Coffee -- Your current Brew(er) and grinder

[Shel_B]

I can steer you towards two from personal experience:
1. Baratza Encore
2. Oxo Burr Grinder

I have the OXO and have often used the Encore (at a friend's home). I can recommend both although I prefer the OXO because it has a timer to set the length of time the machine grinds and therefore gives easily repeatable amounts of ground coffee. With the Baratza the coffee has to first be measured and then added to the hopper before grinding.

I feel the OXO is easier to use and the Baratza has a slightly better grind offering somewhat fewer fines, although that depends somewhat on the coarseness of the grind that's chosen. Both are good machines, although the OXO is a bit more budget friendly.

 

[Pablo]

C’mon, guys, are we really going to bicker and pick on each other over coffee grinders? Is this worth the thread lock?

I was truly curious what he used, but point taken.

 

[Kira]

1) We like a full bodied cup. Bitter "pencil lead" coffee (very common) isn't needed...unless you're a cigarette smoker.
2) We use the Columbian Supremo from Costco; the grey bag with the nifty jaguar (cat) on the bag.
3) I use a cylindrical spice grinder for the coffee. I know it creates randomly sized shards of coffee grounds compared to a burr grinder but the fancy Danish one gifted to me...which I deeply appreciated at the time, broke way too early and was no where near superior enough to warrant replacement.
I posted about the grinder before. The gifter said, "Just throw it away and buy a new one"....flipped me out.
4) We use a plain, "$10" Braun drip machine into which you pour water.
5) Good hot coffee drips into a carafe. KISS

6) My gadget freak bil (who I love) insists the MM (pictured in OP's post #17) is the A#1 bestest coffee machine in the world. It ain't.

That **** machine is too large. It's unforgiving to any misalignment of its many plastic parts. You cannot let someone use it without detailed training. That's absolutely no good for a home with guests. Family members have gotten it wrong; several more than once.
The result is coffee pouring all over the kitchen. A coffee maker shouldn't be an early morning mine field.

It doesn't heat the water enough. The stainless steel carafe bleeds heat and needs to be preheated with boiling water and the coffee needs to be immediately transferred to another preheated carafe because the MM carafe transmits heat so very fast. It's truly a bad design as far as I can tell.

7) I swear I'm happy if it works for you.

DISCLAIMERS:
1) Maybe he got one with a deficient heating element? (yeah, right). However, it was a 'factory rebuild'.
2) Maybe he got a faulty carafe with no insulation?
3) I lean heavily toward glass as a food handling option,

 

[Cropduster172]

I have the OXO and have often used the Encore (at a friend's home). I can recommend both although I prefer the OXO because it has a timer to set the length of time the machine grinds and therefore gives easily repeatable amounts of ground coffee. With the Baratza the coffee has to first be measured and then added to the hopper before grinding.

I feel the OXO is easier to use and the Baratza has a slightly better grind offering somewhat fewer fines, although that depends somewhat on the coarseness of the grind that's chosen. Both are good machines, although the OXO is a bit more budget friendly.

I brew my coffee with a Moccamaster...a full pot every time. I measure with a scoop that gives me the right weight of beans for the 40 oz. or so of water so the timer function is not needed.
I have zero static issues with the Baratza.

 

[Cropduster172]

1) We like a full bodied cup. Bitter "pencil lead" coffee (very common) isn't needed...unless you're a cigarette smoker.
2) We use the Columbian Supremo from Costco; the grey bag with the nifty jaguar (cat) on the bag.
3) I use a cylindrical spice grinder for the coffee. I know it creates randomly sized shards of coffee grounds compared to a burr grinder but the fancy Danish one gifted to me...which I deeply appreciated at the time, broke way too early and was no where near superior enough to warrant replacement.
I posted about the grinder before. The gifter said, "Just throw it away and buy a new one"....flipped me out.
4) We use a plain, "$10" Braun drip machine into which you pour water.
5) Good hot coffee drips into a carafe. KISS

6) My gadget freak bil (who I love) insists the MM (pictured in OP's post #17) is the A#1 bestest coffee machine in the world. It ain't.

That **** machine is too large. It's unforgiving to any misalignment of its many plastic parts. You cannot let someone use it without detailed training. That's absolutely no good for a home with guests. Family members have gotten it wrong; several more than once.
The result is coffee pouring all over the kitchen. A coffee maker shouldn't be an early morning mine field.

