes a bit of effort. If you have $100, then get a refurbed Baratza Encore (or if you're in a big urban area, just do daily searches on Craigslist, and you should be able to find a Baratza for about $50). These are great entry level burr grinders. When you get out into the world and make some money, that's when you can graduate to stepless or the top-level burr grinders.

I appreciate the straightforward answers! Nothing wrong with that, especially since it's constructive.

I should have clarified, the price I paid was a steal. This is the Bodum Bistro grinder I have and while I haven't had a chance to try out many other grinders, it far beats the price I paid for it. My coworker actually has the Baratza Virtuoso ($~200) and has told me the macro options on it are pretty nifty. I'm going to guess they come in a lot more useful for brews with finer grinds like espresso or Turkish brews.

I really hope I can develop enough of a plate to be able to tell apart a good shot vs a bad shot. With my current setup, I'm sure its mediocre by home expert standards but I'm happy with splurging more on the machine as I feel the Bistro grinder can suffice for now.

And wow, home roasting. Props to you, really! I've thought about it but it's a far off dream for me right now. I'd like to perfect my brews before I can even think about that.

Well in that case I would save and do the grinder first honestly. If you're spending ~25$ for an aeropress, I might do this hand burr grinder first.

http://www.amazon.com/Hario-MSS-1B-Mini-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334215615&sr=8-1

It's gotten some pretty good reviews from other people on coffeegeeks.com and reddit. I own the big brother Hario Skerton and it's served me quite well. I've also heard that the mini-mill is much better with coarse grounds than a Skerton, so that probably suits your needs pretty well. It's also nice because then if you ever upgrade to a nice electronic burr grinder you'll have a great travel grinder/backup/spare.

I've got a pretty high quality dorm setup that is approved. Here are your options:

Option 1:

Hario ETL Certified Kettle

Hario V60

Filters

Hario Skim Grinder

Total: $119

Option 2:

Aeropress

Proctor-Silex Water Kettle

Hario Skim Grinder

Total: $66


Currently, I'm using the first setup. The v60 is a great pourover method. You'll be having the best coffee on campus. However, since it requires the gooseneck kettle it runs a greater price. Last year, I had option. The aeropress is a kick-ass coffee maker, and you can get by with the way cheaper water heater since pour method has no factor on the brew. Either way, you'd have the small hand grinder which is cheap, easy to clean, and does a fantastic job.

Either of these will make a solid cup, better than anything you'll find in a keurig.

Consider getting a small french press as well. I tend to use the aeropress a lot more for convenience, but I really enjoy a good cup of french press coffee, especially in the morning in lieu of food... nice and thick.

They produce two very different cups of coffee, so it's worth having both.

I use a small hand grinder, which is fantastic, the only downside is the lack of measurements for grind size. It's cheaper than an electric burr grinder, and easier to clean. You wouldn't want to use it to make more than a single cup for yourself though.

Edit: also consider a Chemex or similar pour-over for making large batches... but then you'd want an electric burr grinder.... oh my, the stuff to buy.... and I haven't even talked about home roasting yet :)

The aeropress and french press are the easiest way to get a good cup of coffee. Check out these brew guides to see which one you think would be best for you.

1. Aeropress
   
2. french press
   
   Both are pretty easy to clean, but I think the aeropress is a bit easier. However, a good cup of french press is hard to beat with any manual brewing technique, imo. Aeropress only brews a single cup, whereas a larger french press can brew however much you want it to up to its limit. The big downside for french press is that it uses a coarse grind and you have to drop some money on a good grinder if you want a consistent coarse grind - grind consistency is key. (You could also buy beans and have them ground coarse wherever you buy them if you don't want to grind fresh.) With the Aeropress, you use a medium-fine to fine grind which can be achieved with a relatively inexpensive grinder such as the [hario mini mill.] (http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Mill-Slim-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451402224&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+mini+mill) I frequently use both. Aeropress is great for travel and work, whereas french press is great for weekend mornings.

Welcome to the coffee world! It can be fun acquiring a taste for it and exploring what you like. Since this is important for your diet I recommend gaining a better understanding of coffee to the point where you can enjoy it vs. starting out with crappy coffee.

Visit some local shops and taste variety of drip coffees. They'll range from $2-3 for a 12oz cup. If you don't know what you're ordering there's no shame in asking the baristas about coffee. If they're good they'll be thrilled to talk coffee with you. I'm also happy to tell you my favorite shops across the valley.

There are many different brew methods that influence the flavor and amount of coffee you can make. Since you're new I recommend using an auto drip machine to keep things easy. I began this way, moved to french press and now use the Aeropress and love it. Start simple and get more complex as you go if you would like.

Here are some items you'll need to start:

- Coffee machine

- Coffee grinder

- Bag of beans

Check amazon and read reviews for your coffee machine. There are quite a few out there. As for your grinder I recommend getting what's called a burr grinder. It gives your beans a better grind which will affect the taste/flavor. There are hand grinders, auto grinders, etc. I use this one from Amazon because I wanted one I could camp/travel with.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013R3Q7B2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Beans are going to vary. I recommend buying whole bean and grinding yourself just before brewing so they stay fresh longer. Store them in an airtight container. You can buy beans locally, online, from the grocery store, coffee shops, etc. I'm fussy and don't recommend purchasing generic beans from Starbucks, folgers, grocery stores, etc. Harmons Grocery sells great local beans sometimes at a discount. My favorite local roaster is La Barba Coffee. They cost a bit more but the flavor is great. They also have a bag punch card you can pick up from their Downtown SLC or Draper store. Daily Rise is a little cheaper and also local.

Watch youtube videos on grinding and brewing and go from there. If you dislike black coffee you can always add milk, flavored creamer, sugar, honey, etc.

I store my beans in an Airscape and really like it. Keeps the beans fresh, protected from air, temperature, light, and moisture, looks good, and I think it's reasonably priced. I would assume that it does a similar job of storing ground coffee, but I just don't really see the point.

Once you grind the coffee, it begins to go stale much quicker than it does in whole bean form. I totally understand your desire to not wake up your girlfriend by grinding each morning, but grinding the night before is going to drastically reduce the quality of your morning brews, regardless of what you store it in. I would suggest a hand grinder like the skerton or LIDO for grinding fresh each morning without making noise. Actually, the skerton comes out to roughly the same price as the container, so if you already have some way of storing beans (really anything works as long as you're putting it in something airtight and in a dark place), I think buying a hand grinder is the better solution.

Wow, props to Gawdor for writing all those up! I think they are awesome and personally don't think they are a bit long in the tooth. The extra info is really good and having details is nice for people like me who like to delve a little deeper into things.

What I'd like to see in addition to the guides though is a list of equipment recommendations in certain price ranges, with very brief descriptions and links to Amazon or something where people can see the products there and buy them if they choose to. For example:

>Grinder Under $50
>
>Hario Hand Grinder - ~$33 - Cheap alternative to an electric burr grinder. Good for people on a budge who still want the quality of burrs.

However, no Amazon affiliate links where people make money, they should all be straight/direct links like the one in the example.

EDIT: I'm setting up a new section for that right now.

We can help you out a little better if you had some sort of budget. When I was 13 I got about $5-10 a week from my parents but I knew others that received more or even nothing at all. I'll try to aim for what a typical intro to coffee setup would look like.

So with any method you use the first and most important step is the beans. They should ideally be whole bean and roasted semi-recently (a couple days to weeks ago). This is going to be a reoccurring purchase for you/your parents depending on how often you drink coffee. Price could be anywhere from $7/lb to $15/lb.

Setup 1: You can buy the $8 reusable keurig pod and grind your own coffee. With this method you could get away with using a regular bladed grinder probably. Or you can step it up a bit and buy $25 this hand grinder that gets recommended on here a lot. I have it, it worked pretty well when I was first getting into coffee. You just grinder your beans, fill the pod, and use as normal. Cost for parts: $8-$34

Setup 2: If you get the same $25 hand grinder you can then get either a $24 french press (give a more oily cup, there will always be particulates in your mug, you can also make ~8 cups of coffee with this method) or you can go with the very often recommended, and my current favorite way to make a quick cup, the $26 aeropress. This only makes 1-2 cups at a time but it's hard to make a bad cup with it. Cost of parts: ~$50

You should look of reviews for both the french press and aeropress methods on here or online to figure out what meets your needs better. If these are still to expensive then you can try goodwills or garage sells.

My best tips:

Fresh beans + fresh grind + good water = great coffee pretty much regardless of your brewing method.

The 4 ways you can increase the quality of your coffee is to focus on improving these things: beans, grind, water, brewing method.

This is my set-up:

Beans: I get whole beans sent to me in the mail every two weeks from Moustache Coffee Club. This ensures I always have fresh beans on hand.

Grind: I use this Porlex hand grinder and really like it. I used to use this Hario hand grinder, which was cheaper. I haven't yet splurged for an electric grinder. Maybe some day.

Water: I use a kitchen thermometer to make sure my water is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the optimal range for brewing. I also use this Bonavita kettle for heating the water.

Brewing method: I started off using a Melitta pour-over cone. I've since moved to the AeroPress. I also have a French press. The AeroPress is what I use almost exclusively. I also have a kitchen scale to measure out the water and beans. I use a 16:1 ratio of water to beans. For the AeroPress, 16g of beans and 256g of water fits perfectly. When I measure the water, I aim for between 256 and 260g. I'm not so obsessive that I make sure it's exactly 256 every time.

This sounds like a lot (and there's more, but this is a good start), but I built up to this over a period of a few years. Take your time. Keep learning and exploring and have fun.

His french press, grinder, and kettle are certainly sufficient for what he's doing. There are certainly upgrades for the grinder (such as this) and the kettle (such as this), but for what he's doing, it's not likely to make much difference.

Others have suggested different brewing methods, which would be nice, but this depends on preference, of course. The Aeropress is probably the best option for someone looking to expand their horizons from the french press.

Given his equipment, the biggest difference is going to come from the beans. I personally have not tried coffee subscription services (such as Tonx), but it sounds like a really neat idea and I've heard generally positive things. Periodically, you get shipments of different kinds of coffee, so you can try new beans.

this grinder fits very well into this brewer for one of the cheapest and easiest ways to make really good coffee at home.

The Hario Skerton is a better grinder, but the slim is cheaper and dumps the grounds into the aeropress very easily.

I second Tyler's recommendation to try to find a local roaster, both to buy good beans from and ask questions about coffee. Making really good coffee is a lifelong self improvement journey, not a $10 purchase at Safeway. You will need a mentor. If you're willing to say where you live I have a feeling we could help you find the best place.

I like dark roasts, and prefer African coffee beans if I get a choice in it, they have a nice deep and spicy flavor. I get them as whole roasted beans from a coffee shop in town, which roasts them fresh every couple of days. If you are looking to get into it, you can just search for coffee roasters in your area, and if there really aren't any I'd look for roasters who sell single origin beans online. In a pinch, Starbuck's single origin beans are good too, just really expensive for what they are.

I use a hand mill grinder, a gooseneck kettle, and a Chemex coffee maker and filters. It sounds like a lot, but all that together is still cheaper than a decent drip machine. You grind the beans with the grinder (I use 3 heaping tbps of grounds), bring the water to a boil and then let it sit for a minute (letting it come down just a little in temp keeps the coffee from being acidic, the gooseneck also helps with that). Pour a little on the grounds in the filter, and let it sit for about 30 seconds wet to bloom. Then pour the rest and just let it drip through.

The chemex makes the smoothest, best tasting coffee I've ever had, and I've tried quite a few different methods. If you like it stronger, a french press might be better for you.

Stuff:

Chemex Coffee Maker

Filters

Hand Mill Grinder

Goose Neck Kettle

The general consensus here seems to be to aim for a Gaggia machine as the absolute minimum. Preferably a Gaggia Classic (~$388).

I've heard people recommend the lower priced Gaggia New Baby (~$300) to try out espresso and to help decide whether "to get a real espresso machine".

A step up from that, the recommendation seems to be the Crossland CC1, but that's in the $600+ range.

To save some money, you might do better finding a used machine or see if they're on sale at different sites.

If you want to go cheaper than that, people have recommended the MyPressi ($170), but I have not seen that in stock anywhere recently. There's some buzz regarding the MiniPresso (Preorder at $39), but that won't be out until 2015. So there won't be any reviews regarding it for a while.

As for grinder, if you're looking for cheap, you might have to make do with a hand grinder, either Hario Skerton (~$35) or Mini (~$26) or Porlex (~$43). The cheapest acceptable electric grinder seems to be the Baratza Preciso at $300.

