After Christmas activities had passed, the time had arrived to replace Mr Coffee. I had been growing increasingly less satisfied with him. I wrote earlier how I detested the taste of paper filter that he deposited in my cup. :down:
I had signed up for coffee tasting and brewing classes last fall. The tasting (cupping) class taught me how to evaluate coffee and identify flavors and subtleties in various coffees.
In brewing class, I discovered that rinsing the paper filter helped remove that terrible taste from the cup. In the class we watched our teacher brew coffee using various methods and then evaluated the final product.
The vacuum pot looked like a high-school science project. The results were just about that good. We were told that this could produce the finest or the worst results and you could never be 100% sure which you’d end up with.
Then we tried a couple of pour-over methods. They weren’t bad, but failed to impress.
Some were enamored of the French Press. I wasn’t.
Then we tried the AeroPress. Aha! That produced excellent results. Cleanup would be relatively easy. The only catch? How can you consistently heat water to 197 F? All of these methods rely on that.
The answer is a cordless electric kettle with a temperature control. I bought this:
I use it for my coffee and Sylvia uses it for her tea. How handy that Sylvia has a birthday this week. Happy birthday honey! :luv: Thanks for letting me use it too. 😉
The rest of the equipment (AeroPress) looks like this:
I don’t use the paper filters. A stainless steel filter (purchased separately) keeps the grounds out of the brew. I only have used grounds to dispose of. These I keep to use on the garden. The grounds help protect root crops from bugs. Neat, huh?
I’ll not bother you with the details, but this takes no longer (may be shorter) than brewing with Mr Coffee. There is less waste and the coffee is incredibly better! :awe:
WARNING: Use of this method can you into a coffee snob. Therefore, exercise discretion before purchasing anything like this. 😉
An Invitation
Won’t you consider joining me in participating in I Did It each Monday? Please do and then register your participation with the Linky on the blog. Have a great week.
I can’t afford to become a coffee snob. Looks like a lot of parts to keep track of too.
Most of the time those parts are together. But you do have a point. There is a huge difference between the coffee brewed with AeroPress and the coffee from a Mr Coffee. Even my grocery store (Maxwell House) coffee is much better. That said, I admit that it is not for everyone.
I am always looking for a good coffeepot. I checked this out at Amazon but the model I saw only makes 6 cups. 🙁 Much too miniscule for my coffee-slugging family. Still, I’d like to hear your opinion on the pot after you’ve been using it for a while! Keep us informed of your progress. :food:
I will be glad to do a follow-up report. Initial results are looking very good. :up:
Chuck I’m up there again!! Sorry!! :ha: :banghead:
Why apologize for being “up?” :frolic: :frolic:
I’m just glad you’re not “down” today. :up:
Oh my I love a really good cup of coffee and I can taste the difference too. But, we can’t afford anything like that right now. We did invest in a Bunn coffee maker that keeps the water hot,hot,hot all the time and it does a pretty good job.
I would love to have the above though. But Walter would most likely have a fit over that.
Early happy birthday Sylvia! I hope you have the grandest year ever! :up:
The AeroPress is not for everyone. FWIW, I got mine from Amazon for under $30 and shipping was free. The kettle costs more than that.
Sylvia say, “Thanks and hope 2013 is particularly good for you.” :yea:
No time for snobbery–I just grab whatever is in the pot at work when I get there and most days I’m just thankful that someone started the coffee for me. While I like my Casi Cielo and the Blonde roast from Starbuck’s, I’m usually not too fussy with the stuff. I’m glad that you are researching this for us–now I know what I’m missing.
Actually Lin you’d need to taste it to know what you’ve been missing. But I get what you’re saying. 8)
Hi Chuck! good tip on the rinsing the filter first. I will have to try that. I use a Bunn and love it because it is so fast. I also put a dash of salt in the grounds before brewing.
Hey Doreen,
I was amazed at the difference that rinsing makes. Maybe I’ll try the salt. Never heard of that before. 😀