quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
Thank goodness I don't have to buy a thousand dollar piece of kitchen equipment to "spice up" my coffee! I was worried opening this thread.

If you aren't opposed to trying new methods and equipment, forty bucks and you can have coffee that's damn close to espresso. I don't know who to credit or thank from the thread last year, but I'd never heard of one of these until someone recommended one to another forum member. A week later, my wife said one popped up on a local freebie upcycling app. I've used it almost daily since, and gotten pretty handy with it. One tiny cup cut with a little milk or creamer, and I'm good for the day.

Really looking forward to trying some of these other recommendations. The pure ground cacao beans and cardamom sound particularly tasty.

quote:

Originally posted by Butch 2340:
A shot of Jameson never hurt nobody.

Lol

Heavy whipping cream... mmmmmmm

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I’ve been using a Moka pot for about a year now. I add a teaspoon of sugar to the grounds in the basket instead of in the cup. It comes out sweet, but not overly so, and with less sugar to achieve the same effect. It also prevent it’s from boiling through, and seems to produce more of a creamy head to it if that’s the way to describe it. Kinda looks like Guinness. I fill it about 2/3rds of the way with coffee grounds, then the sugar, then more coffee grounds to level.

“Moka Pot?” what’s that I asked myself. Google, research, interesting! I should try this to see how it compares to my Technivorm. Open Amazon, spend money…


Thanks Smudge at least they aren’t very expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Thanks Smudge at least they aren’t very expensive.

Ha! Always happy to enable, ya know.

Yeah, I really like it. I like espresso, and this is most of the way to that without taking up dedicated kitchen counter space.

For any neophytes, my current amended method:

Boil water in either an electric kettle while heating the base on the stove (by far, the fastest way), or boil it in the base by itself, not assembled. You want the water ready to instantly percolate up the spout when you drop the basket of grounds in, so I have found preheating the base and the water to boiling to be key.

Place basket in a small glass on top of a small plate - this keeps up upright, catches what spills out, and allows you to swirl the grounds around to even them. The Costco packs of Tiramisu leave these little leftover glasses that are perfect for this. Fill basket until mounded, remove from small glass, and tap the bottom of it on the counter to settle the grounds. NO NOT TAMP THEM. You can over-pressure the contraption and steam is faster than you are.

When water is boiling in the base by itself, remove from heat and drop the basket in and screw the pot on. Place it back on the heat, open the lid. Keep lid open until the very end of the process, or unless it boils over and starts shooting coffee everywhere. Monitoring the process closely is key. Lots of keys.

The instant you see coffee percolating out, remove from heat. (Optional - turn burner off to help the process run a little slower, and thus easier to control.)

Let it sit 30-60 seconds, or until the flow starts to slow to almost nothing, but do not let it totally stall out. This helps ensure the grounds have fully saturated and will help the coffee turn into a puck rather than allowing fissures and voids for water to boil through.

When it seems like it's going to stall out, return to heat only long enough to resume the kind of flow you had at the start. On the heat, off the heat. On the heat, off the heat. The key is slow. Should take a full minute or so to brew your cup.

If the level of the coffee is getting close to the inner base of the recess for the spout (think aiming at an inverted chevron reticle here) you're done. If the coffe percolating out bubbles, you're done. If it changes color, you're almost done, but probably done. If it starts shooting coffee-colored water everywhere, you've gone too far and need to slam the lid shut and take a deep breath.

The instant you remove it from the heat, dunk the base into the small pot of cold water I forgot to tell you to fill to stop the boiling process.

It sounds involved, but it's really not that bad. The above method is worth taking up all this space to relate to you guys because it makes a far smoother, less bitter brew than the YouTube methods I started off with, and it isn't even close. My apologies to the OP for the diversion, but this whole venture for me has indeed spiced up my coffee experience, so... semi-relevant, I guess?

Enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by lizardman_u:
I put a tablespoon of cinnamon on top of the grounds when I brewed this morning's pot of coffee.

The smell while it was brewing was way stronger than the flavor.

The flavor is actually a nice mild hint of cinnamon.

I will have to get some ground cardimum and try that as well.

I put some cinnamon on the grounds as well as a pinch of salt. Ran it through the technivorm.

The coffee came out sweet as though I added a couple of teaspoons of sugar or honey. But I didn't add any sweetener.

I'll try again to see if it comes out sweet again. Was not expected. I did appreciate no cinnamon clumping - just coffee.

