how do I make a brew?

[scorecard]

11 hours ago, HighPriority said:

My Thai wife thinks that the pinnacle of coffee making is three in one and a cup of hot water from 7/11... ????

My Thai son grew up with fresh coffee.

 

He often brought 2 or 3 buddies home from uni. In the door, straight to the kitchen, son quickly prepares:

 

- One cup of fresh coffee using small french press.

- Two or three cups of 3 in 1.

 

He had already given up trying to get his buddies to drink fresh. 

 

 

[Peterw42]

9 hours ago, naboo said:

In order of best to worst:

 

1. Pressurized coffee machine - cost THB12,000 for the most basic model that can produce a good coffee at 9 bar pressure.
2. Percolator (you already have by the sounds of it, try putting a metal plate over the hob if you can't get it to sit on the hob properly).
3. An Aeropress available at Hilkoff for THB1500 (http://www.hillkoff.com/product-th-678438-2702185-Aero+Press+เครื่องชงสุดฮิป.html)
4. meh - anything else and the gift was a waste of effort - drip machine, sock coffee, french press, all produce a strange brown mixture that doesn't resemble coffee and often tastes worse than instant.
5. Instant - only below drip filter coffee due to me being a snob. Tastes equally as terrible.
6. 3-in-1. About as appealing as warm diarrhea infused with goats' urine.

You have nailed it, number 1 is coffee, number 2 is coffee when you are camping and dont have electricity, not a fan of the rest. You could also split number one into cheaper pump machines that make pressure using a pump, or real machines that make steam under pressure.

 

Personally, I would like to see coffee have similar naming standards as Champagne or parmasean cheese etc. Instant coffee should be named substitute, imitation etc.

[Nyezhov]

Speaking as a coffee maven, your tastiest coffee is out of those Siphon machines, but if I put a properly brewed anything in front of you you couldnt tell the difference. There is good coffee and there is bad coffee, and bad coffee only comes lukewarm out of a Gas Station carafe or in a packet.

 

 

 

 

[allanos]

I gave up drinking tea at least 50 years ago, and have tried all the various machines for producing a decent cup of coffee, and all of which I finally put into cardboard boxes and then into storage.  I am at a stage in my life when convenience is prime, so I now use a small, cheap (less than 3 dollars) Chinese-made cafetiere (french press) and which produces a wonderful cup of coffee each time.

 

You cannot make a good brew with an inferior product, so probably best to experiment initially as to what coffee suits your taste buds.  The darker the coffee bean, the less caffeine, btw.  Personally, I like so-called French roast, a darkish coffee with great taste, but not as dark as an Italian roast.

 

If you are using a French press, once you have topped up the container with hot water, let it stew for two minutes, then stir.  Wait a further 3 minutes, and stir again.  Three minutes later, press the plunger down.  If there is too much resistance, you have not waited long enough.  The plunger should go down to the bottom without having to push strongly.

[Henricus]

easy

[seancbk]

21 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

I am a coffee drinker but not an officianado so my brew is boil the kettle and pour it over Moccano instant, finished. For me perfect, no fuss, quick and happy.

Introduce promprem!

Friends visiting Vietnam were asked to bring back some Mocha by the wife for the wife. Generosity brought us 2kg of mocha and 2kg of Arabica.

I would quite like to give it a try but our only coffee maker is one of those one cup 150ml stovetop 6 sided espresso makers which is firstly not very convenient for 2 people and secondly very awkward positioning over the flame.

 

I know they make a 300ml 2 cup size kettle but really I want a pot full and so does the wife.

 

I am not at all interested in the likes of entertaining a deLonghi 6k plus coffee maker nor one with fancy grinders and 12 buttons and functions for a breakfast brew, looking for something simple, electric, maybe filter papers....most important cheap so I can put any saving towards new tools which is far more important.

any ideas?

 

Some very cheap coffee filters here
 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=coffee+filter&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.1125719cJroGdZ

You could also make Cold Brew coffee which is very nice 
 

 

 

[newatthis]

16 hours ago, elektrified said:

Buy this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Premium-18-10-Stainless-Steel-French-Press-Coffee-Tea-Brewer-Double-Wall-1Liter-34-Ounces/32701836709.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.72444c4dsnkGpt

 

Makes the best coffee I've ever made and I've been making coffee every morning since I was 17. You do need to grind the coffee very fine though. I bought the 800 ml model. Perfect for a few cups. I add 3 heaping scoops, pour hot water in almost to the top, give it a stir, put on the top and wait 4 minutes before pushing the plunger down. Makes a perfect cup(s). I've had this one for a year now. Still in excellent condition. The best Chinese product I've ever bought.

