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My wife's new job has her getting up at 5:30 so she's looking for a small programmable coffee maker to make her coffee then. What's the thread's consensus for a programmable coffee maker that's not gonna break the bank?
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Jan 11, 2021 17:48
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| # ? May 26, 2024 13:53 |
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$10 smart plug. Set it to give power when you want coffee. The end
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Jan 11, 2021 18:01
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DangerZoneDelux posted:$10 smart plug. Set it to give power when you want coffee. The end You need a coffeemaker with a pretty simple manual on/off switch for this to work. Most probably don't turn on automatically when you plug them in.
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Jan 11, 2021 19:53
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withak posted:You need a coffeemaker with a pretty simple manual on/off switch for this to work. Most probably don't turn on automatically when you plug them in. Mr coffee simple brew or Moccamaster. There super cheap and best in class with long lasting components. Covered everything there
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Jan 11, 2021 20:20
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drainpipe posted:My wife's new job has her getting up at 5:30 so she's looking for a small programmable coffee maker to make her coffee then. What's the thread's consensus for a programmable coffee maker that's not gonna break the bank? A trip to Goodwill with twenty bucks will get you five coffee makers. Just use those. If any of them have a digital clock on them then they likely have programmable thing and you can just get a manual online to figure out how to do it. Also, a trip to any larger grocery store will almost certainly have a programmable coffee maker, as will Bed Bath & Beyond and similar. For a comparative analysis and to learn more in general, something like the Wirecutter's thing is gonna be okay to start: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-coffee-maker/ If you are looking for a no nonsense solution for a modest amount of coffee that is programmable I think Mr. Coffee machines come in 5 cup varieties and will be easily serviceable or replaceable and the cheapest by far. No one brand at a super cheap price point will be particularly good but the Wirecutter article should give you an idea of what price points are considered fanciful to modest.
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Jan 11, 2021 20:27
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hypnophant posted:The encore isn’t really up to espresso grind even with the virtuouso burr so in that sense the barista pro has a leg up on the cc1 (because it includes an espresso grinder), although I have no experience with either. Then how are you opinionating on either? The encore with the virtuoso burr goes to a very fine setting, fine as baby powder. So it's definitely in range. The only apparent problem is that it only has 40 settings from very coarse to very fine, so for the OCD it's not going to dial in any tighter than.
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Jan 11, 2021 20:29
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Mr. Mambold posted:Then how are you opinionating on either? The encore with the virtuoso burr goes to a very fine setting, fine as baby powder. So it's definitely in range. The only apparent problem is that it only has 40 settings from very coarse to very fine, so for the OCD it's not going to dial in any tighter than. I have used the encore, though with the default burr, and I agree with the common wisdom that the steps are too wide to dial in espresso effectively even if the minimum grind size is fine enough. I don't see how the burr upgrade can affect that but if someone else has used that setup for espresso, I'm interested to hear about your experience, especially since that would be a much cheaper low end recommendation for espresso than the usual sette 270.
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Jan 11, 2021 20:48
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My old machine was a Breville Barista Pro. It's great, especially if you're into darker or medium roasts. It kinda struggles to get hot enough to properly extract light roasts though. It also comes with a built-in espresso grinder, so you won't need to use the Encore, and you shouldn't. It's not great as an espresso grinder. I used my old Encore with my first espresso machine, and I always ended up annoyed that I was having sour/bitter shots depending on what beans I was using. Getting the Barista Pro, and using the built-in grinder, improved things a lot. If you've got your heart set on light roasts though, I'd avoid the Barista Pro, I just couldn't get it's thermo-jet to produce hot enough water for light roast extraction.
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Jan 11, 2021 20:58
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hypnophant posted:I have used the encore, though with the default burr, and I agree with the common wisdom that the steps are too wide to dial in espresso effectively even if the minimum grind size is fine enough. I don't see how the burr upgrade can affect that but if someone else has used that setup for espresso, I'm interested to hear about your experience, especially since that would be a much cheaper low end recommendation for espresso than the usual sette 270. The burr upgrade results in a more uniform grind. I believe it takes it up to par with the Virtuoso+? It's definitely a step up in quality (I went from Encore to Virtuoso+) but it won't help much with espresso. The limited grind adjustment is much more of a problem.
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Jan 11, 2021 21:02
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hypnophant posted:I have used the encore, though with the default burr, and I agree with the common wisdom that the steps are too wide to dial in espresso effectively even if the minimum grind size is fine enough. I don't see how the burr upgrade can affect that but if someone else has used that setup for espresso, I'm interested to hear about your experience, especially since that would be a much cheaper low end recommendation for espresso than the usual sette 270. I have an Encore with non-Virtuoso burrs and i got a sette 270wi which has micro adjustments (there's a macro step and a micro step). With the microstep adjustment I can taste clear differences while remaining in the larger step size. The main thing here is that the fineness in direct comparison does not allow for granular enough adjustment so if you aren't happy between 4 to 6 or you're experimenting in greater detail, you're stuck or you need to manually adjust the gear slip under the collar each time you want dial in new beans. Home espresso, I'm not sure if has been communicated, is not cheap at all. Espresso grinds are intended to be very uniform and consistent and adjustments for them are finer than the notches on the Encore. If the Encore worked as an espresso grinder for most people, then there wouldn't be a need for Eureka Mignon or the Sette or Vario or the Niche. This is not in any way a means to discourage using what one has, but to temper expectations that you may be limiting yourself by your burr control. If you want something that you can use for espresso that is at the same price point with superior burrs and stepless adjustment, look at something like a Knock Aergrind, because medium to high end hand crank grinders can get to the right consistency.
