I agree that pour overs are the best and cheapest way to enjoy specialty coffee. If I were to turn back time, I would have focused solely on pour overs and skip all the espresso set up. Now enjoying home roasting….nothing is more satisfying than« bean to cup »
Probably not what you have in mind, but I recently bought a 14oz yeti coffee mug (partly to be able to transport it to and from my office), and it's really growing on me. It's still the perfect size for the amount of coffee my normal pour over recipe produces (I always do 20g coffee to 300g water) and it keeps it warm much longer than a ceramic mug. I'm not sure it's the "fun" kind of mug you may be looking for, but it does its job really, really well.
Great video as always! Have to say I disagree with you on your take on the acacia. Cheapest you can get on is like $150. You can get the timemore black mirror (imo a more aesthetically pleasing design) for $50. No doubt the acacia has some extra features, but how often will most people actually use them? Next year I think you’ll have a dedicated flat burr grinder for pour over, and you’ll likely have a different dripper.
For mugs, I love using St. Anthony’s Industries drink ware. Their glass plumb bottoms are awesome small cups, but their new ceramic cups and travel mugs are totally worth it. They do a really good job with heat retention, and stay super clean so you don’t get leaching flavors from past coffees. Highly recommend
Hi! I was wondering if you ever made a video on how to properly use decaf coffee beans with an espresso machine? I'm really struggling with decaf and am looking for some tips.. I have a Breville Barista Express by the way. Thank you !
I'm not sure that all carafes are equal. I bought a dual walled glass carafe off of Amazon about a year ago that's beautiful and great at insulation but ... Pours horribly and drips all over the counter if I'm not ridiculously careful when pouring. I got that fellow carafe about three weeks ago and pouring from it is amazing. Well worth the extra 10-15 bucks!
I just do pour over straight into an Ember. I usually forget about it for a few minutes, so it’s usually at drinking temp when I get to it. I don’t think the Lunar and Pyxis are over priced. The Lunar is a wonderful scale (and unlike my Black Mirror Nano doesn’t start timing when the pump kicks in), and the Pyxis, which I use in my travel setup, is just ridiculously tiny, and it makes working with the Flair Pro in a hotel room a lot easier. You pay for the size with the Lunar and the Pyxis.
I actually prefer white ceramic cups. I want to see the coffee against the white background. My problem is size: anything reasonably priced seems to be at least 12 oz, and I strongly prefer 8 oz, and shape. Small bowl-like cups are perfect for a cap/latte, but cool too fast for drip coffee.
Thanks for the outstanding video. I use the Figgio Oslo cups created by Tim Wendelboe almost every day. He designed 3 different cups. The split cup is my favorite.
It doesn't get simpler than the Hario Switch, put the amount of water you want as output, add the coffee grounds, stir and wait for a minute or 3-4, release the coffee with the switch.
I don't own it but I've come across The Mug made by East Fork pottery ( $40 and $50 versions), made in USA. I really like it's design and I presume it should be very comfortable.
I’ve been all about the pourovers lately as well. Pretty much same setup but with an April brewer. Never tried the Stag. I do really like the April papers. Just using an assortment of random mugs but want a smaller white ceramic one. Tim Windlebow cups look cool.
Pour overs are great to explore the coffee and even practice how enhance sweetness or acidity. I'm a V60 guy but you made me curious to try the flat bottomed brewers. Thanks a lot.
I've also been on a pour over kick lately! I have pretty much the same setup except I use the Timemore scale (only $45!) instead of the Pearl. Going to try Perfect Coffee Water; thanks for the recommendation!
I have the Timemore Black Mirror Basic Pro (terrible name) and it has both the weight and flow rate on display for only $5 more than the Black Mirror Basic. No BT connection but tbh I feel that's overkill for pourover coffee whereas I'd want it for espresso to combine with say the SEP device.
I use an 8 oz Fellow Carter Move mug for my daily pourovers... No handle, but comfortable to hold and if I ever do need to leave throw the lid on and go...
"Activation energy" - are you a chemical engineer? :) This is also my daily driver setup for pourover! One tip, for even more heat retention, flip the Stagg X upside down over the kettle while it's heating up. The steam will bring the Stagg X to temp. If you've access to a 3d printer, I've designed some 3d prints for a swirl base (allows the Stagg X to fit pretty much any server) and a filter smoosher to make a really good no-bypass brew (1:20 with the same TDS as a pleated 1:16 with higher EY). It's seriously been my go to for months. For a fun mug, mine is a graduated beaker mug from Etsy. Not to measure anything as it's not accurate, just because it fits my lab aesthetic. Thanks again for the great vid!
I love my kplus even more than my ssp a lot of times. I just got the zp6 as well and man it took my pour over game even further and for less money. Now it can’t do espresso but that was kind of what i was going for. I didn’t want a jack of all trades master of none, and wanted a hand grinder solely made for filter coffee and it def delivers Also Hoon just did a video today with MK ceramics, those cups look epic, but i haven’t used them myself so idk about feel/quality
The question of which cup to use is one that I have been thinking about for months now. Currently using the Fellow Tasting Cups, but I've been wondering if I should switch
The K-Max is such a good grinder. I mainly use mine for when I travel, but I always end up spending an extra week or two with it when I get back home because I love the results I get. For comparison, I also use an Ode with Gen 2 burrs and find that they produce very similar results.
