Coffee

It doesn't matter what kind of machine or coffee...
Just buy any cheap coffee maker and coffee grounds at walk mart

The trick is
A half an inch (1/4 to 1/2 a cup) of french vanilla creamer(1/4 to 1/2 a cup) and 2 spoons of suger for every 3 cups of coffee

It's how I start my morning every morning ^_^
Theres no other way to drink coffee

No thanks, Im not interested in diabetes, just good coffee.

Edit: sorry didnt mean to be rude, but I prefer to start with a coffee that tastes good black, and then maybe add creamer and other stuff to it. I dont want to start with shit coffee, and add sugar until its good...

Maybe I shouldnt have said I wanted a cheap solution. Just a good solution, that hopefully isnt extremely expensive.

mmmmmmm coffee...

I guess my point is to just get an ordinary maker & grinder.

1) Grind yourself a bunch of your favourite beans (may take some time to discover the varieties) into a tin can, put in fridge (don't grind each time you make coffee, unless you feel like it).

2) for every 2 or 3 cups of water (in the pot numbering system), use 1 tablespoon of ground coffee i nthe filter.

3) enjoy every morning for the rest of your life :)

don't forget to buy filters.

My favorite coffee made at a store is Waffle House and Dunkin' Donuts (they taste very similar to me). I prefer a regular cup of those over any fancy Starbucks espresso-based drink. Dunkin' Donuts sells coffee grounds, I've never bought it, but if it tastes like their coffee, it's good. Has anyone bought DD grounds before?

So are drip and perc the same thing?

The coffee machine at work has a re-usable filter so we never have to buy any, its pretty slick.

And I already have a coffee grinder, which I currently use to grind other things... ;)

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Original post by AndreTheGiant Ive finally jumped on the bandwaggon and started to drink coffee. I quickly discovered that instant coffee (the kind where you just pour boiling water onto ground coffee and stir) kinda sucks tastewise. Theres a coffee machine at work where you put the coffee grounds on a filter and the machine slowly drips boiling water onto it, and it collects in the coffee pot below. Is this called 'drip' coffee? Because Ive heard of 'drip' coffee, and 'percolator' coffee, and Im not sure if they are the same thing or not.

They're not.

A perculator is what is also known as the French Press. I used to keep one at work, and found it to be a great, inexpensive way to geta cup of decent coffee. Basically, its the coffee pot (often glass) with the plunger down the centre. I had one at work all during the summer.

A drip machine is where the coffee and water are put into the machine seperatly, and the water is allowed to run down over the ground coffee. Depending on the machine (and its maintenance), this can either lead to a good cup or an awful one.

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Im basically looking for a cheap (but good) coffee maker for home. It will just be for 1 or 2 people, so I dont want some huge industrial size contraption like we have at work.

In this either case a perculator, or one of the very small coffee machines that you can get in your local homeware store should suffice.

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Also, at the grocery store I notice that you can buy entire coffee beans, instead of ground powder. Are these beans used for some other kind of machine? Or are you just supposed to grind the beans yourself before using them in the drip machine that Ive already seen? Some of these bean smell pretty damn good...

Ah yes, the really hardcore option [grin] The beans can be used with many types of machine. Some drips will have grinders built in so that all you have to do is put the beans in and choose how coarse or fine you want the grind. Other than that, you can get your own grinder and grind yourself. If you wanted to be really, really hardcore about it you could even buy your beans unroasted and roast them yourself before grinding them.

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Original post by AndreTheGiant Im basically looking for a cheap (but good) coffee maker for home. It will just be for 1 or 2 people, so I dont want some huge industrial size contraption like we have at work.

What you really want is a small espresso machine. They are a little more expensive than your regular cofee maker (about 80 euros or more in my home town), but they produce an excellent cup of coffee (not just espresso).
Freshly grinded coffee is the best choice (coffee grinders shouldn't be too expensive), however it's really about the quality of the coffee. Get some from a specialized shop instead of the super market and try out different blends.

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Original post by BitBlt My favorite coffee made at a store is Waffle House and Dunkin' Donuts (they taste very similar to me). I prefer a regular cup of those over any fancy Starbucks espresso-based drink. Dunkin' Donuts sells coffee grounds, I've never bought it, but if it tastes like their coffee, it's good. Has anyone bought DD grounds before?

