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Generally a good article; I run a startup[1] for quality control in the craft beverage industry (coffee, beer, distilling), and we have over 7,000 full sensory

Generally a good article; I run a startup[1] for quality control in the craft beverage industry (coffee, beer, distilling), and we have over 7,000 full sensory reviews of the flavor profile from various brewing methods. I would highly suggest that anyone interested in brewing better coffee at home (or in the office, etc), invest in the following: 1) freshly roasted coffee - flavor profile degradation begins around day ~10 in most 3rd wave light-medium roast coffees. I would suggest Intelligentsia coffee, Blue Bottle, Stumptown, or Counter Culture. These guys are the "big 4" and trying either single origin or blends from them will give you a better idea of what to look for in high quality beans. 2) a conical burr grinder. Do not use a spice grinder (whirly blade) which will shatter the bean causing large amounts of micro-fines and make your coffee bitter. Capresso makes an OK home grinder, or (if you have the patients for it) the Hario hand grinder (with a ceramic burr) is excellent (but takes a while.... though it can be used in situations lacking electricity). In our dataset, conical grinders increase the Perceived Quality of "3rd wave" beans by 1.4 standard deviations on average - there is almost no effect on burnt beans or lesser coffee. 3) a Chemex or French Press. These are both simple, elegant, and allow you to make a range of quantities depending on how much coffee you have and who's drinking. Both of these brew methods score .75 standard deviations higher in perceived quality than average with less experienced (in our dataset that means 'non-expert') tasters. The average perceived quality can be further improved by correct dosing and pouring methods. 4) a swan neck kettle. This is 80% of what you need to to perfect your pouring method. The rest is practice. Finally, one of the best things that you can do is record and rank the coffees you consume. This will help you objectively remember what you liked and disliked about the product, and gain intuition on your preferences. My company's tools are built for professional tasters in quality control, but anyone serious about coffee could find suitable use for it. Gastrograph Review is available free on the Google play store here[2]. [1] www.Gastrograph.com [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gastrograph.testggapp&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gastrograp...

