I’ve tried most of the coffee making tools and fads, including the above mentioned recipe. I’ve spent thousands and hours and hours of time chasing the feeling others like you describe.
It was so easy for me to go back to a cheap drip coffee maker and pre-ground coffee. I realized that I’ll never appreciate the flavors and process as much as the investment would call for.
My dad is adamant that coffee beans should only be ground right before use because the resulting coffee tastes so much better. I, on the other hand, can't taste a bit of difference; there's no way I could pick out the pre-ground coffee in a blind taste test.
Me too. I actually bought a selection of freshly roasted beans from a local roaster, and when I came back I said that I could not distinguish the Peruvian one from the somewhere else one. The roaster was shocked.
I‘d love to have better taste, but I‘m saving so much money, I do not really care.
James Hoffman's pourover and immersion dripper recipes are less muss and fuss, I would say, while still producing coffee that's far better than average.
While on the topic of James Hoffman and coffee, a <$100 device I'd nominate is the insulated heated mugs. I believe he tested the Ember Mug but there are competing models. For those who tend to drink their coffee while working, it's quite a decadent feeling to take a sip without ever having the unanticipated shock of your coffee having gone cold and having to trundle over to the microwave to warm it up (in my case sometimes more than once).
Aeropress is great. If you like a large mug of coffee have a try of the Clever Dripper. Had Aeropress at home and CD at work and eventually bought a CD for home because it’s so good.
