French press type coffee??

revans90 wrote: It’s all about the cowboy.

Hmmmmm....

bearded sam wrote:

Now you can have your espresso and your filter: https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/espresso-with-aeropress-filter-papers-above-and-below-the-coffee-bed/

I do this daily now and it’s fairly dramatic in the shot difference on a home machine

Cool article. Thanks. 

For coffee, like so many things, taste is subjective. 

I had a roommate who’s favorite sip of coffee was the last one, where he’d swirl it to suspend the fines and dump it in his mouth. Yuck. 
For me I like flavorful coffee that’s not bitter or chalky. So the above method with espresso through paper filters sounds great. 

Espresso through paper is not espresso .

"If you can't chew it, it aint coffee".

                -​Tradiban​​​

M Mobes wrote: Espresso through paper is not espresso .

Espresso is the method of extraction with high pressure steam/water through compacted grounds and portafilter basket resistance. The filter is added to increase extraction % by allowing the water to saturate the grounds more evenly, decreasing the chance and negative effects of channeling, which produces a more thin, sour under extracted shot. 

Still espresso, just an additional method applied. 

Bastardized, Americanized and wasteful. Like yoga in the US.

ECD H wrote:

for the size and weight nothing comes close. needs some experimentation to get the tamp and rhythm squared for best expressing, then by the 3rd shot it nails it. also makes coffee go a lot further than than other methods, more bang for your buck. 3 or 4 little shots i find a better buzz than all the excess brewed water with a moka or press. like comparing beer to tequila, too much extra tare as Steinbeck's Mack put it.

Agreed. Obviously getting a more concentrated end product with the minipresso, and the Moka I find too much of a pain unless you have a reliable (preferably programmable) heat source...the window between done and burnt is minimal. I normally bring my own pour over setup also if I’m going to have power, or a good sustained heat source where I can get boiling water. Use a V60/Kalita for myself, Chemex/French Press for a group. 

The AeroPress is great. I use 18 grams of beans and I use the "inversion" method with that press.

I also travel with a small pour-over. Sometimes I pre-weigh the beans and portion them out into baggies, then grind with a hand-crank burr grinder the morning of.  

For the backcountry/alpine I admittedly use instant coffee packets. When it's the middle of the night, I just need something hot and fast to kick-off the alpine start. But anytime I'm traveling or cragging, there's no reason not have a "blooming" pour over. 

Sky Pilot wrote: The AeroPress is great. I use 18 grams of beans and I use the "inversion" method with that press.

I also travel with a small pour-over. Sometimes I pre-weigh the beans and portion them out into baggies, then grind with a hand-crank burr grinder the morning of.  

For the backcountry/alpine I admittedly use instant coffee packets. When it's the middle of the night, I just need something hot and fast to kick-off the alpine start. But anytime I'm traveling or cragging, there's no reason not have a "blooming" pour over. 

There’s “instant” pour over packets by good roasters nowadays that have their own filter and grounds, REI and other places sell them, all that’s needed is hot water. I don’t know why anyone would put themselves through awful instant coffee in 2020, that’s just barbaric.

D Elliot wrote:

There’s “instant” pour over packets by good roasters nowadays that have their own filter and grounds, REI and other places sell them, all that’s needed is hot water. I don’t know why anyone would put themselves through awful instant coffee in 2020, that’s just barbaric.

Have you all tried https://www.firstascentcoffee.com/collections/hand-crafted-instant-coffee ? Outside Magazine gave a pretty high recommendation. outsideonline.com/2397132/b…

D Elliot wrote:

There’s “instant” pour over packets by good roasters nowadays that have their own filter and grounds, REI and other places sell them, all that’s needed is hot water. I don’t know why anyone would put themselves through awful instant coffee in 2020, that’s just barbaric.

I do not subscribe to the pour-over packets you describe mostly for two reasons: cost and waste. 

Again, I specified my use of instant coffee for backcountry and alpine starts. I personally do not want to carry multiples of those relatively bulky packets and take the time to do a pour-over at 3am. If cragging or traveling, I have a little time to actually enjoy the cup. Barbaric? Perhaps. But in these instances I just need something hot and liquid. I've never used those packets; but it seems like a lot of waste to pack out.

Sky Pilot wrote:

I do not subscribe to the pour-over packets you describe mostly for two reasons: cost and waste. 

Again, I specified my use of instant coffee for backcountry and alpine starts. I personally do not want to carry multiples of those relatively bulky packets and take the time to do a pour-over at 3am. If cragging or traveling, I have a little time to actually enjoy the cup. Barbaric? Perhaps. But in these instances I just need something hot and liquid. I've never used those packets; but it seems like a lot of waste to pack out.

