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I am not a coffee nut, but got one of these serendipitously as a present and can attest it makes a good cup of coffee. Here's some facts (maybe obvious to other
by drcode 13y ago
I am not a coffee nut, but got one of these serendipitously as a present and can attest it makes a good cup of coffee. Here's some facts (maybe obvious to others) I found out after the fact that I wish I had known a long time ago:
1. If you've never owned an electric kettle, you may not know that they will boil water in mere seconds (!) and are a key part in making an Aeropress practical. (And they're cheap: http://goo.gl/8dVnP2 http://goo.gl/8dVnP2)
2. If you ever get heartburn and drink coffee, you MUST buy one of these ASAP, it will help immensely. Fast-brewed coffees have very low acidity, so you should treat yourself with aeropress (or Starbucks Clover coffee, another fast-brewed method) if you have this problem... you will probably feel better.
3. That said, these things brew a coffee that is like a hybrid between espresso and drip coffee, so if that sounds bad/good to you, you'll feel about the coffee you get from this the same way.
4. An aeropress is the easiest to clean kitchen appliance I've ever owned. You will NOT think to yourself "boy this coffeemaker could probably use a thorough cleaning" every time you want a cup of coffee... no such anxiety with this device.
- NamTaf 13y agoWait, what? Electric kettles aren't in every house there? That's insane! Here in Australia, it's like the one thing EVERYONE has. Hell, even hotel rooms usually contain a microwave and a kettle even if they have absolutely nothing else. Maybe it's the fact that in the US, you have 120V/10A max, so your kettles are 1200W peak and therefore take twice as long as ours at 240V/10A and thus 2400W? I don't know. I just find that staggering that someone could not have an electric kettle. As an aside, it's always been amazing to me that the 'standard' coffee you buy here is espresso, everyhwere, whereas the standard there to my knowledge is usually drip or french press. That in itself (that entire nations can have substantially different ways of making 'coffee') is pretty incredible to me. All that said, the whole 'makes 5 or 6 cups minimum' problem is the one I've always faced with making coffee at home. I might actually pick one of these things up if it really does solve that and really deliver something that's more towards espresso rather than drip/press.
- ojbyrne 13y agoI think most/all people in North America have electric kettles. With HN, you're probably dealing with a particular demographic (recent college graduates) that would have a lower adoption.
- brianbreslin 13y agoMost homes I know of in Florida don't have electric kettles. I have one, use it with my ap. many homes have stove top kettles here.
- drcode 13y agoI grew up there, maybe that explains my kettle ignorance.
- brianbreslin 13y agocould it be since its a warmer climate, hot drinks aren't consumed at home as much? or coffee is prepared differently down here (espresso?)
- mindcrime 13y agoGrew up in North Carolina, and I've never seen an electric kettle in anyone's home, ever. The only place I've seen one (besides Target, Wal-mart, etc.) is in the break-room of the building where our local hackerspace is. And sadly, it broke recently, so now we need a new one! Having been exposed to them now, and even more so after reading this article, I do plan to buy myself an electric kettle though. FWIW, everyone I know has always heated water in a saucepan or kettle on the stovetop.
- dinkumthinkum 13y agoHave you been to North America? This is not even remotely true in any sense.
- dfc 13y agoI think your average age for HN is off by 5-6 years. Atleast that is my impression from the comment quality and the recent poll: Age Votes ------------- 0-10 65 11-15 42 16-20 552 21-25 2030 26-30 2400 31-35 1532 36-40 735 41-45 359 46-50 148 51-55 84 56-60 44 61+ 52 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6058598 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6058598
- js2 13y agoFast-brewed coffees have very low acidity Try cold-brewed coffee if you're really going for low acidity. It makes a delicious iced coffee. http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/do-it-yourself/2011/08/how-to-make-cold-brew-coffee/ http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/do-it-yourself/2011/0...
- e12e 13y agoI agree with try. To me, cold-brew coffee generally tastes a lot like "semi-instant" machine coffee (made from paste/syrup -- probably essentially cold brew+added hot water) -- and it is absolutely different from other kinds of brewing methods. I think it tastes rather awful -- but whatever one prefers...
- vijayr 13y agoI got one of those electric kettle you linked. It is made of plastic - the boiled water smells, tastes like plastic. This is not just the first time, even after a dozen times it tastes the same, and it is horrible. I don't know anything about aeropress, but it is not a good idea to buy a plastic electric kettle. stainless steel ones are better.
- lobster_johnson 13y agoIt's just your kettle that's bad. An electric kettle made of plastic should not impart any flavour on the water. I have used a bunch, never had a problem (and I consider myself highly sensitive in that regard).
- fudged71 13y ago>you may not know that they will boil water in mere seconds What are you talking about? Even the link you shared had comments saying that even the minimum boiling time was over 2 minutes.