Reddit mentions of Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder, Black

He has an espresso machine, can't read the model name, it might be this capresso model, but it looks standard enough.

he has a vacuum coffee maker, looks kinda like this

Then he has an electric coffee grinder that's pretty good sized. it's not exactly this model, but it's close enough. Edit: it may be this Capresso model grinder as well

I personally think his coffee mugs are way too small, but I drink coffee by the 20oz thermos mug. I might have a small addiction.

Then I'm seeing Angostura Bitters, Milagro anejo tequilia, sailor jerry rum, pre-made simple syrup, and a couple bottles I can't see.

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!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AR7SY/

​

I've had this one for 4 years and I love it. Cheaper than the Baratza Encore. I'm no coffee expert, but it's miles improved over the previous budget grinder I had before.

If you can stretch your budget, Capresso Infinity isn't too bad, and comes with Prime shipping.

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.

The most important things are to get a pump-driven (rather than a steam-driven) machine and get a burr grinder. Steam-driven machines will never get to the right temperature or pressure, and it's impossible to get a small enough, consistent enough grind for espresso with a blade grinder. There are tons of affordable options within those parameters, though.

This is not a popular opinion here, but the DeLonghi EC155 is actually a decent starter machine. I got one just to make sure I'd use a home espresso machine enough to justify a better one, and with a little practice to get the right grind and tamp and a couple minor hacks (running a blank shot through first to get the machine up to the right temperature, and removing the fake-crema-making disc from the portafilter) it turns out perfectly acceptable espresso shots. Especially if you're going to turn them into lattes or mochas. That plus a Capresso Infinity burr grinder and a cheap metal tamper (50mm, as the EC155's portafilter is smaller than the standard 58mm tampers) will run you ~$200 on Amazon and you will be happy with the results.

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.

>My budget is to stay between the $30-$50 range....NOT looking for a hand grinder though!

Sorry to say but that's an impossible ask. The cheapest automatic burr grinder is the Capresso Infinity which can sometimes be found for ~$70, otherwise you are stepping up to a refurbished Baratza Encore for $100 or a new one for $140.

I used to have one of these before upgrading to the Vario. It can't be beat in its price range - $45 on Amazon for a used one right now from Good Buy Products.

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.

If looking for electric, the most commonly recommended are:

Capresso, $90

Bodum (Red, $90)

Baratza Encore, $130

The Baratza will be the most recommended and if you look around you might be able to find it for closer to $100. Otherwise the Capresso is probably the best bet.

I'm an entry novice to coffee and did a lot of research on grinders.
I found this grinder
http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1417670127&sr=8-4&keywords=capresso
From what I gathered, it does the job for everything but espresso.
Apparently it doesn't get a fine enough or consistent enough for espresso

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. :)

There are definitely $100 grinders recommended in this sub (Baratza Encore and Capresso Infinity are both just over $100 and can go on sale)

https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00LW8122Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465874028&sr=8-1&keywords=encore+grinder

https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1465874043&sr=8-2&keywords=capresso+infinity

I have this Capresso model, and it's working fine for me so far. I use fine for Aeropress and coarse for French press, how it compares to other models.

It's easy to clean. I got mine from a local coffee joint and I think it was less expensive than Amazon.

For a few more bucks you can get one with an all metal outer case.

There's a sub for that... /r/roasting

You are correct, the better electric burr grinders are just a bit smaller than a blender and start around the Capresso Infinity for $80 and proceed skyward from there. I thought you might enjoy giggling at our 110 lb, 220V, 3-phase Mahlkonig which can grind 6lbs per minute. For scale, that's a full pound of coffee sitting in front of it.

I can help you with this: http://www.amazon.com/Gaggia-16100-Evolution-Espresso-Cappuccino/dp/B0001KO9RY

Best decently priced entry level semi-automatic espresso machine to get

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457504719&sr=8-3&keywords=capresso+infinity

Best entry level grinder

Get your beans from trader joe's (seriously cheap, but seriously good coffee, you'll find out that starbucks uses over-roasted beans)

I like mine with 2 oz espresso and 10 oz of foamed milk and half a tablespoon of sugar

I basically lived at starbucks for 3 years while studying 12 hours a day 5 days a week, this is the cheaper, tastier and faster version

The Capresso Infinity is the only one worth buying under $100. If you don't want that, try to buy in half pound bags from a local roaster that will grind the coffee for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Conical-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/

TLDR buy this. It's what I use and it's amazeballs for the price.

