Favorite Coffee? Prep Method?

[cosmosmariner]

Originally Posted by CAELESTIS

Q: Bialetti makes a stainless product as well as aluminum. Anybody try it?

Q: What size Bialetti to make two mugs at a time? 9? 12? (cup)

Q: What size grind do you use for Bialetti?

Our Bialetti is rated '4 cup' (espresso) and is stainless steel.

It makes about one double wall stainless 'mug' of coffee. Coffee always tastes great.

If we want 'cafe Americana' we fill the basket half full of espresso, or a combination of espresso and 'fine' ground coffee. It is all a matter of taste. Start off half full and work up or down in quantity until it tastes like you want it to.

If we are making 2 mugs of our morning coffee (Americana) we use our Kontessa which is rated at '12 cup' (espresso) . Half full basket of grounds fine to espresso grind. Also always tastes great.

In either case it takes about 4 minutes to rinse and refill with grounds for the next pot. Full basket of espresso grind for espresso. Smaller one takes about 4 min. larger machine takes about 7 minutes to brew. Hope that helps.

[Solitude]

Yes. Bialetti makes stainless moka makers. We also use double walled thermos mugs to keep it warm up here in BC.

We use a 6 cup maker for two of us in the morning. Don’t forget it is six espresso cups of very strong coffee!

They work wonderfully on gas stoves, as they are originally designed for this. Most of southern Europe uses them on gas. If you use them on an electric stove remove it right away when gurgling.

Fill the bottom compartment with water only to the line indicated (don’t overfill). It will spit and spill.
Fill the second compartment with a coffee grind “a little” courser that espresso.
Don’t tamp it or press the coffee in. Just level it.
Screw the maker together.
Put it on your gas stove. Keep it (handle out) slightly to the side so the handle doesn’t get hot.
Wait and listen for the gurgling sound. Remove it right away or turn the gas off. If you leave it on it will become acidic.

Enjoy!
I have been using these things for 20 years in Europe and NA.

These makers are only made to make the specific amount of coffee.
Don’t try to make half a pot. It will brew it,... of course but the intended process is made to force right amount of water through a full basket coffee and tastes best this way.

We buy only gourmet coffee. If you look at the prices of the leading coffee bar chains,!!! to buy one cup !!!…. you can easily buy great coffee for home use. Buy a couple less cups on the street a month and you have saved more than enough to buy gourmet. I see no purpose in buying bad coffee. To me it’s like buying cheap wine. You may be able to keep it down but Ughghgh.

[cosmosmariner]

Originally Posted by Solitude

These makers are only made to make the specific amount of coffee.
Don’t try to make half a pot. It will brew it,... of course but the intended process is made to force right amount of water through a full basket coffee and tastes best this way.


I see no purpose in buying bad coffee. To me it’s like buying cheap wine. You may be able to keep it down but Ughghgh.

We've had great success using half the grounds with all the water to make a pot of 'American' style coffee. Never did this until we were renting an apartment in Naples. We arrived late in the day and had no time to shop for food. The apartment had Pilon espresso and a stove top machine. We wanted a cup of American style to start the day so we tried half the grounds. Came out fine. Later we wanted espresso and used a full basket of grounds and it too was just fine.

Interesting about the tamping. We were instructed by the manager of a restaurant in my family's home town in precisely how to tamp the grounds. We usually tamp the grounds but sometimes forget (especially before the first pot and only one eye is functioning, barely) and I don't notice a difference.

As far as quality of beans I couldn't agree more. We have found a good price on beans in a 'farmers market' near Atlanta,Ga. We can buy beans from two dozen countries, mostly African and South/Central American. The most expensive we tried were Jamacian Blue Moutain at $35usd/lb. We did percieve a less acidic taste as promised but not enough to justify that price day after day. Usual price on the other beans is about $5.99 for cafinated and $7.99 for Swiss Water Process (SWP) decafinated per pound.

I would also like to offer some perspective to anyone who asked a question about coffee related items in this thread. I have a small cookbook that was given out for free at a bank in Italy. It contains only recipies for pasta sauces (or gravy as some say) and suggests the best pasta shapes for each. It is organized by canton. There are nearly 100 recepies
some with tomatoes some without. I have had many folks over the years tell me they have THE recepie for REAL Italian spaghetti sauce. I give them a photocopy of the little book.

'Bottle of red, bottle of white....It all depends upon YOU'RE appetite...' (Billy Joel).

First picture morning in the cockpit.

Second picture the 12 cup Kontessa on the stove the 6 cup (correction not 4) Bialeti to the left in the back of the other dishes. American 'percolator' to the left of that.

[osirissail]

I am also a "beans" kind of guy. I "grind" the beans just before using them. It is difficult to find coffee grinders these days. They have plenty of coffee bean "slicers" but the grinders IMHO, are better as they crush the fibers of the bean and allow the "essence" to escape into the liquid better versus just making slices like slicing a carrot.

