Coffee Appreciation

Don't buy a new moka pot, get a weird vintage one
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334816243879

Not a bad idea. Need to get rid of the Rancilio first before I get another coffee maker.

It's an Alessi yes, I've got a 6 cup one with a leaky rubber gasket. Yours for £190

I’ve got one of these gaggia base stations in the classifieds if anyone’s interested

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I'll give you £2.50 for it.

Yellow bourbon order incoming, hope it's good or its on you guys.

tl;dr - coffee on the road - what's your favourite set-up?

Need to be on the road / sleep in hotels / motels / inns a lot these days, and I've been so annoyed lately with the shit coffee these places offer.

I gathered from this thread that a lot of people do a combination of Aeropress with shoved-in Porlex mini grinder, I'm not sure I wanna go pourover on the road (although this is my favourite when at home). I'm flexible in regards to the style of coffee (could be pourover, could be moka, etc.) - all I want is proper good (black) cofee.

How about one of those electric Bialetti things? Are they good?
Most of the places I stay in offer a kettle in the room, but not all, and bringing my own would be too much faff.

When travelling I mostly grind the beans and either use a Snow Peak collapsible dropper or an aeropress bc those are the most compact way of doing it.

Clever dripper could be a good option. Taking a porlex mini is better but I’m usually happy enough with relatively freshly ground coffee vs the weight saving

I use a Kinu grinder (probably buy a 1zpresso nowadays though, maybe the JS or Q2 for travel) and a cheap french press if I can pack it safely, aeropress if not. V60 is just too intensive, I want easy when I'm travelling.

Edit: I store beans inside the aeropress/french press for space saving. Screw buying a grinder just because"but it fits!!"

I just accept that scales, clever dripper and a grinder aren’t that efficient in terms of space they take up, but they pay dividends in having the coffee I want rather than just being disappointed.
Or I drink a black coffee from McDonald’s and be thankful when I can drink better coffee.

If you're away for a few days or less I would be tempted to grind the beans before you go. Might upset a few people but means you don't need a grinder and ground coffee takes up less space. If you have something to properly seal it in it will be find, and definitely better than shit hotel coffee.

With no kettle you could make cold brew in an inverted aeropress? Zip lock bag of ground coffee stuffed inside the aeropress would probably be the most minimal setup possible

Yeah I just get a bag of coffee ground for whatever method I'm using and stick it in a well-sealed tupperware if I'm taking it away with me for a week or so. I've taken a hand grinder before but found it a bit annoying, especially if I'm getting up early and want to be quiet on a campsite or something.

I think when weighing up the combination of space, hassle, and effort, aeropress with a metal filter, and then take some ground beans with you.

Interested in the electric bialetti though, might have a look at them.

Anyone tried a cloth coffee filter? Thinking of giving it a go as I near the end of my papers. Sounds like a bit of a faff to clean/store in between uses. Does it taste good? The coffee made with it, that is.

A friend of mine used to use a woodneck with a cloth filter in his cafe to try new beans. The taste was comparable to a standard v60 paper filter (maybe a bit cleaner) but he stopped largely due to the faff of cleaning the cloth filter. They did get a bit smelly if not cleaned and took a while to dry.

I have… they taste good when new and while perfectly kept; once those conditions aren’t met, not so much. I gave it up and went back to paper.

I wouldn't bother, used one with my siphon brewer for a while then switched to paper. Fine when the filter is kept in tip-top condition which it can easily fall out of despite seemingly following the same process.

On the travel coffee setup discussion, I'm firmly in the aeropress + porlex camp (with a metal filter to minimise extra crap to bring). Last time I ground my coffee at home and brought it with me, the taste was fine but I honestly found the faff of weighing ground coffee more annoying than beans to the extent that I'd rather just grind per drink.

I use one at work to save money on filter. Taste is the same. The downsides are that you have a wet cloth lying around everyday and it needs a proper clean every so often, but that's not too bad.

I travelled a bit in Korea/Japan and interestingly cloth filters were very common in cafes.

I found the most foolproof way to keep it clean was to keep it submerged in a jar of water in the fridge, giving it a good rinse after each use.

I found if I ever washed it with anything other than just water then the taste would take a long time to come out.

My "not-staying-at-home-but-still-have-access-to-a-kettle" setup has...

Normcore Brewer - Comes in a little case, Kalita 185 filters stay inside it. The brewer is double walled so you ca drink straight from it.
Comandante Mk4 stored in a 1Zpresso cylinder case.
Hario Air Kettle - Seems excessive but I can't pourover with a "normal" kettle so this little jug helps.
WACACO Exagram Scale - Cheap and small... does what I need it to in a little footprint.

If I needed to be "outdoors" and luggage space were at a premium I'd take an Aeropress Go, metal filter and an old Porlex. The trade-off is that volume of the Aeropress Go is a little less than the classic Aeropress but not to the point where it matters to me... and I don't put the grinder into the Aeropress because it's stored inside the plastic beaker. I might still take the Hario Air Kettle too 'cause it can be lashed to a bag for added dangle.

I have seen a vid where the new Comandante is used as the plunger on an Aeropress... this interests me a little but not enough to part with £200.

Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone, I appreciate it! 🙏
Will look into the various ideas provided 👍

Starbucks Via Blonde Roast Instant Saches if I am backpacking. They're surprisingly good and cheap.

Otherwise scales, aeropress, coffee, 1ZPresso JX Pro, titanium mug.

We've started getting Rosslyn beans in the office now and it has been life changing. Such a consistently good roast.

I dunno if this is up anyone's street or it's excessive nerdery but if you're interested...

Diego Bermudez in London

You know when tasting notes say cryptic shit like "jammy dodger" but it really means something slightly less cryptic like "subtle notes of stone fruit and vanilla with a sweet finish and full mouth feel"?

Well... I had some beans roasted by Diego Bermudez and one of the notes said "haribo peach"... I was expecting something perhaps a little sweet, possibly tart... In actual fact, when brewing it, with my eyes closed, I would have bet my life I was smelling Haribo Peaches. Blew my mind. Bought another bag. It was magic.

/csb... Diego is a boss. You should go.