Hi, this sounds like a dumb question, but how should I “get into” coffee? Most of the time, I just use a Keurig and whatever pods I find at Costco. I know there’s an entire world out there of people who know exactly what they’re doing, but it’s all quite confusing.
If I’m typically only ever making coffee for myself, what should my brewing method be? Nespresso? Pour-over? French press?
And should I be looking to try everything black, or are lattes and whatnot a good way to learn what my tastes are?
In my opinion the cheapest, simplest way to experience a significant jump in quality from what you’re currently doing is to buy an Aeropress.
You can get one new for only $30-40, and after trying a few times you’ll likely be blown away by how much better the coffee it produces is than what you’ve grown accustomed to with the Keurig.
An electric kettle is another good purchase to go along with your Aeropress, and it generally comes in handy for plenty of other uses too.
If you start getting into making better coffee at home with the Aeropress, then the next step on your journey would be to invest in a grinder and make the switch to whole beans. That’s really the last thing you’ll need if you’re trying to max out coffee quality at home.
As for drinking it black, that’s totally up to you. Personally I like a little cream and sugar in my coffee, and I’m probably seen as a coffee snob by my friends. Don’t let anyone tell you that black is the preferred way to drink coffee. It’s all preference, and I like the heavier body that cream/milk gives the brew.
If you end up taking any of this advice, then here’s my go-to recipe for the best Aeropress coffee:
- Set the Aeropress up inverted (you can Google this)
- Between coarse and fine grind (two scoops)
- Heat water to 195°F
- Pour water in until it just covers the grounds to let it bloom, then wait 30 seconds
- Fill the Aeropress up to the top with more water
- Stir for ten seconds
- Let brew for one more minute
- Press slowly into mug
- Add cream/sugar to taste
I hope that helps. Just be warned… Once you go down this path, you’ll likely no longer be able to tolerate K-Cup coffee.
Flair machines also have a low price point, and put out a good tasting espresso. It’s also upgradable, so you can start with something cheap and add workflow improvements over time. They also don’t need maintenance like electrics machine do. Overall very similar to an Aeropress.
I highly recommend the Flair Neo. I’ve been making coffee-shop-quality espresso drinks with it every day for years.
This would also be my advice. Aeropress has been my daily driver for many years. Such a simple satisfying process (especially ejecting the coffee puck), forgiving in nature and a really smooth cup of coffee. It’s also extremely sturdy: I still use an old version with the blue markings.
My recipe is slightly different. I stopped doing the inverted method, as it felt clunky and caused a mess once. Didn’t notice a change in flavor.
My recipe for light roasts:
- Boil water to 100c.
- Grind 15g of coffee quite fine (I have the Wilfa Svart and I usually go a few notches finer than its Aeropress setting). Feel free to start with preground coffee, but get it at a place where they grind it for you when you buy it (they’ll ask which brew method you use, so they can adjust the coarseness). Make a cup the same day you bought it so you get the full flavor. Notice how the flavors deteriorate over time. This is when you probably want to get a grinder. When I was on a budget, I used a manual Hario.
- Set Aeropress on a cup, add coffee and 200ml of water right when it’s done boiling.
- Stir a bit to let any clumps fall apart and let it brew for 2 and half minutes.
- Slightly swirl the cup with the Aeropress on top of it, like you’d do with a wine glass. This settles the bed of coffee evenly according to James Hoffman.
- Press, remove coffee puck, rinse the Aeropress parts and enjoy your coffee.
Light roasts are great with boiling water. Darker roasts are better with ~90c water. I rarely drink dark roasts, although recently I had a light to medium roast with an interesting flavor profile.
15g to 200ml seems to be my sweet spot for most coffees. I do experiment with the grind settings and brew time when I get new coffee, but my starting point is the recipe above.
I know there’s an entire world out there of people who know exactly what they’re doing, but it’s all quite confusing.
I think it is really easy to get overwhelmed because there are people who really geek out over coffee and that level of geeking out isn’t necessarily required to find something you enjoy more than what you do now. It is a bit like bread, you can use a bread machine with the recipe booklet that comes with it and get something so much tastier than store brand sandwich bread but all the folks talking about bakers percentages or high hydration sourdough techniques can make it seem like you need a degree to even think about not buying bread from the store.
If I’m typically only ever making coffee for myself, what should my brewing method be? Nespresso? Pour-over? French press?
I use a French press (which come in a variety of sizes) and I find it way less intimidating than some other options. If the idea of actually brewing the coffee is something you are worried about James Hoffmann, a name you’ll see mentioned plenty around these parts, has a playlist of his techniques for different brewing methods (link) and a beginner’s guide playlist (link). The first one will help you know if one seems less intimidating or works better with the equipment you have or can afford and the latter will introduce you to some basic concepts and things to consider.
And should I be looking to try everything black, or are lattes and whatnot a good way to learn what my tastes are?
If you are trying to approach it without any established preferences I’d say go for a variety. You might find the additive or no additive preference changes depending on the coffee (such as preferring light roasts black and dark roasts with milk) or the brewing method (finding straight espresso too strong but loving a nice cappuccino). You’ll never know until you try.
You could also just hang out where finer coffees are made, i.e. coffee shops. You might not enjoy it black at first but you will find that if its made really well it doesn’t need anything added to taste sweet and balanced and delicious.
Think of roasted coffee like baked bread. You want to know when it was roasted and consume it before it turns rancid. So much consumed coffee is rancid.
I usually recommend french press, it’s easy, forgiving and doesn’t require any filters or anything. Grinding-to-brew is probably the single biggest difference you can make, just getting some kind of burr grinder for yourself. Don’t need anything expensive for home use.
Electric kettle is super handy, a kitchen scale is nice for measuring, and that’s about it.
Then there’s the beans, but that’s a whole topic on its own, and isn’t really all that hard. But first things first.
