Coffee scoops and coffee makers

[Bad Boy Biker]

My 55 cup pot says use 6 cups of grounds. Makes a nice cup of tar.

 

[NoTrespassing]

From Folger's website. I don't use nearly that much coffee per 6 oz cup.

	Ground Canisters	Ground Bagged	Instant
Amount of Water	Amount of Coffee	Amount of Coffee	Amount of Coffee
6 fluid ounces	1 tbsp	1 tbsp	1 tsp
60 fluid ounces	½ cup	½ cup	n/a

 

[WinterDeere]

The amount of coffee per cup seems to be all over the place.

It might be all the same, for all you know. The actual amount of coffee bean mass in a spoonful or cup can vary quite a bit, depending on grind, bean type, and darkness of roast.

I have found that the quality of the coffee and water has more influence on taste than the coffee maker.

True, with the caveat they all need to get close to 200 - 205F, which most older machines do just fine. if you can put 200F water onto coffee grounds, the rest is dictated by the coffee, water, and filter. The machine itself has very little bearing on the outcome.

Last time I had to buy a new pour over or drip machine ca.2010, I was finding that most American brand machines were no longer hitting those temperatures, with rumor or supposition being it was due to fear over litigation. Thank the McDonald's lawsuit, if you believe that, although there was plenty of temperature data being posted on various coffee forums proving it was indeed true. New buyers at that time were even complaining about the beloved Mr. Coffee, once the golden standard of cheap coffee machines, as their earlier versions legitimately made very good coffee.

The only good choices I was finding at that time were all European (e.g. Technivorm = $$$$) or commercial (e.g. Bunn). I ended up buying a Bunn A10, which was moderately expensive, something like 7x the $35'ish you'd pay for a Mr. Coffee at that time. But these things are made for restaurant use, so it hasn't had any issue with the 5000+ pots we've put through it, in the years since. Damn thing might outlive me.

 

[WinterDeere]

o I bought a nice stainless steel funnel to hold the coffee basket. I place the coffee basket in the funnel which is placed in my "thermos" bottle. I just pour the heated water over the coffee. I used to use the microwave to heat the water to the "right" temperature but then we bought a hot water kettle after using them in Ireland. Not sure how we lived without the hot water kettle. We use it all of the time.

I use two 1/4 cups of coffee, 1/2 cup total, for a quart of water. The 1/4 cups are heaping cups though.

Chemex is a very popular pour-over rig, used by a lot of coffee snobs. I have an automatic pour-over machine, so I never bothered experimenting with them, but folks seem to love them.

Another great method I use almost every day lately is French press. It used to just be a weekend treat, but now I use it most evenings to make a single cup of decaf, ever since my wife stopped drinking coffee in the evenings. But you'll need some ability to grind appropriately for each method, since French press requires a coarser grind than pour over or drip. It leaves more solids in the cup, which some dislike, think of it as "pulp" vs. "non-pulp" orange juice, but it's a nice way to break up the monotony of the same old grind everyday.

On the subject of "machine doesn't matter", the grinder is pretty important in the taste of your coffee, more important in many ways than the actual coffee machine. Grocery stores have excellent grinders you can use, better than what most people want to spend for home use, so that's always a good option. But grinding at the store means the coffee you bring home only stays fresh for a few days after grinding, usually going stale by the end of the week. Any conical or flat burr grinder can do the job for pour over, drip, and French press. No need to spend a fortune, if you're not doing espresso or Turkish coffee. Heck, even hand-turned grinders (KINGrinder K2) can do an excellent job, even getting down into espresso and Turkish grind levels, if you need that. Just avoid the stupid whirly blade grinders, they're trash.

 

[bigtiller]

Neither one of us want to mess around with grinding coffee beans so I think a high end coffee maker just went out the door.

I think we will try jumping up from two to 3 scoops and see how that goes.

 

[Yander]

2 scoops per 20 oz, for me. I have never had an expensive coffee maker so not sure.l on quality

 

[WinterDeere]

Neither one of us want to mess around with grinding coffee beans so I think a high end coffee maker just went out the door.

I think we will try jumping up from two to 3 scoops and see how that goes.

That can work fine, esp. if you always stick with the same pre-ground coffee, and don't throw in variables by changing brands, etc.

Making a few pots back to back for a one-time taste test on a free Saturday, with 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 scoops will tell you pretty quick what ratio tastes best to you... which is really all that matters.

 

[CliffordK]

I'd say about 1 scoop of coffee grinds per half a cup of coffee.

I have this sitting down in my basement.

However, I more or less gave up coffee about 10 years ago. So, that machine has never quite been connected. It probably needs a good cleaning, and perhaps some new seals.

 

[Wagtail]

I've used a "Nespresso" capsule coffee machine for the last 16 years. A fresh mug of coffee, in a few minutes, at a very drinkable temperature. I bought my machine from a large department store; they even demonstrated the machine (Hey! Free cup of coffee. )

You choose your type/size of pod and they ship your coffee to you. My last order took 3 business days to reach me here in Tasmania.

In large metropolitan cities there are also Nespresso Shops that sell everything from their machines to all varieties of their coffee pods.

 

[ronjhall]

I make my coffee every morning with 1 oz of Folgers to 22 oz RO water. I drink it black. One 15 oz of the brew is all I drink. Rest is poured out.
My coffee maker is a 10 cup Mr Coffee stainless steel thermo carafe. One thing I learned is that Mr Coffee cup size is 5 ounces.