badmajon Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Posts: 9 Location: Pasadena, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 5:14am Subject: Best coffee brewer for two
I've been making coffee for my wife and I with a 12 cup bialetti moka express, which makes inferior coffee to the 3 cup version. I originally bought the 3 cup when I was living away from home, and I figured the 12 cup would make the same coffee, but bigger- it doesn't. So, I'm planning on getting rid of it and trying something else.
We both like well balanced coffees with lots of body, and roast our own beans for that flavor. We usually drink about 16 oz of coffee between the two of us on a given morning over about 30-45 minutes. That's four 4oz cups.
I was thinking about a chemex, but the coffee would probably get cold. The nice thing about the bialetti is that its made of metal, so I can put a towel over it once I take it off the stove, and it keeps the coffee warm.
Drip brewers just don't cut the mustard for us. No flavor, weak body, yuck. Of course it would be nice to have a $1000 espresso maker and just pull shots on the fly, but we don't have $1000 to spend on a machine.
Pourover and vaccum carafe maybe? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Bob_M Senior Member Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 71 Location: Ripon, California
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 7:16am Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
My vote goes for French press or press pot. Cheap, easy to use,with lots of body. You havent mentioned which grinder you have but i would point out that many grinders start producing lots of unwanted fines when opened up to the extent needed for press. I would recommend a grinder that does well in the coarse range. It seems that the new (as of last January) burrs in the baratza Virtuoso fits the bill. I say "seems to" because I am not aware of any formal taste test that bears this out. But in the words of Mark Prince "In truth, the Preciso offers the same kind of fines control that $1500, $2000 high end commercial grinders provide, and then some." As of earlier this year the virtuoso has the same burrs as the Preciso. The Detailed review can be seen here http://www.coffeegeek.com/proreviews/quickshot/baratzavirtGuosopreciso/details
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 11:00am Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
badmajon Said:
We both like well balanced coffees with lots of body, and roast our own beans for that flavor. We usually drink about 16 oz of coffee between the two of us on a given morning over about 30-45 minutes. That's four 4oz cups.
I was thinking about a chemex, but the coffee would probably get cold. The nice thing about the bialetti is that its made of metal, so I can put a towel over it once I take it off the stove, and it keeps the coffee warm.
I personally use a chemex for two people but i dont let it sit for 30-45 minutes before drinking. In this case, maybe transfer the coffee to a thermos or something similar?
Maybe consider a Behmor Brazen when they are available. It's an automatic machine but with all the options on it, it SHOULD be able to be as good if not better than many of the manual brewers out there.
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 3:03pm Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
Bob_M Said:
My vote goes for French press or press pot. Cheap, easy to use,with lots of body. You havent mentioned which grinder you have but i would point out that many grinders start producing lots of unwanted fines when opened up to the extent needed for press. I would recommend a grinder that does well in the coarse range. It seems that the new (as of last January) burrs in the baratza Virtuoso fits the bill. I say "seems to" because I am not aware of any formal taste test that bears this out. But in the words of Mark Prince "In truth, the Preciso offers the same kind of fines control that $1500, $2000 high end commercial grinders provide, and then some." As of earlier this year the virtuoso has the same burrs as the Preciso. The Detailed review can be seen here Click Here (www.coffeegeek.com)
+1. French press. Lots of body. You can purchase insulated ones that will hold in heat. Click Here (www.amazon.com)
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 7:20pm Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
The French press is also my favorite brewer for two and I still often use my Bodum. However for your specific application I would suggest the one litre Espro press.
The two layers of ultra fine filtering do a surprisingly good job of isolating the ground coffee from the finished coffee brew and I concur with the Espro description that the coffee is still very good up to an hour after pressing. This surprised me at first but it does make some sense if you remember that the most common concern with the Espro press has been the difficulty in accessing the coffee below and outside the filter. If you cannot pour the coffee in bottom out it is not surprising that it has little negative effect on the coffee above the filter.
If you preheat the Espro with a little water, half a pot will still be quite hot after an hour since the construction is double walled stainless steel with a vacuum between the walls.
You mentioned the possible consideration of a vacuum pot. I have never used one, but apparently part of the reason for Espro filtering the coffee brew both below the surface and at the surface is to combine the advantages and eliminate the concerns of both the vacuum pot and normal French press.
I enjoy all the body with the minimal amount of fines that the Espro provides, but if you prefer to highlight some of the delicate flavors of some coffees you might prefer a pour over. Have fun investigating and let us know how you make out.
Joel_B Senior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2007 Posts: 1,823 Location: Pacific NW Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astra Mega II Grinder: Mazzer SJ, Virtuoso Vac Pot: Yama 5 cup Drip: nope, french press Roaster: Behmor, WP, BBQ drum
Posted Mon Aug 27, 2012, 8:24pm Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
All things considered, the french press is the best all around brewer for me. But every brewing method produces a different cup. Press is rich but there's a silt with it too. Frank's mention of the brazen is a solid option. Most drip brewers produce bad coffee due to improper and wildly varying temp management but also poor saturation and improper brew times. The brazen is different and the coffee I've had from it was phenomenal. Body of a press but clean like a vac pot or pour over. Vac pot is another option. Not quite as much body as a press but a cleaner cup. Aero press makes an interesting cup. I see it more of a single cup brewer but its so fast and easy that two cups in a row is a breeze.
Joel_B Senior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2007 Posts: 1,823 Location: Pacific NW Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astra Mega II Grinder: Mazzer SJ, Virtuoso Vac Pot: Yama 5 cup Drip: nope, french press Roaster: Behmor, WP, BBQ drum
Posted Tue Aug 28, 2012, 6:07am Subject: Re: Best coffee brewer for two
Yup, at scaa. He was more than generous in getting me passes. He had a couple prototypes there; you wouldn't know it came out of a home drip brewer, it was really that good. Some really cool things about it, but biggest things are the temp management and friend saturation.
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