Lately we’ve been having trouble with K-cups exploding in the coffeemaker. It’s a CUISINART, if that matters. Makes a big mess and it’s obvious that the design of the machine did not prioritize easy cleaning.

Internet wags inform that the problem has to do with the having too much air in them and to poke a little hole in the top of any cup that has a muffin top. That seems to help but not every time.

There are others who think the cups themselves are defective and to try another brand. I hope this isn’t true - we’ve settled on a brand we really like (Gevalia) and woukd hate to change.

Your thoughts?

K-cups are the spawn of the devil.

Mary Anna occasionally uses Gevalia in our Keurig. I use other brands. I've never had one explode.

When you close the lid, it punctures the top and the bottom to let the water in and out anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
K-cups are the spawn of the devil.

I recently read an article that suggested that K-cups, because they don't use as much coffee as filter brewing, might be more environmentally friendly than you think.

Oh, coffee.

Never mind.

We've had it happen, usually on a Kroger brand MFR liked. No problems with Gevalia or other major brands. It is a serious pain to clean it up.

I have officially graduated to coffee snob status.

As some of you know, and thanks to wtg, I have been using an Aeropress for many years. I bought a Baratza Encore conical burr grinder 8+ years ago and it has been and continues to be a very good grinder for filter coffee.

In 2018 a former RC-Helicopter teammate Cullen, told me about espresso and how, for under a couple hundred dollars I could get a very competent espresso machine by a company called Flair. It is a completely manual process. I bought one and played with espresso for a while then lost interest and packed it away for a few years.

I recently got it out of storage and bought a couple of upgrades for it including a pressure gauge which really helps keep the pressure in good espresso range.

Here is the Flair Classic that I am packing away once again to make way for the new Flair "58". I am probably going to sell the classic setup.



I started to love espresso. I wanted to do more things like lattes and cappuccinos. So I bought a stovetop steamer. I love the steampunk look of this thing.



Last week Flair had a sale.

My friend Cullen gave me a $100 off coupon that was valid even during sale, so I bought their top of the line machine with electrically heated brew chamber and an official 58mm diameter portafilter, with a wood handle even! lol

I also bought a new Turin DF64 flat burr grinder which is well suited for espresso. Here is messy photo of the new setup.



And my first attempt at Latte Art. It was supposed to be a heart but turned into an onion.



I am buying fresh roasted, small batch beans from indie coffee roasters. Mainly from my friend, Cullen who lives in Ohio. Mrs. Mark and I have been visiting local coffee shops over the past week or so. One in Madison, WI called Indie Coffee Shop, was excellent. They roast in-house so I bought a bag of their espresso beans. The others we have visited so far have been kind of disappointing.

I have spoiled most common forms of coffee for myself.

I still like a good French press, or pour over. But the Aeropress is still my favorite method for making a single cup of filter coffee.

I’m not sure if I am officially a snob, but this is my humble setup. The hand grinder was made in England, bought 50 years ago and still works fine.

The hardest part is finding beans I like. And the roasting level I like. The trend is toward light and medium. I prefer dark, but not too.

Saw this company on Shark Tank recently. The sharks loved the coffee. My order is on its way; will report back when we try some of their coffees.

https://kahawa1893.com/

I love seeing everyone's coffee setup! We used to use a Chemex and loved the coffee made that way. but we drink only two cups in the morning so we make electric drip in a little Melitta machine. Aeropress for single cup.

If I have a hankering for a cappuccino, I use one of the original little battery powered Aerolatte gizmos. It's down the page a bit:

https://www.aerolatte.com/

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
I’m not sure if I am officially a snob, but this is my humble setup. The hand grinder was made in England, bought 50 years ago and still works fine.

The hardest part is finding beans I like. And the roasting level I like. The trend is toward light and medium. I prefer dark, but not too.

Love the grinder!

Try some of Cullen's Dark Hollow Blend. It's a nice dark roast without being too dark. I order it darker than described.

https://grassycreekcoffee.com/...ig-black-dark-roast/

Hey, markj...I think you posted a link to Cullen's site before and I checked it out and meant to come back and ask you... I noticed that he says somewhere that he only ships to Ohio. Do you get the special treatment as an RC-helicopter friend, or will he ship anywhere for the rest of us average folks?

Thanks, wtg and markj for coffee suggestions. There are so many small roasters now! Some don't bother to tell you the roasting level they use, and the fanciest refuse to do anything darker than medium...implying that a you must not have much of a palate if you want something darker.

Cullen can now ship anywhere. He updated website a while back.

He will roast the Dark Hollow "as dark as you dare". If you select the Darker option then in the notes state, "Please roast as dark as you dare." He will roast it as dark as he dares. lol

He still has one place where it says he only ships to Ohio.

https://grassycreekcoffee.com/cart/

Will definitely try him out!

Correction, it is just a disclaimer for the store. But he will ship anywhere.