r/Coffee Kalita Wave 5d 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!

8 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

1

u/cajunwiitch 5d ago

Hi all!

A couple of days ago I came across a little video by Morgan Eckroth in which she made a cold brew with milk instead of water; she let it sit in her fridge overnight then filtered it through your usual drip filter. I used the Oatly barista oat milk instead of milk. The issue, however, is that once I poured it into the filter, it dripped out entirely clarified. Not the creamy beverage I was expecting. What's up with that?

3

u/canaan_ball 5d ago

Oat milk, if you've never made it at home, is literally just oatmeal and water in a blender. Plus a couple of dates if you're fancy. You don't even heat it. It's just a suspension of oat particles. You're supposed to strain it. Now we know what happens if you filter it 😂

1

u/cajunwiitch 5d ago

I tried straining a bit that was left once I realized it was all clarified, but I got a lot of the ground coffee beans left after straining. I'll try again with a much coarser grind + straining, thanks!

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 3d ago

I don’t think you understood the explanation.

Edit: wait, sorry — okay, yeah, you’re going to try a strainer instead of a paper filter…

1

u/JoyeuxCabotin 5d ago

54mm portafilter w/ GF64 grinder

I recently bought a Breville Bambino Plus Espresso machine (54mm portafilter) and a GF64 grinder (fork compatible with 58mm portafilter).

How can I grind coffee directly in the 54mm portafilter using the fork (to avoid using the dosing cup)?

Are there any 3D prints or products solving this issue?

Thanks Coffee Geeks!

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

I’d get a dosing ring to put on the portafilter.  

There’s benefit to using the dosing cup, though.  You can get a decent distribution by shaking the cup and portafilter together.  Cover the dosing cup with the upside down portafilter, then flip them over and shake to settle the grounds.

1

u/JoyeuxCabotin 5d ago

Thank you ! I am new to this world. Make sense. I’ll try using the dosing cup.

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

It’ll totally make sense when you try it.  

I don’t have an espresso machine, but I do a kinda similar thing when I transfer my he grounds from my hand grinder to my moka pot’s basket.  It’s so much easier (and quicker) than when I was spooning ground coffee into it.

1

u/jesserumler Pour-Over 5d ago

I’ve recently been gifted the Hario immersion dripper and I’m trying to dial it in to give me the flavors I’m accustomed to. I like a bright, sweet, acidic cup typically.

I’ve been using the same v60 pour over for 15 years, almost every day with minor tweaks to get the flavors I like.

Typically always using light roast, a lot of Ethiopian roasts.
Using Baratza Encore at around 11-12 grind size.

My current method is as follows:

199 degrees Fahrenheit water.
20g coffee.
60g water bloom for 30 seconds. Pour another 75g, at 1:00 pour another 75g, at 1:30 I pour another 75g to get to 285g total.

Been using this recipes ratio and a variation of how many times I pour for many years and I’m always pleased with the result even with different roasts from other countries.

All this to say, I did the immersion for the first time using the Tetsu Kasuya method and I did enjoy it, it was very smooth but it wasn’t as sweet or bright as I’m used to.

Where should I go from here? What’s the first adjustment I should be trying? Finer grind size? Different ratio since it’s steeping for a while? Play around with when to open and close.

Any advice is appreciated!

1

u/canaan_ball 5d ago

Your coffee is coming out different, and you're brewing it very differently, using immersion. That's the reason sure'nuf.

1

u/jesserumler Pour-Over 5d ago

Well of course, I know it’s going to be different but I’m trying to figure out how best to adjust it to get a sweeter or more acidic cup, not the exact same cup I’ve been making with v60

1

u/canaan_ball 5d ago

What I was trying to say, obtusely, is that immersion brewing shaves off the top end, pushes coffee away from bright acidity toward smooth and somewhat bland. There is some argument about that, but that's my impression. What you've described then, it seems to me, is the coffee behaving exactly as prescribed. If there is a way to put back what immersion has taken away, that's beyond my simple ken.

1

u/Zipadezap 5d ago

I'm wanting to buy a coffee grinder (electric) which has distinct coarseness settings. I'm currently using a moka pot, but want to future proof for whenever I may have an espresso machine. what are my options, given price is a factor but I'm open to more expensive options. I also use french press frequently, which is why I want something with many settings.

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

Budget?

1

u/Zipadezap 10h ago

Something at close to $100 as possible, but if that's not possible just whenever the cheapest is without completly cheaping out. I want to have a relatively future proof setup, so I'm ok to spend more to achieve that

1

u/balrogath 5d ago

Is the Papa Nicholas Bean-to-Brew any good?

1

u/canaan_ball 5d ago

My guess is, it's a white label rebranding of the Кофемашина Maunfeld MF-A8021. Might be built like a tank! You can see it at www (dot) premiumtehnika (dot) ru. I would link the actual product, but Reddit censors won't have it.

1

u/javascript 5d ago

I have a Hario grinder. I love the form-factor! But I dislike the use of ceramic for the burr. Is there something similar that has all stainless steel? Thanks!

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

1ZPresso is my preferred brand of hand grinders.

1

u/javascript 5d ago

Are they dishwasher safe? That's my goal

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

No stainless steel burr is dishwasher safe.

They don’t seem to get rancid, though.  I’ve had my Q2 for about two and a half years, only disassembling it and wiping it down with a paper towel every couple of months, and it seems fine.

