Question for people who like coffee

[UnderOpenSky]

Every time I see these coffee threads I read up about aero press but end up not understanding it and thinking if I got it I’d break it somehow

It pretty bombproof. People rave about good the coffee is, but I don't see a big advantage taste wise over a cafetiere. Where it excels is how easy it is to clean.

 

[Elpenor]

It pretty bombproof. People rave about good the coffee is, but I don't see a big advantage taste wise over a cafetiere. Where it excels is how easy it is to clean.

I currently use a steel cafetiere at work which is a pain in the arse to clean (have to roll my shirt sleeves up as can’t tip grounds down the sink).

So this would be far easier perhaps. Is it possible to buy these in shops and not online?

 

[nottsgirl]

It pretty bombproof. People rave about good the coffee is, but I don't see a big advantage taste wise over a cafetiere. Where it excels is how easy it is to clean.

I think it tastes better than a cafetière. You get more grains in a cafetière.

 

[Artaxerxes]

I currently use a steel cafetiere at work which is a pain in the arse to clean (have to roll my shirt sleeves up as can’t tip grounds down the sink).

So this would be far easier perhaps. Is it possible to buy these in shops and not online?

Most decent coffee shops seem to have them, not your costas though but I haven’t been in one of those for ages


Cafetières are always an absolute ball ache to clean and you usually end up with some grounds.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I currently use a steel cafetiere at work which is a pain in the arse to clean (have to roll my shirt sleeves up as can’t tip grounds down the sink).

So this would be far easier perhaps. Is it possible to buy these in shops and not online?

Almost certainly if you live somewhere with nice shops and places that make a thing about coffee. Not sure I've ever seen one in Asda.

 

[Elpenor]

Sounds like it’s something I’ll find in Exeter, will have a look - cheers

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I think it tastes better than a cafetière. You get more grains in a cafetière.

I must just be a heathen who doesn't care enough.

 

[danski]

It’s basically a cafetière you put on your cup. I’ve also called it shooting up a cup of coffee when talking to the wife

Have you tried the inverted (upside down) method?
You turn it up the other way drop in the coffee, fill it, stir, fit lid/filter then flip over onto cup then press.
I’ve only ever done it that way so don’t know the difference but I suggested a mate try that way after doing the conventional way and he was impressed by the “extra depth of flavour”

 

[Brainaddict]

My sister is a proper coffee addict but also doesn't have a load of disposable income so just buys instant.

I talked to her a while ago about why she doesn't get ground coffee and it was purely a money thing. She basically said if she could afford it, she'd have a cafeteria going constantly.

Her birthday is coming up so I am planning to get her a coffee subscription. 250g of ground a month. Which I know won't keep her addiction running, but I figure gives her the option of a 'special' cup when she wants to treat herself. I'm planning to get an individual cafeteria to wrap so she has something to open to go along with the email.

I do not drink coffee at all, so have no idea about the preferences on this type of stuff.

My main question is, on the subscription I have chosen, there's the choice of the 'house' coffee for the whole 6 months, or a different one every month.

Which would a coffee person I have described prefer do you think?

I can't help wondering if your sister has checked out prices of the budget ground coffee lately. Lidl's Italian/French coffee at £1.89 a packet is perfectly decent and is probably the same price as a bag of coffee 30 years ago, while instant coffee has definitely gone up with inflation. Even if she can't buy it every week I'm surprised if she can't buy it from time to time.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Have you tried the inverted (upside down) method?
You turn it up the other way drop in the coffee, fill it, stir, fit lid/filter then flip over onto cup then press.
I’ve only ever done it that way so don’t know the difference but I suggested a mate try that way after doing the conventional way and he was impressed by the “extra depth of flavour”

This is the way.

I can't help wondering if your sister has checked out prices of the budget ground coffee lately. Lidl's Italian/French coffee at £1.89 a packet is perfectly decent and is probably the same price as a bag of coffee 30 years ago, while instant coffee has definitely gone up with inflation. Even if she can't buy it every week I'm surprised if she can't buy it from time to time.

It's rough as fuck though. The extra quid is very well spent on their slightly better stuff.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Have you tried the inverted (upside down) method?
You turn it up the other way drop in the coffee, fill it, stir, fit lid/filter then flip over onto cup then press.
I’ve only ever done it that way so don’t know the difference but I suggested a mate try that way after doing the conventional way and he was impressed by the “extra depth of flavour”

I think I’ll need a diagram but it sounds like a recipe for disaster with my hand eye coordination

 

[two sheds]

I used to think cafetiere was difficult to clean but now I spoon out the used coffee grounds into the bin, then rinse the remainder and pour them through a tea strainer I keep in the sink to stop stuff gunging it up and so, too, to bin.