It doesn't heat the water enough. The stainless steel carafe bleeds heat and needs to be preheated with boiling water and the coffee needs to be immediately transferred to another preheated carafe because the MM carafe transmits heat so very fast. It's truly a bad design as far as I can tell.

7) I swear I'm happy if it works for you.

DISCLAIMERS:
1) Maybe he got one with a deficient heating element? (yeah, right). However, it was a 'factory rebuild'.
2) Maybe he got a faulty carafe with no insulation?
3) I lean heavily toward glass as a food handling option,

You bring up some valid points regarding the MM. I would disagree with some too. But I have experienced the morning minefield more than once! I prefer the large stainless steel carafe and the coffee is plenty hot and stays that way. I really dislike the goofy, flimsy plastic bottom plate that the carafe sits on. It's an integral part of aligning the carafe and drip basket correctly though.

 

[Kira]

"...goofy, flimsy plastic bottom plate.....an integral part of aligning the carafe and drip basket correctly though."

EXACTLY A needless skirt of plastic which does nothing but create a problem. Who'd think that was necessary?
You could guess it's a drip catcher except it's flat and anything over 2ml of liquid will just run off.

 

[Pelican]

My trusty Breville with built-in grinder...

Great Machines, I have 5 Breville appliances and they are amazing, BUT my wife thought that this espresso maker was too complicated and so I bought a Jura. I stil think that the Breville Oracle would have been a better brewer.

 

[bubbanik]

I know. The "I make baseless posts that I can't support and run away when confronted" guy...every forum has some.
I'm sure he's roasted literally tons of coffee and is a noted subject matter expert, on all things...not just coffee grinders.

Wow! Imagine asking that guy his opinion on something that actually matters?!?! Geez.

 

[blkwtr]

Mr. Coffee

 

[Cropduster172]

"...goofy, flimsy plastic bottom plate.....an integral part of aligning the carafe and drip basket correctly though."

EXACTLY A needless skirt of plastic which does nothing but create a problem. Who'd think that was necessary?
You could guess it's a drip catcher except it's flat and anything over 2ml of liquid will just run off.

Plus the bottom of the carafe almost completely covers it. It routinely detaches itself from the base of the machine...to the extent I tried super gluing it in place. That seems to have helped.

 

[john_pifer]

I was truly curious what he used, but point taken.

I was too!

Just trying to learn something here!

Im willing to spend some $ on coffee-related gear, as both my wife and I are big fans; we typically make coffee twice per day on off days.

Im usually a “seven tenths” guy, in terms of spending (depending on the item). I feel like it’s the point of diminishing returns on most things.

I’d kinda set $250 as my upper limit on a grinder.

 

[Hermann]

Opened a new bag of Tim Horton's Red Bag this AM

 

[john_pifer]

Ended up with a Fellow Ode Gen 1.

I was back and forth between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 when the Gen 1 was $199 (plus tax) and the Gen 2 was $310 (after 10% discount available from Fellow or Seattle Coffee Gear, plus tax).

But, today, Amazon put the Gen 1 on sale for $159 plus tax, which made it $174 to my door, which, I think, is a good, if not outstanding, deal on the Gen 1.

Yes, they improved several things on the Gen 2. But I didn’t think the improvements ascended to the level where I’d want to pay double the price of the Gen 1.

And, the (flat) burr set in the Gen 1 is upgradable to either the Gen 2 burrs, or, other 64mm flat burrs, including the “all-purpose” SSP burrs that are talked about by many coffee aficionados, including Chattanoogan coffee expert Lance Hedrick, and I’ve also heard James Hoffman mention them.

But I’ll try out these stock Gen 1 burrs first. In the words of one reviewer, “the flavors from my pour over coffee were mesmerizing”:

https://coffeechronicler.com/fellow-ode-grinder-review/

Now, I just need to read through the other thread (Coffee: Your Current Brew) and take some of y’all’s suggestions!

 

[Cropduster172]

Ended up with a Fellow Ode Gen 1.

I was back and forth between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 when the Gen 1 was $199 (plus tax) and the Gen 2 was $310 (after 10% discount available from Fellow or Seattle Coffee Gear, plus tax).

But, today, Amazon put the Gen 1 on sale for $159 plus tax, which made it $174 to my door, which, I think, is a good, if not outstanding, deal on the Gen 1.

Yes, they improved several things on the Gen 2. But I didn’t think the improvements ascended to the level where I’d want to pay double the price of the Gen 1.

