Just go to www.coffeegeek.com. All the coffee knowledge you never wanted and then some.
Another example of the internet exposing an affinity group nobody knew they were a member of…
“My wife and I have been considering the vacuum brewer. Saw it in some catalog. So, it’s as good as they tout it to be?”
I have a Hario vacuum brewer and love it. Not for everyday use (a lot of work) but I use on weekends. It’s a little small but since I’m the only coffee drinker it works for me. You might consider the Cona in the larger size.
While I’m here I’ll recommend the Maestro burr grinder.
michael
It seems that all or most of the burr grinders are designed to hold coffee for more than one use, but I assume that is bad. Do you dump the unground coffee out of the grinder each time you use it, or put the whole unit in the freezer?
Next to espresso I love french press the best. The cleaning is sometimes a pain. We have two. One is a double walled metal one that keeps the cofee hotter. Both are by Bodum, if I recall.
The best, fastest and and most durable coffee producing home coffee maker (other than expresso) is the BUNN. The coffee is never burned. $90. 10 cups in 3 1/2 minutes!!! It holds the water at 190deg–the perfect brewing temp for drippers. When you add the water it displaces the hot water from the chamber (which holds 2 pots) so it pours quickly onto the grounds. This is the system that commercial restaurant drippers use–even the gourmet ones. they are reported to last a @#*# of a long time.
We’ve had vacuum, regular drip (even the expensive ones), etc. For speed, great coffee and easy use they are the best.
Now, if someone can recommend a good home espresso brewer that isn’t too pricey, I’m all ears. (Or, is it eyes)
Ha…nearly EVERYONE on the Slowtwitch Forums is a Pompous Ass. I know I’m keeping you company in that particular room, Vitus!
The other option if you like strong coffee is a stovetop esspresso maker. I have press but prefer this kind. The steam extracts much more oil and flavor from the beans than hot water will. Kontessa make a nice stainless one or Bialetti makes cheap aluminum ones. Every place I every stayed in Italy had a Bialetti in the kitchen. Super realiable but you have to be there to take them off the heat when they’re done. They come in sizes from 3 to 9 demi-tasse cups. My wife and split the 9 cup one or I drink the 3 cup myself.
The Bodum vacum brewer is very well suited for everyday use. It’s made of polycarbonate instead of the older and orginal vacum brewers which are made of glass. The only work invovled is pouring water into bottom and adding grounds to the top, and hit start button, or program timer. check out the link I originally posted, if your used to using a older glass vacum brewer you’ll love this one.
Jim
Sounds fancy or oneupmanship, is this for us pompous as well? You’ll need to change the name to something to compete with the french press, like the Italian Kontessa Mistress.
" The Bodum vacum brewer is very well suited for everyday use. It’s made of polycarbonate instead of the older and orginal vacum brewers which are made of glass."
We had 2 of these, they both developed leaks on the lower gasket. the first time it was with the warranty period, but the second occurred a few months later, which was after the expiration. We gave up. It did make good coffee, way slower than a Bunn or freedon press.
Lower gasket? do you mean the one in the pot?
THe problem that finally killed ours was the rubber seal between the upper and lower sections. But we had been using it everyday for 3 or 4 years before it started acting up: It slowly stopped sucking everything in the upper basket as violently as it did when it was new.
total brew time may be longer than a press, but the sheer convience of it brewing coffee before you walk downstairs clearly makes it seem faster.
My wife is literally pulling me off the computer to go look at a new coffee pot at the post exchange, becuase we’re tired of the “you do it, no you do it” morning french press ritual…
Jim
If you can live with less volume in your coffee with the same jolt and you like toys that allow you to have variables that affect the quality and uniqueness of the final product, buy a La Pavoni espresso machine. They are a more expensive but produce a high quality result.
As far as grinders go, try a hand crank Zassenhaus Coffee Hand Mill. It takes a little effort but once again it allows you to put a personal variable into the final product.
OK, this is a subject on which I am an expert. I have a very serious coffee habit that goes back several years. Also, I grew up in Berkeley, home of Peets. Nuff said about my coffee cred.
