idboehman
Well-Known Member
Do we have a coffee thread already? If so please lock/delete this one. I feel like there might be a lot of overlap between these hobbies but I could also be completely projecting lol.
To kick things off, I got into coffee when I went off to college (how original). In my freshman dorm I had a little single-cup maker (not a Keurig or pod machine) on my dresser and I got "fresh ground" coffee from the bulk coffee section at Whole Foods. Then after a secret santa thing on Reddit, I was extremely fortunate to receive a Hario Skerton grinder and Aeropress which opened the doors wide. At Christmas a year or two later I got a Capresso Infinity from my parents which dutifully ground coffee every morning for about six months until I eventually took it into work where it replaced your standard Krups blade grinder and was heavily used until it eventually died years later after I left; I heard they replaced it with the same thing which is kind of cool.
But since I'd lost my electronic grinder and the Skerton, while fantastic as a first (hand) grinder, is not very efficient and can be annoying to use. All this time I'd still been buying whole coffee beans at the supermarket but eventually switched to pre-ground when I lost access to the Infinity, which works *okay* in an Aeropress if you use it inverted but it's not ideal. Eventually due to circumstances I was staying with my parents and didn't have an Aeropress or grinder anymore so it was drip machine and pre-ground storebought coffee.
Fast forward to last year and I've moved again and am starting fresh without equipment, so I went back to my old love, the Aeropress, along with a Baratza Encore, a good scale with a timer, and a gooseneck kettle. Eventually ended up with a Chemex as well to learn how to do pour overs. I still use the Aeorpress most mornings because the time of "I want coffee" to "I'm drinking coffee and everything is cleaned up" is only 5 minutes, but espresso at home has been calling my name recently and that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
As for actual coffee beans, I've got a subscription set up with Verve so that every three weeks-ish I get a freshly roasted bag of coffee. All in all my coffee routine has come a long way from the single cup maker on my dorm room dresser.
Anyways, who else here loves coffee?
To kick things off, I got into coffee when I went off to college (how original). In my freshman dorm I had a little single-cup maker (not a Keurig or pod machine) on my dresser and I got "fresh ground" coffee from the bulk coffee section at Whole Foods. Then after a secret santa thing on Reddit, I was extremely fortunate to receive a Hario Skerton grinder and Aeropress which opened the doors wide. At Christmas a year or two later I got a Capresso Infinity from my parents which dutifully ground coffee every morning for about six months until I eventually took it into work where it replaced your standard Krups blade grinder and was heavily used until it eventually died years later after I left; I heard they replaced it with the same thing which is kind of cool.
But since I'd lost my electronic grinder and the Skerton, while fantastic as a first (hand) grinder, is not very efficient and can be annoying to use. All this time I'd still been buying whole coffee beans at the supermarket but eventually switched to pre-ground when I lost access to the Infinity, which works *okay* in an Aeropress if you use it inverted but it's not ideal. Eventually due to circumstances I was staying with my parents and didn't have an Aeropress or grinder anymore so it was drip machine and pre-ground storebought coffee.
Fast forward to last year and I've moved again and am starting fresh without equipment, so I went back to my old love, the Aeropress, along with a Baratza Encore, a good scale with a timer, and a gooseneck kettle. Eventually ended up with a Chemex as well to learn how to do pour overs. I still use the Aeorpress most mornings because the time of "I want coffee" to "I'm drinking coffee and everything is cleaned up" is only 5 minutes, but espresso at home has been calling my name recently and that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
As for actual coffee beans, I've got a subscription set up with Verve so that every three weeks-ish I get a freshly roasted bag of coffee. All in all my coffee routine has come a long way from the single cup maker on my dorm room dresser.
Anyways, who else here loves coffee?
) And then there's always the rabbit hole that is tea... 
We went on a family vacation out of the country recently (first time everyone was able to get time off at the same time in a while) and it was a little wild experiencing coffee in different areas. In Ireland they mostly seemed to drink instant, french press, or an espresso pod machine. Maybe a moka pot. I had some instant for the first time while out there and it wasn't bad but it wasn't what I would call good in any way shape or form. In Copenhagen at least, the place we stayed had a moka pot so I got to learn how to use one of those to avoid the dreaded instant! Definitely an interesting experience and I can see why they tend to be a staple in kitchens. The time involved was a bit much for me considering you need to keep your eye on the pot to make sure it's not spurting out if you have the temperature too hot.
But to me it's also a preference thing. Simple,robust equipment appeals to me. A pour over and goose neck is elegant in the same way a vapcap is.
I've been really interested in a lever espresso machine since it's a more "hands on" way of making espresso that really appeals the the side of me that like fixed gear bicycles and vapes like the MFLB.
