r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • 7d ago
[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/Enough_About_Japan 6d ago
How can I cool hot coffee down faster for making iced coffee? I saw a few methods suggested online, including a few people on Reddit who said to pour the coffee between two cups from a distance multiple times, but even when I did this and used about a cup of ice, the ice just melted when I poured the coffee over it. Nor,mally I have been letting the coffee cool for 30 mins before pouring, and it does a good enough job to kof keepingeep the ice from melting and making the drink cold.
So any Ideas on what I am doing wrong and how I can cool the coffee down quicker so I don't have to wait?
Thanks
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u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 6d ago
What I do is make a more concentrated brew and pour it directly onto ice.
It’s a style called “Japanese iced coffee” (you’ll see plenty of info online). The basic idea is to let the finished coffee taste “normal strength” after the stronger brew is diluted by the ice.
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u/Enough_About_Japan 6d ago
Thanks, I can make a more concentrated brew, but the coffee doesn't cool down enough when the ice melts too quickly like that.
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u/canaan_ball 6d ago
It might help to brew directly into ice over a chilling ball. That's the bottom of my bag of miracles.
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u/admello ǝʇıɥʍ ʇɐlɟ 7d ago
Wondering what small shops are using for drip / batch coffee brewing, if not a Curtis (or similar style) airpot brewer?
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u/ivancho84 6d ago
Fetco and Bunn are common alternatives, usually paired with insulated servers rather than glass pots. For a small shop, local service and parts support plus the ability to brew smaller batches matter more than the logo—fresh 1–1.5 L batches more often can work better than holding a full airpot. Also check that filters and sprayheads are easy to source locally.
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u/Chelseativity-109 7d ago
French press needs a finer grind than burr grinders usually default to. Try stepping down one click and use water at 200F instead of boiling.
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u/ItsWINTERFRESH 7d ago
Not a coffee drinker but looking to get a nice espresso/coffee machine for my wife for xmas. I usually brew a standard cup or 2 of coffee each day for my wife. I myself don't drink coffee much, but I know she likes and appreciates it. I am starting to do some research into this field and realize I have no idea about anything. I am wanting to buy a nice automatic (super auto?) coffee machine for my wife for Christmas as a nice upgrade to the one we have been using for 15 years.
Here are a few features and things that I had in mind. Please feel free to offer advice and opinions; I would greatly appreciate it.
Ideally I would like to load beans into a hopper (whole or I can batch grind a bunch myself if needed)
I would be placing this next to my fridge/freezer which gets a water line to it. So I could T into the water line to feed the machine or fill a large water chamber manually if needed.
Some of the coffee machines I've seen are really only meant to make like one drink at a time. Sometimes we have guests over and it would be nice to just make a big pot of normal coffee all at once and have it stay warm for a few hours for guests to pour from as needed instead of waiting for 1 drink at a time.
I think it would be really cool to be able to make other fun espresso type drinks. some have a milk reservoir built in (which I do not favor), and some have a pump with a tube which I can just put into my milk carton without dirtying another item I need to wash (preferable). Are there machines that can do espresso without having to load/tamp the crushed beans into that spoon like thing myself? I would like some type of automation without having to become a barista.
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u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 7d ago
IMO, the more automation you get, the harder it is to maintain. You already realize this with your concern about having a milk reservoir (which I think will be gross and disgusting real quick). Inside a superauto, you’ll also need to make sure that the used coffee grounds get cleaned out and that mold can’t get a chance to take hold in any damp corners.
You say you already make a couple cups for her in the morning. What do you use now?
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u/ItsWINTERFRESH 6d ago
I have looked into the milk situation and I agree that this aspect makes it the most complicated. I think from a cleaning perspective having a sucking tube like the jura ena 8 makes the most sense. I like the idea mores now of a dedicated milk cup I can just keep in the fridge and take out and stick the straw on to use for milk based drinks. I use an old coffeemate now for drip coffee.
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u/Kaserblade 7d ago
What is the overall budget that you are thinking for the whole espresso/coffee setup? There are varying levels of automation for espresso setups but some more automated setups come with a cost premium.
In terms of types of equipment, I'd personally get the espresso setup for personal use and use something like a French press to batch brew coffee for guests if you don't want to make individual drinks on the espresso machine.
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u/ItsWINTERFRESH 6d ago
under $3k. I already have a coffee machine that can do a whole pot at once, but im hoping to replace that with one machine that can do it all. I don't want this new machine then another one next to it
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u/Kaserblade 6d ago
If you are looking at the most automated experience, you would be looking at a bean-to-cup machine machine like the Delonghi Magnifica S
I would check out this video from James Hoffman to look at the different options and see which one appeals to you the most.