Ah, good, so you know what you're doing. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377711477&sr=8-1&keywords=capresso+infinity

The price tends to bounce around a bit too.

Cool! I really wouldn't want to do this though. I have a shitty spice grinder that I use for coffee and that will do until I can afford a ~fancy~ burr grinder.


probs going to get something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421585714&sr=8-1&keywords=burr

what did you get, OP?

For the French Press, just don't be cheap. You want something made of borosilicate glass and easy to clean. Bodum is probably the most common, and is perfectly fine.

As for grinders... that gets deep really quickly—just look at the wiki and sidebar links. If you want to make great coffee of any kind, you'll want the nicest grinder you can afford.

If you just need something adequate for press, drip, and pourover coffees, you could do worse than the Capresso Infinity. Whatever you do, make sure it's a quality burr grinder, and not one of those with the whirling blade. Those blade ones are horrid.

I'd forgo the steel filter, at least for the time being - paper filters produce great coffee and are dirt cheap. I'd put the money you save either toward a scale or an electric grinder. I use a Capresso Infinity grinder, which is about $93 on Amazon at the moment and an American Weigh Scales digital pocket scale, which is about $20 on Amazon.

Grinder and uniform grounds is crucial, burr grinders are known to be the best. I use a capresso $100 burr grinder and has been a powerhouse these past few years (I'll link it below). I recommend paying the premium as well, they offer a $45 burr grinder, however, you get what you pay for. The motor is much weaker and much less consistent grinds.
Also try making the grind closer to coarse rather than medium, French press typically allows more residuals through the filter than any other method, so I would bet it's a contributed to the bitterness.

Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_lseozb168FA9E

Edit: also opt for medium roasts rather than dark more often than not. French press brings out lots of flavors and dark roasts are often over-roasted and losing many of the flavors. Bonus fun fact and reason to go lighter: the lighter the roast, the more caffeine. The longer the bean is roasted, the more caffeine is lost because in the process.u

Second the coffee grinder. We use this "burr" grinder from amazon

French press is good coffee, but for everyday use we're still using a cheap 5 cup automatic coffee machine we got for like $15 from Wal mart.


You'll find you can enjoy
A: making the coffee -- so you'll get into all the different ways to brew and grind coffee and have fun with that
B: adding to the coffee -- so you enjoy adding chocolate or spices or rum or making your own flavors up
C: not making coffee at all and you stop by Mcdonalds to grab a $1 caffine fix


or any combination.

Duuude. Do it. For $120 you get perfectly ground coffee (of easily adjustable coarseness) in about 20 seconds. Such a game changer.

I've heard good things about this Caspresso and Bodum as well if you want to save a few bucks.

I'd recommend adding a decent burr grinder to your collection and you'll have everything required for first-rate coffee at home. It's not intuitively obvious, but the grinder might be the single most influential bit of coffee gear you buy. You'll never get a solid, consistent brew if your grinder cannot produce a consistent grind.

I've purchased 2 of these Capresso burr grinders to give to family and they work great, super easy to use (helpful for my mother-in-law), and are generally quiet, reliable, and consistent.

For making single serve coffee that's not crap in that price range, I'd consider one of the following grinders (Ordered according to my preference... the first is my favorite):

• Refurb Maestro Plus ($95)
  
• Capresso Infinity ($89)
  
• Bodum Bistro ($79.45)
  
• Hario Slim ($39.07)
  
  Combined with one of the following brewers (not really ordered... I could argue for any of these):
  
  
• Melitta 1-cup ($1.99)
  
• Bodum "3-cup" press ($17.95)
  
• Hario V60 ($9.95)
  
• Clever Dripper ($15.98)
  
• Beehouse ($12.63)
  
  They're easy, cheap, and high quality. Any combination of these will get you a low-fuss cup in the morning, and if your friend uses good, freshly roasted beans, it'll be better than most shops can do.

