captamerica Senior Member Joined: 12 Oct 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 7:59pm Subject: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
Long story short, several years ago, I tasted the quality flavor and smoothness that french press coffee is. There is nothing else like it. Since that time, I have pretty much been a snob. A pressed coffee snob. I can barely drink anything else.
My boss showed me her super automatic Jura F7. That thing was sweet, and produced decent coffee. It was no coffee press, but coffee was pretty good, and even better, it did EVERYTHING for you. Coffee in less than a minute, and does all the work. Even the clean up.
So, I tried one for myself. I spent $700+ on a certified refurb. The thing was beautiful. And, everything worked wonderfully. Coffee in less than a minute. However, no matter what combination I tried (different beans, grind size, grind amount, water amount, etc), the coffee always came out sub par. Not only was it not pressed coffee flavor and smoothness, it wasn't even close. Even though I had fallen in love with this machine, with it unable to produce something close, I had to return it. This was a couple years ago.
Recently, I've really wanted to try something fully automatic like that. From start to finish, something that brews on demand, quickly, and cleans up. AND, has great flavor. I've not been able to find any great reviews, nor can I find any place that allows you to try coffee from these types of machines.
What I'd like to find out is whether there are any machines that are capable of producing really rich and flavorful coffee, something close to what pressed coffee tastes like. I know I will never get the exact same thing out of a machine since it is an entirely different brewing method, but trying to get closer than the Jura I tried before. Maybe I just had a bad machine, or maybe i'm getting too picky. Anyone have any suggestions?
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,100 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sat Oct 13, 2012, 9:05am Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
So, Dan . . . keep in mind that a Jura is a super-auto espresso maker, and -- if you truly love espresso -- they fail miserably.
I'm not sure why one would pay the extra for an automated "French Press", when a "real" (manual) press is significantly less and (probably) does a much better job, but certainly the machine mentioned by outrigger is one option.
Then again, I've no doubt the Bunn Trifecta is a better, albeit more expensive, option.
EvanOz85 Senior Member Joined: 9 Jul 2011 Posts: 259 Location: Lafayette, LA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Preciso, Hario... Vac Pot: Bodum Santos, Yama 5-cup Drip: Chemex, Kone 3, Kalita Wave,... Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Sun Oct 14, 2012, 10:58am Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
Not trying to be rude...but I have a feeling that the only reason you feel like you're a "pressed coffee snob" is because you haven't ventured out and tried much else. There is a vast array of delicious coffee brewing options that, in my opinion, far surpass the French press.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,100 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sun Oct 14, 2012, 12:12pm Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
EvanOz85 Said:
Not trying to be rude...but I have a feeling that the only reason you feel like you're a "pressed coffee snob" is because you haven't ventured out and tried much else.
captamerica Senior Member Joined: 12 Oct 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Sun Oct 14, 2012, 2:37pm Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
Fair enough. So, I've had pressed coffee, drip coffee (yuck), percolator coffee, and coffee generated through an expresso machine using pressure extraction (e.g. Jura). What other methods out there are there that are good/better? I've also never tried a vacuum pot
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,100 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sun Oct 14, 2012, 4:53pm Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
With all due respect . . .
First of all, if you say "yuck" to pourover (drip), then you haven't had properly-made pourover. (On the other hand, if you had said "yuck" after the word percolator, I don't think anyone would argue.)
Secondly: a) the word is "espresso" (with an "s"); b) "Jura" is another word after which you could say "yuck," and very few would argue.
Third, a partial list of preparation methods for coffee would include (in alphabetical order):
campfire/"cowboy" coffee
Clover® (and similar automatic immersion/press)
cold brew
espresso (Note: some maintain there is a distinct difference between a manual machine, and an espresso shot pulled with a semi-or full-auto; this doesn't even begin to get into the debate of how the taste is affected between flat and conical burr sets)
espresso (made by a super-automatic)
espresso (made using pods or other pre-packaged source)
VKirby Senior Member Joined: 16 Mar 2012 Posts: 85 Location: World Wide Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Oct 15, 2012, 12:00am Subject: Re: Fully automatic coffee machine that produces french press quality coffee?
captamerica Said:
Long story short, several years ago, I tasted the quality flavor and smoothness that french press coffee is. There is nothing else like it. Since that time, I have pretty much been a snob. A pressed coffee snob. I can barely drink anything else.
My boss showed me her super automatic Jura F7. That thing was sweet, and produced decent coffee. It was no coffee press, but coffee was pretty good, and even better, it did EVERYTHING for you. Coffee in less than a minute, and does all the work. Even the clean up.
So, I tried one for myself. I spent $700+ on a certified refurb. The thing was beautiful. And, everything worked wonderfully. Coffee in less than a minute. However, no matter what combination I tried (different beans, grind size, grind amount, water amount, etc), the coffee always came out sub par. Not only was it not pressed coffee flavor and smoothness, it wasn't even close. Even though I had fallen in love with this machine, with it unable to produce something close, I had to return it. This was a couple years ago.
Recently, I've really wanted to try something fully automatic like that. From start to finish, something that brews on demand, quickly, and cleans up. AND, has great flavor. I've not been able to find any great reviews, nor can I find any place that allows you to try coffee from these types of machines.
What I'd like to find out is whether there are any machines that are capable of producing really rich and flavorful coffee, something close to what pressed coffee tastes like. I know I will never get the exact same thing out of a machine since it is an entirely different brewing method, but trying to get closer than the Jura I tried before. Maybe I just had a bad machine, or maybe i'm getting too picky. Anyone have any suggestions?
Ummm, I'm not trying to be rude, but (& with all due respect) welcome to CG! It only gets better from here! I've had good luck so far with the vacuum pot, but I kind of regret not going with something a little more convenient after a year of wiping messy/loose grind cleanups on a daily basis. Not so bad that I resorted back to the auto dripper, but still- I like your idea of FULLY automated. Everything's a trade off though. Maybe sacrifice a little convenience for something that will satisfy your snobbery!
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