4 ms·

coffee, when done well, is much better at home i use a french press and the "hoffmann method". grounds go in the press, pour in boiling water. wait a couple m

coffee, when done well, is much better at home i use a french press and the "hoffmann method". grounds go in the press, pour in boiling water. wait a couple minutes and stir gently. scoop off the foam. steep for a total of 5-7 minutes. press and pour. i cant imagine paying $5 for a cup of subpar coffee.

ubermonkey 4y ago
This is true -- and I'm sure you mean Hoffmann -- but "better at home" is easier to accomplish if you prefer brewed or filter coffee. If you want an espresso-based drink, cost or kitchen space can make it much easier to just cultivate a relationship with a good shop (ideally, one that doesn't even OWN blenders).
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ehnto 4y ago
  What you want is a Moka Pot, very cheap, perfectly capable. It's how espresso was brought to many countries, including Australia. Migrating Italian's/europeans would bring their Moka Pot's with them, and out of those communities espresso would be in the cafes and the rest is history. Especially here in Australia, where there is nothing but espresso coffee or tea.
  - intrasight 4y ago
    I switched from drip to a moka pot after visiting my sister in Italy, and It's all that I've used now for three years.
  - ubermonkey 4y ago
    Moka pot coffee is its own thing. It is NOT the same as a good shot of espresso pulled from a proper espresso machine. I know people say this, but it's a different flavor profile even with the same beans and careful attention to grind. I really dislike it, in fact. If I can't have a proper espresso, I'll drink pour over.
    - ehnto 4y ago
      It is the same process, but variance in execution would get you different tastes, as in time and pressure variances compared to an esspresso machine. Moka ppts are also not very uniform in their execution. Heated water is forced through a cup of grounds at high pressure though, just like an espresso machine. Pour over is a very different process to espresso, though it might suit your preference compared to what you get from your Moka pot.
      - ubermonkey 4y ago
        It's only the "same process" by a gross oversimplification -- ie, yes, you put ground coffee and hot water together with some pressure. Moka pots provide very little in the way of control vs. a proper espresso machine, and at best produce only about 20% of the pressure. The result is a VASTLY different beverage. By your logic, an Aeropress is also "the same process" since it's forcing water through grounds under pressure, but nobody would call that espresso, either. I adore proper espresso, but I have never enjoyed Moka pot coffee. I also adore pour-over coffee, but no one would mistake any filter-coffee process for espresso.
dilap 4y ago
two things: (1) depending on how good you are, you'll be better than X% of the coffee shops out there. but the converse applies too: somewhere out there, i'd bet, there is a coffee shop making coffee as good or even better than your own. (2) a least half the pleasure in going to a coffee shop is going to the coffee shop. it's nice to get out and experience some of the community around you!
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Semaphor 4y ago
  > somewhere out there, i'd bet, there is a coffee shop making coffee as good or even better than your own. I doubt the "better" part for people preferring the french press. It is not a complicated method. Now there might be one with better beans, but that’s always the case. > a least half the pleasure in going to a coffee shop is going to the coffee shop. Heh, depends, for me that does not sound like pleasure at all ;)
  - dilap 4y ago
    Both good points! I do feel coffee is remarkably subtle. You can easily make a pour-over twice, using exactly the same method and same beans, and have different results. Which is crazy, but true. So there's a lot of room for technique. Lattes are the same way. I enjoy making lattes at home using a moka pot for esspresso(ish) and a stovetop steamer -- and even though I've been doing this for years now, I'm still not consistent. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's just OK. Adding in the steamed milk is a whole new dimension that can vary in very subtle ways. I think you're right, though, that the french-press is more of an old-school, give-it-to-me-good-and-hard-and-bitter method. Not as subtle, probably not as much variation.
Semaphor 4y ago
I use the "I’m really lazy" method: Boil water, just before boiling, grind beans. Pour in beans, add water. Wait 4 minutes. Press down. I tried the hoffman method, it tasted the same to me, was a lot more work and the only advantage was fewer grounds in the cup, but I don’t mind those (barely any). But yeah, I always drink coffee at home and if I’m somewhere else, I hope they have a french press as it is by far my preferred taste.
mr_mitm 4y ago
That's a false dichotomy for me. If I am near my french press, I will never pay for a cup of coffee. However, if I am not near an available french press, i.e. on the road, I have no other choice than to buy a cup of coffee, unless I pass on coffee entirely. But since I can't really whip out my french press in an airport, I still occasionally pay too much for mediocre coffee.
- masklinn 4y ago
  > But since I can't really whip out my french press in an airport You can whip out an aeropress in an airport, and can probably finnagle 200mL boiling water from one of the eateries or shops (I would assume that to be the bigger challenge as you can’t exactly start a fire at the gate, not to mention carrying a gas cartridge through security).
  - neogodless 4y ago
    I can't even prevent my pre-coffee self from making a mess in my own kitchen with an Aeropress... god forbid my travel-exhausted self balancing my stuff on a suitcase in an airport lounge!
    - masklinn 4y ago
      There’s mitigation options but they all have their limitations / issues: - caffeine pill to wake up, then coffee for the taste / comfort - brew in the evening (at home when flying out, at the hotel when flying back in) and store in a quality insulated mug, using a zojirushi, freshly brewed coffee in yields too-hot-to-drink 10 hours later (but that’s nothing a travel mug and waiting a few minutes can’t solve). - there’s also the flash-frozen thing which Hoffmann showed and seemed happy about, but I think it needs to remain frozen (it can’t be stored at room temp) which is not super convenient when travelling unless you have good logistics (or regularly travel back and forth so could have stashes at critical locations) - similar situation (travel between known location), do better recon and find an acceptable coffee shop on the way (then hope they don’t go out of business)
- 4y ago
IHLayman 4y ago
I French press my grounds at home too, but I bring water to 200F (93C) instead of boiling, as I was taught in my barista days that boiling water makes the coffee too bitter. Are you supposed to use boiling water for Hoffman method? A cursory googling told me 197F was optimum for Hoffman but I have never done it.

