Chasing that "perfect" brand of coffee is like herding cats. When you find a bean from a particular country and decide that "this is the one" you will generally find that the next growing season will reveal a different taste in that brand. It's a constant hunt. Of course, that hunt is fun in itself because you're in a constant state of experimenting. My first venture into pure Kona coffee was good yet the next year the same trees from Kona produced an excellent mild bodied coffee that had a natural mocha taste. I've had the same kind of results with coffee from Jamaica, Costa Rica, Columbia, Kenya, and a couple of other countries.
For straight up coffee I'm totally with Steeltoe - cone filter. I found this http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV18...=UTF8&qid=1420314650&sr=8-1&keywords=bonavita and no longer have to do the manual stuff which rocks. It heats to the proper temp and the thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm most of the day. Haven't had anything better out of probably 30 coffee pots over the years. (I like toys ) Paired with good beans and a good grinder it doesn't get any better.
Question for you connoisseurs: I make my coffee in a cheap steam espresso maker. I had a Krups for the last couple of years, and when it broke I replaced it with a coffee mate. With both makers, every once in while I'll get a bitter cup. Doesn't seem to matter what beans, it just happens at random. What the hell?
I love me some cowboy coffee, but filtration does remove cafestol, and I'll match up my Aeropress against a french press any time.
I have the BV1900TS and an encore burr grinder. I love them both. It's very convenient and I've found the most important thing is finding the beans (which is a real challenge). When I find the right beans, I make some damn good coffee for a drip maker With the burr grinder and bonavita combo, the quality is far better than the blade grinder + mr coffee maker
There's a legitimate difference in taste between folgers run through a cheap coffee maker and fresh ground, GOOD beans, run though a higher temp maker or pour over method.
Oh I recognize there are differences. It amuses me to see the esoteric factoids the true believers use.
oh my gawd. I have the same coffeemaker as Mongo. seriously, folks this is the technivorm moccamaster in a slightly cheaper format. makes good hot coffee. the carafe will keep it warm for about 4 hours with no added heat. makes it quick. very simple. worth the money.
Ditto, nothing is as simple yet perfect for regular coffee. Will take a little time getting your grind and soak time perfect but once you do you wonder why they make anything else. Now espresso is a completely different subject.
Meh, i have found I like instant coffee better than most anything else I have tried. All I need is a spoon and a kettle.
Over the years I've tried Kona, Sumatran, Blue Mountain, and a dozen other "top notch" coffees and end up coming back to simple Folgers Classic grind brewed in a simple Mr. Coffee drip. It's always good with a good flavor and no after bite or acidity. Go figure. It explains the results of a test with 10 coffee "experts" a couple of years ago where they tried 10 different coffees in a blind test and 8 of them picked the Folgers.
French press isn't widely used by baristas probably because it isn't economical. Too much mess/ dishes to be widely adopted. Oddly enough i had it for the first time in a hipster coffe bar. I dont make it at the house often, but thanks to this thread im already looking forward to making it in the morning.
I have to disagree. I'm no snob, i grind simple 8 o'clock whole bean every morning (nothing super fancy) but i can smell folgers a mile off, and i cant drink the stuff.
The Brazen Plus is still going strong, just descaled and cleaned it again today. Only real gripe with the machine is the carafe and it's lid - I think it's been redesigned twice and still sucks. Overall, I really like the Brazen. Still trying new coffees, grind sizes, temperatures, etc - which will be a never ending process. I still haven't gotten an aeropress, hopefully santa will bring one