help choosing an first pour over setup (best bang for the buck?)

[crenedecotret]

Hi everyone,

I'm still using an ordinary Cuisinart automatic drip coffee maker. Some of you probably cringed reading this but it makes "OK" coffee, as long as I keep the equipment clean, use filtered water and use a scale to measure the water/coffee ratio. I've been using a Baratza Encore grinder which improved on my previously store-brand burr grinder. I've also had great results roasting my own coffee (still using a popper).

I do have a small two-cup press pot I use now and then but i've never been a fan of the sediment. To be honest I haven't tried it yet since I got the Encore grinder..

I've been wanting to try a pour over setup but two things bother me... first, I do not see myself spending 50-60$ on a kettle.. at least not yet. As a poor man's setup, I was thinking getting a simple Melitta dripper from a local dept store. I could heat water with my simple electric kettle, transfer water to the press pot and use a chopstick to help control the pour. Has anyone ever attempted something like this, or am I better off just splurging a bit for a stove top kettle and a better dripper? 

I do realize that sometimes it's better to spend a bit of money for a better quality product. There are also so many different drippers out there it makes my head spin... Just browsing on amazon (canada), I'll find Hario V60, Kalita, Tiamo, HIC, bonavita, beehouse, etc... I've been trying for a while to find comparative articles on these, but there are less than I would have expected... I would love to hear what are your favorites and why?

Also, to all those using drippers. do you typically brew for one person only, or is possible to do so for more... maybe using the dripper on a glass carafe. (maybe i'd be better off with a Chemex?)

Thanks everyone for helping out a relatively confused newbie.

[Aromajunkie]

http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php?topic=17327.0

[John F]

Hands down the Mellita cone is the pound for pound highest value for $ coffee purchase you can possibly make in my opinion.

The good news $6 gets you there.

The bad news is that kettle quality (in my opinion) is the biggest missed boat and misunderstood purchase in coffee.

My advice is get the $6 cone and spend all the rest on the best kettle you can manage. Better yet would be to spend more on the kettle than even makes sense to you right now. It's a wildly misunderstood component if you ask me.

[BoldJava]

For porcelain, Bee House is the most forgiving.  Use Melitta white filters for an excellent value and easy availability.  Best bang for the buck for kettle - Paico. 

[kyle.m.gooch]

I personally am using a V60 at this time. It is a little technical, but once you understand the principles of determining flow rate (drip rate) by tinkering with grind size and dosage, you will be rewarded with an awesome cup. V60 is also quite cheap with the plastic version being sold for roughly $12 and $5 for filters. If looking at the Chemex, I have been told the Kone is the best filter for this set up as the metal filter allows the oils to seep through the filter (oils will not pass through paper filter). However, the staple to my manual brew setup is the Aeropress; it is reliable; cheap; forgiving; and very portable.

[jano]

You asked about pourover for multiple people: you can use the #4 melitta filters referenced above to do up to about 1L/32oz I think.. it's been a long time since I've used one of those.  Just put it over some vessel that's large enough, whether a beaker, a bucket, a fancy glass carafe, a tea pot, or even your existing cuisinart carafe.  That should be enough for 1-4 people

[crenedecotret]

I think I will pickup the Melitta for now and shop a bit for the kettle. Even if I eventually move up to a Hario or something else, the melitta is so cheap I won't be out by much.

It's also nice to know I can use a dripper for two people. I really thought these were limited to one cup.

Regarding the kettle, the Paico looks extremely nice for the price with good capacity.  I can get the Bona Vita stove top for about the same price, but with faster shipping. I do wonder about the Bona Vita's quality, a quick google search shows there have been concerns with rust in the past.

I'll take the day to think it over and see which one I get.  Thanks for the help everyone!

[BoldJava]

I have found both the Bonavita (roadshow and BIL has one) and Paico kettles to be of excellent quality.  Both are good values.  The Paico would edge out the Bonavita for tip control.

[John F]

I have cones in #2, #4, and #6.

The #6 makes coffee for more people than I ever want over for coffee..

[milowebailey]

I agree the best place to spend your money is on the kettle.....




If you need something bigger than a cup, go check out a thrift store for a thermo carafe.


You can get a cordless electric kettle for $25 and with peter's paperclip trick do just fine.


Or spend the money and get the chemix, kone and bonivita adjustable temp kettle.....$150.


I have a bunch of different gadgets and don't use my chemix very often.....and use paper filters more often than the kone..... Kettle I use for it all.

[JW]

I agree the best place to spend your money is on the kettle.....

+1

I use lots of different pour over methods, but use my kettle for all of them too.

Here is cheap melitta setup ( $9.75) a friend of mine uses for anywhere from 12oz to a liter.  He bought his at a local New Jersey grocery store, but it is the same as this amazon one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CFLCT/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It works well and uses very common cheap filters and produces a good cup.

JW

[Burner0000]

I think I will pickup the Melitta for now and shop a bit for the kettle. Even if I eventually move up to a Hario or something else, the melitta is so cheap I won't be out by much.

It's also nice to know I can use a dripper for two people. I really thought these were limited to one cup.

Regarding the kettle, the Paico looks extremely nice for the price with good capacity.  I can get the Bona Vita stove top for about the same price, but with faster shipping. I do wonder about the Bona Vita's quality, a quick google search shows there have been concerns with rust in the past.

I'll take the day to think it over and see which one I get.  Thanks for the help everyone!

Check out the Melitta Bamboo filters. Almost every grocery store I've seen (In Canada) has them. I found them to be the tastiest.  I've messed with multiple drip brewers including a few commercial ones and so far nothing has beat manual pourover in my eyes and taste. 

[crenedecotret]

Burner0000:  I've seen those Bamboo filters at the grocery store here. Surprising considering i'm in the boonies here (about 45 minutes north of Montreal). I would of thought those might add a bit of a woodsy taste to coffee. I'll try my regular white filters first as to not change too many variables at once then i'll give those a go

to everyone else: I ended up placing an order for the Paico. I was a bit hesitant because I haven't been lucky recently with chinese vendors but it just looks so much nicer than the bona vita. It was a bit less expensive going directly through homeloo's site than going through ebay. I also picked up the Melitta today. Something made of ceramic would have been cool, but I don't think my taste buds would notice the difference with a plastic dripper yet.  I'm also cheap... errr.. frugal. 

If I end up with a bad case of shinyitis and want something "better", I can always gift all this to a friend of mine who is moving into a new condo this summer

thanks again everyone, I can't believe how many answers I got and i'm sure some of these questions have been answered before. If only all web forums were this helpful

[John F]

Porcelain is nicer in a tactile way for sure but I use my plastic cone 100 times to one over the Beehouse or my generic porcelain cones.

Don't feel like you will have lower cup quality with plastic.

[crenedecotret]

That's a very, very generous offer Yakster.

I already ordered the Paeco but the kettle looks great i'm sure it'll find a good home.  (now I am SO going to be worried homeloo messes up my order lol)