I used to work with a guy that would have his family on the east coast ship him DD coffee grounds, so I imagine it was pretty good stuff. He even had his own coffee maker on his desk, totally hard core about the DD coffee.

A percolator is also known as a Moka, or a stovetop Espresso maker. I believe you can get electric ones too. This has a reservoir for water at the bottom, and coffee at the top. It works by boiling steam through coffee grounds, and collecting the condensate. This is similar in action to commercial espresso machines, but at a lower pressure.

A Drip, or filter machine has a reservior for water at the top, and coffee at the bottom. This works by dripping hot water through coffee grounds, and filtering the solid matter out.

A Cafetiere, works by steeping the grounds in hot water, then using a plunger to separate the solid matter from the main part of the liquid. This, I discovered from an earlier post is also called a French Press.

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Original post by dagarach A percolator is also known as a Moka, or a stovetop Espresso maker.

Really? I've only ever heard of the French Press refered to as a perculator. But looking around seems to suggest that you're right. My bad.

ive used both perculator and drip machines. for ease of use, drip makers are nice and perculators have more parts to clean. i find the key tho is how you grind your beans and drink your coffee black. perculators are nice for being small and don't take up much space. if you do get a perculator, make sure that you get a stainless steel one. grinding your own beans is the way to go, i prefer to grind them super fine like expresso style fine. this makes my coffee last longer. i'd recommend storing your beans in an air tight container aswell. and yes dont buy folgers or yuban or columbia, thats crap shit.

Frenchpress (10/10):

Simple, yet quite superior. Heat your water to 96-98 degrees and poor it into the container. Put in coffee, let it stand for 2-4 minutes (depending on coffee strength and grain size) then pressure it down to the bottom.

This is a very very good alternative for a "cheap" (id say priceworthy instead of cheap) machine. Everyone should have atleast one at home. I have few of them of different sizes. You can make highquality coffee with theese babies.

Mocca pot (10/10):

This is the choice of the professionals. Works pretty much as the perculator, although it have no internal powersource. You heat it up on your stove. The container is split in three parts. The bottom part is filled with water. The top part is where your made coffee will be and on top of that a filter for the coffee. When the water is heated, it will go up through a pipe in the middle and fall down in the top container. The best coffee will be made in theese babies.

Espresso machine (6/10):

These come in all different flavours. However if you want quality, you will need alot of dollars. I personally prefer both the Mocca pot and the French press over this at home. I would not spend few thousand $ for a proper Espressomachine. If you want espressos or cappucinos, make it with your Mocca pot. Ofcourse there are cheaper variants, with cheaper quality, pointless imho when you have two better machines at 10-20$ apc above. This is for cafeterias and whatnot that needs to make alot of espressos quickly.

Perculator (4/10):

Easy to use everywhere, since it only needs to be connected directly to your poweroutlet. Can be moved around if you need it in your TV room for example or by the computer. Coffeetaste is quite like ordinary potcooked coffee, not excellent but good enough for the average "drink for the fun of it" coffee.

The water is put inside it and the coffee in the top in a filterbowl. When the water starts to heat up it will travel thru a pipe in the center of the machine up to the filter where it cools down and falls thru the coffee. Make sure your coffee is in grains rather then powder or it will fall thru the filters easily.

Dripmachine (6/10) :

The everyday dripmachine. Everyone obviously need one of theese for when you want a pot made quickly while entertaining your guests. Coffee rarely gets a fair treatment in them. What you need to check is the temprature of the water when it hits the coffee. Some machines start spitting out the water onto the coffee way too early ruining the over all experiences, since the pores in the coffee closes. Usually paying a bit more gives a better experience.

Water in the container in the back, falls down into the coffeefilter and then down the pot which is heated by an electrical plate. See, this is whats wrong with theese machines, the plate. Why would you need one if the water acctually had the correct temprature? :p


I say if you want GOOD coffee, buy yourself the two first alternatives, both will serve you a lifetime, no mechanical or electrical parts that will break. They both make excellent every day coffee and espressos (which you can make all sorts of coffeedrinks with, the base in cappucino, icecoffee, latte or whatever is always an espresso). I have had my Mocca Pot for 15 years (spent like 4$ on it) and it still makes be the best cup of coffee every morning without complaining a bit.

