# The coffee pot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 16, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387 "2004-04-16T17:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/21 "2004-04-18T01:35:20Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Bah! A good burr grinder is not very expensive. Coffee should be ground only in quantities to be used immediately. The whirr of the grinder is what gets me goin’ in the mornin’. 😉 I’m with you on this one. That would have been my recommendation except that I didn’t think **Inigo Montoya** wanted to bring a grinder to work. Burr grinders are pretty expensive as compared to cheap blade grinders but a necessity for french press. I traded in my crappy $10 blade model for Starbucks’ burr grinder ($75 retail). How much did you pay for yours? > [@Homebrew](#): > > I completely agree about the French Press. I used to have an expensive drip maker. The very first time I used my $25 French Press, I unplugged the drip maker. I gave it away the following weekend. See what I mean? It’s like shooting fish in a bucket! 😃 'Sides, anyone with the ID **Homebrew** must truly appreciate good quaff! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/22 "2004-04-18T02:27:12Z")
> [@county](#): > > You probably ought to get over it. Or, buy a good thermos, brew at home and keep at your desk. And be the Coffee Midas. 😃 He should turn everything he touches into coffee? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/23 "2004-04-18T02:55:28Z")
Screw the French press. Get an [ibrik](http://www.coffeestorehouse.com/images/IbrikCopperEngraved.jpg) and make some [real coffee](http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/1998/Jan/N9.htm). Then you won’t need to drink so much. You, (prob’ly), won’t need to re-dose at work, (unless you work really long shifts). I reccomend 2tbspn of coffee & 4oz H2O ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/24 "2004-04-18T03:16:57Z")
> [@SimonX](#): > > Screw the French press. > Get an [ibrik](http://www.coffeestorehouse.com/images/IbrikCopperEngraved.jpg) and make some [real coffee](http://www.byegm.gov.tr/yayinlarimiz/NEWSPOT/1998/Jan/N9.htm). > Then you won’t need to drink so much. You, (prob’ly), won’t need to re-dose at work, (unless you work really long shifts). Of course, you _do_ have a stove at work right? No? Well, that’s okay, **SimonX** must think you only drink coffee for the caffeine. But we know better. Yes. We know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/25 "2004-04-18T04:09:09Z")
His name is Inigo Montoya. You violated his coffee pot. Prepare to die. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/26 "2004-04-18T04:57:56Z")
> [@Cinnamon Girl](#): > > I traded in my crappy $10 blade model for Starbucks’ burr grinder ($75 retail). How much did you pay for yours?[/SIZE] I got a DeLonghi for $30 from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) > [@SimonX](#): > > Screw the French press. > Get an ibrik and make some real coffee. Might as well use a percolator. The French Press makes superior tasting coffee to the ibrik. I don’t like sweetened coffee and Turkish coffee is typically brewed with sugar and spices. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/27 "2004-04-18T06:00:01Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > I got a DeLonghi for $30 from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) > > Might as well use a percolator. The French Press makes superior tasting coffee to the ibrik. I don’t like sweetened coffee and Turkish coffee is typically brewed with sugar and spices. Screw the sugar and spice. Skip the snips and snails too. **I crave the purity and intensity of the taste**. There’s nothing like it for purity and intensity of a _well-made_ cup of roast beans. Usually, I just have one in the morning with my newspaper. I draw the line at anything much more than four cups a day, though. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/28 "2004-04-18T15:38:05Z")
> [@SimonX](#): > > I draw the line at anything much more than four cups a day, though. _sigh_ I understand. My doc told me I had to cut back on caffeine consumption because of blood pressure. What? No more pots of coffee? I asked. Try to cut back to 2 or 3, he said. I’m down to 4 or 6. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/29 "2004-04-18T17:07:01Z")
Off to eBay she goes: Coffee press: Check. Burr Grinder: Huh? Is this like the big machine they have in the store? I used to have a little blade grinder that I used for grinding eggshells, but I don’t wanna use THAT… No more Yuban: Gotcha. Actually I did buy Starbucks last time I bought a coffee maker. (I buy them regularly, because once I found a…piecemeal cockroach in mine. Now I’m paranoid.) Now, I have to steam water for the coffee press, yes? On the stove, I reckon–okay, I can do that. It would solve the issue of having cockroach parts in one’s morning coffee, I suppose. THAT was an unpleasant morning. Best, karol ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/30 "2004-04-18T18:17:16Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Jeez…I didn’t know I was that obvious. It’s obvious to me only because I worked at Starbucks for over a year and a half, still go there fairly regularly, have a large portion of my website dedicated to Starbucks information, have done my best to sell Starbucks coffee machines (I was never a very good salesperson), and have not just the Quattro but an out-of-production Barista Zia espresso machine. Yeh, I’m, ah, a little obsessed. In my defense, I’m a student with a heavy course load. 😃 The French Press is a very good recommendation. A few years ago I got my mother a press for Christmas. “Oh, you shouldn’t have, I don’t drink that much coffee,” she said. Now she uses it once or twice a day, every day. She’s decided that the next time she breaks the beaker (the last one slipped out of her hands while she was washing it) she’s going to get the aforementioned steel travel press, which I’ll admit has been tempting me too. Oh, and **Cinammon Girl** , may I compliment your taste in beans? I’m an AMJ/Verona person myself. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/31 "2004-04-18T19:00:45Z")