This is the information I've gathered anyway. I don't have any personal experience with an espresso machine, but I hope this helps. If you decide to go with something, post your experience and help some people out.

Personally, I'm thinking of saving up for the CC1 and Vario (~$1000) combo...

Everything you have here is going to take a lot of work moving back and forth. When I travel, I bring my Mini Mill, my scale, a collapsible pour over cone, and a small mason jar of beans. I would suggest just getting a cheap scale and a V60 (or similar) for work. You could honestly grind at home and put into plastic bags with the air out of them each morning. The beans will age a little bit, but will be close to fresh and will save you lugging a grinder, too. Also helps keep coworkers from staring at you funny while you crank the hand grinder.

Edit: Just realized I didn't really answer your question. I really like that bag you posted, but feel that a backpack would be easier to take on a bike. If you wrap everything really well, you should be able to avoid breaking anything.

I've had an Encore for 2 years now and I love it.

There is a pretty good Bodum grinder that i've heard some great things about.

We stock Hario v60 grinders at work to sell retail, so i back those pretty hard as well!


Just take good care of your grinder, clean it regularly and it should last for years!

To me, the easiest thing is pour over and the most important thing is consistent particle size. The more you spend on a grinder, the better it's going to be, and so this is where you want to spend the money. I'm going to give you a suggestion and it is super simple.

Get a Melitta pour over cone with filters - this should run you about $5. If you want to up that to about $11, you can get one with a glass carafe too. You can just search "Melitta" on amazon to see all the results. I know my local specialty food markets all stock just the filter cone for about $2, which is even cheaper than amazon (I think the cost to stock and ship a $2 plastic cone makes the price go up).

Then, a grinder; get a Baratza Encore and some good, whole-bean, freshly roasted coffee. Grind right before brewing, dump an appropriate amount of grounds into a filter in the cone, and use a kettle to pour water over it until your cup is full. Here's a promo video I found showing how ridiculously easy it is.

Now, if you ever want to get into it, you can easily upgrade with more money / time but you'll already be mostly there by having a great grinder. You can do stuff like:

• Get a scale to measure the exact amount of coffee and water you're using - this helps ensure consistency and allows you to change variables, such as grind size, and keep everything else the same to dial in your brew
  
• Get a more technical pour over cone, to play with extraction and getting more out of the coffee
  
• Get a kettle with a swan neck, to make an extremely precise pour possible
  
• Get a thermometer, to measure your water temperature
  
  Additionally, if you decide you want to do another, more fussy brew method, you could always pick up a french press, aeropress, etc. You'll already have a great grinder so you can just jump into anything.

If you need to use your own coffee, first you need to have a premium burr grinder, so that you will have the ability to produce nice creamy shots. To refill your Nespresso capsules, the grind size of the coffee is a super important factor to produce satisfactory results. The biggest change for third party refillable capsules is to maintain the pressure during the brewing. I will recommend you looking into those two products. Both of them will produce an exceptionally good shot if you control the coffee weight and the coffee grind size. Also, i provide you with a link for a good entry level grinder and capsule filling station. Hope that helps.

My-Cap oPack - 4 Capsules and 200 Non-Adhesive Foils for Nespresso OriginalLine Brewers (NOT for VertuoLine Brewers), Reusable, Refillable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8M941Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Wmn4Cb48E6BAF

Capsul'in MYCNCCB100 100 Piece Fillable Espresso Tea and Coffee Compatible Pod, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D36PQ9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hon4Cb0MC0Y29

My-Cap Capsule Filler for Nespresso® OriginalLine Capsules (NOT for VertuoLine Capsules) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JJF313/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rpn4CbFDCR492

Breville BCG820BSSXL The Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Bean Grinder, Brushed Stainless Steel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OXGXW8O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4pn4Cb1Z0PZ8T

I've been into this world for about 2 months now , what i can help you with are some suggestions for what i've been using lately

• The Hario Skerton ( you can get it off of amazon )
  
  
  
  
• The AeroPress which you can also get off of amazon
  
  
  
  And about the beans , im pretty sure you can find a local roaster here or there . I used to say the same and i was totally convinced that we have 0 roasters ( regardless of whether they're good or not ) but after some research and asking around i found 4 ! Its just a matter of asking the right people .
  
  
  Making good coffee i believe is a long process of trial and error , you'll get there eventually but first you have to have decent tools at your disposal. If you're able to spend a little bit over your limit and get those two pieces of equipment you're more than ready to get started with the process , you just have the other half to deal with , which is the coffee beans . Of course if you ever need help with recipes , techniques , tips , whatever . You can come to this subreddit , really filled with great people who have a lot to say so just ask !
  
  And finally, welcome to this beautiful world !

It depends a lot on your grounds, some would say even more than your method of extraction. Your French press technique is solid though. You're being very smart by getting coarsely-ground instead of normal drip grind, but the individual flavour notes of coffee beans deteriorate massively within a very short time of being ground. They won't be completely eliminated, but you'll get more of a "generic good coffee" flavour than anything specific like "orange zest, red cherry and cranberry".

However, you can't just use a blade grinder and expect a good cup. I found that out very quickly after getting a grinder with a variable grind. What I have is pretty close to bottom of the pack as coffee gear goes but this big guy is what a lot of people on here started with and it's serving me very well. Whatever you get, though, it's mandatory that it has as consistent of a grind as you can afford. If you don't want to shell out for a decent grinder then keep buying good-quality coarsely ground beans like you already have because I can guarantee that slightly stale beans are much better than beans that are inconsistently ground.

The reason consistency is needed when you're freshly grinding beans at home is mainly for, again, flavour. As I understand it if one ground is bigger than another ground, then the two individual grounds will extract at different rates. This leads to the bigger pieces being underextracted (underextracted coffee is often acidic and unpleasant) and the smaller ones being overextracted (adding bitterness, generally). Not only does this make the end brew very inconsistent the finer bits of grounds (particulates) will clog up the filter in your press or pourover cup.

You should check out ceramic manual hand grinders! Basically a small, inexpensive, low investment, quick way to ensure fresh coffee!
I have a Beratza Encore now but I used a hand grinder for 18 months before I got it. The little hand grinders are honestly pretty amazing.

Brb with a link.



