[carlmr]

>enjoy and appreciate something on a daily basis is beneficial to overall satisfaction with life.

I'll couch this in a warning that you need to have the money for it, but for me an espresso machine and good grinder was such a great investment.

It's this thing I appreciate a lot every day.

If you're a drip coffee person I guess this won't apply and you can save a few thousand. Although I'd still recommend getting a grinder (not necessarily an expensive espresso worthy one) and good beans then.

[nobodyandproud]

Drip coffee is amazing: A consistent grinder; fresh, light or medium roasted beans protected from oxidation; and a machine that heats the water to the correct brew temperature (190-195 F)is all you need.

The flavor profiles are akin to wines; no decanting required.

Extremely enjoyable in the early morning moments.

[port11]

Espresso is my soft spot given my origins, but a good drip on paper filters (to remove some oils and cholesterol) is akin to good tea, full of aromatics. I disagree with the temperature, for me a blonde roast calls for 72 degrees Celsius (162F).

[nobodyandproud]

To be accurate, I should qualify that for me it’s “light/medium” and not a true blonde roast.

I haven’t had the pleasure of trying to brew my own blonde roast yet.

But I was amazed when I first tried a black coffee brewed properly, and it took me far longer than I want to admit to learn the basic nuances; it was a very fun journey though.

[port11]

Exactly, and a lot of people that don't like black coffee never had a solid experience: a cup full of aromatics — like tea — instead of just burnt, bitter, over-heated slurry.

[ndsipa_pomu]

I'm a hater of drip coffee as it almost always contains under-extracted (outside of cone) and over-extracted (middle of cone) coffee. You're correct about the importance of brew temperature, although I take issue with the strange units you use.

For me, full immersion brewing is the best as it's far easier to control than expresso - you can fine-tune the water temperature, the grind size and the brew time until you get coffee that astonishes people. Personally, I'm a big Aeropress fan, though I don't know why so many people make horrible coffee using french presses. I think most french press coffee I've drunk has had far too little coffee or too much water in the brew.

[nobodyandproud]

If you mean the temperature is slightly too low, then yes. I was going by memory, then subtracted by five second-guessing myself.

Pyramiding the grind works-around the problem well-enough for me, however.

[ndsipa_pomu]

I wasn't complaining about the actual temperature (I tend to 80°C water for my Aeropress brews), but the use of freedom units.

I'm sure there's ways to make quality drip coffee, but all the drip coffee that I've had has been very poor. I've also lost count of the number of times that I see people using boiling water for making coffee.

To my mind, it's easy to get obsessive over making good coffee, but what I'd like to see is just more people knowing how to not make bad coffee. If you're thinking about water temperature and pyramiding the grounds, then you're likely making great coffee.