Great video! I brew using a V60 as filters are relatively easy to come by in the UK. Will have to see if flat bottom filters are readily available at a reasonable price. For mugs, we’ve got a set of Le Creuset mugs in the classic orange.
Sorry late comment just looking at grinders for pour over. I just ordered the ode 2 since I have a niche for espresso already was looking at the k max as well or c40 even just don't know if I'll get annoyed at hand grinding constantly. You still enjoying the ode 2 compared to the k max?
@@Zoozahh I actually got rid of my Ode 2 because I prefer the results I get from my K-Max (especially as it is now well-seasoned) and I like the idea of keeping my setup as simple and minimal as I can. Personally, I don’t mind hand-grinding, because the K-Max can rip through a 36g dose of even very light roasts in under a minute.
Try the Stagg Tasting Glasses. They are a tad large to hold but the glass double insulated walls keeps the coffee hot and lets you tastes all the coffee flavors. Otherwise their ceramics are good and prettier to look at. Great video by the way.
Hi and thanks for ur help. Talking about "water". Using Poland Spring Water to boil in my perculator for coffee. I do Pour Over or AeroPress. Whats ur opinion in this please?
I wonder if one can tell the difference between the K Max and the Fellow Ode V2.That would be interesting. I am still using a V60 over 4 years now. Also wondering if it is worth the switch to a flat bed. Great video!
@@LifestyleLab_ Goodness. Your reply just sold me on the K-max. I think I will buy it from your link if they deliver in the USA. Want to upgrade from my 4 year old Encore.
Very nice setup, I can appreciate nicely engineered gear. For me, I believe that "bang for buck" might be a little nuanced when we are talking up to $1K. At this price, you are right there with some of the espresso machines that you review. 😂 I would imagine that if you did a blind taste test with some people, the results that you achieve with this setup and one that was like $200-$300 would probably be very close for most and maybe only the most refined palettes would detect the differences. The law of diminishing returns will kick in at some point.
For a grinder, diminishing returns hasn’t kicked in yet at this price. My girlfriend can easily tell the difference between the K-Max and the $75 Varia hand grinder we have. Good grinder, good water, and you’re set. Espresso is a completely different ball game. Absolutely minimum cost of entry for machine and grinder is around $1000, whereas a very nice pour over setup is under $1000
This setup and a barista pro are both under $1000. I agree you can make pourover for less than $1k, my initial point was that I would consider most of the items to be for enthusiasts/those looking for high end...which is perfectly fine. I just thought the bang for buck was funny. I do believe the grind quality is reflected in the final product. I think the kettle and scale are very nice...but other goosenecks and scales that can achieve accurate temps and weights would work fine for me. All in all, nice gear.
I need to get back to brewing outside of espresso; I brewed some cups that were blah, so my Tricolate and v60 sit. Have you tried to brew pour over using your Decent? I ask as soon I plan to be an owner, yippy!
@@erinsjourney315 i dont speak german all that well, and i managed to place my order with the help of one of those browser extensions, that can translate websites to your desired language!
On the water side, are you getting R/O or deionized water and remineralizing with those, or taking water that already had minerals and adding to it further with the packets?
Great video. I went to the 19 grams website, but I can't find a way to switch it to English. Do you know how do I do that? I am really interested in that advant calendar.
Very nice. You’ve almost talked me into giving pour over coffee another go. Since I got into specialty, in March, I’ve only made one (disappointing) pour over with a Chemex like brewer by Bodum. Compared to my dailies which are Moka-Americanos at home and Aeropress at work, I found the pour over a little bland. Not that I’ve done any experimenting to improve.
Absolutely give it a go :) That being said, it may just be that you’re a bigger fan of the added body and flavour profile from immersion brewing techniques. Nothing wrong with that!
As for mugs. I wish I could attach photos here. About 6 weeks ago I was passing through Golden BC, going home from Edmonton to Kelowna, and found these absolutely gorgeous, handle-less mugs at an art gallery made by some guy in Invermere BC. They had an iridescent matte-black exterior with a super vibrant gloss colour on the inside. Available in several colours. We liked them so much, we’ve put off buying a set of cup/saucers to see if we can commission a set. Haven’t heard back yet. Is there any way to forward pictures to you?
@@LifestyleLab_ looking forward to your video! Regarding workflow, I find it easier on Next Level because it has a good dispersion plastic top and I don't worry about how fast my pour is, which would be a bad thing on typical pour over. I've gotten consistently good results, and of course it's flat bottom too.
@@LifestyleLab_ If mostly brewing 1 cup, can I go wrong with XF? I mean is there any benefits in the taste of the coffee by brewing in the X dripper over the XF?
The grinder is responsible for most of the quality in the cup. Need an even grind distribution. I think if you dig a bit in specialty coffee you’ll see that hand grinders are VERY inexpensive compared to what else is out there
You saying a coffee water pack is better than filtered water is a complete joke. Cant take anything you say seriously after hearing that because it's simply not true.
I just ordered one after I got Chrome to translate the site. They replied to me in English so fingers crossed they send me an English version. I'll let you know.