You seem to be new here, so I'll help.

If you only have a blade grinder and want minimal investiment, go with a pourover like a hario

If you have a burr grinder pick up a french press(and a hario pourover if you so desire), the bodum presses are great, they have them at target, hell the one from ikea is decent.

If you don't have a grinder, get a grinder. I have the hario mini mill and love it. If you want a decent starter electric burr grinder the capresso infinity is a decent starting point.

Something like this-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000KEM4TQ
And this-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000AR7SY
Would probably be great for you, based on what you said, and stays in your budget.
You'll probably want to expand eventually, but this is a great starting point.

For iced coffee I generally steep in a french press overnight. Plunge & serve/store. Works pretty well. As for grinders, definitely go with a burr:

-Cheaper manual: Hario Skerton

-More expensive automatic: Capresso Infinity

The Capresso Infinity is my goto recommendation for that price point.

Yeah, what these guys said. Grinder, I'm 99% sure is a blade grinder which are terrible. ESPECIALLY for espresso. Next up that espresso machine looks very bottom of the barrel quality. and if that's what you're looking for you can probably get a better deal buying separate.
Here this for example is an awful machine I own and was extremely disappointed with but as a set with the milk pitcher $99. Now you can spend $100 on a good grinder (1, 2, 3) and buy 2 espresso cups for $10 or so.

And with this solution at least you will have a decent coffee grinder, two nice espresso cups, and a frustrating yet functional very low quality espresso machine. Much better than being ripped off with the link you offered.

I found this. The description says it has a setting for Turkish fine grind, which is basically the same. Otherwise Armenian/Middle Eastern markets should have it.

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY

This was great for me before I upgraded. Used it for 4 years for machine drip and pour overs. Sold it 2 years ago to a friend who still uses it. Great grinder as long as you keep it clean.

Noise depends on your family. I would also check the side bar for other recommendations.

You can get a Capresso Infinity for just under $90. I have the slightly more expensive chrome version and it's been working great for me for the past 6 years.

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY thats the grinder alone.

Here's a summary of the good automatic drip machines.

If you can lower the "easy" threshold just a bit and give up the programmable timer feature, you can get very good coffee for under $250. Pick up a $70-$90 burr grinder and the well-reviewed (from the first link) Bonavita machine for $130.

OP, regarding your Burr Grinder, I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345119827&sr=8-1&keywords=capresso+burr+grinder

It has been absolutely stellar, and I believe they have it at Bed Bath and Beyond which I think has a 20% off coupon going right now. Just thought I'd throw that out there since it's quite a bit cheaper than the one you list.

Grinds everything from French Press to a fine Turkish Coffee grind.

> Don't shop on price alone. There are some bad $80 - $100 grinders out there

Of course! We know that we should use review sites before purchasing our coffee gear :)
coffeegeek.com, consumersearch.com, amazon, home-barista. Post if you have any other favorite review sites.

So regarding the price of grinders, when I was researching mine I found a number of VERY affordable ones like, Mr. Coffee Automatic Burr Mill, for about $40. This is roughly half the price of Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder at $85.

WHY are these models half as much? A number of reviews mentioned the plastic burrs which give lower quality grinds (less consistent sized grounds) then the more expensive models. Some other downsides were: plastic wears out faster and that these cheaper models have a shorter lifespan or at least seem to break way sooner than they should. Obviously with any manufactured product, YMMV.

My point in recommending a price range for a grinder was that if the price is too good to be true, it probably is!

Being as french presses use quite a bit of coffee, I would suggest ponying up an extra $50 and buying an electric burr grinder- something like a Capresso infinity: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421175602&sr=1-1&keywords=capresso+infinity

Capresso Infinity

Edit: Link http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419521820&sr=8-1&keywords=capresso+infinity

This is a blade grinder, it can't grind very evenly and you can't choose what size to grind to. A burr grinder is a better choice, but you'll have to spend a lot more money.