ubermonkey 4y ago

This is true -- and I'm sure you mean Hoffmann -- but "better at home" is easier to accomplish if you prefer brewed or filter coffee. If you want an espresso-based drink, cost or kitchen space can make it much easier to just cultivate a relationship with a good shop (ideally, one that doesn't even OWN blenders).

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ehnto 4y ago
What you want is a Moka Pot, very cheap, perfectly capable. It's how espresso was brought to many countries, including Australia. Migrating Italian's/europeans would bring their Moka Pot's with them, and out of those communities espresso would be in the cafes and the rest is history. Especially here in Australia, where there is nothing but espresso coffee or tea.
- intrasight 4y ago
  I switched from drip to a moka pot after visiting my sister in Italy, and It's all that I've used now for three years.
- ubermonkey 4y ago
  Moka pot coffee is its own thing. It is NOT the same as a good shot of espresso pulled from a proper espresso machine. I know people say this, but it's a different flavor profile even with the same beans and careful attention to grind. I really dislike it, in fact. If I can't have a proper espresso, I'll drink pour over.
  - ehnto 4y ago
    It is the same process, but variance in execution would get you different tastes, as in time and pressure variances compared to an esspresso machine. Moka ppts are also not very uniform in their execution. Heated water is forced through a cup of grounds at high pressure though, just like an espresso machine. Pour over is a very different process to espresso, though it might suit your preference compared to what you get from your Moka pot.
    - ubermonkey 4y ago
      It's only the "same process" by a gross oversimplification -- ie, yes, you put ground coffee and hot water together with some pressure. Moka pots provide very little in the way of control vs. a proper espresso machine, and at best produce only about 20% of the pressure. The result is a VASTLY different beverage. By your logic, an Aeropress is also "the same process" since it's forcing water through grounds under pressure, but nobody would call that espresso, either. I adore proper espresso, but I have never enjoyed Moka pot coffee. I also adore pour-over coffee, but no one would mistake any filter-coffee process for espresso.

dilap 4y ago

two things: (1) depending on how good you are, you'll be better than X% of the coffee shops out there. but the converse applies too: somewhere out there, i'd bet, there is a coffee shop making coffee as good or even better than your own. (2) a least half the pleasure in going to a coffee shop is going to the coffee shop. it's nice to get out and experience some of the community around you!

