high-end cafe at home
December 17, 2015 9:22 AM   Subscribe

Gear for Making Great Pour-over Coffee - Cale Guthrie Weissman, The Sweet Home [Previously]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome (47 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have been using a Melitta cone and filters for just about forever. Paired with a cheapish Saeco burr grinder, it is pretty hard to beat and pretty much the exact thing they recommend in this article. About uh, 25 years ago, when I worked at Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting, we had a drip coffee bar with eight of them going pretty much constantly.

I was taught by a coffee guru long before that that the trick is to have almost-but-not boiling water, wet the grounds with a small pour that runs all the way through, and then pour several times, not too much each time.

Why aren't I writing coffee articles?
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:48 AM on December 17, 2015 [5 favorites]


Something something AeroPress something something cold, dead hands.
posted by tommasz at 9:55 AM on December 17, 2015 [16 favorites]


The thing I learned from this article is that plastic cones may give you a better cup of coffee than ceramic cones.

The thing I learned from a Wikipedia article I read yesterday is that if you call the coffee different names, you can get several uses out of the grounds: "The grounds are brewed three times: the first round of coffee is called awel in Tigrinya, the second kale'i and the third bereka ('to be blessed')."
posted by aniola at 10:00 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Something something AeroPress something something cold, dead hands.

Yeah, I laughed at that backhanded Aeropress blurb. "It's good - for those unfortunate proles who can't be bothered to buy QUALITY coffee." Gee, thanks for your unbiased appraisal.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:01 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


I love my AeroPress but was really surprised to see it even included here. I think that inverted it does better than they give it credit for with good beans and that, no, it really can't salvage Starbucks, but I've always been slightly baffled by the idea of using an AeroPress and then putting water in it. Is that actually a thing people do? I've never thought about it as an alternative to pour-over, just as an alternative to the espresso machine I can't afford.
posted by Sequence at 10:07 AM on December 17, 2015


There is no way in hell I'm ever going to drink anything that involves hot water that has been heated in and/or flowed through anything made of plastic. When we have a fuller understanding of the bodily damage caused by plastics, we will look back on this era with horror.
posted by twsf at 10:10 AM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


Before we start down the typical mefi path that tends to repeat itself in every coffee thread;

I, an internet stranger who roasts coffee for a living and tends to get too fussy about it, give you permission to buy, grind (or not), and brew any damn coffee you enjoy, any way you enjoy it. Its okay. You don't have to like something someone else on the internet likes.

But if you come over to my house, you can sure bet you're going to get some fussy-ass coffee. No substitutions.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:10 AM on December 17, 2015 [17 favorites]


These articles puzzle me a bit, because there's dozens of ways to make bean water and most of them taste just the same. The "right" way to brew it is just the ritual you enjoy most. I hand grind my beans in the morning, but it doesn't make the coffee any better. I just enjoy the physicality of it when I'm half awake. So if you're comparing funnels, just... choose the funnel that appeals to you best? If you're having fun, you're not wrong.
posted by phooky at 10:14 AM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


There is no way in hell I'm ever going to drink anything that involves hot water that has been heated in and/or flowed through anything made of plastic.

Unless you drink nothing but rainwater and grain alcohol you definitely do this already. PEX pipes have been standard for a decade or so now, for hot and cold water, among other things. This used to be true for cheap plastic containers, and don't microwave stuff in a ziplock bag for sure, but in general there is such a thing as temperature safe, food-safe plastics.
posted by mhoye at 10:16 AM on December 17, 2015 [9 favorites]


I gave up my all-in-one very hesitantly for a good grinder. I was very worried that my morning haste and/or laziness would eventually take over. It hasn't. I now have most of the equipment in the article and, with KoHi, really enjoy my morning routine.
posted by dta at 10:21 AM on December 17, 2015


These articles puzzle me a bit, because there's dozens of ways to make bean water and most of them taste just the same.

They different methods often come with some subtle differences in that funnel; in the case of pourover coffee, you're mostly looking at the filter holder. What shape, and what filters does it accept? All other variables accounted for, coffee out of a chemex (with thick ass filters, somewhat flow restricted) tastes much different than a Hario v60 (ultra thin filters, little or no flow restriction).