Will look for cacao and cardamon when I got to the market.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
My apologies to the OP for the diversion, but this whole venture for me has indeed spiced up my coffee experience, so... semi-relevant, I guess?

Enjoy.

No issues from me. Checking into the moka pot.

Question: sometimes I just want a cup. Sometimes I want a thermos. Can I use the bigger model (2 cup 16oz capacity) to make just a cup or do I always need to make 2 cups? Seems like I need to fill the basket and make 2 cups each time but not sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Butch 2340:

A shot of Jameson never hurt nobody.

Coffee and Jameson please. Hold the coffee.

For a change of pace with my coffee I like to add a dash of Brandy and Benedictine on occasion. Gives it a nice spicy flavor.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Question: sometimes I just want a cup. Sometimes I want a thermos. Can I use the bigger model (2 cup 16oz capacity) to make just a cup or do I always need to make 2 cups? Seems like I need to fill the basket and make 2 cups each time but not sure.

I'm not sure exactly how to answer this, but for reference, I have a "6 cup" Moka pot, and for 25-34 grams (coffees vary in density, but I go full basket every time) of ground espresso, it produces about 4-5oz of finished product. In terms of strength, it is far beyond drip coffee and trending very close to espresso, but without all the nice creamy stuff on top that the pressurized espresso makers extract.

For me, that's just enough caffeine to not be wired, but nicely uplifted most of the day. We ran into this with gifting one to my father-in-law, who fell in love with the stuff I made him when they visited last year. He wanted a smaller pot, so we got him a 3 cup and he's really happy with it. Just remember, you're talking about a very concentrated brew. When "6" cups can be as little as 3.5oz of brewed coffee, the term "shot" is probably nearer the mark than "cup."

Oh, and coffee other than espresso roast can also be used, but you still want to grind it fine. I prefer the more aggressive flavor, myself, so I stick with espresso roasts.

Ok. Sounds like use full basket so for daily coffee, maybe just go with the 6 ‘shot’ version and add a little hot water (Americano) to get a full cup. For thermos, just use the techivorm.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
No issues from me. Checking into the moka pot.

Question: sometimes I just want a cup. Sometimes I want a thermos. Can I use the bigger model (2 cup 16oz capacity) to make just a cup or do I always need to make 2 cups? Seems like I need to fill the basket and make 2 cups each time but not sure.

Here is the one I ordered, will post a review tomorrow (overnight Prime shipping!)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088FWTJTG?


As for size/capacity - it looks like they use espresso cups (~1.5 oz) not cup cups.

The “12 cup” model I ordered shows to be 3 “regular” coffee cups.


As for using less than full capacity - I hope so but now that I am thinking about it a smaller coffee portion may not create proper pressure? I don’t know Smudge, wanna chime in?

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
As for using less than full capacity - I hope so but now that I am thinking about it a smaller coffee portion may not create proper pressure? I don’t know Smudge, wanna chime in?

I've seen opinions range all over. I think once or twice, I ran out of enough coffee to fill it and it was maybe a half basket and I wasn't thrilled with the results. Then again, I want rocket fuel, so if you're looking for something less intense, it may actually be about perfect. It wasn't bad, it was just significantly weaker.

Yea - for now I'm assuming that a full basket is required and so I'll buy a model that will yield about 6-8oz of (espresso-ish) coffee and I'll americano it as/if needed.

Looking forward to the review.

BTW, looks like some of the larger SS models are made in chicom (or perhaps fakes since the seller isn't mentioned - caveat emptor). I'll be sure to buy a model made in Italy - hopefully SS but Al if needed.

Back around the mid-80s cinnamon coffee was a thing. An easy way to make it was to break a cinnamon stick into several pieces and then grind it with your beans.

One problem - the cinnamon clogs up the paper filter in the drip machine. I did that ONCE, with the coffee grounds bucket overflowing its banks.

Awesome thread - love the "coffee & Jamison, hold the coffee"!

Here's anther idea: 1 shot each of
- Brandy (Cognac)
- Kahlua
- Bailey's/Costco Irish Cream

Cheers!

TMK the Italian ones are all Al - mine are, at least.

I like cinnamon in mine. Not a fan of cardamom, but I broke open a few pods and tried it.

Moka pots are my favorite brew - but if you fill the basket and the water, you get a very strong brew - it’s what I enjoy, but may not be everyone’s taste.

Works great with Chock full O nuts and cafe du Monde.

One of my kid's friend gave us a can of "Cafe de Monde".

I don't have a brewing device. Would pouring boiling hot water over the coffee filter in a food use only funnel work?