Thread: your favorite coffeemachine

Originally Posted by tgoss

My FAVORITE coffee maker is a very cute girl named Jacqueline that serves me the best italian roast every single morning at my local Starbucks.

get her number and then maybe you won't have to go to starbucks to get it or see her.
Italian and starbucks will never belong in the same sentence! Do your research on the company.

French press with Jablum, ritual or blue bottle beans....

Every morning :-)

Alex...

my french press and perfectly timed pressing haha

Seems like aside from the first two posts not many are into pulling their own shots of espresso huh? So many auto machines...

Originally Posted by civic4982

Seems like aside from the first two posts not many are into pulling their own shots of espresso huh? So many auto machines...

I was just thinking the same thing. In my opinion, people have become accustomed to button pushing and the easiest and fastest route.

Originally Posted by civic4982

Seems like aside from the first two posts not many are into pulling their own shots of espresso huh? So many auto machines...

I still do using the old using the 90's starbucks barista espresso machine.. but for regular coffee i only use french press

My company is actually a vendor for Rancilio as well as Astoria. Our main scope is the industrial baking industry, however. So we do not move many espresso machines, it's just a perk that was included in our agreement with our supplier in Italy. If anyone is in the market for an Astoria or Rancilio, I can give substantial discounts to L4P members. We also stock a lot of parts for them.


At home, I just have a manual single group Astoria. But i still prefer the pot and stove technique, it cannot be matched with ANY machine.

Originally Posted by Veloce

My company is actually a vendor for Rancilio as well as Astoria. Our main scope is the industrial baking industry, however. So we do not move many espresso machines, it's just a perk that was included in our agreement with our supplier in Italy. If anyone is in the market for an Astoria or Rancilio, I can give substantial discounts to L4P members. We also stock a lot of parts for them.


At home, I just have a manual single group Astoria. But i still prefer the pot and stove technique, it cannot be matched with ANY machine.

Could you PM me your contact information? I might be in the market for some parts and whatnot in the near future.

I LOVE my Rancilio Silvia and once I get a bit better around the machine I may do a few upgrades.

Thanks.

Cool thread. This is an area I actually have a pretty good depth of knowledge.

Brewing good drip coffee is pretty simple: it takes good, fresh beans; good water at the correct temp; a good grinder; and most people like some sort of filtration method. I recommend French Press, Abid Clever cone-filter/dripper, Aeropress if you like to add lots of milk to your brew, or a good machine.

Grinders

People tend to fixated on the brew method, while ignoring the grinder (kind of like spending $3-5k on Bilstein coilovers, while riding around on Goodyear Eagle RS-A's ).

Short version: preground coffee has more surface area, and the flavors and flavor oils oxidize at a FAR greater rate than they do when coffee is kept as whole bean. In addition, a good burr grinder creates uniform sized particles; the fewer 'fines' you have, the less over-extraction you'll get, and the better tasting your cup will be (and conversely, the fewer over-sized particles there'll be, which under-extract). So a good burr grinder IS 50% of the brewing equation, when it comes to equipment.

Which grinders? You can spend from $50-$3000 on a grinder, but IMO the best grinder for home use for most people would be the Baratza Maestro:



http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Maestr...6780591&sr=1-5

It's compact, well-made, and I've abused mine for years now. Great CS from Baratza, as well. Or the Rancilio Rocky is a GREAT grinder, as well, but overkill for drip only:



http://www.amazon.com/Rancilio-Rocky...6780719&sr=1-1


Drip Machines

Very few machines brew at 195-200 through a whole cycle. Most are overwhelmed by the volume of water, and end up far lower mid-cycle. This under-extracts your coffee, and can result in a weak, odd tasting brew. Since this is the Luxury forum, I'll start with the Rolls Royce of drip machines, the Technivorm.



http://www.amazon.com/Technivorm-Moc.../dp/B002S4DI2S

Semi-handmade in Denmark (IIRC), it is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America to brew 200 straight through, and gets the highest ratings pretty much anywhere you look. It's around $300. I have seen reports of uneven water distribution, but overall people rave about em. Personally, I find this more intriguing:



Amazon.com: Bonavita Brewer (Glass Carafe): Home & Garden

This also garners an SCAA recommendation, and I've even seen reports that it equals or outperforms the Technivorm for half price (leaving more money for a grinder and good beans.

My last recommendation is the Bunn Phase Brew.



http://www.amazon.com/HT-Thermal-Car...6771564&sr=1-2

Such a brilliant, simple idea: It preheats ALL the water for the brew cycle to 200 degrees, and only then delivers it to the coffee bed. Outfreakingstanding. Only drawback is there have been some initial reliability reports. However, Bunn is extremely active on the coffee forums, and from what I've seen absolutely take care of their customers.


This isn't even touching beans, water, or espresso brewing. I can definitely touch on those as well. Yes, I'm a coffee professional; no, I don't sell equipment.