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Yeah, if your going to spend $40 you might as well spend $90 on one you won't toss out after a month. Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder I've had one for a few years and besides being sort of slow and loud and scaring the poo poo out of any visiting dogs, it works great.
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Nov 11, 2011 22:09
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GrAviTy84 posted:As a Capresso Infinity user myself, I recommend the Baratza Maestro refurb. It is cheaper, has a better container (anti-static), more grind size quantizations, and has better burrs. Only reason I got the Capresso was because I had store credit at BB&B and they don't carry Baratza. Yeah, the Capresso has the annoying static and exploding coffee all over the counter "feature", especially when grinding oilier beans but for $90 it was my fallback until I spring for a Rocky. I read that running a batch of rice through it on the finest setting every once in a while decreases the static, I'm going to try that and see.
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Nov 30, 2011 17:46
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I am in Sacramento now but still primarily use Peerless over in Oakland, they ship next day and the coffee is always extremely fresh. I have used them for over 15 years. I have used Java City locally who ship locally for free but it just wasn't quite up to the quality of Peerless. I will check out Temple tonight as I'll be right by it. That being said there has to be a good roaster or 10 nearby in LA or Socal somewhere to get good beans. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Nov 30, 2011 |
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Nov 30, 2011 21:37
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Holy poo poo the Temple Guatemalan Hunapu is good poo poo. So much flavor from a pretty medium-mildly roasted bean. http://templecoffee.myshopify.com/products/guatemala-antigua-hunapu-12oz-5lbs Glad Temple in Sacramento was recommended here as I've never heard of it.
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Dec 2, 2011 23:28
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dema posted:
what kind of filter is that in the Hario?
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Jan 4, 2012 19:41
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dema posted:Hario branded filters. Got them from Verve Coffee a month ago but they don't seem to carry them anymore. ah, gotcha.........so a Hario equivalent of the #4 size? I find the Hario 02 filter a bit small sometimes with my V60 when I have put a lot of grounds in it and am in a hurry. EDIT: Found these which are the larger filters Hario V60 Size O3 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012VVB8Q/ref=sc_pgp__m_A2INBHRDAZ5HFG_2?ie=UTF8&m=A2INBHRDAZ5HFG&n=&s=&v=glance Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Jan 4, 2012 |
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Jan 4, 2012 21:18
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Yeah, they really just make pouring nice and gentle with no risk of dumping too much in at once but I've seen others just pour into a proper pitcher or pyrex instead with the same results. Sweet Maria's has a cool electric goose neck kettle I'm thinking of grabbing for my mom, since she liked my Hario kettle so much over the holidays. I will have a new Baratza Vario from Chris' Coffee next week, I only got it over a Rocky due to the insane reviews the Vario is getting. I feel a bit like a tool for spending so much and I know the coffee won't be $380 better than how it was with my Capresso Infinity but it will be fun anyway. Also: Was at Cost Plus today and noticed they have a shitload of coffee stuff including some simple ceramic pourover cones, Chemex systems, various filters, Ibriks...all kinds of stuff. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Jan 7, 2012 |
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Jan 7, 2012 04:06
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Received the Baratza Vario today and gave it a quick look. 1. It's a sturdy, heavy bastard. I like that. 2. The grind variability is as advertised and spectacular. 3. It is extremely quiet (especially compared to my old Capresso Infinity). I think it's quieter than a Rocky as well. 4. Chris' Coffee puts it in a HUGE box full of foam for safety. 5. If you are over 5 feet tall you'll have to crouch down to read the LCD readout (you can't see poo poo otherwise). I guess you could put it on some sort of platform as well if you have space.
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Jan 9, 2012 22:52
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Astronaut Jones posted:Heh, I keep seeing people say the Vario is heavy.. Whenever I move mine I think "god this thing is so light" compared to my old Rocky, or Mazzers. it's a B E A S T compared to my lil' Capresso Infinity! I'm also wondering why (I aslo read this on a coffeegeek review) why Baratza didn't spring for a blue led readout instead. It would match the rest of their lights as well strangemusic posted:Not that I can afford one, but what makes the Technivorm so good as to be the only "legit" drip machine I see posted about in here? I think the most important part is the temp it drips at. I measured my Capresso and it was 160 as it was dripping out in the carafe, I guess it was perhaps 10 degrees hotter as it hit the grounds so basically it is making coffee at 170 degrees, which isn't ideal. I'll probably keep my eye on the newer Bonavita mentioned above when I get to upgrading. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jan 10, 2012 |
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Jan 10, 2012 18:55
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I don't know if the Maestro is the same way as the Vario but you really have to twist the bean hopper into position at first...or it won't fire up.
