Tea Drinker's Log, Twelfth Moon of this year: I have been on a non-stop binge of Morgan's coffee videos since last year. I have not consumed coffee in nearly twenty years. One would call that ironic, having been a life-long tea drinker who even worked in a tea shop. It is not lost on me. Yet here I am. Fascinating video after fascinating video, I delve deeper into the coffee rabbit hole deeper than I would the world of tea. I have learned about all sorts of beans, gadgets, and methodologies that I never imagined possible. I must escape. I must. But I cannot. A tea drinker, forever trapped in Morgan's coffee realm. All is coffee. All is gliding across the floor. All wear black. Tell my wife I love her.
I don't drink coffee either; I mainly drink water and herbal tea. Or twigs and flowers, as my sister calls herbal tea. I like watching people who speak well about topics that they are educated or interested in. If they're interested, it can be interesting!
As a former Starbucks employee, when you said ask your Barista what they’re roasting and why, my brain went “Today we’re roasting Pike’s Place Roast, because that’s what we always do. Why? Well, no one really likes it, but it was focus grouped to be as bland and forgettable as possible, in hopes of bothering as few people as possible.”
Hello fellow former Sbux Barista. I went and remembered the oily beans falling into their cubes 😅. Sumatra could have been used to oil a damn pan. Yeah, that's what we're roasting. The chicken from the Maple Catastrophe.
@@sammiller6631 Because if you order the same thing over and over again you become accustomed to the texture and flavor of that item. When it runs out, you suddenly have to go through the mental gymnastics of figuring out what else to order off this daunting menu of confectionary dessert’s when all you really wanted was that original order. You don't want the dark blend, that is a chalky and smokey coffee, and you don't want espresso shots because those are far too concentrated and "bright" for your tastes, and you definitely don't want one of the many sugar overloads that are aren't really coffee, just caffeinated cream. All you want is that bland, multi-bean blend which is hot in your tummy and easy to sip on while you do paperwork. So you get upset, throw a fit, then order something else anyways. There is your answer.
A thing I found when I was getting milk from my local dairy was it also tasted different throughout the year (depending on what the cows are eating) I think I like the fall milk the best.
70 years ago I did not like milk. It tasted like onions. I only started drinking milk when the new processing was able to remove the wild onion smell and taste.
The fact that the first thing you talked about was about your inspiration and that you immediately linked the creator you got the idea from made me subscribe
You are so correct about the coffee! It cracks me up when I think about how I work at a SB licensed store, but every 2 weeks when I leave work I stop by a coffee shop on my way home to pick up some fresh locally roasted beans to use at home. (and I am usually still in uniform).
Definitely coffee is something I’ll always splurge on but the only gear I think is really worth splurging on is a really nice grinder. No matter how you brew it, consistent grinds will make your coffee extract more evenly. A nice grinder is something I wish I splurged on a long time ago.
@@alexismartinez7092 never go by brand. It should be on the product level. I have a Eureaka Mingon Facile. It’s everything I personally want and nothing more. It’s an espresso focused grinder but does well for AeroPress. It’s quiet, uniform across several grind settings, offers a stellar cup and taking it apart to clean is ONE screw to access the burrs. There’s fancier grinders with built in timers, scales ect but are not necessary IMO. I just grind into a dosing cup on my scale. I will say though Eureka as a whole (at least for their Mingon) line probably objectively has the best build quality of any grinder in its price point. It’s all metal, hefty, and has never stalled or given me issues.
Pretty much agree with everything you said Morgan except the syrups. We fell down the specialty coffee rabbit hole because both my wife and I are old people diabetic and we needed at least one vice that wasn't going to kill us or at least have our doctors look at us disapprovingly. Specialty coffee is a wonderful undertaking where you can spend ridiculous amounts of money on what is essentially a small beverage and derive immense satisfaction from just the tiniest improvements in taste and/or technique. I've never been a barista and at 68 years old I never will be and my puck prep borders on tea ceremony levels of obsession but I find it fun and delicious. BTW shout out to your local Clive Coffee and their wonderful La Spaziale Lucca A53 mini espresso machine. It's been staggeringly reliable and the steam wand is a beast.
