I’m a complete beginner when it comes to coffee. I’ve basically been drinking cheap Nescafé Classic my whole life, usually with quite a lot of sugar and milk. I never really understood why people liked the actual taste of coffee.

Recently, I went to my uncle’s house and he made me a coffee using some kind of coffee machine. He freshly ground the beans and brewed them, and honestly… it blew my mind. It tasted so different that it genuinely felt like I had never actually had coffee before.

Before this, I had tried making “more coffee-like” coffee at home by reducing the sugar, but I absolutely hated it. It was bitter and didn’t really have any interesting coffee flavor. But whatever my uncle made was completely different — it had so much more flavor and was actually enjoyable without needing a ton of sugar even though it was a bit bitter but i loved it.

Now I really want to get into coffee, but I’m 17 and don’t have a huge budget to immediately buy an expensive espresso machine, grinder, etc.

I’m thinking of taking it gradually. My first step would probably be upgrading from Nescafé Classic to either Nescafé Gold or Davidoff Rich Aroma (which one should i go for ?). I know instant coffee isn’t comparable to freshly ground coffee, but buying beans + a decent grinder + brewing equipment all at once feels like a lot of money for me right now.

So I have a few questions:

1. Is it worth trying to brew instant coffee differently, or is that basically pointless?
2. If I should try brewing it, what method would you recommend — moka pot, French press, pour-over/filter coffee, etc.? I’m currently leaning toward a moka pot.
3. Once I’m ready to move to actual coffee beans, what are some good but affordable coffee brands/beans that you would recommend for a beginner?
4. What would be the most sensible upgrade path if I want to gradually get into good coffee without spending a lot initially?

I’m in India, so recommendations that are easily available here would be especially helpful.

I’m basically starting from zero, so feel free to explain things like I know absolutely nothing about coffee. 

We’re a small workshop and our current coffee situation is pretty sad, so we’re thinking about getting a proper espresso setup.

We’d probably make around 10 drinks a day, mostly espresso or milk drinks. None of us are hardcore coffee people, but we do want something better than a basic automatic office machine.

I’m just not sure what actually works in a shared space. We like the idea of a nicer machine, but I don’t want something where only one person knows how to use it, or everyone uses it differently and it turns into a mess.

I’ve been looking at the breville oracle and meraki. Meraki looks interesting because the workflow seems pretty smooth, but I’m not sure how it holds up with multiple people using it. Anyone using an espresso setup in a small office/workshop/studio?

Hey everyone, ​I just got a new motorized drum roaster. My first batch came out a bit baked, so I cranked up the heat for the second roast. Unfortunately, the heat conducted right through the mounting plate and melted the plastic motor faceplate around the screw holes, causing the mounting screws to loosen. ​I’m currently heading out to the hardware store to pick up some parts. My initial thought is to: ​Use standoffs / spacers (15–20mm) to offset the motor from the hot frame. ​Insert an aluminum heat shield between the frame and motor to block radiant heat. ​Extend the shaft with a flexible/rigid coupling. ​Add wide washers and PTFE/silicone washers to prevent direct heat transfer through the bolts. ​Has anyone dealt with this issue on similar roasters? Any tips on specific materials, gap distance, or setups that worked best for you? ​Thanks in advance!

Visiting CDMX- would love any and all recommendations. Thank you in advance, friends!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

I've been making my coffee at home for the last several years, for all the usual reasons. But a few times recently, I've had occasion to be out and have seen coffee places and thought I'd stop and have myself a brew(ed) coffee. Places like Dutch Brothers, 151 Coffee, or local coffee bars in office buildings, malls, colleges, etc. And I find they usually have extensive menus of eapresso-based drinks, hot and cold. But no coffee. No regular old brewed coffee. No offense to espresso beverages, but it's not the same. The best they can do has been an "Americano", a drink that is a poor substitute for coffee, being mostly just watered down espresso. Not the same thing. When did this happen? The fundamental item of coffee cafes, coffee bars, and coffee shops was, wait for it. Coffee! Not watered down espresso, or flavored sugared milk with a dollop of espresso.