 

[Elpenor]

I used to think cafetiere was difficult to clean but now I spoon out the used coffee grounds into the bin, then rinse the remainder and pour them through a tea strainer I keep in the sink to stop stuff gunging it up and so, too, to bin.

I use a lot of (works) kitchen roll and chuck that all in the bin.

 

[danski]

I think I’ll need a diagram but it sounds like a recipe for disaster with my hand eye coordination

How to brew AeroPress (inverted method) (a guide by James Perry)

Mix things up with a different approach

samplecoffee.com.au

 

[redcogs]

my current way of making a good cup of coffee involves using a pyrex jug. Two heaped coffee spoons full of pre ground into it. Add the correct amount of boiling water from kettle and stir well. re stir after a couple of mins and then allow to settle. Pour into cup through a fine stainless steel sieve. Such sieves are out there - they have a finer gauze than the old tea strainer. The resulting coffee is A1 class. Far better than cafetereaires. i have used every concievable technique down the years. Settled on this one now. One slight drawback is finishing temperature. i detect the process allows a little too much cooling to occur. i rectify this phenomenon with a quick top up from kettle, but others may prefer a wizz in a microwave for a few seconds. my daughter makes coffee with a costly new fangled device. mine is superior. i have been known to add a square of chocolate to a cup sometimes, but normally i prefer un sweetened.

Coffee is a great idea for a gift!

 

[Brainaddict]

This is the way.



It's rough as fuck though. The extra quid is very well spent on their slightly better stuff.

I disagree. The Sainsburys and Tesco £2 packets are pretty rough, I think the Lidl stuff is very drinkable and I buy it regularly.

Anyway, my point was I think people sometimes get stuck on their idea of what an 'unaffordable luxury' is. 50 years ago a packet of coffee was probably an hour's wage from a low wage job, 25 years ago maybe it was half an hour's wage. These days it's 10 minutes wage from a low wage job. But I notice my parents generation still treating it as a luxury. If you're really not able to pay your food bills (and I realise more and more people can't) then fair enough, you need to save by not buying coffee. But if you're getting by okay for food and basics then fresh coffee shouldn't be unattainable any more.

 

[redcogs]

I disagree. The Sainsburys and Tesco £2 packets are pretty rough, I think the Lidl stuff is very drinkable and I buy it regularly.

Anyway, my point was I think people sometimes get stuck on their idea of what an 'unaffordable luxury' is. 50 years ago a packet of coffee was probably an hour's wage from a low wage job, 25 years ago maybe it was half an hour's wage. These days it's 10 minutes wage from a low wage job. But I notice my parents generation still treating it as a luxury. If you're really not able to pay your food bills (and I realise more and more people can't) then fair enough, you need to save by not buying coffee. But if you're getting by okay for food and basics then fresh coffee shouldn't be unattainable any more.

A very interesting perspective. in my mind coffee is a luxurious expensive thing. It may have something to do with the way fucking crooks and gangsters charge you over £3.00 for a cup of bog standard flat white.

 

[redcogs]

Dick Turpin coffee is now the norm init! Talk about being fleeced willingly. When did it all start this over £3.00 a cup? Perhaps it is a generational thing, but i think its crookery.

 

[Brainaddict]

A very interesting perspective. in my mind coffee is a luxurious expensive thing. It may have something to do with the way fucking crooks and gangsters charge you over £3.00 for a cup of bog standard flat white.

Yeah, coffee out and about is a different thing. That is more of a luxury. But an entire packet of coffee that will make 12ish cups can cost less than one coffee in a cafe.

E2a: They're also not crooks charging that much. The ingredients are cheap but when you buy a coffee in a cafe you are mostly paying rent and wages. Increasingly more of it is rent. One of the many ways we all suffer from higher rents even if you own a home.

 

[Elpenor]

Yeah, coffee out and about is a different thing. That is more of a luxury. But an entire packet of coffee that will make 12ish cups can cost less than one coffee in a cafe.

