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I agree that coffee prep is over-fetishized, but going to instant coffee seems extreme. At least to me, it's pretty disgusting. But spend like $800-$1600 on a n
by joshlemer 4y ago
I agree that coffee prep is over-fetishized, but going to instant coffee seems extreme. At least to me, it's pretty disgusting. But spend like $800-$1600 on a nice grinder and espresso machine that lasts a decade or more, buy whatever brand of beans they have this week at Costco, and you can have really nice coffee without any futzing or making a deal of it.
- r00fus 4y agoThere is a vast gulf between instant coffee and your proposed setup. An aeropress and a medium-end grinder would be < $100.
- slothtrop 4y agoThe wife recently got some instant "espresso"-type instant coffee, and I was amazed at how inoffensive it tasted. Would never swap my whole beans for it given the choice, but it was drinkable. Methinks some progress may have been made.
- Herodotus38 4y agoWas it the gold medallion brand with the green lid? That is my wife and I’s favorite.
- slothtrop 4y agoI don't think so but I'll look out for it. Might have been Nescafe Gold.
- Herodotus38 4y agoI found the one we like: Medaglia d’oro. It sounds fancy but it’s pretty common and minimally more expensive than basic instant coffee. A couple years ago I tried a taste test of many and we liked that one the best.
- niloc132 4y agoI couldn’t drink it every day, but I can’t imagine a better solution for backpacking.
- shanebellone 4y agoI recently found some instant coffee that's almost good. I bought it for a hot chocolate x instant coffee but it blew my mind. Definitely not my first choice but it can be very drinkable.
- Tao3300 4y agoInstant coffee has definitely improved. It's been improving ever since Starbucks nailed it with VIA in 2009.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y agoCommunity Coffee is my go-to instant
- Slippery_John 4y agoYou can also save like half the money by making that a hand grinder, and there's fewer parts to break. 30 seconds of mindless spinning really isn't much.
- voisin 4y agoI concur. Big fan of 1Zpresso manual grinders. Equivalent to a 4-8x expensive electronic grinder.
- BugsJustFindMe 4y ago> But spend like $800-$1600 on Top of the list for phrases that a person making barista wages will think is absolutely insane.
- mechanical_bear 4y agoAnd yet nearly all of them have an iPhone of the same cost.
- joshlemer 4y ago$800 for a grinder and espresso machine? That's not bad at all. Compare with someone who gets a starbucks coffee once per day, they'll make back the $800 in savings in like 4 months.
- roflyear 4y agoClassic "get into espresso to save money" lol. Espresso is definitely a pretty expensive hobby (tho doesn't NEED to be). But coffee can be cheap. $100-200 BIFL hand grinder, and like $50 for a brewer + tons of paper filters.
- SECProto 4y ago> But coffee can be cheap. $100-200 BIFL hand grinder, and like $50 for a brewer + tons of paper filters (if you're trying to do decent coffee for cheap, a $40 hand grinder and a $10 french press is fine once you get a good technique.)
- roflyear 4y agoI am not sure I am aware of a great $40 hand grinder. I'd at least go for the Q2 Heptagonal, which is like $80-$100 depending on sales. Used I think you can pick one up for $60-70. But I agree on the french press. It is really forgiving. Worth buying a cheap electric kettle for convenience.
- 4y ago
- klik99 4y agoIt’s just one coffee maker, what could it cost, eight hundred dollars?
- unethical_ban 4y agoBarazza grinder is $100, and pour over sets are less than $75. French press is $20. Kettle is $50, scale is $20. So about $250 if you get fancy?
- bubblethink 4y ago>But spend like $800-$1600 on a nice grinder and espresso machine The issue with this pricing model is that it is entirely driven by lack of scale. Both grinders and espresso machines are well understood and pretty old tech. Sure, there are improvements, but I doubt most people can tell them apart in double blind tests from equipment that is 50 years old. Due to this lack of scale, coffee stuff gets into 1-2k territory even at the beginner level, unlike most other household appliances that are in the hundreds territory. The only positive development I've seen here is that grinders from China (like df64) have become good and cheap-ish.
- TheHappyOddish 4y agoThere are plenty of home espresso machines below $1000AUD ($600USD). Breville, Sunbeam, Delonghi, Smeg, Bugatti, etc. And many of them even come with built in grinders. Personally I wouldn't use most of the lower end options as a daily choice, but if we're talking beginner level, the range is huge.
- anon84873628 4y agoThere is lots of innovation in espresso machines. Look at the "Decent"
- reillyse 4y agoYou have this all wrong. Spend $150 on a grinder and $10 on a v60 and buy the best beans you can find and you’ll have excellent coffee. Too many people think equipment is more important than coffee. It isn’t.