Home caffeination

[owlmoose]

For many years, I have been without a means of making coffee at home. When I'm working, I pick up coffee on my way to work, and on weekends we eat breakfast out pretty often, and there's a cafe I really like across the street, and T doesn't drink the stuff, so it never seemed worth it. I used to have a four-cup coffee maker, but it was just taking up space, so we got rid of it long ago.

But now that I'm not going to a job every day, I've been thinking that it might be nice to have my own tools. And then I went to Hawaii, and there was no way I could get out of Hawaii without a bag or two of Kona coffee. I love the stuff -- it's so smooth, especially a nice dark roast. And this time I discovered Ka'u, another Big Island varietal that I really enjoyed. So I decided it was time. Last weekend, I picked up a small French press and a coffee grinder, and I used it for the first time on Wednesday, and again with our bacon and eggs today. It's described as "three cup", but that's in old-fashioned tea cup terms. It's actually 12 ounces, which is enough to fill one mug with a generous helping of milk (fortunately I like my coffee with milk). Which is fine, because I really shouldn't be having more than one cup a day anyway. Good stuff, easy to use, a lot easier to clean than fussing with paper filters. Thumbs up!

I doubt I'll use it every day -- I do enjoy a good latte, and the cafe across the street will sell me one for less than $2. But it's nice to have the option, and control over my own bean supply.

Comments

[stealth_noodle]

Mmmmm, French press. I use my Aeropress most days (it's damn near as good, and much quicker/easier cleanup), but there's something really delightful about the French press process on a lazy morning.

(Helping get a communal Aeropress going in my office is both the best and worst thing I've done in a while. My workplace mood is improved! My caffeine intake is probably a wee bit high now, though.)

[owlmoose]

*goes to look up Aeropress* Interesting. It's kind of like espresso? I do like the easy clean-up aspect. I just throw my press in the dishwasher, but that might not work if I wanted it every day.

[stealth_noodle]

I use more water than the recommended amount in my Aeropress and end up with essentially a very rich and smooth cup of coffee (I also brew inverted. We Aeropress folks get creative in the pursuit of the ideal cup :P). I also bought a reusable filter to avoid that situation where I tried cutting up a paper towel out of desperation.

One of my friends stumbled upon the Aeropress several years and gave one to every one of his coffee-drinking pals for a gift-giving holiday within the next year. Best gift for me!

[fleurdeliser]

I recently discovered my ceramic French press had a crack in it from the lip down and was SO sad to have to throw it away. My family has a Keurig, which I find is generally okay for everyday use. The coffee isn't the best I've ever had, but a) I usually put sugar and milk in which masks a lot and b) makes up for it in speed and ease of use. I do very much enjoy GOOD coffee sometimes, though. I need to find a replacement for my French press of some form. I just learned about the Aeropress and am intrigued by it, but I also really liked my ceramic one. It was a quart and kept the extra coffee nicely hot for a good long while.

[owlmoose]

Alas! A coffeemaker that's also a good insulator does sound like a very nice thing to have. Do they still make ceramic ones?

There was a Keurig at my last workplace. It made pretty decent coffee, but I hate all the single use plastic cups you have to throw away.

[genginger]

French press coffee is delicious! When I combined households with my husband, I gave mine up for a pour-over, though -- it takes up even less space. (Think about the basket of a coffee maker that just sits directly on top of the cup. Very low tech, but once you figure out your ratios it works great.)

[pete_thomas]

Less than $2 for a latte? Goodness, I need to find said coffee shop (or one local to me that will do the same)!

I'm not sure why, but I lol'd so hard at "control over my own bean supply." X)