jbviau's Coffee Blog

I’ve had this total immersion brewer for 6 months now, and my impression of it is overwhelmingly positive. I think it's making some of the greatest coffee I've ever had at home. Here's a thorough review from CoffeeGeek (with pictures) that I couldn't hope to outdo.

I've got the .6 L version, which holds ~20 oz. It's perfect for one person (or two in a pinch).

Back in January, while searching desperately for a Baratza Virtuoso on clearance, I noticed that the local Williams Sonoma store had a new display called "Specialty Coffee" toward the back. It's worth looking for! I didn't have time to take note of all the prices, etc., but below you'll find a regrettably blurry glimpse in case you haven't been to the mall lately. Very cool. Their gear is available online as well.

Read more

There’s been so much buzz the past few years about pourover brewing that I’d been curious to try it out. However, I didn’t like the start-up costs that seemed to be involved. In particular, I thought $50-60 for a kettle like the Hario Buono was steep. I see now that ROASTe offers the Buono, which is all the more reason to covet it, but here I’ll discuss a few possible reasons *not* to buy it. At least not right away. If you’re into comparison shopping or just cheap like me, feel free to read on.

The pursuit of perfection defines us. "Coffee," broadly construed, makes this clear as day. In the land of single-serve, for example, people often ask what machine they should buy that can make both great espresso and great drip coffee. There is no such machine, of course*, but we're driven to seek one out nonetheless. Still, the best evidence of our relentless perfectionism that I've encountered recently has to be the Pharos, perhaps the ultimate manual coffee grinder. Behold what the good folks at Orphan Espresso have created: