Meanwhile the Technivorm Moccamaster has a simple on/off switch that you could probably toggle with a relay, a motor, some gears, and a chopstick. It also makes just about the best coffee you're going to get with an automatic drip/filter machine.
The bigger challenge of course is that, if you want actually good coffee in the morning, you need to automate the weighing, grinding, and depositing of fresh coffee into a rinsed filter. That's going to look like Factorio in your kitchen.
+1 for that machine. It's not confused about what it is: it's a simple, well made machine. It'll probably outlast me.
> has a simple on/off switch that you could probably toggle with a relay, a motor, some gears, and a chopstick. It also makes just about the best coffee you're going to get with an automatic drip/filter machine.
It's even simpler than that! I did a quick writeup [0] on how you can use a $10 'smart' outlet to drive the process. To save people a click: and the smart outlet has power monitoring functions and the coffee maker has it's own "no-water-left" protection it's pretty easy to detect if the thing is brewing or not. If you want to take it further, you can also pulse power to get a preliminary bloom phase before you do the main brew.
> if you want actually good coffee in the morning, you need to automate the weighing, grinding, and depositing of fresh coffee into a rinsed filter.
I will not contest that the best coffee is the coffee that's been ground and brewed right in front of me. I will posit that if you do the grind before bed and then brew in the AM, the quality isn't going to be that different and pre-caffinated / still-groggy you is going to value the "it's there, ready to be drank" aspect far more than you'll value the marginal increase in quality that'd come from doing all the prep _right then_.
> That's going to look like Factorio in your kitchen.
That's not a downside, if you ask me :D. If you ask others, though...
>I will not contest that the best coffee is the coffee that's been ground and brewed right in front of me. I will posit that if you do the grind before bed and then brew in the AM, the quality isn't going to be that different and pre-caffinated / still-groggy you is going to value the "it's there, ready to be drank" aspect far more than you'll value the marginal increase in quality that'd come from doing all the prep _right then_.
I think I've become addicted to the tactility of making the coffee as much I have to the caffeine. Uh, I was going to go on a long description of the tactile experience of making the coffee in a pour-over brewer, but I'll save that for my journal ;)
> I think I've become addicted to the tactility of making the coffee as much I have to the caffeine.
You are not alone. Making pour-over coffee (from whole beans) is the first thing I do each morning, and I have several cups a day. Caffeine has no clearly noticeable effect on me, however, and I sometimes feel that I don’t even enjoy the taste that much. It dawned on me that the obsession is completely with the physical process, routine, and the fantastic aroma it creates.
You might notice it if you were to stop drinking coffee for a week - slight caffeine withdrawal. Also, I think that a small percentage of the obsession does come from caffeine addiction, the anticipation of the “hit”, etc. “No noticeable effect” can also mean that you just feel normal with it, but a bit uncomfortable (or tired) without.
I wouldn’t underestimate the drug, not anymore - doing a detox made me realize how it’s still a drug that does stuff to your brain and possibly your body.
With a couple of friends, we did a 0 caffeine challenge for a week. First to drink any caffeinated drink would have to get the first round of drinks after work on Friday.
Knowing the first couple of days I go without coffee I'm pretty slow, I started on the Saturday rather than the planned Monday.
On Tuesday I was getting tested for Covid because I was feeling feeverish (no actual fever), had cramps and intense pain in my back. By the end of the week I was feeling a little better. On Friday, we all had a cup of coffee together, no one had lost the challenge.
All that to say that never again will I underestimate the drug.
You’re probably right, although I know people who get headaches if they go one morning without it and that’s certainly not the case with me (and I can sleep after a shot of espresso too).
I don’t underestimate it, but so far the evidence seems to point to moderate coffee consumption being a net benefit. I’ll probably try having a no-caffeine week at some point anyway, just for, you know, science.
Yes, exactly! Automating it would take away the fun. I do understand why people automate it though - if you're trying to get your day started ASAP and coffee starts your day, then automating it makes a lot of sense.
I had a Oxo "Barrista Brain" that I really liked, partly because it would remind me when it needed cleaning, and could be scheduled to start brewing at a particular time. However, those fancy electronics ended up being the primary failure point 4 years down the line, the dial control failed.
I ended up replacing it with a Moccamaster and a Zigbee "smart outlet". Because the Moccamaster is so dead simple, I just leave it switched on, and use the button on the outlet to turn it off. To brew in the morning, I have a button on my headboard that if I hold it for 2 seconds starts the brewing. The "start brewing at X:YY" on the Oxo didn't end up working that great for me, because I get up at varying times (half an hour before my alarm this morning, for example).
So, I'd recommend anything with a rocker "on" switch and a smart plug, for sure.
> The bigger challenge of course is that, if you want actually good coffee in the morning, you need to automate the weighing, grinding, and depositing of fresh coffee into a rinsed filter.
Cables & Coffee have done a video on an automated Moccamaster including fresh grinding. Admittedly, you'll still have to change the filter yourself - but grinding and even the water refill are automated :)
I have a mocchamaster and when I switched to cold-brew, I couldn't go back.
After reading a friend's copy of "modernist cuisine" I was intrigued and tried the toddy system. A little clunky but the coffee was wonderfully mellow.
Since then I caved a little to practicality and use a cold brewer that is a 1/2 gallon mason jar with a perforated steel filter. The only difference I've ever heard about steel vs paper filters is that paper filters out the coffee oils (which could mean lower cholesterol).
+1 on a "cold brewer" that's just a jar and a filter. Cold brew is the easiest damn thing in the world and it's incredibly delicious. I actually sometimes brew cold brew and then heat it up, just because I like the smooth taste. You also don't have to give any kind of a shit about grind size or consistency since it's getting a 12-hour soak anyway. A lot of my cold brew is just espresso leftovers when I accidentally set the grinder wrong.
However I find that not all coffees taste good as cold brew. Some trial-and-error is needed.
I also find that paper filtering is much easier on my stomach than metal filtering, so I'd encourage it for anyone who has a sensitive stomach and doesn't already use a paper filter. Whatever oils are supposedly bad for my cholesterol, also make me feel like I'm simultaneously digesting myself and being rocketed to space, so IMO those are better off sent to the compost. I even use paper filters for Moka pot and espresso, in the form of circles cut from Chemex filters (courtesy of https://goodbrotherscoffee.com/).
I still do manual pour overs but it's hard to beat the Technivorm.
I imagine it's because the kettle is less precise when it comes to temperature (and decreases over the pour), whereas the machine can pump out the perfect temp the entire brew.
The bigger challenge of course is that, if you want actually good coffee in the morning, you need to automate the weighing, grinding, and depositing of fresh coffee into a rinsed filter. That's going to look like Factorio in your kitchen.