Coffee - how do you drink it and why?

[radeonboy]

I bought a Moccamaster over BF after seeing all the online praise, but I'm struggling to notice much (or if any) improvement over my Ninja coffee maker using the same beans and grind settings. I'm a NPC coffee drinker, buy my beans from Costco, and use filtered water and a burr coffee grinder - how do I maximize my experience with this machine so I can get the most out of it?

I bought the coffee maker from an independent retailer so I don't want to return the machine.

[Badhobz]

thats why you dont buy into the coffee hype. I drink a cup of starbucks from their 20k machine and i think it tastes like shit. I much rather like my hazelnut costco coffee out of my miele machine.

To each their own. my dad loves mcdonalds coffee. he says everything else taste like crap. go figure.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

thats why you dont buy into the coffee hype. I drink a cup of starbucks from their 20k machine and i think it tastes like shit. I much rather like my hazelnut costco coffee out of my miele machine.

To each their own. my dad loves mcdonalds coffee. he says everything else taste like crap. go figure.

Yup, once the grind size, water temp, measurements, and timing are all dialed in, a $100 or $10,000 machine can't possibly make coffee better than a $5 Hario

[unit]

I think buying better beans is always the best way to get better coffee bar none.

[Badhobz]

i mean its the same as people and their wines. Since i dont drink, i dont understand any of this.... its just grape juice for adults and its not even good tasting grape juice, its bitter and pungent. Yarg.... i dont get it.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

I bought a Moccamaster

I am mad jelly right now I want to punch Badhobz in the cooter.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

I bought a Moccamaster over BF after seeing all the online praise, but I'm struggling to notice much (or if any) improvement over my Ninja coffee maker using the same beans and grind settings. I'm a NPC coffee drinker, buy my beans from Costco, and use filtered water and a burr coffee grinder - how do I maximize my experience with this machine so I can get the most out of it?

I bought the coffee maker from an independent retailer so I don't want to return the machine.

The beans you use will make the biggest difference, second is your grinder. What burr grinder do you have?

Honestly, the appeal of the Moccamaster isn’t that it makes brilliant coffee - there are other drip coffee makers that do better (Ratio 8, Fellow Aiden, Breville Precision) - it’s that the Moccamaster is dead simple, easy to use and will be with you 20 years down the road. Oh and the hipster looks that makes bcrdukes swoon.

You maximize the Moccamaster by simply using it. Mine has been a workhorse for 6 years now.

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

The beans you use will make the biggest difference, second is your grinder. What burr grinder do you have?

Honestly, the appeal of the Moccamaster isn’t that it makes brilliant coffee - there are other drip coffee makers that do better (Ratio 8, Fellow Aiden, Breville Precision) - it’s that the Moccamaster is dead simple, easy to use and will be with you 20 years down the road. Oh and the hipster looks that makes bcrdukes swoon.

You maximize the Moccamaster by simply using it. Mine has been a workhorse for 6 years now.

I use an Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder. Currently I'm just brewing Kicking Horse coffee from Costco, and for my untrained taste buds, the coffee tastes the same between my two machines.

Watching the water rise from the Moccamaster is pretty cool though - definitely has the 'hipster' part down. But the Ninja won't be going anywhere either since I love making iced coffee with it.

[Hehe]

The perfect way to describe coffee and its gears for me is analog cameras.

Coffee beans are films.
Coffee machines are cameras
Grinders is the chemicals you use to develop photos.
Everything about coffee making involves the understanding of the equivalent of shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity/ISO: temperature and pressure that dictates the flow rate.

Coffee beans that one uses would have the most impact on coffee. Most of people, like hobz's dad had coffee pretty much one way. They want a dark roast with a prominent bitterness infused in the coffee flavor that they can adjust using some kind of sweetners be it milk, sugar or whatever.

But there's so much more to that flavor in coffee. You can have different beans (caturra, geisha, yirgacheffe... etc) in different roast level as well as processing (washed/wet vs natural/dry or even fermentation) and just like film, it'd give you a totally different tonality (flavor) in your picture.

Coffee equipment, regardless whether it's an espresso machine (cheap or expensive), pour over, or whatever is about how to take a shot effectively. My Kees Spiritello/Slayer single group does the same job as the Breville 870 I had before. The difference is speed and consistency. I can steam my milk to the desire temperature within 10sec while having zero variation in water temperature and pressure (flow rate) vs the 870.

It doesn't mean the 870 can't make decent coffee. It just means my Kees can do it way faster and repeat that same flavor for 10 shots without breaking a sweat while the 870 might struggle to get it right from one shot to another. Just like either a Nikon F6 would do the same job as a Nikon FE. Given the same film and lens, and the same develop method, they can totally take the exact same shot. The F6 just does it faster and more consistent than the FE by miles.