This is probably the cheapest good grinder : http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1417382697&sr=1-5&keywords=baratza+encore

I use a Capresso Infinity and typically use the left most "Fine" grind setting as I find the Extra Find to be too hard to press. But it is definitely something to play with as you may find a coarser grind gives you the flavor and taste you prefer.

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.

I'm genuinely curious here... Wouldn't an entry level burr grinder (capresso Infinity) still be way better in terms of consistency than a blade grinder?

I know it's not perfect, but wouldn't that be more inline with the budget?

That grinder is likely a big part of the issue. The ones with the little whirling blades make it pretty much impossible to get a consistent grind, since some of the already-ground coffee will get re-ground (to a finer consistency) as the machine operates. It also can make the coffee more bitter, because the super-fine coffee that's part of the mix will get over-extracted.

Shaking it around a little bit as it grinds can help a little bit, but the real solution is a burr grinder, which start at around $30 for this little hand-powered Hario Mini Mill, and going up over $1000 depending on the model. I've been using this little Capresso Infinity ($86) for many years and it's still serving me well.

In the meantime, adding a little more coffee grounds before brewing should help with the wateriness.

Well worst case, find a good roaster or coffee shop and buy beans from them. They will usually have an awesome grinder and will be willing to grind it for you if you buy from them.

You could get an electric grinder like the Capresso Infinity: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY it won't add that much time. Just a couple minutes and it will drastically improve your brew.

French press is pretty easy, you do not have to be as precise (use measuring spoons instead of scale etc) as this guy if you want easier but this is my favorite video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDasYv-IsiE

If you can spend the money I would try and find a better brewer at least. You can find cheaper options than the technivorm if you search on here.

Trader Joe's costa rican is amazing as well, but about double the price I believe.

My suggestion:

https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/

Along with

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Central-DCC-1200-Programmable-Cofeemaker/dp/B00005IBX9/

Or a french press. You'll have awesome coffee to take with you in a thermos every day.

I own one, and three months in, I've got no complaints whatsoever. It was definitely a step up from my Skerton. It offers a much more consistent grind. I'd say go for it, but I'd also look into the Capresso Infinity 560 for that price range.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AR7SY

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.

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.

Get really good coffee. Brew it well.

Also, in terms of good coffee, try single origin ones. Not just because it's snobby and usually good, but so you can start to find the tastes that suit you. Cream and sugar is covering up whatever you didn't like. But, there maybe a single origin coffee that has less of what you don't, and more of what you do.

For example, I might suggest something from Costa Rica. Their coffee is light on astringency, and very smooth and chocolatey.

The other thing is to brew it well. Whatever bitterness/astringency you may not like in black coffee, is accentuated with poor brewing.

Common mistakes include:

1. poor grind. Using crap blade grinders that has an inconsistent ground size, guaranteeing your grind has parts that are too fine, and thus will over extract, turning bitter
   
   
2. temperature too hot.
   
   
3. brewing too long.
   
   
   
   So either buy your cups coffee from a skilled coffee shop that will just make great black coffee for you.
   
   or invest in french press, and possibly a grinder, and make it yourself.
   
   on the grinder, a workable burr grinder will cost you about $80. If that is too expensive, just have the beans ground for you by the coffee vendor. I am of the camp that preground, is better then a fresh grind with a crappy blade grinder most people have at home. I have this and it is worth every penny. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AR7SY/ref=wms_ohs_product_T2
   
   and do time your brews. Don't leave your ground in the french press much longer then 4min to start. And see where you like it from there.

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)

Actually, I used this grinder for several years first and it's much more reasonably priced:

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375101257&sr=8-1&keywords=capresso+infinity+burr+grinder

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY

I've used this one for over a year and it's been excellent.

check for roasted on dates. and make sure that date is less than 3 weeks ago.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Bistro-Electric-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0043095WW/
   
3. https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Encore-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B007F183LK
   
   These are the minimum recommended ones. If you can shoot for a encore at the minimum because for just $30 more you can upgrade the burrs and make it a much better grinder.