I am back.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013R3Q7B2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517587258&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hand+grinder+coffee&dpPl=1&dpID=31OfOtErjNL&ref=plSrch

Additionaly:

I know you say that you "only started cooking in the last few months", but make sure you use the freshest spices available. If you have a cabinet (or drawer) full of supermarket spices which are a couple years old - in those cheap plastic bottles - toss them out and get some GOOD ones. I am lucky enough to live near one of the Penzey's Spices stores, but check with people in your city to see what is available.

Whole is better than pre-ground as well since the oils and volatile flavor compounds evaporate away over time once a spice has been ground. Get a coffee grinder to use ONLY for your spices not necessarily this model but something similar. EDIT: Make sure to give it a cleaning with a clean cloth between grinding say...cumin and cinnamon.

Toast your spices gently in a skillet for a minute over low heat just before you grind them. The difference between fresh-toasted whole cumin that you just ground, and a jar which has been sitting in the cabinet for a year is the difference between day and...floor-sweepings!

TL;DR: Buy fresh/whole spices, from a reputable source, grind them yourself just after a light toasting.

I really appreciate what you're trying to do here, but unless this or something like it gets stickied (and even then) newcomers will still probably just post whatever inane, redundant question they came to ask in the first place without bothering to look. Serious props for the effort, though.

That being said, add in a link for the porlex, a list of local roasters, and maybe drop the sections where you give your own recommendations, as some of them are slightly contentious within the community.

Some of your text content here is not really as simple as it should be to be accessible to newcomers, such as when you say "gooseneck is best" they're not going to have a clue what you're talking about.

Your section on pourovers is woefully lacking. I would move the discussion of a gooseneck kettle to this section-especially with regards to the v60, as it's really not going to help nearly as much with other brew methods.

Wherever you mention espresso, there should be a strong disclaimer to not expect excellence (or even good/very good results) until you invest >$600 in your setup (cheapest good/decent grinder and machine combo I can think of is Gaggia Classic+Preciso).

I would also leave out the suggestion for "no cream or sugar". Coffee is really a deeply personal experience. If you are trying to tell people what (not) to put in it, or how to enjoy it, they won't listen. In my eyes, the main purpose of this sub and the coffee enthusiast's prerogative in general is to offer help and advice to those who seek it, ie those striving for improvement, aka DADT.

Definitely a good start, though. I'll revisit this when I have more time to see what else I come up with.

Hey man, saw you over in the P5 thread and wanted to help you out over here!

Like the other guys said, check the sidebar first. As for roasting, I wouldn't recommend roasting as a beginner. Roasting can be a trial in patience, and there are already a ton of variables you need to focus on when learning how to brew to your liking. A lot of the people on this sub sell roasted beans, and like you said, there are definitely lots of roasters in your area of the world if you can find them.

Since you're getting invested in this, I would definitely recommend an electric burr grinder -- hand grinding gets old quickly, and you definitely want it to be a burr grinder and not a blade grinder. If you can't purchase the electric grinder, this one is also highly recommended. I also recommend a kitchen scale. Even though I don't really use a scale anymore, it helped when learning to understand about how much coffee and water I preferred when brewing. As far as the brew method goes, I usually tell my friends to start with an Aeropress, but since you've been playing P5, I think a V60 or Kalita Wave might fit your fancy. You can check out more information on how to brew each of these here. If you're going to use this method, just know that a gooseneck kettle will be preferable to a kettle with a small spout.

Good luck!

Oh oh I love coffee! Some cool products to check out on the cheap:

Hario Mini Mill Slim Hand Coffee Grinder: It's a hand crank grinder, but it's a burr grinder so it produces a more consistent grind which in turn produces a better cup of coffee.

Chemex 3-Cup Classic Glass Coffee Maker: Not as cheap as the french press, but since it uses a paper filter so there isn't as much sediment in the cup. I find that I prefer it over the french press.

Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker: Classic french press.

Optional:

Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale: Scales are helpful in getting a consistent cup every time. You can measure out the water and coffee and dial in the perfect ratio.

Also check out Pinewood Roaster's coffee. I think they're on Franklin and 11th in the same building as Alpha Omega. Grab a bag of Ethiopian Beriti and enjoy!

Head over here if you want more responses!

1. I'm going to reccomend two types of coffee brewing equipment to you: the Aeropress ($26) and the Chemex (6 cup for $41.50). To start out, I'd get a hand grinder like the Hario Mini Mill($25). So there you go, get the Aeropress and the Mini Mill and you're barely over $50. There are tons of Aeropress brew methods out there, so I'll plug my own blog here. I use 18g of ground coffee. You can use any standard kitchen scale that is accurate to the tenth decimal place to measure out your beans, but this one seems to be a popular pick.
   
2. The longer you leave your ground coffee laying around, the less delicious it will taste. If I'm going to spend money on quality beans, I want to make sure I get the best possible cup out of them. This means grinding right before I brew.
   
3. For the Aeropress method I have listed above, you'll be making one cup at a time. If you want to brew multiple cups at once, you'll want to pick up the Chemex.
   
   For beans, please support your local coffee shop or roaster rather than buying Caribou or Starbucks. A lot of folks work their butts off selecting and roasting the best possible beans, and it's really special to be a part of that process as the consumer in my opinion. I do understand that it can be hard if you're from a town with limited options.
   
   I know this can all be a bit confusing if you're used to brewing pots of coffee at a time. If you have any other questions, hit me up!
   
   

since its alot of grind/day ill suggest u stick with automatic burr grinders..

yes Baratza Encore $129 would be Good option as it does great job for non espresso grinding and its easy to switch

second option which i would PREFER for you is Breville SmartPro Grinder $176 RIGHTNOW since its in your range, grinders better coffee than Encore, Way easier to change grind size (i think of of the easiest machine to chg grind size), also it makes good grind for entry level espresso machine with pressurized portafilter so it will cover even that area even thou you dont need,,, and most importantly will all that you get a Timed grinding and really Beautiful looking appliance on your counter top.. and i think getting all that more for additional $47 aint a Bad deal..

i wont recommend bistro as it aint good grinder for frenchpress..

I almost missed it! I've got a few upgrade from my last post! Here is my gear.

From left to right:

• Bodum Bistro - Got this guy at the famous JCP Bodum Sale. For the price, I've been very happy. I'd like to upgrade but can't justify the purchase at the moment.
  