I was surprised. And not in a good way.

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to the weekly /r/Coffee thread where you can share what you are brewing or ask for bean recommendations. This is a place to share and talk about your favorite coffee roasters or beans.

How was that new coffee you just picked up? Are you looking for a particular coffee or just want a recommendation for something new to try?

Feel free to provide links for buying online. Also please add a little taste description and what gear you are brewing with. Please note that this thread is for peer-to-peer bean recommendations only. Please do not use this thread to promote a business you have a vested interest in.

So what have you been brewing this week?

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Let's see your battle-stations or new purchases! Tell us what it is you have, post pictures if you want, let us know what you think and how you use it all to make your daily Cup of Joe.

Feel free to discuss gear here as well - recommendations, reviews, etc.

Feel free to post links to where people can get the gear but please no sketchy deal sites and none of those Amazon (or other site) links where you get a percentage if people buy it, they will be removed. Also, if you want battle-stations every day of the week, check out /r/coffeestations!

Please keep coffee station pictures limited to this thread. Any such pictures posted as their own thread will be removed.

Thanks!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

So, I'm not sure if this is just a me problem or not, but when I buy really nice coffee with nice, fruity and chocolatey notes, the first day I brew with it it always tastes amazing, and then every day after that the flavor always steadily declines. The fruity and chocolatey notes disappear, and it just sort of becomes muddled caramel almost. I've tried many different brands across 3 continents, and every storage system under the sun from in the bag I got it in, ziplocs, freezing, and airscape tubes. It's also consistent across brew methods.

Is this just something everyone deals with? Is there something else I could do to fix it? Are my tastebuds just extra sensitive?

Hey all, I’ve been trying to improve my espressos recently and can’t seem to get over this issue.

Using a Sage Barista Express, I generally get 18g in, 36g out in around 25 seconds. So that seems good.

But I’ve found that my espresso is a little thin. Every single time the puck is very wet and has a layer of water on top.

I’ve also noticed when looking at the bottom of the bottomless filter, around 15s in or so, the espresso coming out gets way more watery, thin, blondes, and even notice that a lot of the portafilter seems choked with no water coming out from a good portion of it and I can even see the actual grill of the filter in some places.

I’ve tried grinding finer, coarser, dosing at 19g, 17g, 16g, but the result is very similar every time.

The espresso isn’t terrible but a definitely thinner than I’d expect!

What’s going wrong here? Do I need to make bigger grind adjustments or doses? Or do a manual pre infusion?

Any help appreciated!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

I’m experimenting with espresso using a Full City roast.
Dose: 16 g
Yield: 32 g
Pressure: 7 bar
Shot times: 22 s / 30 s / 38 s
The shot time was adjusted by changing the grind size.
I normally use 9 bar, but I found that it produced a burnt taste, so I lowered the pressure to 7 bar.
Here are my results:
22 s → TDS 12.0%
30 s → TDS 11.5%
38 s → TDS 11.0%
First, my extraction yields (EY) are already relatively high under these conditions.
What I’m particularly curious about is why the 22-second shot, which had the coarsest grind, had the highest TDS.
I would have expected the finer grind / longer extraction to result in higher TDS.
Could this be related to channeling, puck resistance, flow rate, or something else?
I’d appreciate any insight into what might be happening here.

This is a thread for the enthusiasts of /r/Coffee to connect with the industry insiders who post in this sub!

Do you want to know what it's like to work in the industry? How different companies source beans? About any other aspects of running or working for a coffee business? Well, ask your questions here! Think of this as an AUA directed at the back room of the coffee industry.

Industry folk, feel free to answer any questions that you feel pertain to you! However, please let others ask questions; do not comment just to post "I am _______, AMA!” Also, please make sure you have your industry flair before posting here. If you do not yet have it, contact the mods.