One thing to remember: You don't have to drink your absolute favorite, first-born-child coffee every day. A former coworker gave me a small sample of Blue Bottle's Three Africas coffee, and it quickly became our absolute favorite. However, it's probably four or five times the cost of our every day coffees, so when we want to treat ourselves, my wife does a French press of the Blue Bottle for us to share.
@@ntdnguyen85 i would say i can see letting coffee 'stale' for a day or two than drink it when i don't feel like it it obviously heavily depends, but there are windows of time for everything, maybe you have a 200g bag, and for 60g a litre which is a bit weak, you have 3.33litres of coffee which, for again a small-ish cup of 200ml would be 16.67 cups, between 2 people we have about 8.33 cups per person for the average of 2 cups a day, that's done in 4 days, way less than coffee can keep its freshness if you brew a strong 75g/l, you'll have 2.67l, which in a 250ml cup will mean 10.67 cups, or more like 5.33 cups per person, can be finished in three days i won't weigh in on freshness, but i'd say within two weeks after resting is not an insane amount to wait, so maybe you'll only drink the special coffee every other day or only at noon in any case, what i want to say is good coffee can be out of your life much more quickly than you realise, though it may have a lasting impact while i don't expect quality from the desire to stretch out coffee, i can understand spending less money on freshness and more on a specific coffee my parents had to stretch out store bought coffee, that was a luxury in the old cold closed-down embargo'ed nation anyway, no harm meant, i totally get it and i also would have less cofee than stale coffee, but that's still within comfortable parameters cheers!
Total agree with the syrups comment! I've found getting different extracts to be more economical. A few drops of lavender/vanilla/whatever-I-want added to my sugar and things end up tasting great. I use the extra water in my kettle after making my coffee to make my syrup directly in a travel mug or a larger vessel for storage/use throughout the week. This generally saves me time and money
A 2:1 rich simple syrup is (supposedly completely) shelf stable (that changes if you add herbs or fruit juice, though not spices). The 'Truffels on the Rocks' channel recently had a video on tinctures to add to normal simple syrup, that adds a gramm or two of strongly flavored ~40% alcohol to your drink.
I agree on the barista oat milk! Even when I just make a French press coffee and add a splash of oat milk it tastes much better with the barista ones. They’re also less likely to curdle than regular oat milk.
yeah, the barista oat milks have things added to make them less likely to do that. Just a better mouth feel in warm drinks compared to regular oat drinks. I prefer the oddly goods one that I find here in Sweden.
@@theablanca17 I don’t think we have that one here in Germany yet, but I’ll keep my eyes open! My favourites that are easily available are the Oatly barista one and the Alpro Not Milk oat milk.
I use oat milk only when I want some fat in my cold brew. So far, I've only bothered with "Planet Oat Milk" (in the US). I can see the benefit of barista blends for hot coffees and frothing, but is it also better for cold coffees?
I am so lucky to have a local dairy who has a shop five minutes from my home. I usually do my regular coffee black, but with cold brew concentrate….AMAZING! Worth the splurge!
When it comes to coffee grounds, my family always used a big plastic bin like for sugar or folgers coffee to collect them, and my grandpa put them on his garden to deter pests. Then he'd give us back the bin and we'd refill it. Coffee grounds are surprisingly useful!
I've been enjoying your brown sugar syrup recipe for home made (and frankly superior) Starbucks oatmilk brown sugar shaken coffee! Thanks for everything, Morgan, you make the world and better place!
I whole heartedly agree with good coffee just tastes /good/. I purchased some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee as a Christmas present for my parents and they were kind enough to send me home with enough to brew a small pot for myself, and it was the only coffee that I drank without any kind of dairy or sweetener. It was just so smooth an delicious! Sadly it is very expensive and outside of my budget, but I dream of a day where I have more disposable income and can purchase some for myself. :)
G'day Morgan, soon after I bought my SMEG coffee machine and Sunbeam grinder, I bought a large Sunbean knock box, and I have been delighted with my knock box; nearly four years later, I still use it every day. I empty it about once or twice a week straight onto the garden. I'm retired, but three years ago, I worked self-employed as a lawn mowing man/gardener. The coffee grounds are suitable for the garden if you spread them around, and for another use, my niece has collected the grounds from my knock box and used them as a face pack, haha. So you can see I'm delighted with my knock box. It saves me so much time, is easy to use, and is environmentally friendly.