[Edited by - Zorak on September 13, 2005 12:19:49 PM]

well you know, i've never seen a mocca pot for sale before. can you order them online?

They are usually for sale in ordinary homeelectronics stores. Places that sells stoves, vaccuums, microwave ovens and what not.

Anyways, A friend usually shops here:
Potty page

I can't really tell if they are good or not. And its in UK

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Original post by omegasyphon well you know, i've never seen a mocca pot for sale before. can you order them online?

I've never heard the name Mocca Pot before. Everyone will call them Espresso Makers so google that.

I would rate a drip machine as 3/10.

Thanks an assload everyone, esp. Zorac and doodle_sketch.

I guess Ill pick up a french press tonight or sometime soon, and let you guys know how I like it.

The moka pot seems cool in theory but i like the simplicity of the french press.

Another factor I havnt yet considered: My apartment has crappy city water that tastes like butt. Would I be better off with one of the options that boils the water and collects the steam, so that I'm only getting pure H20 in the end?
With the french press you just pour the boiling water in, meaning you get all the lead and cancer included in your cup.

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Original post by AndreTheGiant Another factor I havnt yet considered: My apartment has crappy city water that tastes like butt. Would I be better off with one of the options that boils the water and collects the steam, so that I'm only getting pure H20 in the end? With the french press you just pour the boiling water in, meaning you get all the lead and cancer included in your cup.

If your water is "hard water" (contains lots of metal and/or minerals) then a coffee maker which boils the water will get mineral build-up. Buy a Brita pitcher... or, better yet, use bottled water for making coffee.

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Original post by AndreTheGiant I guess Ill pick up a french press tonight or sometime soon, and let you guys know how I like it.

Very good choice. It will serve you well, buy a small one that only makes one or two cups at time. Its alot easier to get into how to potion your coffee to make it so that you like it, plus youll waste alot less coffee while doing small amounts.

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The moka pot seems cool in theory but i like the simplicity of the french press.

I generally use it when I want an espresso. Like after a spicy meal or something. Nothing beats a good espresso after a tacodinner for example.

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Another factor I havnt yet considered: My apartment has crappy city water that tastes like butt. Would I be better off with one of the options that boils the water and collects the steam, so that I'm only getting pure H20 in the end? With the french press you just pour the boiling water in, meaning you get all the lead and cancer included in your cup.

Tricky, I have never had problems with bad water myself. How do you clean water for drinking otherwise? Surely you have been drinking tea etc. before? I guess a mocca pot would suffice, since the impurities should stay in the coffee. But I have no doubts that it will make your coffee loose some quality no matter what machine you use. Maybe you should boil it properly and filter it someway when you poor it into the frenchy. And then let it cool few degrees before you put the coffee in it, since you want to be below 100c when you make the acctually mixture.

Also if you do shop online, order a few bags of proper beans. They will make alot of difference from the standard coffee bought in stores. And when you buy coffee in stores, make sure you get big grains. Usually called "Bistro" coffee.

Coffee shops usually have some sets of 4-5 different beans in a kind of "beginners" kit that you can buy quite cheap. When you start out, buy roasted beans, since roasting them yourself can be tricky, especially without a roasting machine. It can be done in an ordinary oven though. Just spread them out on a plate in one layer and take them out now and then and circulate them.

A proper roaster blows air into the machine and thats what makes them roast evenly. But just carefully shaking the plate should do. Your appartement will have a very nice smell of coffee when you roast your own beans.

Also get a proper grinder. If you are lucky you can find an old wooden handdriven one. But alas they are getting quite expensive if you get a good quality one. But a properly used one that still smells coffee even if it was 100 years since it was used last is excellent.

I use one similar to this:


Unfortunally in a good shape then can go for well over 200$ nowdays. And worst of all, they don't bloody seem to produce them anymore either -.-. Just expensive plastic ones that have no feel or aroma.