# How do You Make Your Coffee?



## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

We used an automatic filter machine (Cuisinart), but since we don't drink coffee regularly throughout the day, we usually ended up throwing most of it away. We got a Keurig single-cup machine for Christmas. My wife likes it. I'm less enthusiastic. The coffee seems a bit weak and the K-cups are an outrageously expensive way to buy coffee (~$35 a pound!). We got the insert that allows you to use your own grounds, but it doesn't work very well. At first, it leaked water all over the place. A trip to the Internet showed that many people had the same problem with it - the cup doesn't seat properly against the washer on the water-dispensing "needle". I followed everyone's advice and added another washer, and that solved the problem, but the coffee is even weaker than with the K-cups (I'm still fiddling with the right grind). I decided that cleaning the insert was just as much work as cleaning a French press, so I dug out the old one-cup French press and have returned to that.


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## upthewazzu (Nov 3, 2011)

You should stick with the french press. It makes a nice bold coffee, but won't make a full 12 cups worth like an auto-pot. 

Personally, I drink coffee like water. It's my only vice (well, that and the occasional cigar) so I don't feel so bad about my habit. It's auto-pot or bust for me.


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## TommyDawg (Jan 6, 2008)

French press. Love the coffee it makes. And you can fix as much or little as you like. It does tend to cool a bit quick, but for my second cup or so, I just pop my cup in the microwave. Prior to the FP, I was actually using a perkolator, which I still loved way more than a drip maker or the Kcups. I agree with your points on the kcups. 
Tom


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## Dragoon (Apr 1, 2010)

I got a k-cup machine just a couple of weeks ago and am liking it so far. I only make coffee at home on the weekends and I'm the only one here that drinks it. I agree that the French press makes the best coffee but I finally decided it wasn't worth the bother to me.

We have an industrial grade Bunn at work and it makes a really good cup of coffee.


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

More importantly, which is the most Trad way of doing it?


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## 12345Michael54321 (Mar 6, 2008)

Just in the interest of completeness, shouldn't the poll include "instant," as a choice? Even if you hate instant coffee, there's no denying that it's how a huge number of people make their coffee.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

... and pushing a button on the vending machine should probably have been on there, too. That's how we got it at a few placed I've worked; but I'm not sure that counts as "making" coffee ...


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## jasonbourne (Dec 10, 2007)

I use a chemex. It is a bit trad as it was invented in the 30s or so. It was also the way james bond made is coffee. It does make a great cup of coffee, i would say between a chemex, a french press and a decent espresso machine you can make any type of coffee you could imagine. You have the pure clean cup made from the chemex, the oily (in a good way) full flavor of a french press and the full power of the espresso.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

We have perked, pressed, steamed and dripped and the bottom line is, assuming the process has been done right, it all tastes pretty similar, but nothing is quite so convenient as a Bunn unit...particularly at 0430 hrs!


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

12345Michael54321 said:


> Just in the interest of completeness, shouldn't the poll include "instant," as a choice? Even if you hate instant coffee, there's no denying that it's how a huge number of people make their coffee.


In the UK maybe, but not in the USA!!

I usually start off with three or four cups, which is just two mug fulls or so.

We have a cone filter type maker that suits us fine.


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## catside (Oct 7, 2010)

eagle2250 said:


> We have perked, pressed, steamed and dripped and the bottom line is, assuming the process has been done right, it all tastes pretty similar, but nothing is quite so convenient as a Bunn unit...particularly at 0430 hrs!


Drop in if you come down the country. I will show you that Turkish coffee does taste different. You are correct for Americano.


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## 12345Michael54321 (Mar 6, 2008)

WouldaShoulda said:


> In the UK maybe, but not in the USA!!


I'm in the USA, and I assure you that many millions of people in this country do regularly choose to drink instant coffee.

If you hate instant coffee, that's fine by me. But any meaningful poll of how people make coffee still ought to include instant as one of the choices.
-- 
Michael


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## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

I use those dreaded k-cups due to the fiancée having a Keurig. When I will regularly shell out $5 for a mocha a s-bux, I can't really complain about the fifty cents per for a k-cup. Yes, a Keurig is more expensive, but if you find the coffee weak, then simply use a bolder roast. Also, when using a refillable k-cup (there are many types, check amazon), only fill it 2/3rds of the way, and use a finer grind. I've never had the leakage problems with my reusables.


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

Every day I drink 2-3 cups of what may be the best coffee in the world, Martin Diedrich's.

I used to like espresso a lot more, but these days I use only a press pot. Besides the superior cup it makes, I like the simplicity of it.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

12345Michael54321 said:


> I'm in the USA, and I assure you that many millions of people in this country do regularly choose to drink instant coffee.
> 
> If you hate instant coffee, that's fine by me. But any meaningful poll of how people make coffee still ought to include instant as one of the choices.
> --
> Michael


This is an internet mens clothing forum.

You expected a meaningful poll of how people make coffee for fewer tan 10% of the US population besides "other??"


