Btw I don’t use cream or sugar at all. It’s straight black coffee and it tastes like candy; bitterness indicates that you messed up somewhere. There are styles of coffee where additives are desirable or even required but high-end single origin coffee isn’t really one of them. That’s sort of like adding Coke or sour mix to an expensive sipping bourbon.
You can order from anywhere. Just pay attention to ship / roast dates and the shipping costs. Some places are better about getting your order out ASAP than others which can be a problem if you’re ordering from far away and low on coffee.
The variety is the point. Very rarely have I ordered the same coffee twice. Part of that is on purpose, but another part of that is because sometimes you can’t order the same coffee twice since it will be a specific microlot from a specific harvest of a specific estate from a specific year.
It looks simple. However, it is very much a manual process like driving a stick shift, so there’s a bit of learning curve and muscle memory involved. Spoiler: You’re gonna want the paper filters. You’ll also need something to heat and pour water from, preferably a gooseneck kettle like the Hario Buono or equivalent (~$40). Factor all of that in and then consider the fact that you can get a really good automatic machine for about $120.
Check out this discussion:
To be clear, I’m not saying he’s making a bad decision or that everyone should do what I do. I’m simply pointing out that you can literally drink the best coffees in the world every day, and it costs about the same or less than Nestle pods. I don’t think K-cups cost as much as those, but I could tie or beat it buying amazing coffee in bulk. Black & White’s cheapest coffee is $74 / 5 lb. That’s $0.925 per oz / 28.35g. The average K-cup probably contains about half that much coffee, so divide by two and it’s just over $0.46/serving.
The Nanopresso makes a fairly weak shot imo, so I only add 3-4 ounces of water to the shot for my taste (Americano). You can add more water if you like and don’t worry about adding milk and sugar. Think of bad coffee like bottom shelf whiskey–it needs to be mixed with something to be drinkable. The cups I’m getting from the setup above are not super strong, just smooth and satisfying. I have an old Gaggia countertop machine if I want a stronger cup with some bite. Also, the LaVazza beans are probably not going to make you hear angels sing when you drink it. The Vita beans from Espresso Vivace are the ticket for that. I turned a coworker on to them a few years ago. He went from drinking Folger’s to full on coffee snob in one cup and would turn his nose up at LaVazza now. One more thing, the LaVazza beans I bought from Amazon were shit and I had to add cream to get through them. I would find roasters in your area and go there.
For what you want I’d recommend either the Aeropress or Nanopresso. The Nano makes a great cup every time, Aero misses the target every once in a while but is stil very good. And stop worrying about being a connoisseur–put cream and sugar in your coffee if that’s how you like it.
The Mahlkonig Varios are identical to the Baratzas afaik. Mignon Specialita looks like it’s targeted for espresso. Some other options would be Mahlkonig X54, Turin DF64, Fellow Ode. There are some others I’m not remembering right now too. Not sure about Australian availability on any of these. Where would you be buying from?
Just searching google and looking through the first few options.
Has a strong range, and I think I bought my hand grinder from there.
The baratza forte is getting a few mentions as well in the context of the tree you mentioned. Although seems more for semi commercial than 50g a day for a couple at home.
Baratza just restocked the 54mm steel burrs for the Vario (and I assume these are the same ones the forte BG uses). Order placed. I’ll finally have all the pieces here shortly.
These prices seem high in USD. Is that to be expected in AUS? The Mahlkonig Vario is the old version so even in stock it’s not a deal. The Forte price wouldn’t be too bad, but it’s the AP model with ceramic burrs.
Yes, they’re using the 54mm Ditting steel. So that’s another fine piece of Swiss engineering in your collection. I think Mahlkonig uses a different 54mm steel in their new X54 grinder that may fit the Baratzas, but not 100% sure about that.
Yeah. Prices seems a bit higher in aus. Although they are aus dollars, so not sure if you’ve converted already.
There are definitely Forte’s around online in steel. Might go for that.
This may involve lying to Mrs Rugby about how much I paid.
I tested her out on a hypothetical choice between the Encore for 300 and a Vario for 800. She laughed in my face about paying 800 for a coffee grinder. So the Forte at 1000 will not go well.
I think I’m looking at the prices in USD. For example, the Fellow Ode shows $374. It’s $299 direct from Fellow, and I think there’s a coupon you can activate currently as well. I’m not saying this is what you should get, but how much would it cost you to have it shipped direct to AUS?
The main difference I can find in the grinder listed above ($129) and the same brand $49 one is that the more expensive one has 40 clicks and internal fixing 48mm conical burrs connected to central shaft, while the cheaper one has 12 clicks and “professional grade” burrs with no mention of conical or central shaft
Obviously, this must be an important difference, but can someone explain why?
Btw, I tried grinding some generic Safeway whole beans in my gf’s cheap electric pulse grinder and the difference in quality of taste absolutely floored me! Will the difference in taste between these two grinders be just as amazing?
Honestly, I’m so impressed and satisfied by the difference that freshly ground makes even in my crappy auto drip, I’m wondering if it’s even worth the effort of experimenting with the pour over and press methods? How much better can coffee get? Damn what a difference!
Btw, there’s nothing wrong with the Encore/Virtuoso if you’re trying to save money. The difference between those and what you’re currently using is large, whereas the next jump up to big diameter flat burrs is more subtle. It really depends on what your goals and budget are. If you’re not super picky about isolating notes of rose blossom and candied grape, then an Encore will make you some really good coffee. If you are, then the Fellow Ode is the cheapest way to get there, but the problem is that the V1 burrs can’t grind fine enough for V60. So you’d either have to not do V60 and choose something coarser like Chemex or drip machine, or you’d have to pay up for the SSP burrs which is a $186 upgrade and takes the price from $299 (USA) to $475. That combination might even make better coffee than a Vario+/Forte, but it certainly doesn’t have the track record for reliability and customer service that the Baratzas have.
Nah you got me wanting to try the V60 lol. I like that it’s almost an art to perfect and I’ve read the process itself can be therapeutic. You confused me by saying get the plastic tho. Everything I’ve read so far says ceramic is the way to go?
So I’m basically all set. I’ll get the more expensive grinder. Honestly, I don’t think I could discern notes of rose blossom or candied grape right now, especially since I still use cream and sugar in my coffee. But as my palate becomes more sophisticated, I would like to experiment and get different experiences from coffee
I found a scale that measures to 1g for pretty cheap and a hot water kettle with a thermometer that’s also surprisingly cheap (do I have to worry about quality in a scale and kettle?). Total cost less than $200. Now all I have to do is find a good supplier for beans and I’m in business
I have both. Plastic is an insulator while the ceramic V60 is better at stealing the heat from your slurry. Does that make a noticeable difference in flavor? I dunno, but in theory we’re trying to keep as much heat in the slurry as possible. Let’s assume there’s no difference though. The ceramic cone costs 2.5x as much and shatters when you drop it.
I’m not sure what you mean exactly. You should be able to get this combo for well under $100.