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Jan 13, 2012 03:58
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Got the Bonavita from Prima today and test drove it at lunch. Very nice 8 cup unit with the thermo carafe and if one was so inclined, you could probably just stick a V60 and tall mug under it and have it do the pourover for you if you wanted a quick fix. My first test running a 4 cup batch through the Bonavita resulted in 150 degrees in the coffee in the carafe. I really expected it to be much higher considering this unit is supposed to brew over 200 degrees F. In contrast my existing Capresso will have a consistent 160 degrees in the carafe. I am going to run it in parallel again against my Capresso with just water and test the results. I think they run at the same exact time as well right about 6 minutes 
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Jan 20, 2012 21:24
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Ran some more tests on the Bonavita and found that it was dripping at 170 or so until it got through the 4th cup then the temp started creeping up towards 200. Maybe it needs to run a bit until it gets up to full temp. I am literally just sticking the thermometer into the stream of water coming out which is easy on the Bonavita since it's not all enclosed. I know this isn't the most scientific method but it should at least get close. So it appears to be hitting 200 but it also appears it takes at least 4 cups to get there. I also heated up the carafe first even more just using my hottest tap water, used just warm last time, and the coffee temp was 180 in there after brewing. I almost like the glass carafe one better since it has the clear filter etc.
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Jan 21, 2012 20:20
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Hario has a V60 02 coffee pot (I have one) and it has markings for 5 cups or 600ml. It is too much for an 02 filter but the larger 03 filter you can run up to 5 cups into it. The 03 pot holds 800ml http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_kitchen?_encoding=UTF8&node=1055398&field-brandtextbin=Hario I ran a full 8 cups through the Bonavita and had two thermometers in the water and grounds and it was hitting 195, again it doesn't get up to that temp until after the 4th cup.
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Jan 22, 2012 19:11
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Bob_McBob posted:As discussed previously in the thread, sticking a thermometer in a stream of water isn't a very accurate way of checking the temperature. A more accurate method is to draw the water into a styrofoam cup, but it isn't perfect.  Oh yeah, I am fully aware of that and am not offering conclusive evidence that the Bonavita unit doesn't hit the full 200+ degrees until after the first few cups have been processed. It just appears that way to me with my lovely, inconclusive, non-test kitchen testing. I had one thermometer in the stream and the other digital thermometer in the grounds, and the grounds themselves actually got up over 190 so I'd surmise that is proof enough that the water is getting over 200. I will get around to having the water drip directly into a styrofoam cup and testing it at different batch sizes (2,4,6,8 cups) and seeing if that theory is correct. Still at $149, it's a very nice unit and with its preferable drip head when compared to the Capresso/Zojurishi thermo-carafe units, and it seems to brew hotter and be better overall even though it doesn't have all the digital clock/timer, etc features the others have (if any buyer really wanted that.) Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Jan 24, 2012 |
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Jan 23, 2012 22:46
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The Capresso Infinity is a moderate level, easily obtainable, budget friendly alternative at $90* and light years better than the whirly grinders and a logical next step on the upgrade path. Is it perfect? No. Does it have static probs? Yep. Is it loud? The dog that ran out of the room when I used it says yes. Does it do a pretty drat good job and not break down or anything? Yes. I used mine for several years before joining the arms race and upgrading to a Vario a few months ago. Budget was important and spending $450 for a grinder was a lot for me but jesus christ the thing works fantastically and is nice and quiet as a bonus. I hope it lasts many years. *if you can get a refurb Baratza get it instead but it could take months to source one. I have been greatly enjoying the Verve and Temple coffees I have been getting but I am burning through at least $50-$60 per month for three 12 oz. bags of beans. At this burn rate, I could break even on a Behmor roaster and $6 lbs of Sweet Maria's green beans in six months. Oh and the $149 Bonavita coffee maker is definitely getting over 200 degrees. I will get around to doing the 2, 4, 6, 8 styrofoam cup tests this weekend. I am wondering if the thing took a few batches to get going as the first 3 or 4 runs it wasn't getting past 180 until the 4th cup (and now using the same unscientific method it hits 200 every time right off the bat). Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Feb 24, 2012 |
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Feb 24, 2012 06:51
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I've been weaning my moms off the K-cup by sending her better decaf coffees and having a V60, aeropress and electric kettle mailed to her.