You can get the same results, but coffee extraction is a objectively sensitive procedure, and you can get a pretty wide range of flavors out of the same brewer, let alone different ones. Some people can tell the difference, and of those people only some people care. Its not a judgement, because, however you enjoy it is totally cool. Coffee can be extracted from coffee seeds in a number of objectively different ways…but

If you want to get nerdy about certain objective measures of coffee brewing, check out the Austrailian outfit Socratic Coffee. Not the best Capital 'S' science in the world, but they're doing better than most in the coffee industry, and they work really hard at it.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:23 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


I sing to my coffee beans and read them a bedtime story the night before I grind them. I suppose this pour over nonsense is acceptable too, if you're not willing to put in the effort to get a truly good cup of coffee.
posted by indubitable at 10:27 AM on December 17, 2015 [11 favorites]


I question the durability of the Hario Buono V60. We're on our second one right now (the first suffered an unfortunate accident and is now a plant waterer, perfect for getting up under christmas trees!), and it actually has a leak in the seam at the bottom. It's not huge, and not worth packing back up and trying to return, but it is disappointing to spend that much on a kettle only to see the unexpected drip-drip of boiling water coming from the side.
posted by mittens at 10:27 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


I question the durability of the Hario Buono V60.

Quality on them has dropped markedly in recent years. I've switched over my official recommendation to the Fino Kettle; its cheaper, and does the job just fine…build quality seems a bit better too.

If you're willing to cruise around for them, there are some weird-ass kettles available for sale out there, but its kind of like gambling. I personally really like using a Paico Ball kettle. Its really weird looking, and I totally love it. I bought the last one off some random website a few years ago, and its a fantastic kettle. Cheaper than the Buono, the flow is more restricted for control, and it seems better quality. No issue at all with the welding seams.

Nerd alert.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:35 AM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


I keep a 2lb can of Folger's in my freezer, put a portion into my Mr. Coffee basket filter drip machine, then pour that into a thermos I take to the office and nurse from, black, all day long. In a certain sense, my love for coffee is pretty hard to beat.
posted by LionIndex at 10:38 AM on December 17, 2015 [3 favorites]


I find that the cone angle of my OPal 633X4 coffee funnel ($5,999) gives the brew a really wide open flavor stage, and the definition and separation of the flavor notes is unmistakable.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:41 AM on December 17, 2015 [6 favorites]


As hippies, my parents have been brewing coffee with an old copper kettle and a Chemex since the 70s. When I was old enough to be allowed to use the stove on my own, they taught me to measure the grounds and pour the correct amount of just-under-the-boil water into the cone.

As an adult I realize two things: 1. My parents had a pretty sweet deal going with their eight year old making coffee for them and 2. People are getting awfully precious about something that a kid can do unsupervised.
posted by annaramma at 10:49 AM on December 17, 2015 [14 favorites]


So am I missing something or does this not seem all that different from using a drip coffee maker that uses a Mellita style filter? Is it just the heat of the water that makes the difference?
posted by octothorpe at 10:51 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


But if you come over to my house, you can sure bet you're going to get some fussy-ass coffee. No substitutions.

So, kopi luwak, then?
posted by fedward at 10:51 AM on December 17, 2015 [4 favorites]


I'm also very fussy about my coffee and feel like I've got the art of pour-over perfected but then I read this and of course I had to order the Kalita Wave and some filters for fun. I love my V60 ceramic dripper but maybe it will end up under the counter will all the other old coffee gear.

Also, I've never understood people's religious devotion to the Aeropress. It makes better coffee than a $20 coffee maker but it's not pour-over quality. And I've done the inverted and all the other tricks but it's still just a little better than average but a lot more work.
posted by photoslob at 10:51 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


My parents had a pretty sweet deal going with their eight year old making coffee for them

I have an eight year old, and I have a chemex, and this idea both intrigues and terrifies me.
posted by mittens at 10:54 AM on December 17, 2015 [5 favorites]


I've always been slightly baffled by the idea of using an AeroPress and then putting water in it. Is that actually a thing people do

Yep. Every day.
posted by leahwrenn at 11:01 AM on December 17, 2015 [5 favorites]


Before we start down the typical mefi path that tends to repeat itself in every coffee thread;

For a nerd-dominated site like MetaFilter, people sure love to hate on other nerds' passions some times.
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:03 AM on December 17, 2015 [3 favorites]


So am I missing something or does this not seem all that different from using a drip coffee maker that uses a Mellita style filter? Is it just the heat of the water that makes the difference?