[Badhobz]

Cool analogy. Quite poetic.

[bcrdukes]

Wow, that was...

Re: Moccamaster - roastpuff nailed it. It's a solid, reliable unit that will last years to come and you can expect consistency from its brew. My cousin has a Breville Precision and brews an awesome coffee even if you use grocery store beans. I have a Costco-purchased Braun unit and it brews a good pot of coffee, but I am able to discern flavour nuances between the Braun, the Breville, and a Mocamaster. This is from years of coffee geeking and nerding (highly not recommended.)

I can't comment on whether or not you are doing anything "wrong" or point any faults to the equipment you are using, but perhaps some coffee education may help. See if any of the local roaster offer tasting sessions. I know JJ Bean used to offer public sessions but they may have discontinued it. Email a few roasters in town and see if they offer any tasting education sessions.

Having said all that, I don't really know anything about coffee so you guys are better off listening to guys like Hehe and roastpuff. Be sure to ask roastpff to brew you some coffee.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

I use an Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder. Currently I'm just brewing Kicking Horse coffee from Costco, and for my untrained taste buds, the coffee tastes the same between my two machines.

Watching the water rise from the Moccamaster is pretty cool though - definitely has the 'hipster' part down. But the Ninja won't be going anywhere either since I love making iced coffee with it.

Try some different beans - or try messing with the grind settings on your burr grinder. Each machine is slightly different in what kind of grind it likes best.

Great explanation by Hehe.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Cool analogy. Quite poetic.

So? Are you convinced yet? Are you one of us coffee enthusiasts now?

New Hobzys Coffee-making Hobby thread?

[bcrdukes]

The next time I see Badhobz I'm going to coffeeboard him and teach the CIA how to re-write their torture tactics.

Once I'm done, he's going to come back here to edit all his coffee hating posts.

[Badhobz]

I bought that miele machine 2 years ago and its barely being used. Like once or twice a month…. The other day i used it to brew a cup of coffee to go with my stroopwaffle i bought from costco. Its okay i guess.

Its bean juice. Big whoop.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

I bought that miele machine 2 years ago and its barely being used. Like once or twice a month…. The other day i used it to brew a cup of coffee to go with my stroopwaffle i bought from costco. Its okay i guess.

Its bean juice. Big whoop.

There are a lot of beans that you should try. Your Miele is very capable. You just need to try different beans.

If anyone is up for it, I don't mind hosting a literal coffee and car meet at my place. Maybe when dukes is in town next time.

[unit]

not everyone likes or cares about 'good' coffee. most of the world drinks nescafe and they love it. there's no convincing most people that what they are drinking isnt good, don't even bother it's a huge waste of time and money.

my mom has made drip in her conical dripper for decades, just with her spice grinder.
i bought them a bonavista machine and gave them my old baratza encore and they used it for like a week then put it away.

its only worth introducing those who are already interested in upping their game and are curious, everyone else just leave them alone.

[bcrdukes]

Is Hehe inviting Badhobz over to his house for a fight? I'd pay to see this.

Do this without me. I don't even like coffee. I find it disgusting.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Is Hehe inviting Badhobz over to his house for a fight? I'd pay to see this.

Do this without me. I don't even like coffee. I find it disgusting.

You wanna see two fatasses giving a go at each other? Not the most pleasant imagery in my mind.

It's just having a meet and go over each others favorite coffee. Good gears make the comparison super consistent. In my drawer I have anything from Starbucks beans from grocery stores to award winning beans at the best roasters in the world and I try them all. There's no definitive way to say what's better. My go-to roaster in Colombia gave me a small bag of their hyper exclusive reserve only given to fellow coffee growers to get an idea what is capable of this high-tech growing method. Supposedly out of this world. But imo it's shit for expresso (which is my favorite coffee type) but incredible for pour over.

[bcrdukes]

Expresso - you are dead to me.

P.S. - I hate coffee.

[6793026]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

I use an Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder. Currently I'm just brewing Kicking Horse coffee from Costco, and for my untrained taste buds, the coffee tastes the same between my two machines.

Watching the water rise from the Moccamaster is pretty cool though - definitely has the 'hipster' part down. But the Ninja won't be going anywhere either since I love making iced coffee with it.

is this the one you got?

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by Hehe

There are a lot of beans that you should try. Your Miele is very capable. You just need to try different beans.

If anyone is up for it, I don't mind hosting a literal coffee and car meet at my place. Maybe when dukes is in town next time.

Do you have some crazy rule about how one empties their bladder in your toilet?

[radeonboy]

^Nah it's just a standard coffee maker that I bought from the clearance section of Bed Bath years ago. Looks similar to this:

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

Do you have some crazy rule about how one empties their bladder in your toilet?

I have 4 toilets. Knock yourself out.