I have tried all methods of coffee brewing. The french press makes outstanding coffee. You do not have to have a grinder, just buy your beans at a good coffee place and have them grind it for a press pot. Store it in the freezer. This is fine, really (especially if you go through it at a decent clip). And people who tell you that they can tell the difference between ground at the counter and ground a couple of days ago and stored in the freezer are full of it. It’s not worth the bother or mess.
The drawbacks of the press pot are that it’s messy, not programmable, and doesn’t stay hot.
As a busy triathlete with a habit as tenacious as a crack addiction, what I have come to is the Capresso thermal coffee maker with the stainless steel insulated carafe. It filters the water, does not overheat the water, and keeps the coffee hot without it sitting on a heating element. It uses a reusable gold filter. I program it in the evening to give me coffee first thing. Otherwise I would not get out of bed. The coffee is excellent.
I have a recurring online order with Peets (2 lbs on my doorstep every two weeks) and it is never stale. Peets will never send you stale coffee. Ever. Someone would get fired if that ever happened.
I use the press pot on weekends when I want to slow life down a little. I also have plastic mini presspots for camping and backpacking. But for everyday, I need a little more convenience.
Lower gasket? do you mean the one in the pot?
The one between the metal heating pad (inside the carafe and the plastic base of the carafe)
I also always worried about boing water inside of plastic.
The Bunn is so fast, you wont have to worry about it. I put the beans in the grinder, then, while I fill the carafe, I put the beans into the filter. Then I pour the water into the top, close the lid and BOOM 3 1/2 minutes later, all done. Total around 5 min…
The problem with most coffee machines is they don’t heat water enough. This is because of lawsuits and stupid people who pour hot coffee on themselves. Coffee is best brewed with near boiling water.
I prefer using a chemex over a french press because of the cleanup factor. The chemex is basically a pyrex beaker which you can place a paper funnel in. Put the coffee grounds in the filter and pour boiling water into it.
Coffee should be brewed with water that is 185 degrees farenheit for best flavor.
Dude I go with the old school stove-top espresso makers. Cheap and easy to use, they brew a nice cup of ridiculously strong coffee. I recently bought a bigger one that makes like 6 espresso cups and usually end up just pouring it all into a normall coffee cup and drinking it with a whole bunch of sugar.
When my stomach feels like it would tear open I use my cheap-ass french… er ‘freedom’… press and that works just as well. I don’t have a grinder so I end up using store bought espresso grounds which I know get through the filter but what the hell, it makes me feel tough.
Of course the coffee shop up the corner with the hot college girls behind the counter usually wins out over both… now if I could only figure out how to look pompous and pretentious while getting my coffee there…
-Santiago
- french press
The french press makes great coffee. I have one at work in a stainless travel mug, ~ 20oz. It works well, doesn’t leak.
- bodum vacuum machine
I would recommend against this machine. The carafe is not dishwasher safe. As a result, resin builds up over time. The resin is bitter. The only way to get out the resin is via a dishwasher.
- grinder
A burr grinder is important only for espresso. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter and the cheaper motorboat ones are fine.
- senseo
I have heard polar responses. I am wary of the coffee, so I am suspect of the favorable reviews. I have tried some of the ese espresso pods in my espresso machine. The espresso was marginal.
OTOH, they are popular in Europe. I wonder if they are on to something.
I would recommend the following:
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Melitta drip machine (~$30)
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Bodum French press (Brazil, ~$15)
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go to a in store demo of a senseo; try it out.
wmh
You can get a French Press at most Barney’s. Try the Jamaican Blue at about $5 a cup. That’ll make going back to Folger’s a bit tougher. 
Robert, who has 6 lbs of Jamaican Blue Mountain sitting in the reefer in the gahrage.
You mix Jamaican Blue with reefer? I bet that’s an odd buzz…
Love my French press.
I boil a little more water than needed and pour the remainder into my coffee cup to warm it up while my French press is “brewing”. I get a hotter cup of coffee now than with my old drip machine which never got the pot hot enough.