WANTED: My Ideal Coffee Setup

I take some pride in the fact that I don’t need coffee to start my day. That does not mean I am a particularly happy person in the morning, just that I can begin without it and be productive.

When my dad decided to get rid of his Keurig and it’s overpriced K-cups, I took it. After trying a few different brands, I settled on the Krispy Kreme K-cups (not a good initialism). How much easier could making coffee be?

But there’s really not art to it. And so, after going to Estonia this summer and discovering the Chemex at a coffee shop, I set out on finding my ideal coffee setup. After some research, here’s what I’ve come up with.

STEP 1: Heat your water


Heating your water should be the first thing that happens. You shouldn’t grind your beans until you have to put them in the coffee maker. A gooseneck kettle allows you to control the pour better, which is great for letting your ground coffee “bloom”, that is, release CO2 before brewing.

STEP 2: Grind your beans


Good if you’re need a way to grind coffee without electricity.

[Bodum Bistro Conical Burr Grinder](http://amzn.to/1OMi8re)

Best for the convenient life, and for grinding more than a serving’s worth of beans.

STEP 3: Brew Your Coffee

Single Cup

Aerobie AeroPress – 32
Seems like a nerdy way to make coffee—but all of this does to a novice, really. The AeroPress can make a variety of coffee and is a great single serve method that can be taken camping and is fairly easy when camping. People that have it generally love it.

With Friends


[Chemex 8-cup Coffee Maker](http://amzn.to/1V6FYNV)

Discovered the Chemex at a coffee shop in Estonia. (They’re rebranding as Coffee People.) Funny enough, it was invented in the United States and is considered one of the best ways to make pour over coffee due to the conical opening.