Its the temperature of the water, and the rate/direction of the flow of water. The filters have very little to do with the lack of quality in a automatic brewer; those Kalita Wave filters are basically the same thing. Almost every single coffee brewer out there doesn't heat up the water enough. If you want to use that hotel coffee maker or that 15 dollar Mr Coffee off craigslist, you can vastly improve cup quality by either running your batch of water through the machine and letting it sit on the hotplate (less ideal) or pouring just-off-the-boil water into the machine before you brew (more ideal). You can get damn fine coffee out of a cheap-o coffee maker, but you really end up doing just as much work.

The second problem, that really isn't as much of a problem as water temperature, is that typically the flow of water is kind of fixed like a showerhead, so you get all these little channels where the water pools up and drains out. The prevailing thought is that those areas get overextrated, and the others get underextrated.

Another minor, third point of contention I have with brewers, is that they don't rinse the filters at all. Go ahead, brew up a pot of coffee with just that dry filter in there. Taste it! It tastes like dust and paper. A good solid rinse, and pitching that water can basically keep that nasty papery flavor out of your coffee. There's only one brewer that I know of that does that, as a function, and its so expensive (and performs questionably) so I don't really like suggesting it.

Now mind you, there are some pretty damn good coffeemakers out there; they solve the temperature problem pretty well. If you've got the scratch, Technivorm does a great job, with Bonavita doing a pretty good job too, without the same ding to the wallet.

But again. Do you like the coffee you make? If you do, awesome.
posted by furnace.heart at 11:06 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


@phooky:
These articles puzzle me a bit, because there's dozens of ways to make bean water and most of them taste just the same.
That YOU can't taste the difference between the various brewing methods doesn't mean that others can't.

I probably couldn't differentiate between multiple pour-over methods (Chemex vs Melita vs whatever), but I can definitely tell a difference between pour-over vs traditional drip vs French press.

@Octothorpe:
So am I missing something or does this not seem all that different from using a drip coffee maker that uses a Mellita style filter? Is it just the heat of the water that makes the difference?
The difference in my experience is that every single drip machine I've ever used has developed funky flavors, which I assume are due to the fact that you can't really clean the entire water path. Sure, you can put all sorts of caustic cleaners THOUGH the device, but that's not the same as real wash IMO, and (again, at least in my experience) doesn't really solve the problem.

For me, pour-over gets me a great cup of coffee that's a lot like drip, but with super consistent quality over time because the simplicity of the system allows all the surfaces to be well and truly cleaned.

I have no love for Aeropress, but this is probably because I'm not an espresso person, and dislike the texture of French press. I sorta wish I was, because that method travels well, though.
posted by uberchet at 11:15 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


I own a Bonavita coffee maker and it does a great job making fast coffee. It cost $150 which I think is a bargain compared to the Technivorm or an espresso maker. Even my wife agrees the Bonavita makes a better cup and all she wants is for the brown caffeinated liquid to go down as fast as possible so that she can feel alive.

I'm in the process of helping some friends open a bike shop with a dedicated space for coffee and espresso and I've already volunteered my barista duties. I'm super stoked to learn about coffee and I'm more than a little worried it might take over my attention full time.
posted by photoslob at 11:23 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Thanks for the explanations. I'll stick with my Zojirushi drip machine for at least my first cup of the day as I don't trust myself with fire and/or boiling water before that cup. I really should get a better grinder though.
posted by octothorpe at 11:26 AM on December 17, 2015


My morning coffee is all about speed. 7 minutes for a mindful habit? FORGET THAT.

