I like espressos (especially mochas) but they take a bit of work to prepare a single cup. With drip brew, I can do very little and get unhealthy amounts of caffeination into my corpse. Also, I pour ungodly amounts of creamer into my coffee. That Mason jar is quite literally half coffee half creamer.
Espresso is hard to do at an office but a French press and hand grinder are very easy to keep in a drawer at your desk. And if you’re desperate you can use the drop brewer to get your hot water.
I’m broke and that machine was a rescue. My brother showed me once how to use a French press but my impression of it was that it took more effort than “4 tbsp of grounds into a filter. 24oz of water, push button.”
4tbsp of grounds into bucket. Add 24 oz boiling water. Wait 4 min. Press and pour.
But then you start asking questions like, “surely boiling water is too hot, what is the proper temperature?” and “what about grind size?”
So you go down the rabbit hole. And learn about “blooming”, etc.
But soon enough you no longer need the precision scale, you can just eyeball things like grind size and amounts. You may even learn what the kettle sounds like when it hits the proper temp. You come out the other side.
IMO Boiling water is typically just fine for most coffee, unless it’s a dark roast. By the time it’s in the press and accounting for cooling it’ll be mid 90s.
No worries with blooming on a French press!
I’ve been using French press for 20 years and tried a bunch of things; the only complication that stuck is the Hoffman Method (and of course a decent grinder). It’s the graph with a bubble in the middle - don’t know enough, knows enough to be way too intense, knows enough that the intensity doesn’t matter.
+1 for French press, but enhance the experience with an insulated carafe so it stays warm. Makes an excellent cup of coffee without a ton more work.
What about an aeropress? Full disclosure, I haven’t seen one in person and therefore never used one.
easy for an office. i can’t compare to a french press since full disclosure, same reason
Aeropress would probably be better than a French press in an office setting. More compact and significantly easier to clean
I just use instant at my office though. I rarely use it, but I prefer it to Keurig or the drip machine in our office.
But I mainly just drive in with a cup of coffee from home.
I’ve never tried a single serve Keurig. What makes it undesirable, besides the wastefullness?
it’s single serving, preground drip brew coffee that tastes of plastic.
i got a basket so i could adjust a keurig. grind my own beans. reuse the filter. still tasted like shit. ended up being full of cockroaches. so it may have just been my machine
Thank you, I will avoid Keurigs.
Probably good, not my thing since it requires filters. Very compact tho so yeah.