Have you noticed how ridiculous making coffee has become? All the experts, sippers, methods, varieties, etc? All the techniques and machines?
I must admit that I have been drawn into the coffee scene a bit myself. I love good ice coffee and actually spend $5 to $6 to buy it at Vietnamese cafes every other week when I am in the Bay Area. Anyone who knows me would know that is a lot of money to spend on a frigging drink, for me. I've bought several superautomatic espresso machines (I had to look up what type I have been buying) due to an Italian diver friend of mine from long ago that my friend Steve Drogin introduced me to -- Sergio Angelini. Thanks Sergio!
I started with a Saeco Vienna machine as did many of Drogin's pals. That finally broke and I have stayed with the Saeco machines, all refurbed, most from woot or Seattle Coffee Gear (which is where woot used to get their refurbed espresso machines). I know what I like in beans and what I get out of these machines, and they all use the same main part, so I've become familiar enough to maintain them and even fix them to some extent when something goes wong.
I have French presses and moka stovetop espresso makers. I have cheapo American style brewers like you find in every hotel room in America. I have a couple of Lavazza Blue machines that use capsules. I was somewhat conned into buying a cold-coffee maker -- which turned out to be just a plastic French press that you put in a fridge rather than using hot water in! Same effing thing -- I already had several of them!
The newest rage is "pour over coffee." There's a great coffee place in Olympia that makes great lattes. But I am a plebe. The real coffee artists and aficionados gather around the counter where there are glass beakers and lab stuff, making and drinking "pour over coffee." I would see them over there at the counter, separated from us commoners, sipping, pursing their lips, and savoring their fine coffee pour-overs.
Therefore I paid attention when slickdeals, a site that I peruse often, mentioned this deal on an OXO Brew Single Serve Pour-Over Coffee Maker. I read through the forum discussion, which went on for more than 10 pages (well, I did not finish it). I attach the first two or three pages for your benefit. Huge discussion about glass versus plastic, filters, etc. So I bought the thing. Imagine my surprise --- it's just a plastic cup with some holes in it (which disperse hot water evenly). Then just a plastic funnel with a hole in it, in which you place a standard paper coffee filter! Everything just goes from the holes at the top, through the filter, into a coffee mug! Voila! no difference really from hot water going through a plastic funnel/filter in my $10 Black and Decker coffee machine which I bought for visitors who could not figure out how to use my Saeco automatic espresso machine!
Seriously, first, why do Americans absolutely have to have coffee makers in their hotel room? Every effing hotel room in the US has a coffee machine. And now the endless discussions on pour-over coffee, which is just hot water poured on coffee, like any hotel coffee machine?
And how the eff is Starbucks still making money? Their drinks are nothing but candy, coffee-flavored milk shakes, that get all gummy and lose their flavor after the first sip!
We Americans sure are rich as hell to be spending so much time and moola on coffee and its endless permutations.
The discussion above is from a Slickdeals forum:
So someone whose coffee expertise I really respect actually recommends plastic over ceramic or glass for pour-over brewers: https://youtu.be/1oB1oDrDkHM?t=138
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