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Mar 29, 2012 21:55
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Only "Prius driving, over-educated, socialist, know it all's, from the coasts" drink that "fancy boy" coffee. REAL Americans drink coffee brewed from canned grounds Gods-dammit!!!!!! 
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May 11, 2012 20:36
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Just ordered some more Verve 1950 Moka Java blend, I really love this stuff as my afternoon cup. Wasn't impressed with the Kenya Rizue...something (forgot the name already) from Temple I bought a few weeks ago. It was really muted.
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May 23, 2012 01:38
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The QM Anita is gorgeous, me wants. Are you finding the lack of PID a problem at all yet? I keep looking at the PID'd Anitas on Ebay that lurk there but can't justify the price. 
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Jun 9, 2012 02:47
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nwin posted:Ok so I want to buy the clever coffee dripper, but I'd rather pay 17 bucks for it on amazon with free shipping, then pay 15 on sweet marias + 9 dollars shipping. The only thing is finding paper filters for it. Someone here recommended filtropa filters but the aren't on amazon with free shipping. Any other filters people recommend here? I buy a shitload of stuff from Amazon prime but try to at least throw a bone to good people like Sweet Maria's occasionally for items. It's worth it IMO and really not that much more cash since you'll actually get customer support plus you could just wait until they have some roasted beans and toss them in or buy some other filters or something from them.
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Jun 15, 2012 05:21
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I used a friend's Nuova Simonelli Oscar last weekend quite a bit and liked it quite a bit.
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Jul 3, 2012 01:40
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if it's anything like the Vario you really have to crank the hopper on tighter than you think you should the very first time
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Jul 4, 2012 03:59
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whereismyshoe posted:Anyone use an electric kettle and have a recommendation for a good one? I bought the 1 liter Bonavita Pour-over kettle from Sweet Maria's for my mother and it works great although a bit spendy at $50. SM also did a great job replacing the first one I had ordered which had a strange leak. http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/miscellaneous/cupping-supplies/bonavita-electric-pour-over-kettle.html I personally also use the standard chrome 1.5 liter Aroma kettle for tea - which works great - but prob not for pour over coffee. http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-AWK-115S-X-Press-2-Liter-Cordless/dp/B000KDVTJI/ref=pd_sim_k_2
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Jul 17, 2012 16:29
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I did a thing and grabbed a Rocket Cellini at the decent closeout price of $1395 (Chris' Coffee) since it's last years model. It gets up to operating temp within 15 minutes but I'll still run it on a timer to get it going for early sessions. Very fun and tasty so far! The new version has an insulated boiler and they added an additional pressure gauge for the brewhead as well as moved the logo down so you can actually see it when not in use but it's $400 more. I ran some Sweet Maria's Amber espresso through it (Vario grinder) and it was perfect.    
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Aug 8, 2012 00:22
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dema posted:Nice. Grab a bottomless portafilter for that bad boy. Yeah, I really wanted an Anita but really couldn't spring for that entire amount right now so this Rocket will "have to do". I definitely will budget for a bottomless pf when I can.
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Aug 8, 2012 17:45
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For a double shot, I usually pull the lever on my Rocket Cellini - and then when coffee starts dripping - start my timer (pre-set at 27 seconds). I may let it run a bit longer if I packed it too tight/ground too fine and it is barely dripping out. I will say that I had no idea how noisy these machines are, both the pump noise and all the vibrations of the case, etc even without a bunch of cups on top. I may crack it open after I find some suitable insulation materials.
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Sep 12, 2012 22:19
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gently caress you guys and your latte art.....I suck at it still.  The Vario I bought new in January quit working a few days ago. During mid-grind it just started making a high pitched whine and the burrs stopped. I'm gonna take a shot at opening it up somehow and poking around before I call them. Bummer. Meanwhile, my never fail, noisy, light, static prone, only been properly cleaned once, under $100 Capresso Infinity has been called up from reserve duty.
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Sep 24, 2012 19:45
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nm posted:Isn't that still under warranty? They'll send you one ASAP if it is, before you send yours in. Oh for sure it is. I finally got around to checking out the Baratza Support site and they have a category for what I'm pretty sure is my issue: "You have a stripped belt and pulley. Take a look at the guide below." I sent them an email and asked for replacement parts. Worst case is it's $8 for the parts.
