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The Big Two Espresso Cheapskate Coffee
Brew Better Coffee - Cheapskate Coffee
Low on funds? Thirsty? Well not to worry, good coffee can be made on almost any budget.
The Cheap Grinder
If you've already read The Big Two, you know that the grinder is the most important piece of equipment for making good coffee. A great grinder will cost more than $300, but you can get a decent one for a lot less.
Stick with a burr grinder unless you're dead set against good coffee. For about $70, you can get the Bodum Antigua which will make good drip coffee and pretty good press pot or Aeropress coffee. For a little bit more, you can step up to the Capresso Infinity Grinder ($90). These are both entry level stepped grinders that will not be able to handle the requirements of espresso.
But Fred, I thought this was the cheapskate department? After I drop 90 smackers on a grinder, how much more do I need to spend on my coffee maker? Is this going to get expensive?
Don't fear! With a pretty good grinder like those above, you don't need a really expensive brewing system. The war is already won! Pair that thing up with a pour-over brewer a press pot or an Aeropress and you're in business.
Pour-Over Brewers
The pour-over brewer like the Melitta Pour-Over (click on Manual Coffeemakers) can make very satisfying coffee. Click the link and you'll see that the prices for these brewers cost anywhere from $3 to $39. Pretty affordable, eh?
But do they make good coffee? Yes they do! You have a good grinder, so you have complete control over the grind. You heat up the water with your kettle (electric or on the stove), so you have control over the temperature. Here's how they work:
1 - Grind your coffee to a medium level
2 - Heat up the water to about 200F
3 - Put the coffee in the filter in the pour-over cone and add the water
4 - You may have to stir the grounds somewhat to get the coffee flowing, but I think you'll find that the coffee you make with this little gem is better than your average drip coffee
5 - Mess with the amount of coffee and the grind setting and you'll be surprised at the differing results you can achieve.
Aerobie Aeropress
For just a bit more ($30), you can get yourself an Aerobie Aeropress. Now this is a marvel of modern coffee engineering! The Aeropress was invented a couple of years ago by a guy named Alan. Alan took the concept of a press pot and added a paper filter instead of a screen. Why do this? Well, using a paper filter allows you to press the coffee out under pressure, thus allowing you to grind the coffee finer, therefore allowing you to steep the coffee for less time (15 seconds or so). The benefit of this is that you usually don't over-extract the coffee and it's not hardly bitter at all.
I love this thing. It's made of lexan or something, it's indestructible and it packs up really small. It's perfect for using at home or on the road.
But how's the coffee? you ask. (cue Tony the Tiger) It's great! You grind just a little bit coarser than you would for espresso and use about the same amount of coffee you'd use for a pour-over. It takes a little bit of experimentation with grind setting and water temperature, but it's well worth the extra work. Once you figure out what you like, you can brew up an Aeropress cup in just a couple of minutes.
Press Pots
Sometimes called a French Press, the press pot has been around for a long time. Here's how they work:
1 - You heat up your water
2 - You grind your coffee (pretty coarse)
3 - Add the coffee to the empty press pot (pre-heat it under hot tap water then empty it out to keep your brewing temps as even as possible)
4 - Add the water to the coffee in the press pot
5 - Stir it all up (I bought a pack of those bamboo BBQ skewers and just toss them after one use)
6 - Put the top on and let the coffee steep (sit in the hot water) for 3 to 4 minutes
7 - Press the plunger attached to the top of the press pot all the way down to the bottom of the press. This should take about 20 seconds with moderate force and is a good indicator of how fine you can grind your coffee. If it's too easy, grind finer and steep for less time. If it's too difficult, grind coarser and steep for more time. Remember you want to minimize steep time by grinding as fine as possible (unless you like the bitters - some people really do).
8 - Immediately pour the coffee into cups for serving or into a thermos or a carafe for drinking later. Don't let it sit in the press pot, as the ground coffee will continue to extract and your coffee will become much more bitter as time passes.
I know it's 8 steps, but the press pot is really quite easy to use once you've gotten used to it. Plus, they're cheap. Prices start at $20 and go all the way up to about $100. The more expensive models are made of stainless steel instead of glass or plastic and are much less prone to breaking when striking a solid object like a sink. The most common manufacturer of quality press pots is Bodum.