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

I make Cuban style coffee on a stove top espresso machine every morning. I love the stuff. Here's a video on the process. It's very Havana Trad (it's a thing).


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## challer (Sep 4, 2008)

Nespresso Latissimo. Perfect expresso or cap every time, very consistent and much more cost effective than SB.


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## MacTweed (Oct 30, 2011)

Typically because of the vast quantity of coffee I drink I use a machine. But my two favorite methods are French press and a Chemex-style pour-over method (see below). Actually, my favorite is with a percolator while I am out camping, but that is merely because I am camping (not because I enjoy grounds in my coffee).


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

upthewazzu said:


> You should stick with the french press. It makes a nice bold coffee, but won't make a full 12 cups worth like an auto-pot.


Yes you can. 12 cup Bodum French Press.

You could also just brew in a big pot and pour over a filter. Just putting it out there. The drip pot is still way easier.



zzdocxx said:


> More importantly, which is the most Trad way of doing it?


Percolator. It's used by Civil War re-enactors. Otherwise, boiling in a pot.

Regardless of what method you use, you'll get better tasting coffee by buying whole beans and grinding them fresh yourself. The better the grinder, the better the grind and consequently the taste. That said, my brother can't taste, doesn't care, or refuses to learn to taste the difference. Either way, he still drinks my French press brewed Joe. I just upgraded to a Baratza Maestro from a Bodum Ikon and have been using a French Press for the past 3-4 years.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

A Jura bean-to-cup espresso machine. Before that an Italian moka pot. Like above freshly ground freshly roasted beans are essential. Filter or press just does not cut the mustard for me - too bland. High pressure water to capture every bit of caffinated goodness is the only way for me.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Leighton said:


> Regardless of what method you use, you'll get better tasting coffee by buying whole beans and grinding them fresh yourself.


+1

I hand grind Bustelo Supreme whole-bean in a Camano Coffee Mill on the finest setting. No scorched beans or waking the baby at o-dark-thirty like with an electric.


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## C-Murder (Mar 7, 2010)

I keep a french press handy at work and when at home my elektra micro casa espresso machine. :smile:


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

^^^

I thought that was a diving helmut!!


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## MacTweed (Oct 30, 2011)

^^^
Wow - you win the _Best Method of Preparing Coffee_ award. :icon_hailthee:


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

We have a coffee maker that also grinds the beans. If it's just me drinking coffee, I use a French Press and, of course, after dinner (but rarely) I dig out the Espresso machine!


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## Tori_Lee (Jan 29, 2012)

I can't stomach instant coffee, but my girlfriend seems to like it. I was a little surprised not to see it as an option.


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## dba (Oct 22, 2010)

I'm the only one that drinks coffee at home. I like to use a simple one-cup espresso maker. I use ground coffee from the Café du Monde I purchase at World Market. Bold, smooth, wonderful stuff. When we have company that drinks coffee, I use a drip maker for convenience.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Drip coffee, but only with a good quality machine. Mine is from Cuisinart. It costs more than a Mr. Coffee, but it's worth it. You need higher heat than those cheapos can create. If I have any left over, I just put in a resealable container in the fridge for iced coffee later.

I sometimes use a French press. It makes a strong cup and sometimes has silty stuff at the bottom, but it's nice nonetheless. Very home-y feel.


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

I generally use a French press because I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee and that works well for making just 1 or 2 cups. When my parents or in-laws visit, we use the good ole' filter and drip coffee maker though and never have any complaints.


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## going grey (May 22, 2006)

*Monsooned Malabar*

These beans seem incredible..google them . Heres how I do it. Grind beans in electric grinder,,grinder needs to be full ..( count to 12 while doing this).put ground coffee into cafetiere ( UK version of French Press)..add JUST enough water for as many cups as you want. Stir . Wait FOUR minutes. Press plunger . Done


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

I have been buying my coffee, beans from Cafe Hernandez in Kings Cross, Sydney for over 25 years. When we left i either would stock up or have then send it, I have the past few years gone for a blend of Ethiopian, Nicaraguan and Columbian. 

Have a small expresso machine and grinder so every morning its fresh and hits the spot.


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## sigmax (Mar 1, 2012)

With three kids and my wife working full time afraid we are staying with our kitchen aid drip machine. But we buy our beans from a local company down by the university. They are have a large variety that allows us to mix it up.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

No need to apologize for a drip machine. They make excellent coffee. I'd use my Cuisinart machine myself, except that it makes a minimum of four cups and I don't drink that much; so I use a one-cup French press. Good beans and fresh grinding are the main thing. BTW, there's a huge difference between pre-ground and fresh ground, and if you don't have a grinder, I'd definitely invest in one - even an inexpensive Capresso burr grinder makes a noticeable difference to my definitely non-connoisseur taste.


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## racebannon (Aug 17, 2014)

French press.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

A Keurig Machine.


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## NoahNY (Sep 2, 2014)

Burr ground, french pressed.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

International Creamer, 2 Sweet and Lows


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