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Sep 25, 2012 04:28
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Keyser S0ze posted:The Vario I bought new in January quit working a few days ago. During mid-grind it just started making a high pitched whine and the burrs stopped. I'm gonna take a shot at opening it up somehow and poking around before I call them. Bummer. Keyser S0ze posted:I finally got around to checking out the Baratza Support site and they have a category for what I'm pretty sure is my issue: I submitted a ticket with Baratza last week asking for just the belt/pulley for the Vario and never heard anything back but today there is a box with a refurb unit in it and return shipping slip. Is this normal? They must be having problems with these belts/pulleys and are just saying "gently caress it send a refurb instead of the parts." I was actually thinking of just swapping the belt/pulley since my existing machine was much newer than the refurb (per the serial numbers) and the refurb has wonky sliders that were falling off. I would be okay paying $8 a year for replacement belt/pulleys, but whatever...thanks Baratza and please don't go bankrupt or anything. EDIT: I swapped the belt/pulley with the newer versions in the refurb. The replacement pulley is metal instead of the plastic version on the original and was really quite worn after only six months of use. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Sep 28, 2012 |
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Sep 28, 2012 02:25
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Archer2338 posted:Gah, if the Baratza site hasn't been updated with refurbs yet, does that mean no refurb grinders are in stock for at least a week until next Thursday? They might be getting my Vario back since after I replaced the belt and pulley it is now making a horrible banging sound when trying to do any sort of medium to fine grind.
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Oct 11, 2012 18:08
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My Capresso Infinity is about 4 years old now and still a very good backup unit and can't be beat for $80 all in.
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Oct 11, 2012 18:45
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Prior to the Nationwide Expansion of Starbucks in the early 1990's, choices were really really limited outside of a big city, so to a lot of those folks SB is still a huge extravagance and upgrade over what they were used to getting or making from a can of Folgers. It's fine for most people, tbh. I took my Aeropress and Hario #2 cone camping this last weekend and felt very goony  even though I was using pre-ground coffee (like some kind of commoner) from Temple in Sacto that I ground beforehand in my Vario.
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Oct 16, 2012 00:39
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Typical work from home day or weekend: 2 double shots from the Rocket in the morning and then a single at 1:30 PM. or: 1 500ml carafe from the pourover in the morning and then a single at 1:30 PM or: 6 cup pot from Bonavita, spread throughout day. Typical travel to work/client day: 1 double shot from the Rocket at around 5AM, a large cup of hopefully something decent around 9AM, then a single shot from Peets/wherever at 1:30PM I try not to drink coffee after 3 at all and if so it's decaf
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Oct 17, 2012 21:56
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Dache posted:I've heard mixed things about this. I read someone else saying that they've come across rocks, shrapnel, bullet casings, whole bullets (!) and other things in their roasted coffee before, but in the 7 or so years I've been buying bags of whole beans I can't say I've ever come across anything of the sort. It seems bizarre to me. I found a tiny stone in a bag of roasted coffee beans just last month.
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Oct 22, 2012 00:37
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I've had the Bonvita since March or so and it's been great. I don't use it that often but the temp is there and it's very quick to start pumping hot water. Well worth the money
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Nov 26, 2012 19:52
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....or if you are a horrible klutz with ceramic tile floors like me, just save yourself the time and $ and get the plastic Vario V60 cone and #2 filters. The Clever Coffee system (plastic) is also very good and lets you steep the water in the grounds for full buzz effect. Also, remember that Cost Plus usually has a bunch of coffee supplies ranging from electric kettles to Ibrik's, Chemex brewers and various cheap ceramic (very heavy) pourover cones.
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Dec 10, 2012 16:56
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It's fast and hot, but cleaning the carafe will take time. I'd just do v60 pourover for a single cup.
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Jan 7, 2013 19:36
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I am definitely budgeting for a Behmor roaster some time this year as I spent $720 ($60/month) on roasted coffee being shipped to me from Verve/Temple/SweetMarias/Peerless during 2012. I go through 3 lbs per month on average so it should pay for itself in 6 months. Already have 5 lbs of greenies from SM to use on my whirly pop in the time being.
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Jan 18, 2013 00:32
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You can make "decent" microfoam in a pinch using a Bodum turbo whipper thingie on some milk in a mug - then tossing it into the microwave for 30 seconds - then pour your hot coffee in.
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Jan 24, 2013 00:23
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I've been using my Whirley Pop for a few weeks with a few misc beans from SM and it's very hard not to burn the poo poo out of the beans after getting the thing up to the recommended 400 degrees. I don't get that and have found I get better results at 330-350 and lower. I have a gas range so I can heat it up very quickly. The range hood is outmatched by the smoke so I usually have to run my whole house fan and open windows to not set off my smoke alarms.
Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 1, 2013 23:28
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