Making Coffee from Bean to Cup

oneofakind32

Hey guys!
So I want to make coffee from bean to cup at home, spending as little money as possible on equipment. Dose anyone know where I can get some on-line guide or dose anyone have any advice

Mr Magnolia

What type of coffee would you like to make?

Have a look at the stickies on the front page for a list of companies and shops.

oneofakind32

Just coffee, not late or cappuccino or whatever. You know that black stuff in a cup, do you people remember what that is?
"Americano" I suppose you call it.
Thanks Ill have a look there

RE*AC*TOR

As little money as possible.

OK, from bean to cup, you need a grinder, and some manner of coffee machine.

Cheapest possible would be a whirly blade grinder and a pour-over drip filter.



You should be able to get a whirly blade for €30 and the pour over for a similar amount.

If you want to use a french press or moka pot or an espresso machine you'll need a burr grinder.

The cheapest you can go for this might be the Starbucks Barista grinder, which is a rebadged Solis, I'm not entirely sure how much they are selling this for in Ireland, but I imagine it should be about €100. Another option is the Iberital MC2 which can be bought online for STG£100.

Then you can buy a french press for €40, or a moka pot for about the same. Or you can step up to an espresso machine. You will need to spend at least €200 on one of these, for a low-end Gaggia, or a high-end krups. Again, the Starbucks Barista is a rebranded Saeco Via Vennezia, and if you don't mind the starbucks label, and are willing to replace the pressurized portafilter for a normal one it could be a good deal (again sorry don't know how much they are going for).

http://www.coffeegeek.com

is a great site for this kinda info

oneofakind32 wrote:

You know that black stuff in a cup, do you people remember what that is?
"Americano" I suppose you call it.

No need to be rude, and no, it wouldn't be called an americano, which is an espresso topped up with boiling water.

oneofakind32

thanks re*ac*tor

rockbeer

It depends to some extent how many people you want to make coffee for - if more than three or four at a time then some kind of filter rig or a big cefetiere. But if it's just a couple of folk then I would go for a nice-ish grinder and a Bialletti stainless steel moka pot. IMHO that combination makes the best-tasting coffee this side of serious money.

Of course it all depends what you like

Gran Hermano

I'd recommend a good grinder (either Iberital MC2 or Gaggia MDF) and
a good moka pot (Bialetti). Yes the grinders are relatively expensive
but consider them an investment as they will stand to you if/when you
purchase an espreso machine - improving on the MC2 or MDF will cost
you the best part of 400+ euro.

Purchase today: Good grinder €250-350
Bialetti moka pot €20-50

Medium term: Entry level Gaggia or similar €250
Good grinder (from above)

RE*AC*TOR

The Starbucks Barista Grinder is €90. Its a rebranded Solis 166. Its not in the league of Gaggia MDF, Ascaso, Iberital, Rancilio etc grinders, but it is streets ahead of whirly blade grinders. And it will certainly allow you to do more than just drip filter, which is about the only thing you can do with a whirly blade.

Still if you are likely to become serious in the long term you'll end up replacing it, almost certainly.

The Starbucks Barista Espresso machine (a rebranded Saeco Via Vennezia) is €320 ish. Which is crazy. Avoid.

JIZZLORD

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Then you can buy a french press for €40,

i have no idea where you've been shopping, my last one was about €10 from tesco, i also still have a big ass €15 one from dunnes.

he said he wants cheap, so there's no use even mentioning espresso makers and the like, i'm in his position i'm all for the cheap and cheerful. a french press and a moka pot keeps me going, and i buy pre roasted and pre-ground coffee.

@oneofakind32: as someone else mentioned, grinders are expensive for a good one, and bad ones are a waste of money, that's the reason i buy pre-ground as frankly i can't afford any better, but i still get good coffee. you shold get a bialetti moka, as someone mentioned, it's the best value this side of several hundred euro. i picked mine up for €30 ish.

RE*AC*TOR

Well I was talking about a Bodum French Press (it the original makers), just like when I talk about moka pots, I talk about Bialetti (actually noy sure if they were the original or just the best).

Perhaps you can get em cheaper.

And yes he wants cheap, but he also wants bean to cup. This is a good thing, because is reality ground coffee goes stale within 2 days (tops). Add to that, unless you are specifically asking someone to grind coarsely for you, you won't be getting the correct grind for a French Press, and you'll be getting alot of sludge in your cup.


And in my experience a whirly blade grinder which is as cheap as you can get IS good enough for a pour over drip filter coffee maker. Its no good for anything else.

If he wants to make his coffee other ways, I've highlighted the cheapest semi-reasonable burr grinder above.

Sparks

Cheap coffee from bean to cup?


Roches stores/BT/nearly anywhere really, €30 or less (mine was €20). Ignore the brand, by the way, it's a blade grinder so getting a good brand name is sort of like shopping around to get the shiniest looking skoda in the breakers yard....


Roches Stores/Arnotts, €7. French press and cup combined. Best €7 I ever spent on coffee-related stuff. Have five of them now, scattered between home and work.

RE*AC*TOR

Sparks - get much sludge in your coffee?

billyblanks

If you are on budget, ie less than €100 I would do as people are suggesting, buy a french press ar a moka pot. But as far as a blade grinder goes I would stay away from them. They dont grind coffee, they smash it to bits, you end up with a mixture of chunks and powder....really not good for anything.

If you want a cheap grinder I would suggest one of theseThe hand mills are a bit of a pain in the arse but they are really cheap and in my opinion give better quality grind than blade grinders.

Sparks

Not a lot actually Reactor. I mean, I'd rather a burr grinder, but I can't afford one. And while I'd like an espresso machine too (I'm rather jealous of your new kit ), I not only can't afford that right now either, but I'd keep my french press mug too anyway, because sometimes you want espresso and sometimes you want filter coffee.

BTW, billy's got a point - it you can get a hand grinder for less than a blade, get that instead, it'll give better results. But if you can't find one, well, it's not a purist's tool, and there are things it's just useless at, but if you've only tried maxwell house up to now, you'd never know the difference.

(Also, if you get a blade grinder and you later get a burr or hand grinder, don't throw the blade grinder away. They're not so great for coffee, but they're the best thing around for grinding whole spices )

RE*AC*TOR

I don't agree that a blade grinder is good for nothing. Nor do I agree it suits French Press. Drip Filter coffee + blade grinder are a perfectly acceptable pair, and will offer a significant improvement in coffee.

BTW I remember seeing the hand crank grinder in Stock in town (Dublin), can't remember for how much.

Sparks

It if was Stock, it wouldn't have been cheap (or, IMHO, even a reasonable price ).

JIZZLORD

@ RE*AC*TOR: i have a bodum press, i only bought it as breaking my tesco one coincided with getting paid but i find little difference between both .
i just dont think that it's possible to go from bean to cup cheaply and get a proper coffee.

Mr Magnolia

Are the hand crank grinders that expensive?

billyblanks

Mr Magnolia wrote:

Are the hand crank grinders that expensive?

They shouldn't be! the one I linked to would cost less than €20 including shipping from Hong Kong......so you should be able to get one in Dublin for €20-€25.

RE*AC*TOR

Alton Brown (Good Eats) goes through a pour over drip filter....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEcMz4V7wuY

Sparks

Gotta go with alton
(But the french press mug is too handy for the office).

BTW, on good eats, seen season ten, episode 19 yet? Nothing but espresso making

RE*AC*TOR

Yeah I saw that one. Some good tips in there too.