All of my coffee methods have been as fast as possible. Sometimes, I would use a french press - put it together, go get dressed, push the top, put in travel mug. Other times, a Presso - put together, press, gulp. But the sweet spot for me right now is the aeropress, because it has much faster cleanup than the presso. Maybe from 15 seconds down to 5. Those extra 10 seconds aren't worth the less-good quality, honestly, but it's the principle: AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
posted by rebent at 11:31 AM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


For me, pour-over gets me a great cup of coffee that's a lot like drip, but with super consistent quality over time because the simplicity of the system allows all the surfaces to be well and truly cleaned.

My favorite thing about our stainless french press is that I can get in there with a sponge or run it through the dishwasher. It's also useful for tea. I like pour-over coffee, but that's work that I'm totally willing to pay someone else to do, and I generally prefer metal-filtered coffee anyway.
posted by WCWedin at 11:40 AM on December 17, 2015


I've always been slightly baffled by the idea of using an AeroPress and then putting water in it. Is that actually a thing people do?

I've done it. I like it, in particular because we do usually buy cheap (but not-quite Folgers-level) coffee. But honestly, for some reason, the Aeropress just seems like too much trouble to me. So many pieces (not really; but it seems that way).

If I'm making coffee for two, I'll use the liter-sized french press (we had to switch to plastic, though, because for some reason I've broken two glass carafes in the last 18 months), and if it's just for me, it's pour-over in a plastic Melitta cone. I prefer the french press, but I don't care for the sludge.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:51 AM on December 17, 2015


"But if you come over to my house, you can sure bet you're going to get some fussy-ass coffee. No substitutions."

So, kopi luwak, then?

None of that weak-ass entry-level shit. kopi kopi luwak.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:55 AM on December 17, 2015


So, kopi luwak, then?

None of that weak-ass entry-level shit. kopi kopi luwak.


I'm required by my professional code to produce the next level of one-upsmanship in this exchange.
posted by furnace.heart at 11:59 AM on December 17, 2015 [3 favorites]


As hippies, my parents have been brewing coffee with an old copper kettle and a Chemex since the 70s.

This is exactly my set-up and discovering that set-up and using it has been a journey of much pleasure. I appreciate a good cup but at home we just used a coffee machine - until we did a significant downsize and no longer had the room. We ended up getting a 3 cup Chemex to replace it for the most awful of reasons - it was small and of the different types out there it seemed like it would look the nicest in our kitchen.

I make a lot of tea and because I'm not some kind of pagan monster I use a kettle to heat my water, but it's a very important copper kettle - it's the copper kettle my great, great-grandparents used in their one room cabin when they immigrated here. It's quite dinged up and honestly I'm in denial that it might not be the safest container ever, but I love it.

So copper kettle + Chemex. I do like the taste of the coffee a lot better, I must admit, but the routine of making coffee in the morning with this beautiful glass carafe, my copper kettle, and the process has become a real source of pleasure. I have to slow down for a moment. I'm always reminded of my home and family with the kettle. Then there's all my senses coming alive with: the sound of the water heating up, the heat from the kettle, the visual pleasure of the aesthetics of the Chemex on its trivet with its glass, leather, and wood and the water coming out of the copper spout as I carefully pour, and the aroma of the coffee. . . all together it just. . . it just makes me feel, for a brief moment every day, that I actually do have everything together even if the kitchen is a mess and I'm flustered about work. When I make coffee for a brief moment I have life figured out - and that's a good cup of coffee.
posted by barchan at 12:04 PM on December 17, 2015 [8 favorites]


I'm required by my professional code to produce the next level of one-upsmanship in this exchange.

The cat in the photo. I think it's had that expression ever since December 2012.
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:06 PM on December 17, 2015


Barchan, I'm with you, copper kettle and all. Ours isn't ancient -- it's the same copper one you can buy at Willams-Sonoma today, I expect; it was a wedding present in 2005 -- but the process is nice, and produces such delightful coffee for so little effort I can't imagine wanting to do it any other way.

And I really, really hate mornings when I'm traveling, because no other coffee compares.
posted by uberchet at 12:18 PM on December 17, 2015


I love the Aeropress because my husband has not found a way to make any sort of substantial mess with it. No grounds in the sink, no burnt pots, no drips, no complicated civet litterbox, no filters (got him a metal one). He gets his ADHD juice, he's able to do most of the steps over on the tea/coffee station I made to get the stuff off the kitchen counter, I don't have to deal with any of it.