E2a: They're also not crooks charging that much. The ingredients are cheap but when you buy a coffee in a cafe you are mostly paying rent and wages. Increasingly more of it is rent. One of the many ways we all suffer from higher rents even if you own a home.

Yes I agree that a pack of ground coffee is very good value. High cost of a coffee out is a good reason to invest in your own kit

 

[redcogs]

Yeah, coffee out and about is a different thing. That is more of a luxury. But an entire packet of coffee that will make 12ish cups can cost less than one coffee in a cafe.

E2a: They're also not crooks charging that much. The ingredients are cheap but when you buy a coffee in a cafe you are mostly paying rent and wages. Increasingly more of it is rent. One of the many ways we all suffer from higher rents even if you own a home.

i wouldn't be inclined to see the wages of cafe workers as being a serious issue. Rentiers of course, hardly surprising given the state of the property market for decades. But lets not overlook the profits of the major coffee outlets. Shareholders doing pretty well atm Costa Coffee returns to profit following strong ‘topline growth’ in 2022.

in redcogs world all profits to be recycled in the interests of the workforce and the customers. The shareholding leeches can do one.

 

[tommers]

Have you tried the inverted (upside down) method?
You turn it up the other way drop in the coffee, fill it, stir, fit lid/filter then flip over onto cup then press.
I’ve only ever done it that way so don’t know the difference but I suggested a mate try that way after doing the conventional way and he was impressed by the “extra depth of flavour”

I also do it that way. I don't know if it affects the flavour, but it stops it dripping out the bottom.

 

[tommers]

I think I’ll need a diagram but it sounds like a recipe for disaster with my hand eye coordination

I once forgot to put the filter paper in and when I flipped it over to put it on top of the cup hilarity ensued.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I disagree. The Sainsburys and Tesco £2 packets are pretty rough, I think the Lidl stuff is very drinkable and I buy it regularly.

Anyway, my point was I think people sometimes get stuck on their idea of what an 'unaffordable luxury' is. 50 years ago a packet of coffee was probably an hour's wage from a low wage job, 25 years ago maybe it was half an hour's wage. These days it's 10 minutes wage from a low wage job. But I notice my parents generation still treating it as a luxury. If you're really not able to pay your food bills (and I realise more and more people can't) then fair enough, you need to save by not buying coffee. But if you're getting by okay for food and basics then fresh coffee shouldn't be unattainable any more.

I'll have to try the Lidl one, although rolling with your point, I don't think £2.89 is that luxury either. And I'd still rather drink the cheap stuff then the best instant coffee and that really isn't cheap.

 

[Epona]

Anyway, my point was I think people sometimes get stuck on their idea of what an 'unaffordable luxury' is. 50 years ago a packet of coffee was probably an hour's wage from a low wage job, 25 years ago maybe it was half an hour's wage. These days it's 10 minutes wage from a low wage job.

That assumes that you don't have to work 50 hours in a low wage job just to pay your bills and magically have some money left over to buy coffee.

I'm sorry, but this sort of "but it's only a small amount of money" type suggestions really boil my piss - you still have to have that amount of money left in terms of disposable income, which not everyone has, especially not people on low wage jobs. It just completely misunderstands the situation that many find themselves in. Housing costs and utilities take up a huge amount more of a low wage than they did 50 years ago.

 

[Epona]

BTW in terms of the OP, I think a coffee subscription sounds like an excellent gift for a friend who likes coffee

 

[smee]

What a great present! We have an aeropress that we mostly use for holidays/camping (as have a coffee machine at home now). It’s great! We reuse the filters.. good thing is once she has that everyone can get her fancy coffee for birthdays/xmas etc too.
Would also go with the different coffees on the subscriptions.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

too late for advice but, not having tried an aeropress moka express would be my sugestion and a fine grind for this, variety to start with too

 

[UrbaneFox]

I used to think cafetiere was difficult to clean but now I spoon out the used coffee grounds into the bin, then rinse the remainder and pour them through a tea strainer I keep in the sink to stop stuff gunging it up and so, too, to bin.

I do that, then I save money by using the grounds to exfoliate my elbows, knees and heels.

Then I avoid leaving a coffee aroma by rubbing a squeezed lemon half over the baby-soft skin.

 

[gentlegreen]

too late for advice but, not having tried an aeropress moka express would be my sugestion and a fine grind for this, variety to start with too

I started with one but after trying other methods coffee always caramelized...plus a kettle is much quicker than a hotplate and aluminium won't work on induction