And, the (flat) burr set in the Gen 1 is upgradable to either the Gen 2 burrs, or, other 64mm flat burrs, including the “all-purpose” SSP burrs that are talked about by many coffee aficionados, including Chattanoogan coffee expert Lance Hedrick, and I’ve also heard James Hoffman mention them.

But I’ll try out these stock Gen 1 burrs first. In the words of one reviewer, “the flavors from my pour over coffee were mesmerizing”:

https://coffeechronicler.com/fellow-ode-grinder-review/

Now, I just need to read through the other thread (Coffee: Your Current Brew) and take some of y’all’s suggestions!

Probably a short learning curve and perhaps some different bean experimentation...but you'll dial it in for what works for your household.

 

[Cropduster172]

Ended up with a Fellow Ode Gen 1.

I was back and forth between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 when the Gen 1 was $199 (plus tax) and the Gen 2 was $310 (after 10% discount available from Fellow or Seattle Coffee Gear, plus tax).

But, today, Amazon put the Gen 1 on sale for $159 plus tax, which made it $174 to my door, which, I think, is a good, if not outstanding, deal on the Gen 1.

Yes, they improved several things on the Gen 2. But I didn’t think the improvements ascended to the level where I’d want to pay double the price of the Gen 1.

And, the (flat) burr set in the Gen 1 is upgradable to either the Gen 2 burrs, or, other 64mm flat burrs, including the “all-purpose” SSP burrs that are talked about by many coffee aficionados, including Chattanoogan coffee expert Lance Hedrick, and I’ve also heard James Hoffman mention them.

But I’ll try out these stock Gen 1 burrs first. In the words of one reviewer, “the flavors from my pour over coffee were mesmerizing”:

https://coffeechronicler.com/fellow-ode-grinder-review/

Now, I just need to read through the other thread (Coffee: Your Current Brew) and take some of y’all’s suggestions!

From what I've seen and read about, coffee is coming down in price.
In mid-June, I saw Peets Major Dickasons on sale in Costco for $12 for a two pound bag...$6/lb. is back to 2019 prices. It was $2.50/lb less than in May...it was a limited time sale. If you have a Costco nearby and are a member, the Peets is good stuff. So is the Costco Kirkland Signature Colombian Supremo in the silver 3lb. bag.
I think I pay $17 for a 3lb. bag at the Costco near us outside of Philadelphia.

 

[john_pifer]

From what I've seen and read about, coffee is coming down in price.
In mid-June, I saw Peets Major Dickasons on sale in Costco for $12 for a two pound bag...$6/lb. is back to 2019 prices. It was $2.50/lb less than in May...it was a limited time sale. If you have a Costco nearby and are a member, the Peets is good stuff. So is the Costco Kirkland Signature Colombian Supremo in the silver 3lb. bag.
I think I pay $17 for a 3lb. bag at the Costco near us outside of Philadelphia.

Thanks. I’ve had the Major Dickason’s.

Those are good prices.

I’m currently paying $8.50/lb for Eight ‘O Clock Coffee 100% Colombian from Walmart. But I need to check Kroger more frequently. It often goes on sale there.

My other go-to is Dunkin Donuts Original. It’s a bit more expensive.

But I’ve been using those for years. I’m ready to branch out.

 

[bubbanik]

My other go-to is Dunkin Donuts Original. It’s a bit more expensive.

The drink of the gods!

 

[Cropduster172]

Thanks. I’ve had the Major Dickason’s.

Those are good prices.

I’m currently paying $8.50/lb for Eight ‘O Clock Coffee 100% Colombian from Walmart. But I need to check Kroger more frequently. It often goes on sale there.

My other go-to is Dunkin Donuts Original. It’s a bit more expensive.

But I’ve been using those for years. I’m ready to branch out.

Costco coffee, except for most of it's house brand Kirkland Signature, is a regional thing from what I can tell. Near me they carry Mayorga Cubano roast and one called Ruta Maya. The Mayorga is decent. I don't remember how good or bad the Ruta Maya was but I almost always return to the Kirkland Colombian Supremo and Peets Major Dickasons. The Costco brand roasted by Starbucks is pretty good too.

 

[Pablo]

My gripe with Costco coffee is how much it varies from one bag to the next. One bag good, two-three months later, same exact labeled bag, tastes like waste water solids.

 

[Cropduster172]

My gripe with Costco coffee is how much it varies from one bag to the next. One bag good, two-three months later, same exact labeled bag, tastes like waste water solids.

Haven't experienced that. But more and more I gravitate to the Peets.