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Jan 11, 2021 21:51
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Lord Stimperor posted:It's a good time to like coffee. I'll echo all this but also add a link to the Barista Hustle Coffee Compass, which gives you a taste map and what to do to adjust your brews based on what you're tasting. https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-coffee-compass/ Use recipes/numbers/ratios as a place to start. Use your tongue to identify what needs to change to move things towards what you want.
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Jan 12, 2021 06:50
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dedian posted:I'll echo all this but also add a link to the Barista Hustle Coffee Compass, which gives you a taste map and what to do to adjust your brews based on what you're tasting. Interesting! I find a lot of people I know find light roasts "vegetal" where I do not. I wonder if I can get someone to let me experiment with them.
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Jan 12, 2021 15:08
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The Postman posted:Interesting! I find a lot of people I know find light roasts "vegetal" where I do not. I wonder if I can get someone to let me experiment with them. In my experience, the people who have complained of "vegetal" notes are drinking under-extracted shots. I've certainly converted a few people to light roasts after getting them to brew hotter and longer to get into the goldilocks zone.
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Jan 12, 2021 15:51
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I got a shot pulled for me at a roaster I really love the other day and, unfortunately, I think they dosed way too high? The shot tasted like straight up salt water.
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Jan 12, 2021 16:00
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RichterIX posted:I got a shot pulled for me at a roaster I really love the other day and, unfortunately, I think they dosed way too high? The shot tasted like straight up salt water. Maybe. I've definitely had salty shots before. I know that certain beans, particularly ones from Indonesia can exhibit this characteristic. Weirdly enough, I think both under and over-extraction can lead to salty shots. I can't really remember what I did in order to remedy it, as it hasn't happened in a long time. It's almost certainly not meant to taste like that though.
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Jan 12, 2021 16:15
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dedian posted:I'll echo all this but also add a link to the Barista Hustle Coffee Compass, which gives you a taste map and what to do to adjust your brews based on what you're tasting. The compass! I was on mobile so I couldn't dig it out. I had hoped someone would add it 
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Jan 12, 2021 16:34
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RichterIX posted:I got a shot pulled for me at a roaster I really love the other day and, unfortunately, I think they dosed way too high? The shot tasted like straight up salt water. Order 7 shots and then just kinda average the experience out across them to get a better idea of what that blend/bean will usually taste like. Sounds like they didn't clear enough retained grounds before brewing you this cup, or otherwise hosed up the extraction. Notable salinity is a defect and to be avoided.
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Jan 12, 2021 17:00
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Refurbished Encore and some others available https://www.baratza.com/shop/refurb
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Jan 12, 2021 23:35
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I use a Baratza Preciso, which rarely pop up in the wild. It was used once in the 10 years the previous owner had it, and never calibrated for fineness. So I did. It rocks for espresso with a dialed-in 11 graduated settings for each of the same 40 as the Encore and Virtuoso, imho, and I wonder if an enterprising, caffeinated goon-built 3rd party add-on might be designed and 3D printed? to convert Encores and Virtuoso without too much fuss or legal chaff from Baratza. I'm not even sure how the burrs are adjusted for fineness, but that would be the key. Just spitballin, probably a bad idea.
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Jan 14, 2021 03:49
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I've been reading James Hoffmann's World Atlas of Coffee, which I received as an early birthday present. It's really excellent, and serves as a guide to how coffee is grown, harvested and processed all around the world. Highly recommended if you can get hold of a copy!
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Jan 15, 2021 19:35
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Gunder posted:I've been reading James Hoffmann's World Atlas of Coffee, which I received as an early birthday present. It's really excellent, and serves as a guide to how coffee is grown, harvested and processed all around the world. Highly recommended if you can get hold of a copy! I have it too and agree! It is, fittingly, the ideal coffee table book. Did you get the second edition?
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Jan 15, 2021 19:49
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Yeah, the person bought it direct from Square Mile, Hoffmann's roastery, so it's even signed by the author himself!
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Jan 15, 2021 20:42
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Gunder posted:Yeah, the person bought it direct from Square Mile, Hoffmann's roastery, so it's even signed by the author himself! That is extremely cool!