[SteveMH]

Unless you have a good quality burr grinder it is difficult to achieve a good consistent coffee. Small blade type grinders mash and regrind the beans often leading to inconsistency and bitterness in the coffee. As to making it, a french press is quick and easy and fuel efficient, no filters needed. The water is as important as the coffee. Ideally it should be filtered and chlorine free. As to the brand or type of coffee, that is subjective and there are as many opinions as individuals on the planet. My mother swore by Maxwell House instant. I wouldn't personally go near the stuff. I have tried the new Starbuck's instant, a bit too pricey in my opinion, but good taste, aroma and consistency.

[JamuJoe]

I'll try the local coffee wherever I travel, and have had some fine brews in coffee producing regions, such as Copan in Guatemala. My stock, however, is French Market Coffee and Chicory from New Orleans, and the cleanest and easiest way to prepare it is in a french press. Make it as strong as you like, and the chicory will keep it smooth. Ahhh

[Ready2gosoon]

I also like my cup-o-joe in the am. I have tried many ways to prepare it but I can't seem to get it right. I bought a nice 12v cuisinart coffee maker from West Marine - complete with a stainless steel carafe. The first time I used it it blew out my 12v sockets (I was so desperate for a good cup of coffee that I tried and popped the circuits of 3 different sockets) I ended up pouring the water into the cone myself. It tastes great and that carafe is the best one I have ever used. I still have hot coffee hours later and it's still warm at 5pm. I'm still waiting for my husband to install a new 12v socket that can take the power drain.

[Extemporaneous]

Just got one of these and it seam to make real good coffee.
Keurig - Single cup coffee maker – coffee brewer, gourmet coffee, gourmet tea, K-Cups (The Mini).
I tried it with the prepackaged coffee and the fill your self little filter.
No idea if it will stand the test of time.
Has anyone else tried one of these?

Extemp.

[osirissail]

- - I the theme of this thread is great coffee makers for folks on cruising boats - which loosely interpreted means - non-electric. Your Keurig is 120VAC electric, yes?
- - Recapping the non-electric methods you find the old American Percolator which is a vertical pot of water with a vertical tube inside that the boiling water is forced up to rain down on a basket of coffee grounds over and over until the cruiser removes the unit or the heat.
- - Next is the "French Press" which is a tall cylinder into which you place coffee grounds and hot water. Wait an appropriate number of minutes then insert a filter plunger and press it down to the bottom of the cylinder than pour off the coffee into your cup.
- - Finally, there is pinacle system which the Bialetti represents. It is similar to the huge Italian Expresso makers in that the boiling water is pressured vertically up into the coffee grounds holder then continue up into the liquid coffee container. The water passes through the coffee grounds only once and under pressure very much like the true espresso makers.
- - It seems that the finest made cups of Coffee and Tea are done by a controlled process that only allows the water to contact the Coffee or Tea for a limited amount of time and is not "recirculated." The Brits are real fanatics about their tea and using a "tea-bag" is akin to using "instant coffee" to a real coffee fan.

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by osirissail

- - I the theme of this thread is great coffee makers for folks on cruising boats - which loosely interpreted means - non-electric. Your Keurig is 120VAC electric, yes?

I guess that would be your loose interpretation on your cruising boat?
Yes it is 120V and some of us have inverters.

From the First Post of the thread:

Originally Posted by getlostonpurpose

I've also got a French Press on board and I use to have a 110v percolator (Mr. Coffee) which I stupidly left in Ecuador.

Anyway, it does seam to make good coffee.

Regards,
Extemp.

[GeoPowers]

My wife just bought the big Keurig for her work and the Mini for the boat....we love them! We like the variety packs, and the speed of making a cup of coffee or tea. It isn't the perfect set-up for us as it requires 110V, which we don't have except pier-side. It is tough having to use the Perc after the Keurig. Have you ordered K-cups online? They have some good discounts there.... We also have the "MY K-cups" if you are set on a specific coffee bean.

[Therapy]

We have been using a press and I have found that we have to use almost twice as much coffee for the same result as we use at home in the drip machine.

Others???

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by GeoPowers

Have you ordered K-cups online? They have some good discounts there.... We also have the "MY K-cups" if you are set on a specific coffee bean.

I haven't ordered the K-cups. We can get them locally.
Having said that I'll be using the "MY K-cups" almost exclusively. I hate to be throwing out that much plastic all the time when I don't have to. I will though keep a variety of the K-cups for guests or for something different.
Also I figure (theory not tested) that it will take about 4 Amp hours out to the batteries to make a cup of coffee with the inverter.

Got to go ..... It's coffee time!

Extemp.

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by Therapy

We have been using a press and I have found that we have to use almost twice as much coffee for the same result as we use at home in the drip machine.

Others???

How coarse of a grind are you using? Are you being patient and waiting the full 4 minutes?

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by FrankZ

. . . waiting the full 4 minutes?

Now there is a real coffee man who knows how!