And if you don't want to send to China you could try:

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?from=suggest_normal&location=local&page=1&q=french press coffee maker

[eyecatcher]

Thanks for all the great ideas.

I took the opportunity to look at the new refurbished Yok supermarket today, which is a massive improvement.

Not a great deal of choice on cafetieres or the drip kettles but they are good quality and quite stylish.

Bought this one for 500bt, its a 600ml so thats fine.

 

Gave it a test run, and realised I was skimping on the coffee but it was ok, but doesnt match up to a beer at 4pm

Will give it another run out tomorrow, increase the measures.

 

Nice thread, thanks for the advice.

[Bredbury Blue]

37 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

Thanks for all the great ideas.

I took the opportunity to look at the new refurbished Yok supermarket today, which is a massive improvement.

Not a great deal of choice on cafetieres or the drip kettles but they are good quality and quite stylish.

Bought this one for 500bt, its a 600ml so thats fine.

 

Gave it a test run, and realised I was skimping on the coffee but it was ok, but doesnt match up to a beer at 4pm

Will give it another run out tomorrow, increase the measures.

 

Nice thread, thanks for the advice.

If it comes with one of those little measuring scoops, i find 2 scoops is right for vietnamese and 3 scoops for other coffees (vietnamese I've bought from various  sources tends to be STRONG -  a Vietnamese work colleague brought me 6 bags back this week, it's STRONG).

[sometimewoodworker]

My choice is cold brewed coffee and it avoids the pitfalls of the first 2 methods in the video that will let fine grounds into the coffee.

Recipe is:

½ a 250gram bag of coffee into a 2 litre jug.

Add almost all of a 1.5 litre bottle of mineral water.

Put it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, 3 days are also no problem.

Filter using a Melitta 6 cup drip filter.

Pour the coffee into the 1.5 litre water bottle and refrigerate.

It will be perfectly OK for at least a week and can also be frozen with no  deterioration.

 

I drink it hot and 2:40 seconds for about 400ml is perfect.

 

The advantages are, if kept hot it doesn't go rancid, reheating doesn't affect the taste, it's much les acidic so tastes sweeter than hot brewed coffee. A full perfect thermos of black coffee takes less than 3 minutes with virtually nothing to clear up. Takes less of your time. Gives a much better tasting cold coffee, if you like that.

 

The disadvantages, has to be prepared ahead of time, the coffee smell is only when mixing the coffee before putting it in the fridge.

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by sometimewoodworker

[Greenside]

Before you buy anything, stop by Hillkoff's main branch next to Amway on Mahidol Road, on the left just past the Nong Hoi flyover as you head for the superhighway.  Wonderful selection of everything you could wish for for making coffee.  Well, maybe not socks...

 

Cheap French press to Starbucks industrial size mega machines and a great selection of beans.  Try the French Roast @ 350 per kg.

[Lacessit]

Keep It Simple Stupid. Open can. Pour into cup. Microwave for 1 minute 10 seconds.

[Lacessit]

20 hours ago, naboo said:

In order of best to worst:

 

1. 3-in-1. About as appealing as warm diarrhea infused with goats' urine.

Just wondering how you are able to make the comparison without experience.

[hugocnx]

Best thing I can come up with y'all have been pulled at least one leg.

[Dumbastheycome]

Any coffee extracted from a non pressurised system is  gnats  pee.

Something like this  gives  you a better brew, low  energy consumption.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/duchess-coffee-maker-espresso-cappuccino-model-cm3000b-i268818-s273531.html?spm=a2o4m.pdp.recommendation_2.2.25733a2dr9W15A&mp=1&clickTrackInfo=7552ea3b-fac2-4c49-9d74-078b24403b95__268818__11781__trigger2i__124582__0.755__0.73928505__0.0__0.44070134__0.37539005__0.73928505&scm=1007.16389.126158.0

 

[Dumbastheycome]

22 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Keep It Simple Stupid. Open can. Pour into cup. Microwave for 1 minute 10 seconds.

But what about  coffee?????

[elektrified]

5 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

Thanks for all the great ideas.

I took the opportunity to look at the new refurbished Yok supermarket today, which is a massive improvement.

Not a great deal of choice on cafetieres or the drip kettles but they are good quality and quite stylish.

Bought this one for 500bt, its a 600ml so thats fine.