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Jan 15, 2021 21:35
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Do people have any secret accessories that they use for coffee that is actually pretty useful? For me, recently I got a bunch of bar mats, and we used to use one at the office to hold all our coffee stuff. Fantastic investment for pourover since you tend to get grinds and liquids everywhere. Generally just kinda useful and easy to clean, and I have found it doesn't really impact the performance of any of the scales I use. I dunno if I can get ones custom made for the table dimensions I have, sadly, but if I could I'd absolutely get some. Runner up secret accessory: a spoon. Just all around useful thing for whacking any remaining grounds out of a bin and futzing with the coffee bed during the brew, or doing the break/clean method with a French press. All in all, I try to keep a spoon handy!
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Jan 16, 2021 20:11
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For pour-overs, not really. Apart from a wooden stirring stick that I got from Hario. It's nice, and wont scratch the glass server I use like a metal spoon could. For espresso there are loads: A WDT tool from Londinium Espresso, a portafilter funnel, tamper, milk thermometer and jug from Decent Espresso.
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Jan 16, 2021 20:22
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I always thought the jug from Decent was kind of overblown, but it is a nice piece of kit to be sure. How do you find you like it?
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Jan 16, 2021 20:24
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aldantefax posted:I always thought the jug from Decent was kind of overblown, but it is a nice piece of kit to be sure. How do you find you like it? I like it because it's small (I have the smallest size) and allows me to just steam the 150mls of milk I actually use, thereby avoiding waste. Also the little calibrated hole drilled at the top makes attaching their milk thermometer very easy, which is nice. I also like the fill lines on the inside so that I can pour the correct amount of milk in without having to weigh it out. I guess the spout is meant to be good for making very straight lines in latte art, but I can't pour art for poo poo, so I don't notice that benefit.
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Jan 16, 2021 20:46
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My secret accessory: an OXO Brew spoon/scraper thing. It's supposed to be for scooping grounds out of a container, and it's good at that. It's also proven useful in general use for scraping out jars and the like. Dumb runner up: an Ember 2 mug. A barista friend got one when Starbucks was getting rid of them and I traded him for a toaster oven, which is probably more useful in AZ.
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Jan 16, 2021 21:41
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Yeah, I've heard that the Ember is actually kinda good. I would get one if it were in stock.
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Jan 16, 2021 23:12
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I got a BOGO deal from Amazon when it got cheap enough and I had enough gift certificate dosh to get it. I don't really use it anymore but I think it's a neat enough idea, I just don't have a dedicated plug for the charging base in a spot that I'd trust leaving the mug and the base.
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Jan 16, 2021 23:23
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aldantefax posted:Do people have any secret accessories that they use for coffee that is actually pretty useful? Not sure how secret it still is, but a small spray bottle or eyedropper to add a bit of water to a batch of beans before grinding. It pretty much eliminates the static cling, meaning less stuff sticking to the grinder and shooting out all over the counter
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Jan 21, 2021 23:11
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I just wait 20 seconds and give the grinder a love smack to get the grounds out.
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Jan 21, 2021 23:14
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The spritz or water is pretty incredible and definitely worth it. I need a spray bottle because I may have dumped a pitcher of water into the bean hopper in a sleepy state a few times. It went from a nice single origin to a Nespresso morning
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Jan 22, 2021 00:42
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DangerZoneDelux posted:The spritz or water is pretty incredible and definitely worth it. I need a spray bottle because I may have dumped a pitcher of water into the bean hopper in a sleepy state a few times. It went from a nice single origin to a Nespresso morning I've dumped beans into the water reservoir of my bonavita once. I then started dumping water in after my coffee, so it was full every morning.
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Jan 22, 2021 02:09
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Will a cast iron skillet be good enough for roasting my own beans?
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Jan 22, 2021 14:37
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Azuth0667 posted:Will a cast iron skillet be good enough for roasting my own beans? Over a campfire maybe. You don't want to do that in an enclosed area.
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Jan 22, 2021 17:22
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I've never personally tried it, but it seems like home roasting is one of those things that's pretty hard to do as well as a proper roastery would do it, right? Although maybe it depends on what sort of roast you want to produce, I guess producing an ultra dark roast might be easier than repeatedly getting a good consistent result with a light roast?
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Jan 22, 2021 17:47
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This has nothing to do with coffee, but you're all required to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnfxk_slKIk
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Jan 22, 2021 17:57
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I learned about the water spritz in this very thread, so maybe a goon first? I roast at home with a Behmor, but in my attached shop and I have a shop fan to vent smoke out into the neighborhood. My one weird trick is to use a scoop at the end of a roast to drop beans repeatedly into a colander with the fan going to cull chaff and cool beans quicker. Helps control roast a bit also.
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Jan 22, 2021 19:25
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| # ? May 26, 2024 13:53 |
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Gunder posted:I've never personally tried it, but it seems like home roasting is one of those things that's pretty hard to do as well as a proper roastery would do it, right? Although maybe it depends on what sort of roast you want to produce, I guess producing an ultra dark roast might be easier than repeatedly getting a good consistent result with a light roast? It's actually dead simple to do at home (though smoky as hell) if all you care about is getting a dark or light roast. Precise control and consistency is what is hard to do at home without going down a gear-related rabbit hole.
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Jan 22, 2021 19:51
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