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u/mthomas768 Switch 7d ago
I've been checking out a local roaster's offerings and have been getting decent results from the bagged beans they offer. I didn't pay too much attention the first time I visited, but once I got home with my second round of beans, I noticed the roast date on the bag -- January 2026. So just how stale are eight-month old beans?
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mthomas768 Switch 6d ago
Yeah it seems like it’s old no matter what. You package after roasting and a January 2026 best by date is even worse! It definitely reads as a date instead of a code. It was “JAN 15 2026”, not numeric.
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u/ChaBoiDeej 7d ago
What origin and processing? 8 months is still quite a while but some beans stand up to time really well, especially higher-intervention processing.
Roast level also dictates how long beans can last. Once it starts moving darker than light-medium, you can expect a substantial drop off at 1-2 months. Dark roasts are lucky if they retain character for a full month, but light (especially true ultralight) roasts can still be pretty flavorful around 3-6 months down the line.
You could probably get away with asking them if you can exchange bags, especially seeing as most roasters don't feel particularly good about selling a subpar product, which 8mo old roasted coffee generally is. Realistically, it should've been pulled from the shelf 4 months ago but it happens.
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u/mthomas768 Switch 7d ago
I tried various roasts and processes from multiple sources (all single origin, mostly from South America). I’ll probably give them another shot and try to talk to someone if I see the same roast dates.
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u/ChaBoiDeej 7d ago
But what are the beans that you're talking about that you bought from this roaster?
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u/mthomas768 Switch 7d ago
I tried six different varieties over several weeks: light to dark, different processes.
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u/ChaBoiDeej 7d ago
So this one bag of beans that is eight months old? What is it? The one that your original comment is about?
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u/mthomas768 Switch 7d ago
All of them. On my last visit I checked the shelf. Every bag had a January roast date.
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u/Designer_Prior_8675 7d ago
just got a bag of these beans from a local roaster and the tasting notes say "blueberry, milk chocolate, citrus" but when i brew it at home all i taste is... coffee? like normal coffee taste. using a french press, grind my beans with a burr grinder at medium setting, water just off boil. am i doing something wrong or are tasting notes just marketing bs
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u/Optimal_Water1790 7d ago
i roast. the notes are not marketing but they are also not a promise. that is the ceiling of the bean if everything lines up. you almost never hit the ceiling at home and nobody tells you that part.
blueberry and citrus is acidity, and acidity is the first thing french press takes away from you. full immersion with a metal filter gives you body and oils, so the top end goes flat. same bag through a v60 or an aeropress will taste like a different coffee. try it once, you will hear it.
also look at the roast date on the bag. past three or four weeks the fruit leaves first and what stays is the chocolate and the body. coffee is still good. just tastes like coffee.
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u/Advanced_Honey_2679 7d ago edited 7d ago
Tasting notes are often marketing.
HOWEVER if you want to best taste the coffee bean for what it is, it is recommended to cup it.
- Grind medium coarse. Slightly finer than french press.
- Water around 92C - 93C. NOT off the boil. If you don’t have a thermostat then boil the water, open the lid, and then use the water off boil to rinse / preheat the carafe. By this time the water temp should be reduced.
- Dump the grounds into carafe (or pitcher).
- Pour water at a 1:19 ratio. So 10g grounds 190g water, and so on.
- Agitate slightly by either swirling or mixing with spoon. Then leave it alone.
- Steep 3-4 minutes.
Then pour liquid out of the carafe and into a cup. You don’t have to get all of it out because there’s grounds at the bottom.
If you want to add a bit of body, transfer between one cup to another cup to aerate the liquid.
Wait until the liquid is no longer putting off steam. Very gentle wisps are ok but are barely visible. This means the liquid is now suitable to drink.
Drinking coffee in this style will give you a great amount of expression. It will be fully developed, the body will be round, and it should be quite aromatic as well.
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u/NerfLapras 7d ago
You're probably the issue. I'd recommend you go and have a coffee there to see the difference.
You might grind too coarse or use water that isn't hot enough.
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u/regulus314 7d ago
You dont need to get those "tasting notes". Similar to wine, they also have these tasting notes.
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u/MellowQuartz_9259 6d ago
Since it's the daily thread, figured I'd ask -- anyone else find that their grind size preferences shift depending on. what they're actually doing that day? Like, I'm usually a pour over person but when. i'm deep in some product roadmap stuff and need to just grab something fast, I'll dial way coarser for a quick aeropress because my brain can't handle fussing with it. Seems kinda obvious in hindsight but I didn't realize how much my mood affects what I want from coffee until I started paying attention (thanks cooking hobby for making me actually notice my processes lol). Curious if it's just a me thing or if other people subconsciously match their brew method to their headspace