I would just as happily drink Nescafe from powdered. I won't even drink really good coffee because it'll wreck my palate and complicate my life.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:26 PM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


love the Aeropress because my husband has not found a way to make any sort of substantial mess with it

Sometime I'll introduce you to the butterfly-shaped coffee stain on my cubicle wall. A warning to office drones: downward pressure on the aeropress over an unstable surface spells disaster.
posted by Think_Long at 1:52 PM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


Just started brewing my coffee - it'll be ready in 23 hours or so. Then I'll have enough for a week.

Cold Brew Best Brew.

(on the off chance I need coffee quicker than that, I have a plastic filter setup.)
posted by spinifex23 at 1:54 PM on December 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


twsf: "There is no way in hell I'm ever going to drink anything that involves hot water that has been heated in and/or flowed through anything made of plastic. When we have a fuller understanding of the bodily damage caused by plastics, we will look back on this era with horror."

Are you only drinking rainwater you collected yourself off a metal roof? Or is it just hot water in plastic you object to?

mittens: " It's not huge, and not worth packing back up and trying to return, but it is disappointing to spend that much on a kettle only to see the unexpected drip-drip of boiling water coming from the side."

They're stainless aren't they? A welder could probably braze up the leak for you.
posted by Mitheral at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


I should stay away from this thread, but:

I love my Aeropress. I love the burr grinder my wife gave me for a Christmas gift and the fancy thermometer she gave me for a birthday. I enjoy what I make with our Kalita pourover (and that's what my wife uses when she wants a cup if I'm not home - I'm the fussy coffee person) but I prefer the Aeropress.

Maybe it has to do with being more of a (super)taster? I don't know, but yeah, some of us can tell the difference easily enough.

But should you care? Absolutely not! If you like what you make, that's all that matters. If you think coffee tastes terrible, though, you might try a few of these options, because coffee can taste utterly delicious. (And I'm not talking about drowning it in cream.) The acrid burnt coffee from the office coffeepot is an exercise in masochism that I'm happy to have given up.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:41 PM on December 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Mitheral: My concern is the effect boiling or near-boiling water has on plastic, even types labeled as food-safe. I can smell & taste & see the residue leached from plastic by hot water...
posted by twsf at 3:35 PM on December 17, 2015


I would just as happily drink Nescafe from powdered. I won't even drink really good coffee because it'll wreck my palate and complicate my life.

I like and drink both. Sometimes you want the good stuff, and sometimes the cheap stuff is where it is at. People get way too precious with their coffee, but I know that a lot of the pleasure is in the rituals.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:43 PM on December 17, 2015


getting out and preparing my cup (yes, I do it naked)

I really didn't need to know that.
posted by carping demon at 10:12 PM on December 17, 2015


No love for the Cory vacuum pot? It's like your own little mad scientist kit.
posted by old_growler at 11:12 PM on December 17, 2015


I had a vac pot once. (This method is sometimes called siphon.)

My wife got me an electric Bodum vac pot brewer for Christmas years ago, and I LOVED IT for about a year and a half, whereupon it cracked and leaked all over the counter.

When I went online to buy a new one about 10 minutes later, I discovered that mine was apparently a drastic and extreme outlier, and that the whole line had been discontinued. The cracking that took a year and a half to happen for ME was more frequently seen at 4 to 6 months, turns out. Oops.

I tried again with an all-glass, put-it-on-your-stove vac pot, but the charm was gone. The electric one was great because it was both "fire and forget" brewing AND completely cleanable, which is something of a holy grail in coffee. (It even had an automatic "keep warm" mode that engaged once the brewing process was over. Great little device; shame about the design flaw.)

All that said, properly done siphon/vac pot coffee is absolutely a delight. It's just not enough better for me to switch to it over Chemex, which is much less fiddly.
posted by uberchet at 10:19 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I am now enjoying a delicious cup of iced coffee, adorned with unsweetened almond milk, a dash of water, and three ice cubes - 1 Dalek and 2 Tardii.
posted by spinifex23 at 12:54 PM on December 18, 2015


Good coffee = good beans + good grinder + personal preference + practice
posted by Pouteria at 1:22 AM on December 21, 2015


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