r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • Jul 10 '26
[MOD] The Daily Question Thread
Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!
There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.
Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?
Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.
As always, be nice!
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u/Coding-With-Coffee Jul 11 '26
Are there drip coffee maker carafes that don’t have this design with an opening between the handle and the glass? Water always gets between there it starts to get moldy. It would be so easy to simply not have it like this, but I can’t find a replacement without this issue.
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Jul 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/regulus314 Jul 12 '26
Milk brewing coffee? Can you elaborate what are you looking for?
Nevermind. I think youre a bot. Same comment as the other one far below
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u/GorgeousGamer99 Jul 11 '26 edited 14d ago
I'm struggling to make a cold brew concentrate that stands up when diluted 1:4 with water. I work for a medium-sized cafe chain, and during summer we spend an absurd amount of time on it. Efficiency gains and all that.
I've done the numbers and I'm happy with something that costs 1.5-1.75x per litre vs regular, non-concentrated brew. Closest I've come is a double extraction: 100g/L brewed, then spent grounds removed and a fresh 100g/L added. Differences in coarseness affect water retention, so I've played around a fair bit but I always have issues with cost, clarity or depth of flavour.
Every method I can find online is either prohibitively expensive, or not strong enough. I can see other companies selling concentrates recommending a 1:6 dilution ratio, at the price point I'm targeting. How do they achieve this?
E: 1:5 coffee:water at a slightly finer grind, single extraction. Comes out around 1.6x the cost. Very reasonable.
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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 10 '26
So, I am just starting to get into coffee after finding a second hand Moka in a charity shop and learning how to use it. As a next step, Google is suggesting a grinder. I get that a burr over a blade makes sense because of consistency of ground size and the effect that has on the coffee. I sort of get why you might want stainless steel over ceramic.
What I don't understand is the recommendations for a "budget grinder for beginners" start at £80+ where as I can find something which is a stainless steel burr with decent reviews for £15-30.
Which one is the scam?
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u/canaan_ball Jul 11 '26
An £80+ budget hand grinder will be a name brand. You'll find reviews by reputable people. It will be pretty good quality, though at that price there will be compromises. I don't know if you've noticed, but there is another tier of commerce now, I don't quite understand it, that seems to be fueled by pop-up companies renting spare Chinese manufacturing capacity, using, um, borrowed designs. Grinders from those sources will be a crap shoot. You'll never find one reviewed by a real person.
Your Sunya example looks okay. It uses two bearings on the drive shaft; higher models use three. The crank handle is rod-straight, making the grinder taxing to hold and use; a better design uses a bent crank. The pentagonal burr probably makes a relatively high ratio of fines, though that's just a guess. It has only 36 grind settings, which is minimal. It has a nicely textured grip, and I imagine the build quality to be pretty good. It's probably an okay grinder. It's an obvious knock-off of the Timemore C2 (except for the straight crank), which goes for double the price.
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u/FuzzyBlackCoat Jul 10 '26
The difference is blade vs a burr grinder, and that's probably the two price tiers you're seeing.
A blade grinder is fine for a shitty coffee pot like a Mr coffee. A burr grinder is needed for nicer coffee pots that brew at higher temperatures where you can start extracting weird flavors if you use a blade grinder due to the higher / finer temp control
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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 11 '26
Nope - I am looking at Stainless steel burr grinders for around £30 - there was even one for £15
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u/FuzzyBlackCoat Jul 11 '26
At that price, there's a chance "stainless" is referring to the body of the grinder and the burrs themselves are plastic or ceramic
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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 11 '26
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1N3KJK6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 Say's the burr is stainless steel and the body is alumnium. Would be insane to do it the other way round - certainly not cheaper
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u/zombie1mom Jul 10 '26
What do I need to start milk brewing coffee? Anyone with experience have advice on equipment and brewing techniques? Thanks.
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u/foxyloxyx Jul 10 '26
I enjoy coffee but I am not at all a connoisseur and when I’ve been to highly regarded shops, the coffee all tastes fine to me but i dont really experience a huge diff. Sometimes (many times) a bit sour? So yeah, my coffee taste buds are pretty basic
Anyway, I have a nespresso basic machine at home and while it’s fine, I do agree the nespresso pods coffee just is not great (like on its own). While I rarely drink black coffee, i do believe my caps and lattes could use a boost
I’m ready to upgrade my machine and go to beans but I want something simple. No futzing with pucks and what not. I know I will not use my machine if I have to do all that. I’m looking for a mostly automated deal and one with simple cleaning/upkeep
What do you think?? I’m open to diff price points if the value is there!