Yeah, a grinder is probably the most important piece and should constitute the majority of your budget. I mentioned the Hario Skerton and the Capresso Infinity as two possible options within your budget.

>What's the advantage of electric?

Not having to spend 2 minutes cranking the thing every time you want coffee ;)

Under $150 you're looking at the Capresso Infinity, Baratza Encore and Breville BCG450. I can't vouch for the quality of any of these machines as I don't own any of them, though I did do some research into them as I was grinder-shopping fairly recently, and as long as you're not looking to grind espresso or turkish, any of those machines should do a pretty decent job (I ended up buying a Sunbeam em0480 as I wanted something capable of a passable espresso grind, but it's slightly outside your budget and, as far as I'm aware, not available outside Australia). That said, I'm far from a professional and I'd advise doing some research and reading some professional reviews before making any purchase, of course.

Yep, agree with you there. Although I got REALLY tired of manually grinding. I went with this grinder, which works out pretty well...

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY

College student here.
I use this. Cheap but great.

Curious to hear what you think of the consistency for this very entry level burr grinder ($80 on Amazon).

Also, what grind sizes would you recommend for Aeropress, Chemex, and French Press? My guesses are 6-9 for Aeropress, 9-11 for ChemEx, and probably 17 for French Press.

I haven't seen the infinity this cheap in a while. it's under $80 USD on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419972789&sr=8-1&keywords=capresso+infinity

You should get it soon if you are set on it. It's usually 90+ when I'm browsing around for other gear

Depends on how much of a budget you're on. I have a capresso infinity that can be had for $82 USD. As far as I know it's the cheapest decent electrical burr grinder. I've had mine for about 7 years and it still works perfectly. If you're really on a budget you'll probably have to go with manual. The results will be good but it takes some work. This one seems to be well liked.

Hey! Sorry for the late reply, was just searching /r/coffee for electric grinder advice. Which infinity is the latest model? A few different options come up on amazon with very different pricing. Is this the one you're talking about? Thank you!!

Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr vs
Baratza Encore vs
Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder

​

Thoughts?

This is the cheapest I would recommend. I had it and loved it. Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4aL8BbFVHMKZR

This is just my humble opinion especially based on your criteria...

This automatic drip coffee maker was the Consumer Reports Best Buy last year for under $40 (might can find it cheaper now) & it is a best seller on Amazon. The reason I like it is that it has the ability to reach 195° to 205° F for five or six minutes, the industry standard for optimal brewing.

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-BVMC-SJX33GT-Programmable-Coffeemaker/dp/B0047Y0UQO

Considering bang for buck, ease of use & amount of coffee produced, I'd probably go with Wired Magazine's 7 out of 10 recommendation.

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY

Currently looking at this one It's slightly out of my price range, however from the reviews I've read it would be very much worth to have. How's the cleaning between grinds if I want to try a different bean for example? And would the weighing be the beans you put in or the grind that comes out?

The compass is fantastic! Will definitely be using that to find the sweet spot. How would you increase/decrease the brew time in, say, my drip coffee maker?

Capresso coffee grinder, one of the best purchases I ever made.

http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1415764392&sr=1-1&keywords=capresso+infinity

92 bucks and it is a very good grinder.

You could probably find a used one of these for 50 bucks. I just sold my old Capresso for 50, so...

​

https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Conical-Grinder/dp/B0000AR7SY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=12U2UZSAYZM99&keywords=capresso+infinity+conical+burr+grinder&qid=1569009313&s=gateway&sprefix=capresso+infin%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4

Since it sounds like you’re making coffee for a lot of people you could do a lot worse than an automatic coffee machine paired with a decent grinder.

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.

Upvote for the burr grinder advice. I have a cheap(er) Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder, a Chemex and a Melita Ceramic Cone Brewer. I actually prefer the Melitta over the Chemex. For water I have a Bonavita programmable kettle. The Aeropress is on the long list of items I need to purchase... You probably already have a decent scale...

Follow up question if you don't mind - Would a ~$35 Hario hand grinder then grind at a level of an electric grinder >= $100?

You mentioned the refurb Encore at $100 and I see the Capresso Infinity at $76. Which would be the better buy?
Appreciate the advice about false burrs.

