Proper Coffee

couriervanman

OhhEnnEmm wrote: »

A french press is a cafetiere

And unless you have serious money to buy a proper machine is the next best option

ToastLady

One thing that people haven't mentioned it the actual grinder itself, you are better getting a conical burr grinder, rather than one with blades.
Before you go to the expense of getting a grinder, I'd get the roaster to grind you some coffee for you to try out using your French press, and see how you get on with it. If you know your favourite coffee, well and good, if not, get a few samples ground to try out to see what suits.

I don't have an aeropress, have an espresso machine which is used on a daily basis. I have kept the cafetiere which I've had for years, which comes in useful from time to time. I prefer the coffee from the espresso machine, but the cafetiere does still have its uses when travelling, a larger crowd for coffee and the odd power cut.

shopbot

I am a big fan of the Aeropress. I use the inverted method.

Voyager2002

I think we need a dose of realit here...


The upgrade from instant "coffee" to real coffee is spectacular. And that is true even if you use supermarket ground coffee.


I have to say that the ground coffee sold in supermarkets is a better product than you might think from some contributions to this thread. It is vacuum-packed, and so retains its flavour for extended periods on the shelf.


And yes: if you move from supermarket ground coffee to freshly ground coffee (whether purchased ground in small quantities or ground at home from beans) you will notice an improvement, albeit a modest one. And of course you can roast beans at home, or buy freshly-roasted beans from an importer rather than old but vacuum-packed beans from a supermarket, but you may not consider the improvement worth the additional trouble and expense.

esuhl

You can't compare instant coffee to ground coffee -- they're so different in taste. It's more than worth the extra cost!

I've never tried an AeroPress, but have also heard good things about it. I've tried various other methods of making coffee, but the best taste for me comes from a cafetière (French press) -- even compared to expensive commercial espresso machines, which are just a bit too bitter for me.

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I have to say that the ground coffee sold in supermarkets is a better product than you might think from some contributions to this thread. It is vacuum-packed, and so retains its flavour for extended periods on the shelf.

I used to buy my coffee from Whittards -- it was a big step up from anything you could get in the supermarket, but double(?) the price.

Smaller producers of "artisan" coffee seem really hit-and-miss, and more expensive than Whittards. I've had some that was exquisite, and some that was worse than supermarket coffee for 1/4 of the price.

When my local Whittards closed, I found that the range and quality of supermarket-sold coffee had improved. So, I agree -- in a fairly-big supermarket, you should be able to find one coffee you really like. Or (if you're a super-fussy connoisseur) can tolerate if your favourite type is unavailable.

Even supermarket own-brand coffee can be good! If you drink your coffee black, and like a dark roast, with a unique spicy/smoky/earthy flavour, I definitely recommend Waitrose' own-label Monsoon Malabar. You can buy either the beans or ready-ground.

esuhl

theonlywayisup wrote: »

I do not drink instant coffee (haven't for at least 15 years) and cannot abide those awful pods that many hotel rooms have 'upgraded to'.

I have a very wealthy friend who drank instant coffee, and thought it odd that I'd bring my own cafetière, beans and grinder every time I visited.

One day she told me she'd bought a proper coffee machine that made real coffee, so I didn't need to bring my own stuff any more.

:T

And that's how I first tasted coffee made from a "pod".

:eek:

It was a little Tassimo machine, and... I have never tasted coffee so bad. Even bog-standard instant Nescafe would have been better... actually... quite a lot better. And that really is saying something! *shudder*

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Buy the Aeropress and find a coffee roast you like and you will be sorted. I like the inverted method of Aeropress although my OH can't taste the difference.

It's comments like this that really make me want to try the Aeropress! How different is it to good cafetière coffee?

esuhl

Voyager2002 wrote: »

And yes: if you move from supermarket ground coffee to freshly ground coffee... you will notice an improvement, albeit a modest one.

Yep -- once coffee is ground, it will go stale much more quickly, and not taste as good. Contact with air is the problem, and grinding coffee gives it a much larger surface-area.

The way it's stored is important too -- again you want to minimise air-contact, and I find that keeping it in an airtight bag and squeezing out the air before resealing it helps. I then put the bag in an airtight box.

theonlywayisup

esuhl wrote: »

It's comments like this that really make me want to try the Aeropress! How different is it to good cafetière coffee?

Hard to explain, but perhaps if I said I find it fresher, would that make sense? If I had my favourite coffee in a cafetière I would like it (a lot), in the Aeropress it's better. Neither are as good as my home machine but then neither cost the same. The Aero taste just seems more freshly brewed, more vibrant and (with the inverted method) just a tad more layered.....I'm sounding ridiculous now but if you compare the same coffee done three different ways (inverted is one) you might just agree.