ex trahere wrote:For vac-pot, I exclusively use the Hario TCA 2 (240ml). I prefer making small amounts of siphon at a time, so it suits me perfectly.

For drip, I use a wood neck most of the time, or a V60 if I don't feel like cleaning up the cloth. Both I find use the same pour technique, which I have gotten much more repeatable with my kettle gicleur.

No one has really mentioned cold brew, but it is coming up on that time of year. I have messed around with the slow drip (Kyoto style as it is for some reason often called), V60 over ice, and immersion style. I have found that the immersion style followed by a multistep filtration ending in cloth is my favorite cold brew.

Your preference for brew methods is almost identical to mine. I need to get back into using my siphon more. The kettle gliceur is the way to go!

My favourite non-espresso brew is Turkish. It's fairly simple compared to espresso but it has a nice heavy mouthfeel...plus brewing with a bit of sugar so it's semi-sweet gives a nice energy boost

I'm primarily an espresso drinker, but I drink non-espresso brew at the office (for reasons of convenience) and occasionally at home. Until the arrival of the Trifecta, I could state with some truthfulness that I had every coffee brewing method known to man. These days I alternate between vac pot (Yama), manual pourover (Hario V60), "auto" drip brewer (this one), CCD, AP (inverted of course), and press pot. No clear favorite, although I am somewhat less fond of the sediment-laden press pot than filter brewing methods.

I used to drink primarily espresso as well, til I started roasting. Now the only time I drink espresso at home is the random weekend. Im glad this happened though, an amazing cup of french press, syphon, clever, pour over etc is a beautiful thing(As beautiful as any god shot). And as stated before, some coffees just don't work as espresso. I dont want to miss one of these coffees, just because it doesn't fit my preferred way of brewing.

Sam21 wrote:I favorite brew method is the Woodneck. Cloth filtration really creates an amazing layered cup with great body. It really highlights the African coffees that I love so much! Speaking of cloth filtration, I used to be a huge siphon fan and need to get back into it. I have a Hario TC-3 as well as a TC-2 lower globe that I swap when the situation calls for it.

I've never really tried the cloth filtration. When I got my first Siphon, I had already picked up a Cory glass filter rod off of eBay in anticipation of an all glass brew method, almost nothing between me and my coffee and coffee oils. I've upgraded to Silex and Pyrex lox-in glass filter rods that have a spring and lock in place to prevent bobbling (and have a chain touching the bottom of the pot to provide nucleation sites for the bubbles to form).

Your post and a post on the iced coffee have me reconsidering my stance a bit. All the cold process I've tried to make have tasted muddled, but I hear if you cloth filter, it cleans up the brew while allowing the oils through. I guess my major hesitation has been clean up and cloth care. It just seems like a PITA. I even tried making Aeropress filters out of 5 micron polyester filters cut from a sheet I got from McMaster Carr (before the metal Aeropress filters) but found that they became impregnated with coffee grounds and were a pain to clean.

Is cleaning and maintaining a cloth coffee sock manageable? If so, this may become a new favorite brew method.

I like Chemex best, but would love to try the clever.

Paper filtered drip (technivorm) for it's clarity and "oh-so-easy", spot-on, repeatability, then Turkish (which I definitely don't drink enough of!)

yakster wrote:I've never really tried the cloth filtration. When I got my first Siphon, I had already picked up a Cory glass filter rod off of eBay in anticipation of an all glass brew method, almost nothing between me and my coffee and coffee oils. I've upgraded to Silex and Pyrex lox-in glass filter rods that have a spring and lock in place to prevent bobbling (and have a chain touching the bottom of the pot to provide nucleation sites for the bubbles to form).

Your post and a post on the iced coffee have me reconsidering my stance a bit. All the cold process I've tried to make have tasted muddled, but I hear if you cloth filter, it cleans up the brew while allowing the oils through. I guess my major hesitation has been clean up and cloth care. It just seems like a PITA. I even tried making Aeropress filters out of 5 micron polyester filters cut from a sheet I got from McMaster Carr (before the metal Aeropress filters) but found that they became impregnated with coffee grounds and were a pain to clean.

Is cleaning and maintaining a cloth coffee sock manageable? If so, this may become a new favorite brew method.

I maintain a cloth filter for my Woodneck and Siphon and use both weekly. The Siphon tends to be more of a weekend brew method for me. When not in use, I keep both filters in a pyrex dish (with lid) of cold water in the fridge. I personally find them fairly easy to maintain. The truth is that you do have to take care of them, but it doesn't have to be a time consuming process. Here is my process...

After making a siphon, I wash the filter and scrub it with my thumbs under the tap to get out any movable crud. Then I put the filter in a pyrex dish with some hot water and let it soak while I clean up the rest of my equipment. By the time that I am done cleaning I return to the filter, change the water, and put it back in the fridge. The routine for my Woodneck is almost exactly the same.

Every week or so, usually on the weekends, I will soak both filters in a hot water/JoeGlo bath for 30-60 minutes, rinse them thoroughly, and put them back in the fridge. I've been using the same Woodneck cloth for 4 months now using this routine. The filters never return to their original color fully, but they impart no off flavors to the brew. My guide for tossing a filter is when it seems to not allow the water to pass normally and imparts bitter flavors to the cup. This cleaning process is what I got from Barismo and it has worked beautifully.

Cloth and metal filtration (Disk and Kone) produce some of my favorite cups.

Good luck!

Espresso is by far and away my favourite way to brew coffee. But as someone mentioned before, I still want to try coffees that aren't suited for espresso that are still great.

I've just recently started diving into preparing coffee using Aeropress. I tend to use my Hario 3 cup with chemex paper filters (suspended with a chopstick) at work. I primarily drink tea at work, while I love coffee, I don't need it all day.

I have tried the Kone v2 for the better part of a year and every time I go back to the chemex filters and the Hario I do backflips. I have come to the conclusion that a sediment laden cup of coffee, IMHO is a ruined cup of coffee. I always prefer the clean, clear cups and don't much care for the extra oils to get through for more structure in the cup. I've opted to only truly care about optimal flavour performance with espresso and just ENJOY other methods. The Kone took away any enjoyment, unfortunately.

I have a Siphon that I used once, I wish I used it more. It uses a cloth filter, and they are GREAT, but high maintenance and can get expensive.

entropyembrace wrote:My favourite non-espresso brew is Turkish

I almost forgot about Turkish/Greek. That is the only other way I drink coffee besides espresso.