Coffee Appreciation

Interesting reading the Aeropress hate/love, some of your brew times seem very long from what I have read and tried over the years, aren't they massively bitter?

I switched from a french press a couple of years back as Mrs Pointer was pregnant and no longer drinking caffeinated coffee, so the single cup size of the aeropress was handy to make two different drinks. Initially I was trying to make espresso type shots for milk based drinks with random success, some v good, some bad. My tastes have since moved towards lighter/African etc roasts and I tend to just use it for filter type brews, which I think it does very well.

I agree with other posts about using the aeropress the right way up, you cannot help but lose some coffee whilst setting up, once the plunger goes in you can pull it back a little to stop this but it is not ideal.

For me the best method is inverted and using a metal filter (has lasted over a year of 2/3 cups per day and removes the faff/waste with the paper ones) plus a decent grind. I tend to use YB as they are local to me, plus I don't have a grinder yet. I don't really want to open the can of worms which owning one will inevitably bring me.

I am starting to like the AeroPress a bit more. Just going a bit finer on the grind suddenly yielded much better results. Part of the fun with coffee, for me anyway, is the trial and error and the 'research' and experimenting. Even if the AeroPress doesn't become my favourite method of brewing coffee, I am glad I could give it a go and I will find some use for it.

I remember the inventor mentioning that the paddle should be used so that you don't scratch up the filter paper whilst stirring (or the plunger, I guess, if using the inverted method). The handle of the measurer probably works fine, although I have just spotted a large burr on the end of my one.

One thing I have noticed is that the process itself does not feel particularly smooth. For example, I often find myself unsure where to put my paddle down after the first stir, unsure where to put my filter cap, trying not to scald myself whilst rinsing and preheating the filter paper, dripping water everywhere, etc.

Sort of.

No thermal plate to heat the pot which will inevitably make the coffee taste bad after time.

Paper filters rather than mesh to clean up the taste/clarity.

And the user controls the pour of water allowing adjustments to brew technique

Aeropress is great... A Clever Dripper arrived today, very pleased with that as well... My Gaggia has needed descaling since before Christmas but I haven't gone near it... Will remedy that tomorrow, think I'm in the mood for an espresso again...

Sorry I'm just being disparaging.

My folks had one of those manual filters back in the day, so I thought it was funny that it's come back around.

Cheers. I've found it a fairly smooth process, but I'm a bit lazy with it and skip steps like washing the filter and use the measurer to stir. Plus only make one cup.

Was thinking about getting a Clever Dripper for making the wife's filter she takes to work but she likes an absolute gallon of it in a big insulated cup. What volume can it take?

N/M 16 fl oz / 475ml

And a newish Hoffman video, water first!

https://youtu.be/RpOdennxP24

I rinse the Aero paper with the carrier sitting on my cup, pre-heats the cup too. And I just use a teaspoon for stirring, give it a rinse straight away, then stir the coffee once it’s done. I figure as it’s such a slow press there must be some level of unevenness in the cup, the same as espresso.

I thought everyone knew the Aeropress was just a decent single serve filter maker? I think it’s great, personally and prefer it to coffee that comes out of a V60, but I use a V60 more as I want 500ml of coffee more regularly than I want 250ml of coffee.

That's exactly the method I used tho' my grind was a bit too fine so the draw down was a bit slooooower... Will change it up tomorrow... No complaints here, get one!

I managed to get a free bag of coffee as well as free shipping so that nudged my impulse coffee purchase synapses...

I find it a bit odd the Hoff recommends coffee second for the clever but not for the Hario equivalent - am I missing a reason?

Going to have a bash anyway, the draw down is kind of annoying, if it can be reduced without messing flavour I'm all for it. Still really like the Hario Switch, particularly in the morning when I sometimes can't be bothered with the extra fiddling of a normal v60.

Bodum electric burr grinder going cheap.
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/358256/#comment15734847

I've been trying the Hoffman promoted 'Mylk' the past few days.

Awful. It curdles very easily, is dominant in taste and has quite a strong coconut smell.

Pretty much any oat milk, barista or otherwise is better.

Ah for shame. I was interested in that stuff but couldn't get hold of any. I remember when Rebel first released their alt mylks and I poured the 'whole' in my tea and it curdled. Disappoint. But had higher hopes for this

It's in Waitrose if you're curious.

I think the best one I've tried was the Califia one but that's only compared to Oatly and Alpro. Think it had more of the milk sweetness than those and foamed nice.

Yup, they're decent. Stopped off there on a ride up to Inverness and coffee was great.

Anyone bought anything from coffeefriend.co.uk?

They've got the Wilfa Svart in stock for £89 but I can't find much about them other than someone saying to avoid because they're based in Poland, which could be an issue with warranty etc.

Won't you get hit by a 20% tax on import due to brexit too?

Bust my boden glass cafetiere this morning . Any recommendations on a metal one ?

They are pretty generic, I think my Robert Dyas one for £20 is identical to the John Lewis £40 version

Anyone else having trouble getting Chemex filters?
Local shops are out and there’s not many online.

Lelit Mara PL62 for sale here £600

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/56873-lelit-mara-under-12-months-old-£650/

I am biased as I have one but think it’s a fantastic upgrade from a classic

I’ve not been able to source any since March which also means I’ve not been able to sell my stock of Chemexes either which was very annoying at Christmas, we usually sell loads.

Yeah that sucks. I checked you website when my local shop couldn’t help.