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Semaphor 4y ago
> somewhere out there, i'd bet, there is a coffee shop making coffee as good or even better than your own. I doubt the "better" part for people preferring the french press. It is not a complicated method. Now there might be one with better beans, but that’s always the case. > a least half the pleasure in going to a coffee shop is going to the coffee shop. Heh, depends, for me that does not sound like pleasure at all ;)
- dilap 4y ago
  Both good points! I do feel coffee is remarkably subtle. You can easily make a pour-over twice, using exactly the same method and same beans, and have different results. Which is crazy, but true. So there's a lot of room for technique. Lattes are the same way. I enjoy making lattes at home using a moka pot for esspresso(ish) and a stovetop steamer -- and even though I've been doing this for years now, I'm still not consistent. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's just OK. Adding in the steamed milk is a whole new dimension that can vary in very subtle ways. I think you're right, though, that the french-press is more of an old-school, give-it-to-me-good-and-hard-and-bitter method. Not as subtle, probably not as much variation.

Semaphor 4y ago

I use the "I’m really lazy" method: Boil water, just before boiling, grind beans. Pour in beans, add water. Wait 4 minutes. Press down. I tried the hoffman method, it tasted the same to me, was a lot more work and the only advantage was fewer grounds in the cup, but I don’t mind those (barely any). But yeah, I always drink coffee at home and if I’m somewhere else, I hope they have a french press as it is by far my preferred taste.

mr_mitm 4y ago

That's a false dichotomy for me. If I am near my french press, I will never pay for a cup of coffee. However, if I am not near an available french press, i.e. on the road, I have no other choice than to buy a cup of coffee, unless I pass on coffee entirely. But since I can't really whip out my french press in an airport, I still occasionally pay too much for mediocre coffee.

masklinn 4y ago
> But since I can't really whip out my french press in an airport You can whip out an aeropress in an airport, and can probably finnagle 200mL boiling water from one of the eateries or shops (I would assume that to be the bigger challenge as you can’t exactly start a fire at the gate, not to mention carrying a gas cartridge through security).
- neogodless 4y ago
  I can't even prevent my pre-coffee self from making a mess in my own kitchen with an Aeropress... god forbid my travel-exhausted self balancing my stuff on a suitcase in an airport lounge!
  - masklinn 4y ago
    There’s mitigation options but they all have their limitations / issues: - caffeine pill to wake up, then coffee for the taste / comfort - brew in the evening (at home when flying out, at the hotel when flying back in) and store in a quality insulated mug, using a zojirushi, freshly brewed coffee in yields too-hot-to-drink 10 hours later (but that’s nothing a travel mug and waiting a few minutes can’t solve). - there’s also the flash-frozen thing which Hoffmann showed and seemed happy about, but I think it needs to remain frozen (it can’t be stored at room temp) which is not super convenient when travelling unless you have good logistics (or regularly travel back and forth so could have stashes at critical locations) - similar situation (travel between known location), do better recon and find an acceptable coffee shop on the way (then hope they don’t go out of business)
4y ago

IHLayman 4y ago

I French press my grounds at home too, but I bring water to 200F (93C) instead of boiling, as I was taught in my barista days that boiling water makes the coffee too bitter. Are you supposed to use boiling water for Hoffman method? A cursory googling told me 197F was optimum for Hoffman but I have never done it.