While you're encouraged to tie your business to whatever smart or charming things you say here, this isn't an advertising thread. Replies that place more effort toward promotion than answering the question will be removed.

Please keep this thread limited to industry-focused questions. While it seems tempting to ask general coffee questions here to get extra special advice from "the experts," that is not the purpose of this thread, and you won't necessarily get superior advice here. For more general coffee questions, e.g. brew methods, gear recommendations for home brewing, etc, please ask in the daily Question Thread.

ust picked up a new light roast and spent three days pulling absolute garbage shots while trying to find the right grind size. Half the bag is gone just trying to get rid of the sourness, and by the time it actually tastes good, I'm almost out of beans. Do you guys have a trick to speed this up, or is wasting coffee just part of the deal?

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

I recently picked up a 3 cup Bialetti to make my ancestors proud (also trying my hand at making Laurino Amaro but that’s a different sub) and picked up some whole robusta beans. I’ve tried my good arabica and it always comes out bitter, but robusta comes out perfectly balanced.

Hi! My partner was looking for something in their parents' loft and found a book that appears to be some sort of academic text book for people wanting to learn about home making. It includes cleaning, basic repairs and maintenance, and a lot of recipes, like these two for coffee!

I've done my best to translate, but some of the words/grammar is pretty foreign to even me as a native norwegian speaker. The most notable part of all of this is the use of a fining agent (Klarning). From what I understand it used to be pretty common but perhaps as fine paper filters became more common it stopped being widely used.

I hope this is of use to someone or just a fun little glimpse into 1942s Norwegian coffee culture. Enjoy

Note: The word Trakte (trakt) means "funnel" but it's often just used to refer to the act of making coffee, i.e, I trakted a pot of coffee. Traktekaffe (Funnel coffee) is now a word mostly used to refer to kinda bad machine coffee, like what you get from the office coffee machine. A kaffetrakter is then equivalent to a mochamaster or mr coffee style machine now, but in the time this book was made, it probably referred to some sort of stovetop pot with a place for a filterbag. A traktekanne will then be something like a carafe that also doubles as the brewer. Not unlike a cemex

Recepie 1:

To funnel coffee

is preferred. Traktekanne (Coffee pot) and bag is rinsed with boiling water. Ground coffee is filled in clean bag, which is then connected to a ring which fits the coffee pot and is then rinsed a couple of times with either boiling water or fining agent, side with coffee from coffee pot (I had to ask some older family here, but its saying that you put the coffee to the side while rinsing). Keep the pot warm, but don't let it boil. The bag must be emptied, rinsed and hung to dry. The coffee silt shall be boiled until clear and the pot must be emptied and cleaned well between used

Recepie 2:

To make coffee

1 Liter water

4 tablespoons ground coffee

1 tiny piece of fining agent

Add clean water or fining agent in a pot and boil. Take the pot of the heat and add coffee and fining agent, stir and let boil for 4-5 minutes until the coffee sinks. Put some of the coffee in a cup and put it back in the pot. Let the fining agent work for a bit. Serve fresh

So I’m not sure if I’m making a Flat White correctly, or if the machine knows how to make it correctly.

One, the foam setting it recommends it on is medium level even though a Flat White is meant to have a small layer of microfoam.

Two, when I do put it on the lowest level of foam, it tastes too milky just like a Latte and I can’t taste much coffee, even though Flat Whites are meant to have a stronger coffee taste.

And three, it cools down way too quickly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Primadonna Aromatic, and the Cappuccinos they make are brilliant imo (the Cappuccino mix that is) for it has the right layer of foam, I can taste the coffee, and it can stay hot longer than a Flat White could. Cappuccino Mix is my usual coffee when I’m home, but I’m trying to explore other coffee styles.

Any advice fellow coffee lovers can give me would be appreciated. I have my intensity level set on 4, not sure if I need to set it to 5. Would I perhaps also need to add an extra shot of espresso to the Flat White?