> [@bodypoet](#): > > used to have a little blade grinder that I used for grinding eggshells, but I don’t wanna use THAT… Um… why in the HELL would you grind eggshells? ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/32 "2004-04-18T23:55:06Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > Um… why in the HELL would you grind eggshells? Well, see. I’m the mysterious, the enigmatic, the oft-misunderstood… No, not really. Really, I’m a soapmaker, and I occasionally use ground emu shell in an emu oil soap. It gives it a nice, Lava-like texture, and adds a pretty pale teal color. But lemmetellya, grinding eggshells creates a STINK. And then you can’t ever use your grinder for anything else, because you can’t ever get it clean enough. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/33 "2004-04-19T00:25:08Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > _sigh_ I understand. My doc told me I had to cut back on caffeine consumption because of blood pressure. What? No more pots of coffee? I asked. Try to cut back to 2 or 3, he said. I’m down to 4 or 6. I know, almost enough to make you switch to that unmentionable, _decaf_. :shudder: ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/34 "2004-04-19T02:37:17Z")
> [@bodypoet](#): > > Burr Grinder: Huh? Is this like the big machine they have in the store? I used to have a little blade grinder that I used for grinding eggshells, but I don’t wanna use THAT… The big machines they have in the store are commercial burr grinders. They are WAAAYYY expensive. There are quite a few home burr grinders on the market. [This is the one I have.](http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/starbucks_barista_grinder) I like it a lot, it seems to have a pretty good rating by other consumers. Yes, it’s an investment. But it has adjustable grind settings which is nice if you have a drip brewer, french press, and an espresso machine. One grinder, multiple grinds. Whichever burr grinder you choose, make sure you can grind coarsely for french press. If there’s only one setting, it won’t be practical. You might find one on eBay for cheaper, but if the burrs are worn out, it may not grind well. Starbucks has brewing sales a few times a year. Mother’s Day is coming up and they usually go on sale then. 🙂 Decaf drinkers, here’s some advice. Look for fuller-bodied coffees, such as Indonesians, that are decaffeinated using the Swiss Water process. My experience (though I’m _not_ a fan of decaf) is that these decafs taste most like their unadulterated siblings (Decaf Arabian Mocha Java is a fine example). There’s some debate, of course, but it’s worth testing on your own. SWP tends to dull acidity though, so it’s probably not a great method for highly acidic Latin Americans. **Dragonblink** , right back atcha! 🙂 Nice to meet a fellow barista (ex or no). Hijack aside, I hope **Inigo** has the wherewithal to educate those coffee neophytes at work. It’s sad to see such a good bean as Yukon and a nice piece of brewing equipment abused in such a way. Barring that, I fear you must break down and deny them the good stuff. The only other option is to declare yourself master coffee brewer, smile politely, and get brewing. A sign over your brewer that reads, “You touch, you die!” may be effective. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/35 "2004-04-19T02:39:51Z")
> [@Cinnamon Girl](#): > > I traded in my crappy $10 blade model for Starbucks’ burr grinder ($75 retail). Sorry to mislead, the actual retail price is $125. I couldn’t remember because, of course, I don’t _pay_ retail. Lucky for me, as my budget is tight. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/36 "2004-04-19T11:05:45Z")
Does anyone use fresh ground coffee like snuff? ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/37 "2004-04-19T12:32:10Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > Does anyone use fresh ground coffee like snuff? No, but I eat espresso beans like they’re going out of fashion. I’m lucky, I’m in an office full of physicists. We can’t function without good coffee. Ergo, we have a percolator in the office, with decent coffee for it. Those of you who have to suffer with crap coffee have my sympathies. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/38 "2004-04-19T13:07:50Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > Does anyone use fresh ground coffee like snuff? I belive that, in general, and as a rule of thumb, if you can imagine it, there’s someone somewhere doing it. I don’t snort it though. Or did you mean using it like dipping snuff- a pinch between the cheek and gums? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/39 "2004-04-19T13:08:07Z")
HAW! I had actually had to stop that bean-eating thing. I was getting outta control and chowing down on my whole beans while I was grinding for my morning hit (at home we do use a grinder–a cheap n nasty Krupps blade, which, by the way is not a bad way to grind malted barley). I don’t wanna deny the foax at work because 1) I’m kinda Christlike about making sure everyone has ample time to come to the light and 2) then I’d have people \*stealing \* my coffee. And I couldn’t expect \*any \* sympathy from the pit if I whined about people stealing from my crucible if I keep it in a public place in a large office. My Bro-In-Law is a coffee head, too. He has a French Press. His drip machine (yup, an \*Aroma \*) is now just a dust catcher. I fear the press… ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387/40 "2004-04-19T13:11:05Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > My Bro-In-Law is a coffee head, too. He has a French Press. His drip machine (yup, an \*Aroma \*) is now just a dust catcher. I fear the press… The Press rules. I’d bring mine into the office, but we already have a percolator here. I’ve also got one of those stove-top Itallian espresso makers. Now from those, you get a hit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coffee-pot/240387.md?page=3)