Not much more waste than the instant packets you pack in and out. Cost is fairly cheap too compared to the usual pour over cost in most shops, however with better quality coffee comes higher price...to each his own, worth a try if you haven’t though. 

Those instant pour overs create a lot of bulky trash and at approximately $2.50 per serving (REI's Kuju) you'd be better off with literally any other option.

RE the disposable pour over. As a coffee professional, there is a flavor note in brewed coffee that we would call "wet paper" or "cardboard" and this is due to the beans becoming stale prior to extraction (brewing) Whole bean coffee goes stale fairly quickly, and ground whole bean, even more quickly. These pour overs even when sealed, go stale pretty quick. The beauty of a specialty instant coffee from First Ascent, Swift Cup or Sudden is that the instant particles are solids that were previously dissolved in water and don't go stale in the same way. (this is also why they dissolve in cold as well)
Is it espresso or a freshly roasted and ground pour over, no but all three make a very drinkable cup of coffee. 

To preface: I'm just super psyched there's a coffee thread on MP...

I'm with B-Sam on this one. Frankly, unless I'm grinding the beans right before brewing, the quality/flavor is a wash and the goal is just gulp-able, caffeinated hot liquid.

Even vacuum sealed in whatever fancy method they may use, the disposable pour-overs are not going to have a taste worth the extra trouble... but I'll give it a go for the sake experiment and this conversation. However, the waste comparison is a nonstarter. There's just not way the tiny packets of instant coffee compare to the shenanigans needed to rig a disposable pour over. Again, the concern here is bulk/waste I have to pack out in my pack (e.g. wet grounds).

I feel like I have to ingeminate: unless I'm in the backcountry/bivy, I'm hand-grinding beans and doing a pour over or aeropress. So the disposable pour overs are a hard sell for me since the only time I seek convenience is the alpine. Otherwise I'm a 15:1 ratio kinda guy for pour over blone/medium roasts, and 18:1 for my aeropress. I order straight from my favorite roaster across the country, which I highly recommend trying for those like fresh beans. 
 

Sky Pilot wrote: To preface: I'm just super psyched there's a coffee thread on MP...

I'm with B-Sam on this one. Frankly, unless I'm grinding the beans right before brewing, the quality/flavor is a wash and the goal is just gulp-able, caffeinated hot liquid.

Even vacuum sealed in whatever fancy method they may use, the disposable pour-overs are not going to have a taste worth the extra trouble... but I'll give it a go for the sake experiment and this conversation. However, the waste comparison is a nonstarter. There's just not way the tiny packets of instant coffee compare to the shenanigans needed to rig a disposable pour over. Again, the concern here is bulk/waste I have to pack out in my pack (e.g. wet grounds).

I feel like I have to ingeminate: unless I'm in the backcountry/bivy, I'm hand-grinding beans and doing a pour over or aeropress. So the disposable pour overs are a hard sell for me since the only time I seek convenience is the alpine. Otherwise I'm a 15:1 ratio kinda guy for pour over blone/medium roasts, and 18:1 for my aeropress. I order straight from my favorite roaster across the country, which I highly recommend trying for those like fresh beans.
 

Obviously would not rival fresh ground beans from a decent roasted through a proper device...however, for some that are new to that world and want to try it, or believe that coffee “must” taste like dark, burnt beans due to supermarket/Starbucks, etc., it’s a step in the right direction. Friends don’t let friends drink bad coffee lol

D Elliot wrote:

Obviously would not rival fresh ground beans from a decent roasted through a proper device...however, for some that are new to that world and want to try it, or believe that coffee “must” taste like dark, burnt beans due to supermarket/Starbucks, etc., it’s a step in the right direction. Friends don’t let friends drink bad coffee lol

I concur. One could certainly do worse than trying one of those disposable packets, so I fully intend on trying one and circling back with a review, because now I'm really curious. 

Did you know how to clean this coffee machine? I know everyone has a problem with clearing them but you can learn to clean the Nespresso machine easily from some blogs.

Have you seen the Nowpresso? I can’t link from mobile for some reason but it’s nowpresso dot com.  Expensive, but might be worth it. Was thinking about getting one for work travel since hotel room coffee makers have disappeared from hotels in the name of Rona.

Wild how they've crammed the tech into a thermos-sized canister. 

But for me: a nonstarter. It uses capsules (bleh!). Admittedly, I'm not much of an espresso drinker in the first place.

Primo instant is my go-to for when speed and simplicity is required. But when I've stayed in hotels in the past, I just do a small pour-over: Hand crank coffee grinder, Jet boil, small bomac dripper, a gooseneck kettle and a small kitchen scale. Or sometimes I've pre-portioned the beans in little baggies to match the volume of my mug, which allows me to skip the scale while traveling. That said, artisan instants have gotten so good, if I'm really on the move (alpine starts) I just reach for those.