Coffee Appreciation

And @JB, here's another one - bit more competent.
I like the way the Flair rocks while he pulls the shot, and a little surprised at the extra steps required.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxSTIwyDwL4&feature=emb_logo

Looking to reduce my caffeine intake and the first sensible step seems to be cutting the half litre Chemex brew in the morning to something more sensible. Looking at the V60s I'm finding it hard to see why there's even a choice when the plastic variant seems to tick all the boxes (aside from aesthetics really, I do like the look of the ceramic one). Am I missing something or are any of the other variants actually worth the bump in price? Ceramic & glass have obvious durability issues compared to plastic, likewise with metal and thermal loss.

I say ceramic/glass have obvious durability issues, though I've been brewing with a Chemex or siphon everyday since lockdown with no damage done, yet. But I'm guessing the only advantage they provide over the plastic variant is aesthetic?

I think the standard plastic Hario feels too basic for some people, they're looking for something fancier so you end up with ones with a wooden base or whatever.

FWIW I've been enjoying using the Kalita Wave for single cups of ~300ml coffee

I think the main complaints about the plastic are aesthetics and potential leeching of chemicals from the plastic. The latter I know nothing about to substantiate the claim.

They are a bit dinky I guess, but considering they cost about a fiver and are a much more favourable travel companion than the glass or ceramic, I struggle to see why you wouldn't at least start with the plastic. Even if you do upgrade, they're useful to have as a spare.

Yep - been running a red plastic one for years. Still looks like new.

The only advice I've heard is to avoid the clear plastic ones as they suffer from crazing of the "glass".

In other news, I finally got a decent shot out of my Cubika. 17g in, 34 out, 40 seconds (a bit long but hey). The trick seemed to be loading the basket, tamping, and then using a skewer to poke some holes in the puck to prevent channelling, and then lightly tamp again to neaten the top. I think the machine usually struggles around that dose/grind but this seemed to help it along nicely. The beans are old and shit, but it was still noticeably better than previous efforts. I reckon with some fresh beans I should be able to get some decent texture and body using this method.

/csb.

I've been using the ceramic V60 for years now solely because of the aesthetics. They even come in colours now which are quite pretty.
Also theoretically heat dissipates slower through ceramic and it saves heat for longer. So if you're nerding out on V60 that could be a factor to consider.

According to Hoffman, he prefers the plastic because it's easier to keep the temp up when brewing, whereas the ceramic or glass need a lot more preheating to get up to temp in the first place.

That said, I have a plastic and a ceramic and haven't noticed a huge difference, prefer the feel of the ceramic for sure.

Also with @Sumo - some of the best coffee I've had has come out of a Kalita Wave. Or something like the Mountain Dripper which would allow you to try different papers

Can confirm that the clear plastic V60s craze. It’s a slightly different plastic to the coloured ones.

I’m literally too clumsy to be trusted with a ceramic one, so plastic for me.

Also with @Sumo - some of the best coffee I've had has come out of a Kalita Wave.

This is also my experience, but to be honest I'm willing to put that down to Kalita Wave's being found exclusively in great coffee shops that know what they're doing, as opposed to being a better piece of equipment. Though I may be wrong on that.

Not trying to dismiss the aesthetics of equipment (I'm as guilty as anyone here on that), but looks like it'll be the standard plastic (in red, because aesthetics) for me. Thanks for the input all, much appreciated!

His shot still seemed suuuuuuper fast though and he didn't get a nice single stream of coffee... which makes me think he isn't getting a very even water distribution and there's some channeling. Yeah, 30s from beginning to end where I am probably closer to 45-50s.

Maybe that dude is small but he made the Flair look huge. Also very awkward to use with how many parts it has.

@nefarious - yeah, I must admit most of the feedback I went on when purchasing the Robot was from home-barista.com, Reddit and @withered_preacher ...! YouTube reviews tended to all be a bit hit or miss.

easier to keep the temp up when brewing, whereas the ceramic or glass need a lot more preheating to get up to temp in the first place.

D'oh - how could I forget this, which is one of the main points of difference.

I bought a Wave along with a 40 pack of filters a little while ago and initially didn't think it was all that different but since moving back to v60 when the filters ran out I miss it. I think the flat bottomed shape helps keep the coffee in suspension rather than sticking to the sides of the cone, it's seems to be more forgiving about pouring technique and I got more drinks out of it that I was impressed with. Now I've just got to finish the 50 odd v60 filters left before I can go back to it.

Whew, glad it worked out!
This last one seemed kind of slapdash considering it was sponsored by a major company, but I guess that’s the way the covid rolls.

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Interesting! That does make sense that the coffee would be suspended a bit more given the shape.

I've already splashed out the £5 for a plastic V60 (had an almost full box of filters kicking about anyway), but I wouldn't be surprised if the Wave was the next brewer that I really don't need, to end up in my kitchen.

If it helps the Wave stacks on top of a v60 really nicely

whereas the ceramic or glass need a lot more preheating to get up to temp in the first place.

But does it really take that much longer? In my experience once I rinsed the paper on the V60 the ceramic one is properly heated already.

@withered_preacher that it did. Probably one of my favourite purchases ever. Of anything.

I tend to ride my bike very early so the other day I (shock, horror) ground some coffee the night before, prepped my basket and added 100ml of water to the kettle. The next morning I boiled the kettle I had very delicious espresso in no time. Yes, it wasn't as good as freshly ground espresso but who cares at 5.45AM. Honestly have zero regrets.

I now see that you were talking about storage, but at first I thought you were advocating sticking the Wave on top of the V60 and brewing through both...

it's the post-extraction clarity phase, also known as "getting cold"

I tend to ride my bike very early so the other day I (shock, horror) ground some coffee the night before, prepped my basket and added 100ml of water to the kettle. The next morning I boiled the kettle I had very delicious espresso in no time. Yes, it wasn't as good as freshly ground espresso but who cares at 5.45AM. Honestly have zero regrets.

#theresAHoffmannVideoForThat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfkdkZRv6Mc
@ 6:30

Ha, yeah, remember that. I felt just as guilty as he looks.

It's definitely a lot longer if you consider that you're trying to keep water at about 92 degrees.