Started drinking espresso about 2 years ago, never drank any coffee prior to that. I sort of want to give brew a try, plus my wife likes regular coffee and was thinking that "I" would like to make her something other than the Keurig, which she prefers to use due to the fact that it is easy for her to just push a button.

Thinking of the v60, switch or the Aeropress.

Thinking of getting the switch over the v60 since I don't have a gooseneck kettle at the moment and figure that the switch will do fine with just pouring in the water, can always buy a kettle if we end up using this method and use the switch as a v60?. With the ball up on the switch is it the same as a v60? I saw on the prima site a video where the person showing the features of the switch stated that the hole size is different. Does this, or anything else, make the switch not the same as the v60 in a meaningful way?

Aeropress I assume is not as clean as a hario?

Also, at the moment I have a Kinu classic with the espresso burrs. I have read that this is not an ideal grinder for brew, but I am wondering if it is horrible for brew? At the moment I am not sure I want to invest heavily is brew as I like espresso and I am not sure my wife really cares as she does like the Keurig. I have NO interest in swapping the brew burr in and out every time I switch methods.

Thanks!

Ken

Not sure what you are implying with "I," but note that the V60 is arguably the hardest dripper to use well. Beyond the, for lack of a better term, "intermediate level" cup quality, I found the V60 harder than espresso.

I'd take a Clever Coffee Dripper over a Switch as the CCD is available in two capacities (and two designs) and, unlike the Switch, you can get by without pre-heating the CCD. The capacity of the Switch may also be limiting - about a 240ml water pour is the practical maximum (so about a 210ml beverage).

The Aeropress is all about how you use it. You can get as clean a cup as any other method with the right technique and filter papers.

The Kinu burr isn't horrible for brew. It wouldn't be my first choice amongst hand grinder burrs, but that's more about how much effort is needed to grind light filter roasts with that burr.

Thanks Craig! Appreciate the info! Will not get the v60 for now and will look at the Clever after signing off here.

Guess I was not clear with the 'I', there is no way my wife will ever make a cup other than with the Keurig. LOL

I do find the Kinu really easy for medium roasts, lighter it sure is more difficult. Had no idea other hand grinders were not the same.

Ken

Ken5 wrote:Guess I was not clear with the 'I', there is no way my wife will ever make a cup other than with the Keurig. LOL

I have experience with that, but in my case it was tea, not Keurig.

As an aside, there are some pretty nice resusable/refillable k-cups now.

Ken5 wrote:I do find the Kinu really easy for medium roasts, lighter it sure is more difficult. Had no idea other hand grinders were not the same.

It all has to do with the feed rate that the burrs were designed for. The Kinu's burrs are pretty aggressive, and feed and grind pretty quickly. For their pourover burr, Kinu went with a slower feed rate so the burrs are much easier to turn - but you need to turn a lot more times than the original burrs to grind the same amount of coffee.

Through the week I only use my AeroPress, with espresso grind.
During holidays I use the AeroPress and grind with my Kinu Classic, with espresso burrs and espresso grind.

I get a (imo) very nice, clean coffee out of it, that still has a 'bite'.
It is ready in 2 minutes (I use a boiling water tap).

Thanks Craig,

Is there a hand grinder that is easy to use for light roasts? I have read that the comandante is better for brew as far as taste than the kinu, but is it any easier to grind? Enough so that it is actually easy with light beans?

Thanks Guido,

You don't have that bite with your Eureka?
You use the same grind as for your espresso? Thought it would be better to grind coarser, is it hard to press down the plunger?

Ken

I have a Kinu M47 with both the espresso and pourover burrs. Espresso burr imo is very good for brewed coffee imo and so is the pourover burr, so I wouldn't worry about buying anything new if you like using the Kinu already. I've ground some really dense roasts with the aggressive espresso burrs and the trick is to tilt the grinder at a bit of an angle while so that you have fewer beans in the burrset at once and won't jam up your rotation. I use James Hoffmanns clever dripper recipe with a slight ratio change using the Kinu, since the espresso burr seems to taste much clearer when the coffee bed is churned/agitated less. For 18:250, I use between 3.2 and 3.4, and slightly finer or coarser when I change my dose, espresso at 1.4-1.7.


The Kinu pourover burrs are $40 and taste good for pourover and I think a bit less so for immersion (still need to experiment more). It takes almost zero effort to grind with those burrs even with extremely dense roasts, but it takes me 60 seconds to grind 18-20g at a pourover setting.

Same rules apply as espresso as always, grind finer for more sweetness and reduced acidity, grind coarser for more flavor separation and more juicyness and the Kinu will do just fine

Ken5 wrote:Thanks Craig,

Is there a hand grinder that is easy to use for light roasts? I have read that the comandante is better for brew as far as taste than the kinu, but is it any easier to grind? Enough so that it is actually easy with light beans?

This can get a bit confusing as burr feed rate can also vary by grind size. For example, a burr can be easy to turn for filter but a pain for espresso - but another burr can have the reverse behaviour. Also, some grinders have longer handles than others, leading to less perceived effort.

The Kinu pourover burr is easy to grind with but is also (to me) annoyingly slow. Pham's experience above seems typical.

I haven't been buying hand grinders for a few years now so I have no idea of, for example, how 1z-presso, Timemore, Option-O, etc., grinders behave. Of the hand grinders that I do have, most have Italmill 38mm-48mm burrs, which are (to me) painful for light roasts. For light roasts I'll always go with the Orphan Espresso's with their Etzinger burr or the (bolted-down) OE Apex. However, again, there are many newer burr designs that I have no experience with.

The Kinu burr is a 47/48mm Italmill burr.
It's in a lot of grinders, does well on espresso and filter.
Case and point, Matt Winton WBrC champ used a kinu for his coffees and won on the world stage. If it wasn't good he wouldn't have used it.
From what I hear (no personal experience with it) is the commandante burr better for acidity and clarity, yes. But that doesn't mean the kinu is bad. They just accomplish different goals in terms of flavor.