• Hario Skerton
  
• Aeropress
  
• Bialetti Moka Pot - 3 cup
  
• Melitta pour over
  
• Grosche York 350 ml french press
  
• 2 Oxo pop airtight containers - I love these and recommend them highly
  
  What's next you ask? Well with my neck paycheck, I'm buying the following:
  
  
• Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck
  
• Chemex
  
• This Digital Scale
  
• Clever Dripper (maybe)
  
  Any recommendations for other gear? Specifically, scale recs?
  
  Edit: Added Amazon links for anyone interested.

We registered at Amazon for the selection and convenience. We could find just about anything on amazon, and could add anything else through the universal registry feature. Guests shipped most gifts to our home, which was great since we live across the country from where we were married. I'd heard the return policy was rough, but luckily we didn't have any duplicate purchases. Amazon's registry was perfect for our needs.

Some of the most-used items we received:

• VonShef mixing bowls.
  
  
• Narrow measuring spoons. These fit inside containers and are so much less messy.
  
  
• Glass tupperware set.
  
  
• Adjustable temperature water kettle. Our household is really into coffee and tea, and this has made all the difference.
  
  
• Coffee grinder. Our total splurge of a grinder that was generously gifted by another coffee nerd.
  
  
• Griddle pan. Perfect for grilled cheese, pancakes, etc.
  
  
• The Harry Potter box set. We put this on there to break up the typical household list and were so excited for a nice hardcover set!
  
  
• Cast iron dutch oven/skillet combo.

After a year of Starbucks on my walk to work (and adding it up and shaking my head), I reached out to a high school friend and mega coffee nerd, and ultimately went with his recommendation for "best entry level" brew at home set up. It's been great. A little spendy to get into it, but it paid for itself quickly, and I've loved experimenting with different roasts of whole beans and doing the grinding myself.

​

Grinding:

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

​

Brewing:

Breville BDC450BSS Precision Brewer Thermal Coffee Maker

​

Storing Beans:

Airscape Coffee Canister

​

Good luck, and happy brewing!

​

Edit: Formatting

Whoops, just assumed you were American haha. Are you referring to the Skerton? If so, the Skerton has a slight edge on the Mini Mill, but they're roughly comparable. In that case it may very well be the grinder that's holding you back. If you can, I'd spring for a Baratza Virtuoso (electric) or LIDO 3/E/E-T (manual). The Virtuoso is a significant upgrade from the Hario and also noticeably better than the cheaper Baratza Encore. It has the same burrs as the more expensive Preciso. The LIDO is better than all of these, but can take quite a bit of force to turn compared to your current grinder, so do your research and watch some videos before you make a commitment to 20-second arm workouts every morning...

Well, knowing your budget would be important, but trying to be cost sensitive, I found a refurbished Baratza Encore for $99, and the brew method many suggest for entry level is the aeropress which is on amazon for about $30. If that's still too steep a price, you can always start off with a decent hand grinder like the Hario Mini Mill which is also about $30 on amazon. The hand grinder is more cost effective, but obviously takes more time and effort than the electric. All of this is fairly good entry level equipment, and you can always trade up grinders, and try new brew methods further down the road if you so desire.

Moka Pot

[Hario Grinder] (http://www.amazon.com/Hario-MSS-1B-Mini-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368467219&sr=1-1&keywords=hario+grinder)

Milk Frother

It won't be perfect, but at 100 bucks that's the best you are going to do. If you are looking for a machine, expect to spend ~250 bucks to get good shots, more than that if you want to do it easily.

I'm waiting with baited breath to see if http://zpmespresso.myshopify.com/ is going to change the whole home espresso game, but for now I'm rocking the Moka Pot and it honestly works pretty well for me.

I would say go with the clever coffee dripper, a hario hand grinder, and an electric kettle.

The Clever Coffee Maker is great and easy to use and clean. Also less than $20
Here is a guide on how to use it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-wyjaCPj8
http://amzn.com/B0047W70GY

The clever is an immersion coffee maker not a drip so it doesn't require complicated pouring methods like a Hario V60 or a Beehouse.

Nothing beats the Hario Hand grinder for a cheap burr grinder. But a motorized grinder will save your wrist. Also pre ground coffee is blasphemy here but it might be worth keeping it around if you're in a rush.
http://amzn.com/B001804CLY

If you have access to hot water, some common rooms have microwaves and/or hot water bubbler taps, You can skip the kettle. Also Some dorms forbid electric kettle and will throw it out if found.

If you don't have access to hot water and dont want to shell out the $50 for a high end one like the bona-vita kettle you can use the clever with any hot water source. So a $15 kettle from amazon works fine. Check out the cheap ones on amazon and read the reviews. Some don't last very longs so be aware that you might have to buy another in a few years.

Tough to make a recommendation without knowing your budget, and what you currently own, use, and like or dislike.

I have over a dozen coffee making devices, multiple pour overs, Aeropress, Chemex, Siphon, and a few electric machines. They all have their own plusses and minuses, and I use them all (today was a generic ceramic cone with a Melita 4 filter), but the 2 things that get used every time I make coffee are a grinder and scale.

Upgrading to a good burr grinder is almost universally acknowledged to be amongst the most useful things you can do to improve your coffee, and actually weighing your beans and water are probably a close second. My Baratza Encore does a great job, and I'm also very happy with my American Weigh Scales LB-3000.

I am probably going to get downvoted for this, but this is what I started my pour over adventures with.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F8U2SCO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What's nice, is the kettle has a built in thermometer, with a green highlighted section for optimum temp.

As for Colombian bean, if you aren't hardcore into buying 15-20 dollar 12 oz bags, check out 8 o'clock. Their Colombian is my go to daily drinker for a quick cup (I have a local roaster that I use for my days off of work)


With all that said, like the one dude said, an Aeropress would work pretty good too, and wouldn't require the precision of pouring that the pour over does. And for a cheap, decent-ish grinder, get a manual Hario knock off (if money is an issue). I currently use the following, and am more than happy with it for my pour overs and French presses.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013RGGFZM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I will completely agree with the above statements. I have used a Krups express maker which is really cheap and went through a phase where I would make expresso and steam milk. I'll be honest I really enjoyed the results. It wasn't high quality but you get can more extreme acidic notes when using a normal roast of coffee in the espresso machine and that I enjoyed. Not to mention a decent latte.