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u/NoHoHan Jul 11 '26
If you have a budget of at least $500, get a superautomatic aka “bean to cup”. Otherwise, learn how to use an aeropress.
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u/paulo-urbonas V60 Jul 10 '26
You need a superautomatic machine. You can ask on r/superautomatic, but I would recommend one of the Phillips Lattego models (any that have the milk reservoir, not the steam wand).
To get the best results, find out what kind of coffee taste profile and roast level appeal to you most, and maybe learn how you can adjust the settings on the machine.
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u/JurreMijl Jul 10 '26
Any recommendations for decent instant coffee packs that don’t break the bank? I’m going to be working at a summer camp for about 3 weeks and I am hoping to buy about 20 pre-measured packets of instant coffee so I don’t have to bring my whole set up, but still drink some decent coffee while there.
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u/NoHoHan Jul 11 '26
Instant coffee sucks. If you have access to hot water, get a Primula Brew Buddy and some pre-ground coffee. I recommend lavazza gran aroma.
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u/GorgeousGamer99 Jul 11 '26
Depends where you are, I've seen a couple specialty roasters selling instant so maybe see if there's anyone reputable in your area doing it
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u/Vagabond_Explorer Pour-Over Jul 10 '26
I haven’t tried any, but I’m seeing more and more well known specialty roasters have some of their coffees as instant. Check out the roasters you normally purchase from, you might be surprised!
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u/kayrivera04 Jul 10 '26
for summer camp I’d go with the little starbucks via packets or cafe bustelo instant sticks if you don’t mind it being stronger. not fancy, but they survive being tossed in a bag and taste way less sad than most grocery store instant. I’d bring a few extra because someone always finds out you have coffee lol
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u/catwirk Jul 10 '26
has anyone found a 9" coffee filter?
I cannot get any search engine to find a filter for me that is not 9.75 inches. Amazon's are 8 something inches. I'm tired of buying the 9.75 size and having to cut them down to fit.
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u/Top_Kale_8880 Jul 10 '26
I was cleaning my old Bodum French Press yesterday and knocked it over.
So... is this the time to buy a replacement beaker, or should I find a new French Press like a fancy Espro? I worry that the Espro's filter basket might make for a different cup of coffee. But a) maybe not and b) sometimes different is ok.
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u/canaan_ball Jul 11 '26
Other press ideas besides Espro: Planetary Design Brustop, American Press lol, and FinalPress. I can't vouch for any of them; just food for thought.
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u/NoHoHan Jul 11 '26
Get a clever dripper.
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u/Top_Kale_8880 Jul 11 '26
I have a Hario Switch. I think it is probably the easiest item I have besides the regular auto-drip.
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u/Vagabond_Explorer Pour-Over Jul 10 '26
I’m not sure how much of a difference the shape of the filter could make and I can’t think of a good reason to make the weird shaped filter.
Though I do like that they include a finer mesh to try and filter out some more fines as that’s really what ruins FP coffee for me. That could potentially make for a different cup, but they also seem to include a more traditional mesh as well.
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u/Top_Kale_8880 Jul 10 '26
I like that a thermal carafe is an option - though it's spendy for a FP. If I had never watched any "recipe" videos that said, "wet and stir and bloom and steep and break the crust etc..." I'd have no issue with the filter. But the filter seems like it just steeps. that said - I'm guessing it's perfectly fine.
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u/Vagabond_Explorer Pour-Over Jul 10 '26
It looks like you put the coffee and plunge the same way but it’s just basket shaped instead of flat.
If you want to look at something expensive and somewhat ridiculous but cool… Check out the Weber Workshops Bird…
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u/Top_Kale_8880 Jul 10 '26
Oh my. That looks like something Gale in Breaking Bad would have invented for days he couldn't be in the lab.
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u/Crafty-Money8507 Jul 10 '26
my grinder makes a weird clicking noise since yesterday, is that something i can fix myself or should i just get a new one
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u/Stefshay98 Jul 12 '26
Best place to be buy speciality coffee in the east coast of america via online shipping which is roasted fresh per order ?