devindotcom 12y ago
I've been using this Porlex hand grinder for a few years now and it's been great, extremely durable and does a great reliable grind: http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0002JZCF2 http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/...
mey 12y ago
Once I found Stumptown House Blend, it became my espresso's staple. If you are used to Starbucks, it is certainly an eye opened about what a well roasted quality bean can produce in flavor and smoothness.
gabbo 12y ago
I have the same grinder recommended by devindotcom (http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0002JZCF2 http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/...) for work/travel and it's awesome. Another recommendation on the brewing is the AeroPress (http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp...). Pour overs are great and I love my Chemex, but if you're looking to brew a single serving - or want something which is easy to pack for travel - the AeroPress is incredibly hard to beat. It's cheap, fast, small, easy to clean, and makes it trivial to consistently brew a great cup of coffee. The Porlex grinder mentioned above happens to fit exactly inside the AeroPress too. If you're going to do a pour over, a gooseneck kettle really helps. If you don't, it's nice to have but not a necessity. Either way this kettle might be one of the most useful appliances I have: http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40 http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric.... It's a gooseneck kettle with digital temperature control, built-in timer, and hold function. You give it a temperature and it'll keep your water there for an hour. It's ridiculously convenient. FWIW, I started off with a French press, which uses a coarser metal mesh to separate the grounds from the coffee. Because of this you often end up with a small amount of "coffee ground sludge" at the bottom of your French press. The remnants continue to "brew" in your cup after you remove the rest of the coffee grounds, so you might end up with more bitter, overextracted coffee if you aren't careful.
- DennisP 12y ago
  I've been waiting for a chance to ask this...I bought an AeroPress and it made really sour coffee. I tried again, used the same coffee in my drip machine, timed it carefully in the Aeropress, got the temperature exactly right, and still, the Aeropress coffee was much more sour than what I got from my old machine. Am I doing something wrong, or do people just like sour coffee? I really hated it. I've had coffee from a French press and thought it was great.
  - dlevine 12y ago
    The trick I've found with the Aeropress is to disregard the manufacturer instructions and add a lot more water than they suggest. If you look at the Aeropress championship winners, they all fill up the Aeropress with water rather than putting in just a bit of water like the directions suggest (and then diluting later). In my experience, Aeropress yields a great cup of coffee much faster than any of the pour over techniques and drippers.
jimmaswell 12y ago
I've always found swan neck kettles awkward to use, but never had any issues with normal coffee pots.
- rubiquity 12y ago
  Normal coffee pots splash. Coffee beans after being ground and applying hot water to them are very delicate. A goose/swan neck kettle helps keep the pouring both gentle and consistent to get even extraction. I put off getting a good kettle for way too long and I was seriously surprised how much of a difference it made.
  - Semaphor 12y ago
    Is there a difference when using a french press?
    - rubiquity 12y ago
      Perhaps not as much of a difference when using a french press, since you'll likely be doing the entire pour upfront.
HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
I buy my coffee from a local chain: Dunn Bros, always within few days of roasting. Often the same day it was roasted. After having a particularly good cup of coffee there (they offer a "free" large cup of the variety of the day with every pound you purchase), I went on a quest to understand why their coffee always tasted better than mine. Finally it came down to the grind as the last variable and it totally blew my mind how different the taste was whether I bought it ground from them or with my "whirlybird" grinder. Ground in store, made with a cheap drip brewer tastes infinitely better than ground at home with the crappy grinder and a French press. Unbelievable!
- Kluny 12y ago
  What factor was it, exactly? Is their grinder cleaned every time they use it, or is it to do with the evenness of the grind?
  - gabbo 12y ago
    Brewing coffee is all about extracting good tasting stuff from ground coffee beans - some factors which affect extraction include: Water temperature (hotter water => more extraction) Grind size (finer grind => more extraction) Brew time (longer time => more extraction) Overextracted coffee tends to taste bitter (or, as many people say when they're used to bad coffee, "like coffee" :)) and underextracted tends to taste sour. A bad grinder won't give you a uniform result (some will be more coarse, some will be more fine). Brewing should match up an appropriate water temperature + brew time with your grind size, but if your grind isn't uniform the coarser stuff will underextract and the finer stuff will overextract. So your coffee can end up having both sour/bitter flavor if the grind isn't even.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
    I think it's just what the OP said: uneven grind. The grinder I used gave a result that was fine powder with largish and small chunks in it. Their grinder was a smooth, even grind. As far as I can tell, that was the primary determinant in the taste difference.
- bushido 12y ago
x0x0 12y ago
I've been using a Baratza Virtuoso grinder for 2 years now. I'm really happy with it, and it probably suffices for everything up to super fine espresso grinds. ~$200 on amazon [1] -- $230 right now but watch it for a couple days [2]. Just one warning: if you live in an apartment, it produces a fairly loud low grumbling sound. I think it's fine, but if you have super thin walls up get up at the crack of dawn it's something to consider. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MLQHRG http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MLQHRG [2] http://camelcamelcamel.com/Baratza-Virtuoso-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/product/B006MLQHRG http://camelcamelcamel.com/Baratza-Virtuoso-Conical-Coffee-G...
gaoshan 12y ago
I use the Hario hand grinder and it is by far the best grinder for anyone that is price conscious. It is significantly less expensive that other ceramic burr grinders. The only draw back is that you must manually crank it and this takes time. That said, a single serving of coffee takes only about 2 minutes to grind so it really isn't that bad unless you are preparing a larger number of servings at once.
- bch 12y ago
  > The only draw back is that you must manually crank it... I think of this as a feature. A serious drawback though is to be careful when handling -- an errant bump of the glass globe against the ceramic burrs means (at best) a chip in the glass.
  - scmoore 12y ago
    My housemate pointed out that the Hario grinder has the same threads as a mason jar, so chipped glass might not be a big deal. But damaging the burrs probably means buying a new grinder.
    - malandrew 12y ago
      Yup. I found out this by accident one day. Very cool backup if you break the glass bowl (which I haven't done... yet).
- elwell 12y ago
  I've tightened down a drill over my Hario and ground it up real fast. Not advised for grinder longevity, but perhaps a remedy for RSI.
reedlaw 12y ago
How does a Chemex or French Press compare to a Moka pot? I like the strength of my Moka pot coffee which is somewhere in between an espresso and an Americano or drip coffee.
true_religion 12y ago
This is why I drink tea. After going through the hassle of 1-50 steps to make perfect coffee over and over, I relish a powerfully flavoured drink where you just pour hot water over leaves.

devindotcom 12y ago

I've been using this Porlex hand grinder for a few years now and it's been great, extremely durable and does a great reliable grind: http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0002JZCF2 http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/...

mey 12y ago

Once I found Stumptown House Blend, it became my espresso's staple. If you are used to Starbucks, it is certainly an eye opened about what a well roasted quality bean can produce in flavor and smoothness.

gabbo 12y ago

I have the same grinder recommended by devindotcom (http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0002JZCF2 http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/...) for work/travel and it's awesome. Another recommendation on the brewing is the AeroPress (http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp...). Pour overs are great and I love my Chemex, but if you're looking to brew a single serving - or want something which is easy to pack for travel - the AeroPress is incredibly hard to beat. It's cheap, fast, small, easy to clean, and makes it trivial to consistently brew a great cup of coffee. The Porlex grinder mentioned above happens to fit exactly inside the AeroPress too. If you're going to do a pour over, a gooseneck kettle really helps. If you don't, it's nice to have but not a necessity. Either way this kettle might be one of the most useful appliances I have: http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40 http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Variable-Temperature-Electric.... It's a gooseneck kettle with digital temperature control, built-in timer, and hold function. You give it a temperature and it'll keep your water there for an hour. It's ridiculously convenient. FWIW, I started off with a French press, which uses a coarser metal mesh to separate the grounds from the coffee. Because of this you often end up with a small amount of "coffee ground sludge" at the bottom of your French press. The remnants continue to "brew" in your cup after you remove the rest of the coffee grounds, so you might end up with more bitter, overextracted coffee if you aren't careful.