With that said the clean up sucked for the espresso and it took a while to make which are both big draw backs! The hand grinder as always nice and a good no electric option! I used a Burr electric grinder with 18 setting which is more the enough for the average coffee drinker who wants control over grind settings.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK

I had one before this and an unroasted green been we had from a sample feel in and got ground and broke it. The Cuisinart seems to be a slightly higher quality then the one before which was a Mr.Coffee. Hope this helps.

Overall the above 👆🏽 post is spot on. If you want to get into espresso I say go for it and expierement and have fun!

You're not going to find any good electric grinders for under $100. Hand grinders are still great as long as you aren't doing espresso.

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill-Skerton/dp/B001802PIQ

I bought a Hario Skerton about 2 years ago before moving onto an electric one and it's great! Every time hand grinders come up on the subreddit, the Hario Skerton is always recommended for beginners.

Hope you enjoy!

Totally understandable, can't just dispose of a gift. I hope you enjoy the coffee "hobby". I can say my first upgrade when I started was to get a [Hario Mini](Hario Mini Mill Slim Hand Coffee Grinder https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001804CLY/) to use at my office so I could stop drinking the Keurig garbage haha. It's small, but pretty good for what it is, and the results are good for the money, plus it's portable! Enjoy!

Your steam machine makes moka style coffee, more akin to that you would get from a Bialetti than an espresso machine. It produces coffee by pushing water at moderate pressure of 1-2 bar through your coffee grounds.

An espresso machine pushes water through coffee at 9-11 bar - a much higher pressure which produces a drink which has an entirely different extraction profile and character.

To make decent espresso coffee takes a high quality grinder, able to grind finely, uniformly and with a lot of control, which on its own typically costs around 3-4 times your budget for entry level options, and an espresso machine capable of controlling pressure and temperature of the water flow at a similar level that costs much the same. Sadly, $100 is not a realistic budget to achieve this.

If you want to learn more about what distinguishes espresso machines from one another and why they cost what they do, read this; if - in time - you decide you want to start to explore espresso making at home, this post may help you plan out the most cost effective way to do so.

In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with making and enjoying great moka-style coffee - aim to maximise the quality of what comes out of your steam machine by using the best quality beans you can find, and - ideally - by investing in a grinder to grind your beans fresh before using them. A small hand-grinder like the Hario Mini-Mill is a great reasonably affordable option to start with.

Great, thank you very much!

Admittedly, this wasn't my first option but it seemed like an OK compromise... I was looking to get this one initially. But it is double the price of that other one, and I am currently in a position where saving money would be wiser. How much of an improvement would you say that would be? Or would it be acceptable to buy this one for now? I do expect my financial situation to get better eventually, probably soon.

The Hario Mini is pretty good for grinding enough beans for 1 or 2 cups:

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Mini-Mill-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/

or a Hario Skerton which is a bit bigger:

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill/dp/B001802PIQ/

They have nice ceramic burrs and a smooth motion. Additionally they are quite popular so it's easy to find a ballpark figure for what setting to use for different brew methods.

For brew method, I would probably say aeropress is your best bet. Other good budget options are Clever Dripper, Moka Pot, french press, Kalita Wave, Melitta. Most of these methods work reasonably well without any additional equipment.

These methods all produce different cups, so it depends what you like. Anything with a paper filter tends to lead to a smooth cup without much body, the thicker the filter the more tea-like the cup. French press uses a metal filter so lets a lot of particles into the final cup, which makes it a lot more thick and soupy.

I have not, but I can recommend this, the Hario Mini. It's an excellent little fella, whose extremely easy to clean, has adjustable grind settings (although they are just clicks), and is in the same price range as the one you posted. I've had mine for probably 2 years now, and it's still going strong. Just make sure you clean him (no water though).

Hmm... if he just got a French Press for Christmas and is buying pre-ground then I would say to get him a burr grinder such as the Hario Mini Mill (amazon).

Basically, good coffee needs only a couple things and one of them is freshly ground and freshly roasted beans. It doesn't matter what coffee you brew if you didn't grind it freshly it won't be as good. The Mini Mill is also pretty affordable so you could pair that with a bag of freshly roasted coffee. If you don't mind buying things offline (ie, in the real world), then I would try and find a local roaster that you can drive to. Odds are if you're in/near a city you have one but may not know you do. You mentioned a particular place, they sound like a re-seller but likely they do get very fresh shipments (perhaps once a week since this is how my local shops work). If you would prefer to buy it online, then I can suggest Klatch Coffee Roasters in CA and Verve Coffee (also in CA). The former charges for shipping, but it's $5-$6 via USPS. The latter does not, which is fantastic if you're interested in ordering one bag of coffee. I wouldn't pay $5-$6 to ship one bag of coffee, but I would to ship two bags.

The important thing to remember with coffee beans is that you want it fresh. Ideally a couple days after being roasted, if not sooner, so you should be looking to buy this a few days before Valentine's.

Well, it's definitely over $50 now, but I bought the Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder a couple months ago when it was $69 with free shipping. It is a pretty new model, and I assume the price has gone up because they realized it's as good or better than other sub $100 models. It has a better build quality than other comparable models, and is not as messy as many, the container is made of an anti-static glass. The only notable quirk is that it has a variable timer that only goes to 20 seconds, then you are supposed to wait 5 minutes bfore using again, presumably to keep the motor from overheating. I just give it an extra few seconds if I need to grind more than 28 grams.

EDIT: The red one is $10 less.

For strong/bold coffee get a French Press or Clever for your office. They're super easy to use and you can choose how long you brew your coffee for to get the right level of boldness.

I actually got a friend the above mentioned Clever with a Hario Hand Grinder for the office and he loves it.

Oh and here is a good site to learn about different brew methods: http://brewmethods.com/

Yeah definitely worth considering! Personally I use my roommate's Keurig K10 Mini Plus with this reusable filter, grinding whole beans with this manual burr grinder. That all adds up to pretty close to $150. Now I can't guarantee that the coffee strength will be great if brewing a larger quantity of coffee using a larger-sized Keurig machine (the mini really only works for up to 10 oz of fluid). But for now I am pretty happy with this setup until I decide to go for an upgrade.

EDIT: A lot of people also recommended an Aeropress or French press. I haven't tried an Aeropress myself, but I think both might be really great options for you too (and much cheaper), only real downside is that both take more steps and manual work than using a machine like a Keurig or standard drip machine. If the idea of just pressing a button and getting your coffee appeals to you strongly, maybe avoid the mechanical options in favor of the electronic ones. But you would be well-off with any of these tools, I think.

