Apologies for a aimless post but I have the itch to buy some cheapish gear (under $50 or so since I'm prohibited from buying any more espresso machines) and am wondering what cool brewing toys I have overlooked. The toys I have but aren't mentioned in my profile include Hario Woodneck (nel), Aeropress (+Able fine), Frenchpress, plastic v60, mokka pot, and turkish cezve.

It's been fun changing things up since buying a bunch of 4oz sample packs, so I am wondering if I am missing out on any type of brewing device.
What's next?
Chemex, Syphon? Other?

Thanks in advance for indulging my curiosity

Clever Coffee Dripper
Impress...fantastic for travel

If it were me, with that list of stuff on hand, I'd consider:

Clever or Bonavita's Immersion Filtercone
Espro (if that isn't your current FP)
Impress (if you travel a lot)

Those are the three brewers I use most frequently. If you get a Clever you may find that you stop using the Aeropress and v60 except on rare occasions, and the Espro is a significant step forward in terms of the quality of French Bress brewing.

How do you like the nel drip? I've been meaning to try one of those for a while (every since reading the Blue Bottle book), but I still haven't gotten around to it.

Being a clever owner, I would suggest passing it up. My vote? Stove-top siphon brewer.

Second on stove-top vac pot.

Marvin

The Vac Pot is much cheaper than a Trifecta, but brews a similar cup, I'd vote for one.

The Impress brew mug is also very nice, especially for commuting / travel. Since it's a cup as well as a brew method, it means that you don't have to bring a separate brewer and cup, but may make it harder to share your coffee, it's more an individual brew method if you drink out of the brewer with the lid.

Both these methods are full immersion brews. The Impress uses a metal filter with fine holes which will allow some fines to pass as well as the oils to give you a nice cup. Most vac pots can be used with metal filters or glass filter rods that will also allow the oils and some fines to pass as well.

My finest manual drip brew coffee (by far) has come from my Kalita.
It's also forgiving, way mores than was my Hario V. YMMV

If it wasn't for the limited availability of filters and their cost, I'd recommend the Kalita as well. You can always cheat and use Melita filters folded over an Aeropress funnel or just make sure to always buy extra filters. It looks like Kalita may have some supply chain problems:

@Kalitausa on 21-FEB-14 wrote:Our new shipment just cleared customs after an agonizing five weeks. Shipping out to a Kalita wholesaler near you next week!

I have a pretty long-standing love affair with the Chemex. The 6 or 8 cup are the most controllable and repeatable. Its flavor clarity is almost unrivaled. The cups are clean and sweet when made well. But I will say this: the simplicity of the Chemex is deceptive. Finding the sweet spot isn't so easy, but when you nail it, it's a better cup than any method I've ever used. Obviously, that's totally subjective, but that's my take.

One last thing: you have to wash the filters unreasonably to get rid of all of the papery taste. They're so thick, I often rinse 1/2 a liter through.

Good luck on your brewing adventure!

-Dave-

UltramaticOrange wrote:Being a clever owner, I would suggest passing it up. My vote? Stove-top siphon brewer.

Sheesh, I completely forgot MY love affair with my vac pots.
I just don't use them as much as before. Generally, I need only a cup or 2 when doing manual. My BraZen serves as my multi cup device.