sammy3D Senior Member Joined: 4 Jun 2012 Posts: 9 Location: Atlanta, GA Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: Bodum Bistro Drip: Melitta Ready Set Joe
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 1:03pm Subject: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
My morning cup is lacking. I have been drinking coffee for decades and have gotten to the point where I am seeking a more satisfying morning cup. Several years ago I moved away from the pre-ground stuff and starting buying whole beans and grinding my own. I also got a 'better' coffee maker. My current setup is a Mr. Coffee blade grinder and a GE 12 Cup Gourmet Drip Brewer. An improvement? Yes, but something is missing. Hmm?
After reading on CG for about a week (a big thank you to all CG contributors!) I decided to upgrade to some better equipment in search of that satisfying morning cup. I have no control with my current setup over the grind consistency, water temps, extraction time and also the coffee:water ratio is off ( I found out).
I pulled out my digital BBQ thermometer and measured the water temps on my GE auto drip brewer. The water coming out on the coffee is about 178-180F and ends up at 155-157F in the pot. Takes about 3.5 minutes to brew 4 cups (16 oz) which fills my travel mug for the morning.
I also grabbed my digital scale and weighed the coffee from my GE supplied scoop - 5.6g! So all this time I was using 5.6g of coffee per 4 oz of water that wasn't even up to true brewing temps!
I tried an experiment that was inspired by the Clever Coffee Dripper. I measured out 28g of coffee for a 16oz brew. Ground it as best I could with the blade grinder and dumped it in the GE filter basket. Boiled some filtered water on the stove and let it cool for about 30 seconds. I left the pot off the brewer so the water would stay in the coffee and poured in just enough to wet the grinds. I let this sit for about 30 seconds and poured in a bit more. After another 30 seconds I placed the pot under the filter basket to start it draining and slowly poured the rest of the water through. Took about 4 minutes total. This made probably the best cup I have had off this machine!
First thing I did was order a new grinder. A Bodum Bistro conical burr grinder is on the way. That will hopefully take care of the grind consistency as the Mr. Coffee blade grind yields various ranges of chunky with some powder no matter how I set it.
So my question is what next? Leaning towards a manual dripper. CCD? Chemex? Hario? Mellita?
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 5:01pm Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
Yes. Getting a good grinder is key. I have the CCD and think it's great for <16oz at a time. It's cheap, reliable and super easy to use. I also just pour the water in it from the kettle (after it just starts or almost starts to boil) figuring it'll be 205 or less within seconds of hitting the ground coffee. Sometimes I microwave the water to about 204 degrees. You could even figure out how long you need to microwave x gms of coffee to get to the correct temp.
If you want to spend real money (and be able to make more coffee) you could check out the large Espro Press. It sounds great, giving all the benefits of FP without much sediment. You could also consider either a better automatic drip (Bunn, Brazen Brewer, or Technivorum). If I was buying a drip today, it would probably be the Brazen. For me the fully manual pour-overs would be too tedious.
By the way: I use about 1.6 gm coffee per ounce so 5.4gm for 4oz, though low, isn't absurd.
Cerridwyn Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2010 Posts: 394 Location: Inland Empire California Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 5:54pm Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
I think it all depends on what you think makes a great cup of coffee.
My opinion, and others may disagree, pour over coffee is sweeter. I don't like the CCD, I either pour by hand, with a hario, or use a press. French pressed coffee is heavier.
Do you have any good coffee places near you? If yes, go have some coffee there made as many ways as they make it. Use the same beans and see what you come up with that you like the best. Then spend the money.
If you want to plug and play, either get a Brazen or a Bonavita.
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 6:04pm Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
While an Espro or high end automatic is relatively expensive (>= $100), CCD, pour overs and FPs are pretty cheap. You really could experiment and see what you like.
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 6:58pm Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
Welcome to CG!
You didn't mention if you are only doing single serve or if you are going to brew for more than one person. Single serve options CCD is good and simple. I love the aeropress as it produces amazing coffee although you need to up dose.
Chemex will be better for more than one person as will a larger FP/Espro.
BUT the next issue is GIGO (garbage in - garbage out) While using whole beans is much better than pre-ground there is wide variation in roast quality. Don't buy anything with an expiration date or that does not have a roast date on it. Freshly roasted (starting 3 days post roast and using before a week or two) makes a HUGE difference in combination with a good burr grinder (remember the blade just pulverizes the bean - doesn't actually grind it).
That being said there is a HUGE difference between freshly roasted and WELL roasted. Treat yourself to several bags of coffee from a well respected roaster like Intelly, Counter Culture, 49th Parallel, Ritual to name a few. Deals can be had on shipping at sites like gocoffeego.com and roaste.com. You can freeze the beans to keep them fresher - just make sure they are in an airtight container and that when you thaw them you don't open the jar (I use Ball canning jars).
Posted Wed Jun 6, 2012, 1:35am Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
Aeropress, Kalita Kantans, or French press for a single mug of coffee. Chemex for larger amounts. Hario or Melitta works for me too, though to get a single mug of good coffee is trickier.
Not a fan of the CCD. Elegant idea but the practice doesn't live up to the idea. Maybe it's the longer steep time but, even with rinsing, there is a taste from the paper filter.
sammy3D Senior Member Joined: 4 Jun 2012 Posts: 9 Location: Atlanta, GA Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: Bodum Bistro Drip: Melitta Ready Set Joe
Posted Wed Jun 6, 2012, 4:30pm Subject: Re: Upgrading my uninspiring coffee setup
Thank you all for the replies and warm welcome. I picked up a Melitta Ready Set Joe pourover cone at my local grocery last night for $2.99. Used it this morning and it made a pretty good cup. A bit small for my travel mug but was fun to experiment for only $3 bucks. Still fighting my blade grinder but the Bodum Bistro will be here tomorrow. :-)
The coffee beans I have right now are some eight o'clock Colombian. Not the greatest beans so am looking at some of the fresh and well roasted beans as clumeng suggested.
The CCD is looking attractive as it seems easier to use than say a Hario or Chemex with less pouring technique required. Is one of the goose-neck style kettles a must have for the Hario or Chemex?
I take the pourover icon = 0, so settings in this nomenclature:
FP=6 Espresso=-5 (IIRC).
I find if you're doing something like a clever with ~3:00 contact time, try setting 4 (Drip Icon + 4 dots counterclockwise).
Also, the grinder itself keeps about a half gram or so. Get a decent paintbrush and a pipe cleaner. Dust will stick to the inside of the chute just as it leaves the lower burr, if you turn it upside down (in the sink!) and look up the chute, you'll see what I mean.
There's some variation with the top burr, so mark "front" and put it back together the same way. I get a slightly (about 1 step) tighter grind if I put my top burr in one direction vs. the other.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
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