:icon_sunny: Aloha from Hawaii, y'all - been mostly lurking and learning here - decided to throw my two cents in. I've read many of the pages in this thread but not all, so if I repeat info, forgive me. I got laid off a few months ago, giving me lots of time and opportunity to get as obsessive and crazy about this coffee thing as many of you are (no offense intended). I've bought waaay too much stuff off of eBay (going to have to start getting rid of some of it as soon as I decide what I like the best). I've got 2 Sunbeam C30s, a C50 on the way and a metal Cory. I've got a beautiful red narrow-neck Silex setup complete with stove, an older narrow-neck Silex with beautiful sculpted metal handle, a pristine never-used in the box white Silex wide-neck with stove and AnyHeet control (so nice I'm afraid to use it) and a FrankenVac of two globes that don't quite fit together (eBay burn). Also a Chinese knock-off of the Gold Royal Balance Brewer (half-size scale - 500ml - but really quite nicely made and works well); only $100. And a locally obtained Taiwanese copy of a Hara 5 cup that came with a butane burner - it is the bomb and my favorite brewer right now - among the vacs, that is - the espresso stuff is for another thread. Yes, I went over the edge. Yes, I need to divest.
Now that I've depressed myself by reminding me how much money I've blown on redundant coffee paraphernalia, I'll try to add a little to the conversation here - probably end up being redundant also. I've used a few types of glass rods, a metal filter, a cloth filter and a ceramic filter (the round flat type with the dangling spring catch). I've had incredible success using the last type, the ceramic, without a cloth cover. I grind using a Maestro so I don't have to adjust my espresso grinder. I roast my own coffee and some of the roasts do have more left over chaff than others. My brews never stall, no matter how fine I grind, and the coffee is really smooth, clear and clean with almost no fines, sometimes none at all. It works with all of the above brewers equally well. It's so fool-proof (I'm evidence) that I don't even consider or experiment with the other filters anymore.
Is this anyone else's experience? Am I missing anything here?
Thanks for indulging my sharing....
P.S. What does the check-box "Return to this topic" under the message box mean? I check it but I don't know what it does.