5 ms·

It depends on whether you're ok with something that resembles espresso, or if you actually want espresso. Espresso is nothing more than hot water pushed throug

by zhdc1 5y ago

It depends on whether you're ok with something that resembles espresso, or if you actually want espresso. Espresso is nothing more than hot water pushed through coffee grounds at 7-9+ PSI or pressure. There are several travel brewers, such as the Flair NEO, that aren't particularly expensive and will brew perfectly fine espresso. The issue, though, is that the main determinant for espresso isn't how you make it, but the quality and grind of the coffee bean. Are you willing to purchase a burr grinder and take it with you on vacation? If yes, and if you want actual espresso, then this is the best route to go. From experience, a Moka pot will give you something slightly (but only slightly) closer to espresso than a french press. However, I've consistently gotten much better results with a french press. As far as going with an Aeropress over a french press, the former should give a cleaner result, but my best guess not ever having used one is that the final result will take about the same, without some of the finer coffee grounds getting into the cup (which can mostly be prevented on a french press if you do it right).

Lio 5y ago
> 7-9+ PSI I think there's a small typo there, 9 bar would be more regular for espresso. I agree otherwise. I treat moka or aeropress coffee as its own thing; it's not espresso and that's OK. I see a lot of people talk about "grind" as important. Really it's just a way of varying pressure and to keep it roughly in that 9 bar zone. The only magic in a good bur grinder is its consistency. You can look at what you're getting out and bump the pressure up or down slightly compared to your last shot. So as the beans dry out with age, you can increase the extraction so you don't get a flat, sour shot with no crema. If you put in a new bag of beans you can make the grind courser so that pressure is reduced and you` don't over extract. I love a morning espresso but I'm less keen on all the connoisseurship around it.
- zhdc1 5y ago
  > I think there's a small typo there, 9 bar would be more regular for espresso. Yep, my mistake : )
- 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
  The only magic in a good bur grinder is its consistency. You can look at what you're getting out and bump the pressure up or down slightly compared to your last shot. It's not just consistency. It's grind size distribution. The cost of a high end burr grinder is crazy and I don't understand what's going on but you can do simple comparative tests. I have a 2 different burr sets for my grinder with different cutter geometries and the mechanical properties of the grinds and the puck are different. Never mind the taste. The way the water pours through the puck and what's happening inside the basket as you pull the shot is different. You can easily tell by the amount of channeling I get and the integrity of the puck after the shot. The espresso also tastes different BTW. I've also done blind taste testing with my grinder pitted against 3 other grinders. Having only tasted the coffee from 1 of these, I matched the coffee to the grinders only based on the theoretical properties of the burr sets.
  - Lio 5y ago
    Ah well that all sounds beyond me mate. I'm a simple soul, if I can't measure it really easily I don't worry about it. It's not like any two beans are the same and I'm tamping them by hand anyway. Worrying about the shape of the blades in the grinder is like worrying about the type of power cable on your hifi amp. It's too much connoisseurship for me personally but more power to you if that's your bag.
    - iramiller 5y ago
      A good burr grinder is all about consistent grind size and is very easy to observe. Spread a small amount of ground coffee out on a piece of paper. Observe the varying sizes and shapes within the grounds. Better grinders produce more even grinds which produce more even extraction during brewing. It’s an exceedingly simple concept. As an extreme example try and brew an espresso using a simple blade style ‘grinder’. It will be impossible. The refinement of a good grinder is simply optimizing along this axis.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
      Worrying about the shape of the blades in the grinder is like worrying about the type of power cable on your hifi amp. You like what you like. I'm just saying that your dismissal of the effects of your grinder are very wrong. And the differences are easy see and measure.
akvadrako 5y ago
French press gives almost no pressure, while Aeropress can give you 10 psi – it mostly depends how fine you make it and how fast you press it.
- zhdc1 5y ago
  See the exchange above. I meant to say 7-9 bar (~100-130 psi). It was early and I hadn't had my morning espresso(s) yet : )

by zhdc1 5y ago

Lio 5y ago

> 7-9+ PSI I think there's a small typo there, 9 bar would be more regular for espresso. I agree otherwise. I treat moka or aeropress coffee as its own thing; it's not espresso and that's OK. I see a lot of people talk about "grind" as important. Really it's just a way of varying pressure and to keep it roughly in that 9 bar zone. The only magic in a good bur grinder is its consistency. You can look at what you're getting out and bump the pressure up or down slightly compared to your last shot. So as the beans dry out with age, you can increase the extraction so you don't get a flat, sour shot with no crema. If you put in a new bag of beans you can make the grind courser so that pressure is reduced and you` don't over extract. I love a morning espresso but I'm less keen on all the connoisseurship around it.

zhdc1 5y ago
> I think there's a small typo there, 9 bar would be more regular for espresso. Yep, my mistake : )
2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
The only magic in a good bur grinder is its consistency. You can look at what you're getting out and bump the pressure up or down slightly compared to your last shot. It's not just consistency. It's grind size distribution. The cost of a high end burr grinder is crazy and I don't understand what's going on but you can do simple comparative tests. I have a 2 different burr sets for my grinder with different cutter geometries and the mechanical properties of the grinds and the puck are different. Never mind the taste. The way the water pours through the puck and what's happening inside the basket as you pull the shot is different. You can easily tell by the amount of channeling I get and the integrity of the puck after the shot. The espresso also tastes different BTW. I've also done blind taste testing with my grinder pitted against 3 other grinders. Having only tasted the coffee from 1 of these, I matched the coffee to the grinders only based on the theoretical properties of the burr sets.
- Lio 5y ago
  Ah well that all sounds beyond me mate. I'm a simple soul, if I can't measure it really easily I don't worry about it. It's not like any two beans are the same and I'm tamping them by hand anyway. Worrying about the shape of the blades in the grinder is like worrying about the type of power cable on your hifi amp. It's too much connoisseurship for me personally but more power to you if that's your bag.
  - iramiller 5y ago
    A good burr grinder is all about consistent grind size and is very easy to observe. Spread a small amount of ground coffee out on a piece of paper. Observe the varying sizes and shapes within the grounds. Better grinders produce more even grinds which produce more even extraction during brewing. It’s an exceedingly simple concept. As an extreme example try and brew an espresso using a simple blade style ‘grinder’. It will be impossible. The refinement of a good grinder is simply optimizing along this axis.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
    Worrying about the shape of the blades in the grinder is like worrying about the type of power cable on your hifi amp. You like what you like. I'm just saying that your dismissal of the effects of your grinder are very wrong. And the differences are easy see and measure.

akvadrako 5y ago

French press gives almost no pressure, while Aeropress can give you 10 psi – it mostly depends how fine you make it and how fast you press it.

zhdc1 5y ago
See the exchange above. I meant to say 7-9 bar (~100-130 psi). It was early and I hadn't had my morning espresso(s) yet : )