5 Cheap(ish) Things to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee

[dinneR]

Full NY Times article

• The right storage container

• A kitchen scale

• A pour-over dripper

• A great mug

• Descaling solution

The expensive items are a burr grinder and a water filtration system.  I'd like a burr grinder. The small ones are inconsistent. 

[Longjohn]

I don’t have a burr grinder so I just use my coffee grinder, it works like it was made for it.

[Ralphie]

I always thought some way to keep it warm would be nice.  I got a Yeti coffee mug for Christmas, and while it does work nicely for that, the lid takes away a lot of the aroma and therefore enjoyment.  But the lid is clear plastic so you can still see the coffee once the steam subsides, which as with beer is a must.   I always thought maybe a ceramic cup and lid would be nice. Someone did give me a plug in warmer but strangely enough it only made the bottom of the cup warm, not really the coffee.

[ChrisL]

I’m surprised all you sailors didn’t include a pinch of salt...

I used to have a former Navy Master Chief on staff and he had one rule.  I make the freaking coffee.  OK Chief!  It was damn good coffee too.

[dinneR]

41 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I always thought some way to keep it warm would be nice.  I got a Yeti coffee mug for Christmas, and while it does work nicely for that, the lid takes away a lot of the aroma and therefore enjoyment.  But the lid is clear plastic so you can still see the coffee once the steam subsides, which as with beer is a must.   I always thought maybe a ceramic cup and lid would be nice. Someone did give me a plug in warmer but strangely enough it only made the bottom of the cup warm, not really the coffee.

I have a Red Wing pottery mug. It's damn near perfect.

[2Far]

13 hours ago, ChrisL said:

I’m surprised all you sailors didn’t include a pinch of salt...

I used to have a former Navy Master Chief on staff and he had one rule.  I make the freaking coffee.  OK Chief!  It was damn good coffee too.

Submariners added a drop of hydraulic fluid, because submariners.

[Mr. Silly]

Add some egg shells to the coffee grounds.  The calcium neutralizes some of the acids in the coffee making for a much smooth cup.

[jsharr]

Just pay the experts at the convenience store.

[Parr8hed]

13 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I always thought some way to keep it warm would be nice.  I got a Yeti coffee mug for Christmas, and while it does work nicely for that, the lid takes away a lot of the aroma and therefore enjoyment.  But the lid is clear plastic so you can still see the coffee once the steam subsides, which as with beer is a must.   I always thought maybe a ceramic cup and lid would be nice. Someone did give me a plug in warmer but strangely enough it only made the bottom of the cup warm, not really the coffee.

I have a corkcicle cup.  It seems to work really well.  Better than my Yeti.  We have a coffee pot made by cuisinart.  It has an insulated metal pot.  It keeps coffee warm all day.  

[2Far]

14 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I always thought some way to keep it warm would be nice.  I got a Yeti coffee mug for Christmas, and while it does work nicely for that, the lid takes away a lot of the aroma and therefore enjoyment.  But the lid is clear plastic so you can still see the coffee once the steam subsides, which as with beer is a must.   I always thought maybe a ceramic cup and lid would be nice. Someone did give me a plug in warmer but strangely enough it only made the bottom of the cup warm, not really the coffee.

Ya know it works almost as well without the lid on it, neglecting the whole evaporative cooling/latent heat of vaporization thing.

[12string]

During the work week, it's a french press at the office and a volume measure of pre-ground, cause that's what's available.

Weekends, it's a scale, percolator, burr grinder.  Realistically, what's going to make the biggest difference is what beans you're grinding.  Our regular cheap Aldi beans make good coffee, but I do often spend some extra $$ on local roasteries' offerings.

But even on the cheap, it doesn't take a lot to do better than whatever comes out of the dripper.  Or worse, the Kuerig.

Overheard a couple guys in the locker room debating if McDonalds or Burger King had better coffee.  Really.

[jsharr]

6 minutes ago, 12string said:

 

Overheard a couple guys in the locker room debating if McDonalds or Burger King had better coffee.  Really.

7 Eleven is my go to for road coffee.  

At home I use cheap pre ground and a Mr. Coffee automatic brewer with a mesh filter basket with tap water.  I fill the machine with water and grounds and hit the autobrew button when I get home from work each day.  Every now and then I will hand wash the carafe, but most days I just give it a quick rinse with tap water.

[MickinMD]

On 2/11/2020 at 4:13 PM, dennis said:

Full NY Times article

• The right storage container

• A kitchen scale

• A pour-over dripper

• A great mug

• Descaling solution

The expensive items are a burr grinder and a water filtration system.  I'd like a burr grinder. The small ones are inconsistent. 

I have and love a Mr. Coffee Burr Grinder I got for around $35 six years ago, use it every morning, and it's worked fine and consistent with no problems.  It has a hopper that stores about 10 oz. of beans, and settings for type of grind (Drip, Espresso, etc.) and how many tablespoons.  You push the starter button and an easily detachable container on the side ends up with the fresh-ground beans in several seconds. It has an attached brush so you can quickly empty the coffee onto your filter. I don't need to filter water. I get Baltimore City water - which is from reservoirs fed by streams from rural northern MD and PA, so soft and great-tasting that you can use it to trigger some finicky egg-laying tropical fish to lay eggs in it where, in other places, you need 50% tap water and 50% distilled water.