I would find it drinkable, but somewhere in between bad and mediocre. Honestly the last 3 terrible no good totally rotten cups ive had have been 2 from starbucks (dark and medium roasts) and random crap from a keurig.

this grinder is one I have... works like a charm and is cheap. Its a burr grinder which is absolutely necessary for good homebrewed coffee.

You already have a french press so you are off to a good start. I would try to convince you to spend 12-20 per pound of coffee but it would only be worth it if you ground it fresh, so you need a grinder. I could go on and on about how good the coffee is that I drink, but its hard to explain taste in a few sentences online. You have to drink it and be won over. first you'll be hit with a fruity aroma that you've never smelled in your cup of coffee before. Then the cup will be sweet, not bitter, and the taste will match the smell. And after that you'll never look back.

Grinder

>Capresso Infinity - $89
>
>or
>
>Hario Mini Mill Slim - $30 - If you don't mind hand-grinding your beans


Coffee Maker

>Aeropress - $23 - Balanced flavour, easy cleanup
>
>or
>
>Hario v60 - $19 - If you enjoy the process of preparing your coffee, and enjoy a brighter (more acidity) cup of coffee.
>
>or
>
>A french press - $20 and up - If you want to make more coffee at a time than the Aeropress, don't mind a "thicker" (more coffee particulate and oils in the cup) coffee, and are not opposed to having a little bit more clean-up.

You'll need a kettle for any of these brew methods; a programmable/temperature controlled kettle like this one ($95) is ideal for manual brew methods, but any kettle (and a thermometer if you'd like to get fussy) will do just fine.

Personally I would get the Capresso and the Aeropress if I were you. It's a very balanced and forgiving brew method that can make coffee a few different ways (eg. paper filter for a "brighter" cup, metal for a thicker one). Set aside the rest of your budget and find a good coffee roaster near you!

I know this is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to burr grinders, but honestly, I’ve had the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill for a few years now. The consistency of the grind leaves a lot to be desired, but for French press, which is also my method, this makes less of a difference and I can honestly say the results are pretty good.

In any case, you won’t find a burr grinder for this price anywhere else. However, I’m also waiting wistfully for the day it stops working so I can upgrade to one of the ones mentioned on this thread that cost 10 times as much, so there’s that.

I'm going to assume you typo'd or autocorrected pretty hard and are using an auto-drip machine. If you're not using one of the SCAA certified machines, it's probably pretty poor in terms of reaching adequate temperature and evenly dispersing water.

While it is possible to find decent coffee at co-ops, the only tried-and-true way of ensuring fresh coffee is buying directly from the roaster. Almost all roasters sell online and ship either the day of or the day after roasting. But supporting local business is good, so look for roasteries. What city are you in? I, or someone else here, could probably make some suggestions for a good roaster near you.

"Cheap" depends on your budget. The bottom end for good electric grinders is about $80. But it is possible to get a coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond and using it on one there to get it cheaper. If you don't mind a little work out with your morning coffee, a good entry-level hand grinder will run you ~$30.

I just got a french press as a gift. I decided I want to give grinding my own beans a try. When we moved into my house the old owners left behind [this cheap blade grinder] (https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Electric-Settings-IDS77/dp/B000BRLXUI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498241629&sr=8-2&keywords=mr.+coffee+grinder). I used it this morning and was not impressed. I'm not looking to spend a lot on a burr grinder.

My question is: For someone who is only going to be doing a coarse grind for a french press will this Mr. Coffee Burr Grinder be good enough? I know a lot of the aficionados will shoot it down (I've done enough googling and reddit searching to know that). However, I'm just a guy with a french press that wants a nice cup of coffee. A lot of the reviews I read focus on its struggles with a fine grind, but I don't need that right now. I just want something that will grind better than a blade and will help make a good cup of coffee (better than pre-ground in a drip for example). I know there are cheap mechanical options, but my problem with those is most only seem to hold one or two cups at a time. I'd rather be able to grind the full 4 cups my press can make at once.

EDIT: Or if someone has tips on to make better use of the blade grinder until I can save up for one of the ~$100 grinders people recommend.

If you'd like to stay fairly budget, I'd recommend one of the Hario hand grinders you can find on Amazon. I got one as a gift, it was maybe 30$ and is pretty darn good for what you pay for. I've had mine for a year now and it's doing very well still, and I rarely clean it (when I do it's with a dry brush). It's doesn't product quite as consistent a grind as something like the Lido (I've only seen YouTube demonstrations of the Lido, not first hand) but it is good. It'll still get you miles better tasting coffee than pre ground and would be a good starting point. I'm not planning on replacing my Hario until it breaks.

Edit: Canadian Amazon has it for 40$ https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B001804CLY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484841823&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=hario+coffee+grinder

Step 1 - Go to Amazon. Acquire the following:

If you have a gas stove: http://www.amazon.com/Northwest-Glass-SY-5-22-Ounce-Stovetop/dp/B002CVTKVK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1314164733&sr=1-1

Otherwise: http://www.amazon.com/Northwest-Glass-TCA-5D-20-Ounce-Coffee/dp/B002CVTKTW/ref=pd_sim_k_17

Burr Grinder: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1314164311&sr=8-6

Step 2 - Go to Whole Foods. Go to their coffee section. Look for a medium roast, with single-origin beans (beans from a single plantation). Avoid blends. South-American single-origin medium roast is probably best. Pick a roast date that is yesterday or the day before.

If you don't have a way to filter water at home, find a way. It also helps to have a way to heat water.


Step 3 - Go home. It is probably best to do this now.

Clean your coffee siphon gently but thoroughly. You don't have to clean the cloth filter.

Place the beans in the grinder. Turn the grinder setting to fine, but not extra fine. Enough so that once ground you will get about 2 Tbsp. per 6 oz of coffee. YMMV.

Assemble the coffee siphon - place the cloth filter on the metal disc and secure with knots. Insert the filter assembly into the top chamber. Do not put the two chambers together yet.

If your filtered water isn't already really hot, make it really hot. Bring it to a boil, take it off the heat, and let it sit for 10-15 seconds. Or, just use an electric kettle.