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.

Ok. Any time you think coffee tastes like dirt it means that you are drinking shitty coffee. Don't feel bad. Almost everyone does it. You're going to learn to stop.

This is how you drink black coffee.

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First: prices. Done right, coffee costs $10-15/bag and you can easily get 18-25 cups out of that bag. If you are spending less than that then you are ruining yourself. Homemade coffee is cheap, far cheaper than otherwise.

Go buy a french press and a grinder. Real buffs will tell you that you need a burr grinder. They're right, but one of those whirlyblade ones will do for now. The press will last forever.

Go find the most hip coffee house in the area and ask them where they got their beans. If you live on the US east coast, there's good chance it's Counter Culture. This is good. If it's a local roast, this might be better. In either case, ask for the roasting date. Don't buy a bag that's more than 10 days past roast and spend at least $10 on whatever you do buy. If they don't know when it was roasted with certainty, assume it was more than a year ago. This is incredibly important and the primary reason why most coffee sucks.

Don't buy anything espresso. Or "french". Or "dark". These are for later, being both sweet and acidic. You want a light roast, maybe Colombian, maybe Ethiopian.

Go home and put a kettle on until the water boils. Do not use the boiling water! Add some extra water to dilute the boiling stuff by about 1 to 5. The goal is to get your water at 190 degrees, but don't sweat it. If it's appreciably cooler than boiling you'll be safe.

Put about 2 tablespoons of coffee beans into your grinder and tap the grind button 4-8 times. The goal is to smash the beans into grains like rough sand, not like powder. Error on the side of too big.

Now open up that french press. Put the grinds in first then add a mug's worth of water. Mix! If you don't, you'll get super weak disgusting stuff. Leave the plunger up for about 3 minutes then slowly plunge it down. Pour it into your mug slowly and watch the graininess. When you can see grains in the flow of coffee, stop pouring.

Now go and get yourself a cup of the coldest ice water you can make. Drink a sip of water and then a sip of coffee without a dollop of cream or a touch of sugar.

---

This is how you drink black coffee.

I ordered a Capresso 565 (http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY/) after checking out the other recommendations in the FAQ because it was the only one that seemed to do Turkish fine consistency. It was pricy.. $130.

I am going to skip on the Hazelnut and Heavy Cream, but I generally deeply enjoy the Hazelnut flavor.. what kind of bean would you recommend that comes close to that.. nutty/sweet aftertaste?

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.

For grinding, either get this ideally, or one of these two if the first is too expensive (this) or (this). Those really are the only options if you want a reasonably consistent grind without spending much money, or spending five minutes grinding by hand. Whatever you do, do not get a blade grinder or Krups "burr grinder" or the Cuisinart DBM-8 "burr grinder". All of those will just bash the beans apart with blunt instruments, they don't actually grind with burrs.

Ya, i also copped a Capresso which seems to be highly rated and is under 100. threw all my Amzn points at the purchase and out the door for like $300 :D

I disagree with the other poster. I'd suggest getting a good enough grinder and blow as much on the espresso machine as possible. Every extra dollar you can drop on the espresso machine will pay off (at least in tiers). I'd suggest holding on for another $100 in the budget so you can drop $450 on the espresso machine and drop the other $50 on a cheap burr grinder that you can upgrade later on in your adventures.

For super-cheap but well worth the money, I'd actually suggest the Mr. Coffee automatic burr grinder. I produces a surprisingly consistent grind for a meager $40.

For an intermediate option, the Capresso 560.01 Infinity conical burr grinder at a fair $80 is your best bet. It will produce a greatly consistent grind without overly heating the beans and last a long time.

The grinders in question, with Amazon links and ratings:

• Capresso Infinity
  $99.95, 4 stars, 1962 customer reviews
  
  
• Baratza Encore
  $129.01, 4 stars, 268 customer reviews
  
  
• Bodum Bistro
  $127.99, 4 stars, 840 customer reviews
  
  
• Breville Smart Grinder
  $199.90, 4 stars, 506 customer reviews

You can get a good grinder under $200.

exampl