Good coffee

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Skittle68

Sous Chef
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
882
Location
Duluth, MN
Since my bf took the French press with him to the new city, I made coffee in my grandma's regular drip coffee maker and it tastes awful!! Is it because I've just gotten used to the French press, or do you think it needs to be cleaned? It looks visibly clean inside... I used to drink drip coffee when I lived with my parents (and folgers no less, not the good fresh ground coffee I use now) and I don't remember it tasting bad lol
 
Since my bf took the French press with him to the new city, I made coffee in my grandma's regular drip coffee maker and it tastes awful!! Is it because I've just gotten used to the French press, or do you think it needs to be cleaned? It looks visibly clean inside... I used to drink drip coffee when I lived with my parents (and folgers no less, not the good fresh ground coffee I use now) and I don't remember it tasting bad lol

In the French Press your coffee does not have enough time to get acidic. In the drip it has plenty of time to get the acids. I bet that's the taste you are getting.
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
In the French Press your coffee does not have enough time to get acidic. In the drip it has plenty of time to get the acids. I bet that's the taste you are getting.

Could be- I guess it does taste a little like coffee that sat in the French press a little too long. Well I've been wanting to cut down on coffee ha ha. I'm hard pressed to get one cup down, so I guess that's something. Even cream barely improved it. Yuck! My bf has been telling me for years how gross drip coffee is and I never knew what he meant lol.
 
Is your drip coffee pot electric, or do you boil your water in a kettle and pour over the grounds? I love drip coffee, but detest electric coffee makers. They just don't get it right, with the possible exception of Bunn drip coffee makers, which are designed to heat the water to the right temperature and allow the water to spend the right amount of time in contact with the grounds. That said, I use either an old Revere Ware Drip-O-Lator, usually with a four cup paper filter, and boil the water in a kettle, or a Chemex drip pot, with unbleached Chemex filters, and boil the water in a kettle. I get consistently great coffee.
 
Since my bf took the French press with him to the new city, I made coffee in my grandma's regular drip coffee maker and it tastes awful!! Is it because I've just gotten used to the French press, or do you think it needs to be cleaned? It looks visibly clean inside... I used to drink drip coffee when I lived with my parents (and folgers no less, not the good fresh ground coffee I use now) and I don't remember it tasting bad lol

It might be that the coffee maker and coffee pot need to be cleaned. Old coffee can make the fresh coffee taste less good.

But, also not all coffee is suitable for filter coffee making. If you dont have a good coffee maker that pushes the water through the coffee, then try one of the ones you put on the stove, that pushes the water through the coffee as it boils. That might be more suitable for the type of coffee you have, if it is strong flavoured. If it is not, then try a plunger pot. Those are good for the more subtle flavoured types of coffee in my experience. :)
 
gadzooks said:
Is your drip coffee pot electric, or do you boil your water in a kettle and pour over the grounds? I love drip coffee, but detest electric coffee makers. They just don't get it right, with the possible exception of Bunn drip coffee makers, which are designed to heat the water to the right temperature and allow the water to spend the right amount of time in contact with the grounds. That said, I use either an old Revere Ware Drip-O-Lator, usually with a four cup paper filter, and boil the water in a kettle, or a Chemex drip pot, with unbleached Chemex filters, and boil the water in a kettle. I get consistently great coffee.

I have a bunn and love my coffee in it
 
forty_caliber said:
Try one of these out. They make great coffee without the bitterness introduced by auto-drip machines.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f122/chemex-coffee-72833.html

,40

That looks really interesting- our French press has a broken handle and I've been meaning to replace it anyway, so maybe I'll have to give it a try. I even have $20 credit on amazon right now that I could put toward it! Bf is pretty set in his French press ways, but maybe if I did a blind taste test I could change his mind ;)
 
gadzooks said:
Is your drip coffee pot electric, or do you boil your water in a kettle and pour over the grounds? I love drip coffee, but detest electric coffee makers. They just don't get it right, with the possible exception of Bunn drip coffee makers, which are designed to heat the water to the right temperature and allow the water to spend the right amount of time in contact with the grounds. That said, I use either an old Revere Ware Drip-O-Lator, usually with a four cup paper filter, and boil the water in a kettle, or a Chemex drip pot, with unbleached Chemex filters, and boil the water in a kettle. I get consistently great coffee.

I usually use a french press. My grandma's coffee maker I've been using is electric.
 
Well, since getting a Revere Ware coffee pot that has been out of production for fifty years is probably kind of iffy, I would suggest going with.40's recommendation of a Chemex. Be sure to use their filters, and expect great coffee.
 
Good is in the eye of the beholder / sense of smell and taste of the drinker. I found the coffee at Starbucks to be good but kinda pricey. Others seem to not like Starbucks coffee and others think instant coffee tastes just fine.
 
How does the coffee in the chemex compare, flavor wise, to a French press? I like the French press because of the bold flavor. I wouldn't mind less bitterness and acidity, but I don't want to sacrifice flavor
 
It takes a bit of time and attention. Nobody (almost) wants to be bothered. We Americans want it NOW, and damn the quality. For those of us who do not demand instant gratification, time invested is time well spent. Even in brewing coffee. I roast my own, in small batches, no more than three day's worth at a time, to ensure freshness, and use a manual pour over, either a Chemex or a Revere Drip-O-Lator, with the proper filter, because I'm worth it. I have the time because I have made the time.
 
Pour Over Coffee Maker | Pour Overs | seattlecoffeegear.com

My brother uses this instead of a french press. They work well for a single serve coffee brewer. Uses a filter, and of a press is simply a pour through.

Those Hario ceramics are nice...far nicer than the plastic ones from Melitta, I think. The big difference between a pour over and a French press is that with a pour over, once the water goes through the grounds, the contact is finished, and the grounds don't leach acids and bitter oils into your coffee. Not so with a French press, where the grounds are held captive in the bottom of a pot full of hot coffee.
 
Last edited:
If its so wonderful why isn't more popular, and sold in coffee shops and other stores that sell French press's?

These coffee makers are available for retail purchase at Williams Sonoma but for reasons that pass understanding they don't stock the filters at the store.

I've seen the mass-produced machine made models online for only the last couple of years. The handmade blown glass models are still fairly rare and costly.

.40
 
Last edited:
These coffee makers are available for retail purchase at Williams Sonoma but reasons that pass understanding they don't stock the filters at the store.

I've seen the mass-produced machine made models online for only the last couple of years. The handmade blown glass models are still fairly rare and costly.

.40

Hmmm...I have the 13 cup model, which is hand-blown. They are pricey, retail, but mine came to me second-hand, from a thrift store, for...considerably less. For good prices on Chemex pots, I would check out Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's . I generally buy my green coffee from them, too. They.know.coffee. I also have a couple of extra 8 cup Revere Drip-O-Lators, which use generic 4 cup filters and take less attention than Chemex, just dump the water once and wait about 4-5 minutes, no hovering for a second pour. Same source, thrift stores. Sorry about the pictures, but they aren't mine, I just grabbed them off Craigs List. Guy wants $10 for it, a good deal, but I have three of them already.

img_1145950_0_b33db8fac1dcd3faaaee33db9501ae0b.jpg
img_1145950_1_fc3d33a1c434f5704c55dd17b01c102f.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom