More coffee maker musings

I'm one of those people who does everything at night; shower, shave, the works.  I'm not a morning person, so I basically set an alarm for 9, snooze it until 9:20, then get dresssed, make a cup of coffee and get to work by 10.  I don't have time to do all the work for french press or other time-intensive things.  Sure, I could get up earlier and be ambitious and other laughable notions that will never happen.  I find that on my days off I use my drip maker to make 8 cups while I do my day, but work days I just end up stopping at the gas station or making coffee at work.

I think the Vertuo makers are the key.  I can make a big travel mug in the morning of just coffee, but then I have the option of making a nice espresso-ish thing for after dinner.  It seems like the Vertuo combines the quickness of a good cup of coffee when I need it fast, or an espresso when I have time to put quality into it.

I did find re-useable pods for the regular Nespresso, but haven't found any for the Vertuo.  Its likely the aftermarket hasn't come up with a way around the barcode reading part.  If I can find paper/compostable pods for the Vertuo, I'm happy with that.  I compost here already.  Even if I didn't, paper in a landfill is better than plastic.

Now I just need to do the research.  I figure if I'm going espresso machine I should have a milk steamer in case I want to get fancy.  So I guess I'm looking for a Vertuo with a steam arm.  Anyone have the vertuo combo with the separate milk frother?  How does that work?  Do you have to heat the milk?  Is it just a mini blender?  I was hoping for the actual steaming arm.

captdownshift said:

I'm more concerned about the making of a single cup at a time. I make a 10 cup pot a day...for myself...even on my days off.

It goes pretty fast.  We drink a lot of coffee, and have never really had time problems with one at a time.

One of my other things with brewing a pot is that I can't really anticipate how much I will drink.  Sometimes I drink an 8-cup pot (more like 4-5 mugs), other times I have one cup and get distracted and waste the rest.

I have vertuoline from costco.. it's solid.  no regrets.

Much regrets of ninja coffee bar.

...Actually, the cold brew suggestion from earlier might just be perfect for your needs.  We have one of these guys:  https://www.amazon.com/Takeya-Patented-Airtight-Silicone-1-Quart/dp/B00FFLY64U

The cold brew takes a day or so to do its thing, so you need to stay ahead of it, but that's something that can be done at night.  Dilute 1:1-ish with water and microwave, or add ice/milk/etc. for iced coffee.  Much less waste, less acidic coffee, no finicky machines except a grinder.

Coffee flavored Spam

I bought my wife a vac pot. She absolutely loves it. Nothing to discard except the beans, and says it makes a great cup of coffee. And when guests are over, they watch in amazement. 

Video

I am a zombie until I've had my first cup of coffee in the morning.  Canoes seem to gravitate toward zombie threads that deal with coffee.  Coincidence?  In the spirit of full disclosure, I own a canoe--an Old Town Guide 147.

Coffee makers?  I use what I have:  the Keurig machine my wife gifted to me nearly 10 years ago.  It's okay, not great.  I'm not like some of you pinky-out fancy guys though.  I'd drink coffee made from grounds chucked into a dirty mug of hot water.

DrBoost said:

I bought my wife a vac pot. She absolutely loves it. Nothing to discard except the beans, and says it makes a great cup of coffee. And when guests are over, they watch in amazement. 

Video

Your video triggered a memory from my past, way back in the late 60's.  I recall my Granny had one of those pots, and that's how she made her coffee.  Being the nostalgic sort of guy that I am, I might just have to get me one of those.

Funny, I just saw an article today that talked about quitting coffee and the nature of caffeine withdrawal.  I might survive a day without coffee, but I choose not to.

I still don't have a vacuum pot, but I do still have the canoe.

We are over 20 years into the Senseo machine and wont give it up ever. We order the pods ( look like T bags) on line so the fact that the machine is not supported in NA is not an issue.

Would be nice if it had a timer but not a big deal.

I think there might be a more modern version, but have not gone looking.

I was going to say that 20 years on an Italian coffee maker is way beyond what any of mine has done.  I think we've been through about fifteen of them through the years.  They make good coffee though.  I keep threatening to buy a Japanese machine.  Looks like the Senseo is made by Phillips.

I just use my kuerig with the compostable pods or ground coffee in the pod adapter.

It's convenient cause I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee.

I've got the Nespresso Original, but we got the Vertuo for my mom. The pods are still recyclable, so it's greener than most single serve pods. 

I drink exclusively lattes, or iced americanos. I have the milk frother (you can buy it in a bundle with the machine on amazon) and it's honestly really good. This is coming from a previous Starbucks employee who knows the value of a steam wand. 

The frother heats and froths the milk, so it's better than one of those frothy battery powered wand things. It's easy to clean, and you can cold froth your milk to have a frothy iced latte (really good). While it's somewhere between a cappucino and a latte level of foam, it's really good. With one huge upside- easy to clean. I worked closing shift at a starbucks, I KNOW how nasty it is to clean a steam wand. 

The best coffee is boiled coffee.

That's how my grand parents did it.

Handy for groups too.

Another Nespresso Vertuoline owner here.  Have one at home and at work, straight forward machine with no issues so far.  Get the pods off Amazon, good stuff

Current setup is an electric burr grinder, a moka pot, and an electric milk frother/warmer. (making cappuccino) 

The frother is sooo nice. We have an espresso machine with a steamer and my wife used to be a barista, so knows how to use it. That said, the frother actually does a better job than the steamer we have, takes less time, and is way easier to clean. The Moka pot cleaning is just bang the grinds into the garbage and give it a good rinse.  The electric burr grinder is laziness, but burrs do make a difference over spinning blades. 

I think this is the frother I have. (also works well for heating up Gluwein and making hot chocolate)

https://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Star-Milk-Frother-Cappuccino/dp/B072W1MWDG/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=von+chef+frother&qid=1591901278&sr=8-3

I got a Ninja Coffee Bar for my birthday back in January. I loved it then, and I still love it now. It replaced a Keurig 2.0 machine that I never really liked. I've heard mixed reviews on these things, but I really like it. I always use filtered water in it, which is key for keeping it going. I bought a reusable stainless filter for it which works well. The hot coffee is really good, and there's an "over ice" option that also works great. It has settings for single cups if that's your thing, too.

I also have a Bialetti Moka because any good Italian wouldn't be caught dead without one. Makes a damn good cup of espresso.