Too Much Coffee

After the demise of my Gaggia, I was pretty gutted and it was as if my whole coffee world had collapsed, sad I know. However after being forced into this corner I had to resort to other methods of brewing.

I started back with the press pot and Jims method. Very satisfying coffees and an almost enjoyable ritual in the making. I experimented with scooping and not scooping and the difference was clear cut.

I then moved back to the Aeropress. I had only really ever used this for camping trips but decided to really give it a go. I tried the bog standard method, then took elements from the Chemex method, whereby I let it blood and then slowly added water. I found this gave a more satisfying cup.

I then bit the bullet and bought a Chemex yesterday as I felt I owed it to myself to give it a go. I had some El Salvador CoE Laguna to put through it and went right ahead. Forst I was stunned by the visual clarity. I couldn't help holding the Chemx up to a light and seeing how Red and crystal clear the coffee was. I found the coffee incredibly sweet, crisp and pure compared to other methods. The simplicity of this method and the results just don't add up!

So I was left pondering the espresso/machine.

I have had a few shots out and about and while I enjoyed them to a degree, it all seemed, well rather crude and haphazard. I have come, over the years to appreciate how finiky the espresso is and all the variables, yet I am now left wondering, is it actually worth all that fuss? With a $60 Chemex, some filter papers and hot water I can get an exceptionally smooth, sweet drink which is totally consistent and easy to clean! Yet despite all the back flushing, stripping PIDing, insulating, temp surfing and stability issues etc we still never achieve the fabled 'god' shot.

While I may still get the machine up and running or replace, I doubt it will be in use as much as it was, because for me now, espresso is a crude, inconsistent method. Long live the Chemex and brewed coffee!

^this!

Okay guys, so am I missing something having just a Bodum gold filter pour over jug? Should a Chemex be on my radar?

I recently started using paper filters with a filter holder again after many years as the cafetieres I use at work keep getting broken in the dishwasher.

The difference is incredible. The grinder I use is a Bodum C-Mill so the cafetiere coffee was always quite dirty due to the uneven grind but with the filters it is perfectly clean and the flavours are so much more pronounced and emphasised, or maybe they're just easier to distinguish without all the sediment.

I was discussing the red colour of the coffee with someone in the office they suggested that since a lot of dark sediment was being removed this might be allowing the natural red colour to show more in a less cloudy drink is this correct?

I used a swiss gold filter from Whittards for a few days before getting the paper filter holder and although a lot cleaner than the cafetiere coffees it still left some very fine sediment in the cup.

Yay, another convert!
You should try it Cakey, it has given me an appreciation of different characteristics in coffee that I really enjoy.

You really must mate, it is great! I love the origami at 5am...

Hi guys,

how is a gold filter different to a Chemex? does the paper filter hold oils back from the brew?

Regards,
dsc.

Gold filter allows fines to pass - not as clean a cup. Pour rate is too fast for manual.

Chemex gives a clean cup with a decent steep time. Though I'm now tending towards the cloth filter as the best filtration method of all though have not used one in a Chemex as yet (just in my Hario syphon).

Hario V60 with cloth filter - want one of these.

Ah, now the Hario is another method I was wondering about. So many methods, so little time .....

I've been getting some nice results with my filter cone + gold filter. True, I do get a muddy bottom (!), but I find that if I dribble the water in carefully, just enough to break the bloom and keep it wet, I get something quite stunning out of the other end

darrensandford wrote:I've been getting some nice results with my filter cone + gold filter. True, I do get a muddy bottom (!), but I find that if I dribble the water in carefully, just enough to break the bloom and keep it wet, I get something quite stunning out of the other end

So many comments, so little time

oh,
flannel drip is mighty! nicely deep. clear. beautiful coffee. color of the ripest of the berries.

espressomattic wrote:So many comments, so little time

I'll set 'em up, you hit 'em!

tap wrote:oh,
flannel drip is mighty! nicely deep. clear. beautiful coffee. color of the ripest of the berries.

Is that like the Japanese Sock method?

darrensandford wrote:

espressomattic wrote:So many comments, so little time

I'll set 'em up, you hit 'em!

Is that like the Japanese "sock" method?