I can't remember if I've posted on nostr my advice for making good coffee at home.

If you drink instant coffee, there is something you can do that is very inexpensive and barely much more work than boiling a kettle of water, and your coffee will be way better than instant.

If you have an espresso machine at home, this advice isn't for you, you already have good coffee I imagine.

Here is the advice: Get an AeroPress. Get a coffee grinder that uses burrs. Doesn't have to be expensive. You can get a cheap hand grinder like a Timemore, Kingrinder, or 1zpresso... or mayb you can find an old cheap electric coffee grinder. As long as it uses burrs and doesn't have a spinning blade. Then buy whole coffee beans at the supermarket (try different ones until you get one you like). Grind the beans right before brewing in your AeroPress. Grind your coffee while you wait for the water to boil, setup the AeroPress with a filter, then pour in the grounds, pour in the hot water, let it sit about a minute, and press it through. FAR better than instant, and almost as instant. Plus very cheap. You can get an aeropress for probably < US $50 and a hand grinder also for < US $50. I bought both in NZ for less then NZ $100 each.

Using roast coffee beans instead of instant makes a big difference.

Grinding those beans semi-properly with a burr makes an appreciable difference.

The paper filter in the AeroPress and probably other factors about how it works makes a difference.

Instant sucks. Upgrade. But IMHO spending tons of money on espresso machines and fancy grinders isn't going to make your coffee that much better than AeroPress is. Unless you really need espresso shots, in which case... ask someone else.

Additionally:

Nespresso pod type machines: I don't like them. The coffee is weak and doesn't taste as good as an aeropress. You get about 5g per pod, I'd need 3 pods to fill my coffee cup. And the pods are far too expensive. I tried buying metal refillable pods, but then the hassle is even worse than an AeroPress for a coffee that doesn't really taste better.

Espresso machines: You are going to fiddle with these forever. You'll keep upgrading the machine, the grinder, messing around trying to dial it in... a rabbit hole and a very expensive rabbit hole. Unless you like spelunking into a new hobby, and are willing to pay a lot, I advise against doing this too. But you certainly can get a great coffee at home, it just probably wont happen with the first set of equipment you buy.

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