My significant other doesn’t care nearly as much about coffee as I do, so we always have pre-ground supermarket coffee at home. Tastewise, it’s usually rather dull and bitter because apparently, that‘s what people expect coffee to taste like around here.

I wonder if there is a method/recipe that can compensate for those flaws. The Aeropress is pretty versatile, so going for lower temperatures and/or shorter extraction times comes to me as a natural first step in this investigation. Doing a pour over with this stuff feels like I‘m wasting precious V60 filter papers though tbh 😄

Any further suggestions? I own a V60, an Aeropress, a cheap drip coffee machine and the (in-) famous IKEA french press. My kettle only allows for adjustments in 10°C steps, but features a temperature display, so I can go reasonably precise on that end.

Cheers! ✌️

  • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
    5·
    8 months ago

    I second cold brew. I don’t know how you do yours, but Toddy is a cheap system and brews coffee concentrate (~3:1). I do a pound of beans at a time and keep the jar in the fridge. When I drink it, I fill a cup about 1/3 full and pour boiling water from a kettle to fill the cup. One brew lasts about a week.

    With the right system, there’s no need to drink cold brew cold; and I agree that as a method, it’s more forgiving of bean quality. It was a good suggestion.

    • Aarkon@feddit.deOP
      2·
      8 months ago

      That’s just the sort of gadget I’m very likely to buy, please don’t point me to that kind of stuff! 😄

      I might implement a routine though where I always have some cold brew concentrate available in the fridge in case I need coffee and can’t put in the time & effort of a pour over etc, so good suggestion!

      • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
        3·
        8 months ago

        It’s, like, $50. When I said “inexpensive,” I wasn’t exaggerating.

        In order of importance for good coffee, are:

        • the beans themselves, and in particular, the age and type of the roast. If you’re getting French roast (or darker), the coffee will always taste burnt; dark roasts hide many ills, which is why Starbucks mostly uses them. Something like Toddy helps here because once you brew the coffee, the beans stop oxidizing and aging, and you can brew an entire bag at once. Cold brews are often milder and can reduce the bitterness of dark roasts.
        • the grind. Again, cold brewing helps minimize the negative effects of an inconsistent grind.

        Everything else is preference, or mitigation. Since you can’t change the beans, getting a good grinder isn’t going to help much, and I’d suggest spending the $50 on a Toddy. It’s the cheapest single mitigation with the biggest impact for shitty beans that you can make. It also makes fantastic coffee from good beans and is super convenient.

        • Aarkon@feddit.deOP
          3·
          8 months ago

          I’m less concerned about the money than the shelf space in my small-ish kitchen and that I have to justify another purchase to my SO, especially since “we have good coffee already!”. 😄

          I’ll look into the Toddy non the less. “Thanks” for another round of GAS! 🙈