DennisP 12y ago
I've been waiting for a chance to ask this...I bought an AeroPress and it made really sour coffee. I tried again, used the same coffee in my drip machine, timed it carefully in the Aeropress, got the temperature exactly right, and still, the Aeropress coffee was much more sour than what I got from my old machine. Am I doing something wrong, or do people just like sour coffee? I really hated it. I've had coffee from a French press and thought it was great.
- dlevine 12y ago
  The trick I've found with the Aeropress is to disregard the manufacturer instructions and add a lot more water than they suggest. If you look at the Aeropress championship winners, they all fill up the Aeropress with water rather than putting in just a bit of water like the directions suggest (and then diluting later). In my experience, Aeropress yields a great cup of coffee much faster than any of the pour over techniques and drippers.

jimmaswell 12y ago

I've always found swan neck kettles awkward to use, but never had any issues with normal coffee pots.

rubiquity 12y ago
Normal coffee pots splash. Coffee beans after being ground and applying hot water to them are very delicate. A goose/swan neck kettle helps keep the pouring both gentle and consistent to get even extraction. I put off getting a good kettle for way too long and I was seriously surprised how much of a difference it made.
- Semaphor 12y ago
  Is there a difference when using a french press?
  - rubiquity 12y ago
    Perhaps not as much of a difference when using a french press, since you'll likely be doing the entire pour upfront.

HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago

I buy my coffee from a local chain: Dunn Bros, always within few days of roasting. Often the same day it was roasted. After having a particularly good cup of coffee there (they offer a "free" large cup of the variety of the day with every pound you purchase), I went on a quest to understand why their coffee always tasted better than mine. Finally it came down to the grind as the last variable and it totally blew my mind how different the taste was whether I bought it ground from them or with my "whirlybird" grinder. Ground in store, made with a cheap drip brewer tastes infinitely better than ground at home with the crappy grinder and a French press. Unbelievable!

Kluny 12y ago
What factor was it, exactly? Is their grinder cleaned every time they use it, or is it to do with the evenness of the grind?
- gabbo 12y ago
  Brewing coffee is all about extracting good tasting stuff from ground coffee beans - some factors which affect extraction include: Water temperature (hotter water => more extraction) Grind size (finer grind => more extraction) Brew time (longer time => more extraction) Overextracted coffee tends to taste bitter (or, as many people say when they're used to bad coffee, "like coffee" :)) and underextracted tends to taste sour. A bad grinder won't give you a uniform result (some will be more coarse, some will be more fine). Brewing should match up an appropriate water temperature + brew time with your grind size, but if your grind isn't uniform the coarser stuff will underextract and the finer stuff will overextract. So your coffee can end up having both sour/bitter flavor if the grind isn't even.
- HeyLaughingBoy 12y ago
  I think it's just what the OP said: uneven grind. The grinder I used gave a result that was fine powder with largish and small chunks in it. Their grinder was a smooth, even grind. As far as I can tell, that was the primary determinant in the taste difference.
bushido 12y ago

x0x0 12y ago

I've been using a Baratza Virtuoso grinder for 2 years now. I'm really happy with it, and it probably suffices for everything up to super fine espresso grinds. ~$200 on amazon [1] -- $230 right now but watch it for a couple days [2]. Just one warning: if you live in an apartment, it produces a fairly loud low grumbling sound. I think it's fine, but if you have super thin walls up get up at the crack of dawn it's something to consider. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MLQHRG http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MLQHRG [2] http://camelcamelcamel.com/Baratza-Virtuoso-Conical-Coffee-Grinder/product/B006MLQHRG http://camelcamelcamel.com/Baratza-Virtuoso-Conical-Coffee-G...

gaoshan 12y ago

I use the Hario hand grinder and it is by far the best grinder for anyone that is price conscious. It is significantly less expensive that other ceramic burr grinders. The only draw back is that you must manually crank it and this takes time. That said, a single serving of coffee takes only about 2 minutes to grind so it really isn't that bad unless you are preparing a larger number of servings at once.

bch 12y ago
> The only draw back is that you must manually crank it... I think of this as a feature. A serious drawback though is to be careful when handling -- an errant bump of the glass globe against the ceramic burrs means (at best) a chip in the glass.
- scmoore 12y ago
  My housemate pointed out that the Hario grinder has the same threads as a mason jar, so chipped glass might not be a big deal. But damaging the burrs probably means buying a new grinder.
  - malandrew 12y ago
    Yup. I found out this by accident one day. Very cool backup if you break the glass bowl (which I haven't done... yet).
elwell 12y ago
I've tightened down a drill over my Hario and ground it up real fast. Not advised for grinder longevity, but perhaps a remedy for RSI.

reedlaw 12y ago

How does a Chemex or French Press compare to a Moka pot? I like the strength of my Moka pot coffee which is somewhere in between an espresso and an Americano or drip coffee.

true_religion 12y ago

This is why I drink tea. After going through the hassle of 1-50 steps to make perfect coffee over and over, I relish a powerfully flavoured drink where you just pour hot water over leaves.