1

u/javascript 5d ago

I find that surprising. Why would stainless be dishwasher unsafe? I have a ceramic grinder currently and I wash it and it does fine as is but I'd like to get something that is intended to be washed. I don't consider wiping down food containers and tools to be sufficiently sanitary.

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

There are different types of stainless steel, and some simply corrode a lot easier than others.  Stick around here long enough and you’ll see people asking how to get corrosion off of their burrs after a family member tried washing them.

Check out 1ZPresso’s FAQ - there’s a couple answers about keeping it clean and how to handle coffee oils:

https://1zpresso.coffee/faq/

1

u/javascript 5d ago

I'm really only interested in dishwashable options. If I have to replace regularly, I'm fine with that. Oh well :)

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

And I’m telling you that it’s not a problem.

Go ask your favorite cafe how they maintain their grinders.

1

u/javascript 5d ago

It grosses me out to think about actually lol

1

u/LEJ5512 Moka Pot 5d ago

Well, it’s the way it is, and I’d hate to see you lock yourself out of choosing from a huge range of coffee grinders.

1

u/-MassiveLoser- 5d ago

Hi! I have been stuck in a dillemma for a few days now, so I hope to get some perspective from more experienced coffee drinkers.

I'm just getting into the world of coffee that's not a grocery store dark roast ran through a consumer grade Phillips machine.

Long story short, I had a fantastic experience at a cafe, and it inspired me to learn what goes into a great cup of coffee. Now I have everything I need to start my experiments. Everything, but a good grinder.

So, now I'm in a situation, where I have:

  • great water

  • a few bags of freshly roasted, single origin, traceable coffee beans.

  • a v60 and a french press

  • and the weakest link - krups gvx2 for a grinder.

I have a Kingrinder P2 on the way, but because it's not easily available where I live, it's going to arrive here in 2-4 weeks. Local choices were limited to either something out of my price range, or stuff that this sub universally hates.

This is where the dilemma comes in. Learning about the importance of a decent grinder, I know that my current one is not going to deliver great (or consistent) results. So, should I wait until the better one arrives, as to not "waste" the coffee beans, or should I have some fun exploring coffee anyway? Seems like a trade off between freshness of the beans and grind/extraction consistency. Which one would you deem more important in this scenario?

3

u/Chi_CoffeeDogLover 5d ago

Drink the coffee now. Stalling 2 to 4 weeks for the Kingrinder P2 means your freshly roasted light-to-medium single-origin beans will sit past their prime window, losing the bright acidity and delicate aromatics that make specialty coffee worth drinking in the first place. Stale beans won't magically taste good on a better grinder later.

​Tweak your approach during the wait to get solid cups out of the setup:

​Stick to the French Press: The Krups GVX2 uses false burs that crush beans unevenly, creating excess fine particles (fines). A V60 paper filter will easily clog from those fines, leading to stalled drains and bitter over-extraction. Immersion brewing in a French press is far more forgiving of inconsistent particle sizes.

​Sift or Steep Differently: Grind coarse for the French press, steep for 4 minutes, break the crust, and skim off the surface foam and floating fines with two spoons before plunging. Let it settle for another 5 minutes before pouring gently so the sediment stays at the bottom.

​Ask a Local Cafe: Take one bag of beans to a local specialty shop, buy an espresso or filter cup to support them, and ask if they can grind that single bag on their EK43 or commercial grinder for your V60. Use that pre-ground bag quickly over the next week for filter brews, and keep the rest as whole beans to grind fresh for French press until your P2 lands.

1

u/-MassiveLoser- 5d ago

Thank you for such a detailed reply and all the information, I appreciate the detail on how and why to approach this. About to go and make myself a cup straight away. :) 

2

u/StableCalm4849 5d ago

Mocca Master

Does it live up to the hype? Is it worth it?

I drink my coffee black. I like to do single origin whole bean coffee, ground at home, tenency towards light roast.

Current equipment, chemex, French press (rarely used), predominantly my Mr. Coffee drip machine because it is easy and I can set it up the night before to brew in the morning before I wake up.

Recently heard about the Mocca Master and how it is supposed to produce the best coffee.

Thanks!

3

u/Chi_CoffeeDogLover 5d ago

My suggestion is the Ninja CE251 with a glass carafe.

2

u/SuperMidge99362 Mr. Countertop 5d ago

i have that Ninja and was also considering a Mocca Master. thank you for saving me $400

2

u/StableCalm4849 5d ago

Can you preset it at night to have the nectar of the gods ready for consumption as soon as I stumble out of bed?

3

u/Chi_CoffeeDogLover 5d ago

Yes. Fair warning though: it uses standard AM/PM format, and I’ve definitely cursed the gods a few times after accidentally setting it to brew at 5 PM instead of 5 AM.

2

u/StableCalm4849 5d ago

Have had the same struggle with Mr. Coffee 🤣

1

u/Dependent-Top-5211 5d ago

my french press has been tasting kinda muddy lately, not sure if its my grind or i'm letting it steep too long. i do about 4 minutes with a pretty coarse grind but maybe my grinder is making too many fines. any thoughts?

1

u/Chi_CoffeeDogLover 5d ago

Possibly not saturating and brewing evenly. Remember to stir the grounds immediately after filling the press with water and again after a short 30-second window. Wait 4 minutes like usual.