 

Gave it a test run, and realised I was skimping on the coffee but it was ok, but doesnt match up to a beer at 4pm

Will give it another run out tomorrow, increase the measures.

 

Nice thread, thanks for the advice.

 

Good choice. Make sure the coffee is well ground - like powder. If the grind is too coarse then the coffee will be weak.

Edited February 20, 2019 by elektrified

[smotherb]

Just tell your wife your want good brewed coffee; sorted.

[smotherb]

On 2/19/2019 at 10:37 PM, HighPriority said:

French press ????????

Ive found that with the cheaper ones sometimes the plunger filter doesn’t seal as well as the better brands do.

With the stovetop percolator you can fill the cup 1/3 full with coffee from the pot then top off with boiling milk, like a late’. 

Qne-third coffee, two-thirds milk?  Coffee-flavored milk. 

[elektrified]

17 hours ago, newatthis said:

And if you don't want to send to China you could try:

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?from=suggest_normal&location=local&page=1&q=french press coffee maker

The model I posted is the only model I found after searching through dozens of them and asking the seller's questions in which the rod is threaded on both ends. The others all have a very poor single drop of spot weld. The one I previously purchased at Central for double the cost (2000 Baht) lasted about 6 months before the welds came apart on both ends.

 

Edit: I notice that the seller has removed the photos of the threaded ends of the rod and removed this important detail from the description. Maybe ask the seller before purchasing! That was the main reason I recommended it as it set it apart from all the others.

Edited February 21, 2019 by elektrified

[eyecatcher]

8 hours ago, elektrified said:

The model I posted is the only model I found after searching through dozens of them and asking the seller's questions in which the rod is threaded on both ends. The others all have a very poor single drop of spot weld. The one I previously purchased at Central for double the cost (2000 Baht) lasted about 6 months before the welds came apart on both ends.

 

Edit: I notice that the seller has removed the photos of the threaded ends of the rod and removed this important detail from the description. Maybe ask the seller before purchasing! That was the main reason I recommended it as it set it apart from all the others.

The one you posted earlier, the one from lazada, they sell that one or an identical one in Bakermart nong hoi as I fondled it the day before.....but i didnt know what it did hence this thread.

[HighPriority]

14 hours ago, smotherb said:

Qne-third coffee, two-thirds milk?  Coffee-flavored milk. 

Try it, you’ll be surprised...

[smotherb]

12 hours ago, HighPriority said:

Try it, you’ll be surprised...

I have tried coffee with cream in many ways. I do not care for it. Although I have not tried the coffee flavored milk you suggest; I doubt I'd be surprised, I can imagine the milked-down coffee taste. I like my coffee strong and black, the deeper and more robust the coffee flavor the better. 

 

My wife also likes strong coffee; although, she uses about one-third condensed milk in it. So she gets somewhat of a coffee flavor in that sweet syrupy milk-flavored liquid.  

[Bournville]

French press.

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[eyecatcher]

5 hours ago, Bournville said:

French press.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

what about it?

 

post 46, is this a new suggestion?

Edited February 22, 2019 by eyecatcher

[HighPriority]

14 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

what about it?

 

post 46, is this a new suggestion?

No, I think he’s just adding his vote for a French Press/Plunger coffee. 

[eyecatcher]

3 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

No, I think he’s just adding his vote for a French Press/Plunger coffee. 

ah ok, I didn't notice someone had set up a poll

[chingmai331]

Post #34 says "You cannot make a good brew with an inferior product, so probably best to experiment initially as to what coffee suits your taste buds.  The darker the coffee bean, the less caffeine, btw. "

My advice to the above is use Arabica beans only, not Robusta.  If you don't know about the difference, educate yourself. And don't believe the claim of caffeine in dark beans...

 

During the roasting process, a bean loses its mass. ... If you measure your coffee by scoops, light roasted coffee will have more caffeine. Since the beans are denser than a darker roast. However if you weigh out your scoops, darker roasts will have more caffeine, because there is less mass.

 

And many of us actually WANT more caffeine, so use a goodly amount of ground beans.  

[Bournville]

what about it?
 
post 46, is this a new suggestion?

Well pardon me for not reading ALL the posts! 55555. Unlike you... I have a life. 555

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[Dinobot]

Different but related question, since it seems all the coffee aficionados are here in one place:

Please list your favorite coffee brand that sells whole beans grown in Thailand. I’ve tried so many, mostly wonderful types around town, and just recently started brewing at home. So far I’ve bought beans from Akha Ama and like it, but I’m sure there are tons more to try and enjoy.