Pour the water into the bottom pot. Insert the assembled top chamber into the pot and secure the seal. Place the pot on stove or burner as appropriate. Apply medium heat.

As the water percolates up the siphon, grind your coffee beans.

Once the water starts bubbling in the top chamber, toss in your grind.

At this point - your nose will tell you best when the coffee is done. It is usually about 1:20 to 1:40 minutes. You want the winey, grassy smell to disappear, and the grinds in the top chamber to look deep brown. However, if you smell even the slightest hint of burnt coffee, or if the grinds start to appear purple - you have failed. Hang your head in shame and try another time.

Remove the heat source (turn off stove/burner).

Let the coffee completely siphon into the pot. You will get some turbulence. Let it settle.

Delicately remove the top chamber.

Pour. Sip, slowly.


Step 4 - Thank me.

>Trying to get into coffee at home, looking for shops that offer gear, like a grinder, French press, and kettles, stuff like that.

You're better off ordering online. Get a burr hand grinder. Electric grinders can burn the beans and you can control how course the grinds are with the hand grinder.

Get an Aeropress for espresso. Or can also be used to make regular coffee. This is better than a french press, imo.

By hand grinding fresh beans and perfecting using the aeropress, you can't achieve a better cup of coffee at home.

This goes two ways depending on whether you're lazy or willing to work for your coffee.

Are you a very lazy person?

Get some ready-made decoction from Amazon. Boil water, mix a little decoction. Done. It's much better than Nescafé.

Are you willing to put in some effort? You need to buy beans, grind them yourself and use an espresso machine.

Beans: Blue Tokai is very good, but expensive. I've heard Koinonia is good, too, but it is again expensive. Devans has good coffee and is cheaper, but are sometimes inconsistent on the roast. The Coffee Gatherer is probably the cheapest source of good beans, but they don't roast well at all. This may or may not matter very much to you.

Grinding mill: buy a dedicated burr grinder. Use it only for grinding coffee. I have this. It's good enough but you can buy bigger and more expensive ones.

Espresso machine: I have a Tecnora. It's cheap and very good, builds great pressure, makes great espresso. You can dilute the espresso to make Americano. Machines from other brands in the same price range don't build up enough pressure and make a very weak Espresso.

I also have an Aeropress which I used for years. People swear by it, as I did, but the espresso machine makes much better coffee. I also used a French press before. It makes gritty and bitter coffee, and leaves grounds in so it keeps brewing as it sits. If you tend to sip large cups over a long while French press coffee is the worst.

The most beginner friendly device in my opinion is either the french press or the clever dripper. The most interesting may very well be the aeropress since there's a lot of options available. But if you want no frills, very good coffee consistently, pick either the french press or clever. Clever will produce a cleaner cup, where the french press makes a bolder cup (with a bit of grit due to some grounds getting into the cup).

One caveat on the Clever. It can make up to 15oz at a time. If you are the type to brew a huge mug of coffee (>20 ounces), then go for the french press. Aeropress makes even less. Some people argue you can make an 8oz cup of concentrate that you can add equal parts water to, but this is totally not worthwhile.

For grinder, get this instead:
https://www.amazon.com/Grinder-Original-EvenGrind-Stability-Guaranteed/dp/B013RGGFZM

Best bang for buck for starter manual grinders. Enjoy!

Found an Amazon review of the Hario Skerton suggesting a mod for French Press:

> I bought this for my husband, a coffee connoisseur. Buying a good quality electric burr grinder was well outside what I could afford, but he loves this one. Here's the key though, if you, like my husband, use a French press regularly: get the lower bearing modification from OrphanEspresso.com. On the coarse setting needed for a press, the Skerton, without the modification, will give you an inconsistent grind. Adding the lower bearing modification gives you an incredibly consistent very coarse grind. My husband says he's never been able to get a better coarse grind with any other grinder. And, even with the additional cost of buying the modification, this is still a very affordable option to please any connoisseur. One potential issue though is that, once you put in the modification, unless you remove it (which would be heart-breaking since it's a pain to install), you won't be able to get a super fine grind like you would need for espresso.
>
> Tip: The Skerton is pretty much exactly the same as the Kyocera CM-50 (only perceivable difference: one has slightly more opaque plastic). The price of each varies occasionally, so, if you want this grinder, check them both out to find the cheaper one (here's the Kyocera CM-50: http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-CM-50-CF-Ceramic-Grinder/dp/B003S9XF7K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357940693&sr=8-1&keywords=kyocera+coffee+mill).
>
> Check out these videos about the Hario Skerton, Kyocera CM-50, and the lower bearing modification for both:
> [...]
> [...]
>
> If you decide to buy the modification, a 10mm combination wrench works for installing it (they don't say in the video). It can be hard to install and Orphan Espresso's website is hard to navigate, but it's all worth it.

Can't comment on that grinder, but it looks like the Hario Skerton which I do have, and does a pretty good job. Not the greatest when it comes to course grind, so if you want a french press, look elsewhere, unless you do the mod, but then you can't get very good fine grinds.

I have to set aside a good 10min to do a V60 pourover, which includes boiling water on the stove, and grinding with my Skerton. I'm sure it could be done quicker with the right stuff.

For pourover look into a gooseneck, a scale, a grinder, and a pourover device (Kalita Wave/V60/Chemex).

Edit: And that grinder would be a good investment if you have the money.

In that case I'd recommend the following two:

Grinder: Hario Skerton

• Manual grinder, requires some elbow grease to grind your beans
  
• Well received and reviewed, considered a good value and one of the only ways to get consistent grind sub-100$
  
• Larger capacity than its little brother, the Hario Mini mill. More suitable for two people
  
  Brewer: Bodum Chambord French Press
  
  
• Overall a very simple brew method, VERY forgiving
  
• Large enough capacity for two people two have two cups each in the morning
  
• There's not too much difference between different French press pots, Bodum is known to be slightly higher quality than average and considered to be worth the price
  
  Of course, you'll need some beans to go with that! Subscription services are fun and allow you to try many different regions and roast profiles to help find the ones that you/your wife will like the best. Several popular ones are Tonx, Moustache Coffee, or Modest Coffee. For individual roasters Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Verve, and Blue Bottle are all held in high regard and ship throughout the US.
  
  And finally: If she wants the Chemex then get her the damn Chemex. Its a beautiful piece and currently my favorite brewing method, but I'm glad I waited until I had the proper accessories to do it right.