I splurge on making sure my water is consistent each time I brew. Lance Hedrick is big on this as I am sure you know. When I first started using specialty coffee, I used RO and Third Wave water packets. Once Lotus started shipping their minerals, I was a Kickstarter supporter, I use them. I noticed a significant difference moving from tap water, to Third Wave, and now Lotus. I think this enhances the flavor profile and makes each cup consistent regardless of where you are. On the road I buy distilled water or batch RO water in order to keep the consistency in my pour over brews.
A bit late to the party here, and maybe you’ve already come across it, but as someone who also has a hard time digesting dairy, I recently learned that many dairy-intolerant folks are actually bad with the A1/A2 beta-casein protein of commercially farmed cow breeds, NOT the lactose sugar in dairy. After much research, I’ve landed on Alexandre Family Farms milk, which has A2/A2 protein from heritage breeds like Jersey cows. Their cows are also pasture raised on regenerative organic farms, and their milk fat content starts just above 4%. Their cows are 80% grass fed but they do carry a seasonal full-fat milk that is 100% grass fed, which is my favorite. Plus, they’re out of California, so not too far from home for those of us in the west.
my #1 is getting coffee responsibly (or trying to at least). I buy through Trade and try to give the little indie roasters my money. Tastes soooooo much better than the grocery store stuff.
I like to roast my own. It really makes a big difference because the coffee I use is always very freshly roasted. I prefer Ethiopian Dry processed coffee in a light roast for its magnificent flavors!
I'm willing to spend money on: water filtration, good grind mill, quality coffee beans (learned to never buy faster than I consume), and my coffee pot. I love my cone drip thermal coffee pot set up. There's no warmer/burner, they always burn the coffee. The water reservoir is visible, the machine programming lets the grounds bloom before running the full pot of water and there are two temperature settings for a standard pot brew. Thanks for the tip on milk alternatives.
Thank you Morgan, spot on!! One comment on coffee: purchase beans that have been recently roasted and have not been sitting on the shelf for months! This can occur a both a grocery store and coffee shop, less so at a local roaster, but still happens!
Hi Morgan!!! I just found your channel not too long ago and watched ALL your shorts in one go. Your channel really gives me a comfy vibe that I really need rn with exams coming up. I've sent my boyfriend many of your shorts with a caption saying "this person is so sweet it makes me so happy 😭" because you're literally so sweet!! Keep up the amazing work!!!
I started roasting my own beans a couple years ago, and I'm never going back. It opens up such an enormous catalogue of beans from around the world. Trying just a fraction of them will be a lifetime journey. Lots of very good green bean suppliers with extensive cupping notes for each variety.
I not that into fancy coffee stuff, BUT, I moved from Maxwell house and Eight O’clock to Black Rifle Coffee Company, monthly I get their Beyond Black. I also get a bag each month of their Micro Roasts. That’s the coffee splurge. Gear wise I have pour over coffee daily. But I’m a Scout Leader so I take my Coffee too woods. I splurged on a GSI Hand grinder that’s packable. If we are doing a tailgating camp out the other gadget I splurged on GSI has an Espresso maker for a backpacking stove. And having just recently watched your “Long Black vs Americono” I’m gonna try that out on next camp out. I tend to make other Scouters Jealous. Cause they wanna leave camp and go too DD or STARBUCKS. I sit back in my camp chair and relax. Love yer content keep it up.
I’m going to give a plug to my favorite coffee in the world, ALDO’S in Greenport NY. Still roasts his own beans, old European guy. Amazing stuff, and always a treat to make. Highly recommended.
Your vibe is always so amazing both in your RUclips videos and your TikToks . I love your energy and it brings me an impeccable amount of both joy and peace
I have a pretty basic coffee setup, but definitely the most expensive parts are my grinders. I have two, an electric one that is good for pour-over, aeropress, or phin filter, and a manual that is great for espresso. I completely agree, though, that coffee from a specialty shop is just so much nicer than anything I can get from a grocery store. Even when I can find our locally roasted coffees in a grocery store, they're often not nearly as fresh as you would get from the coffee shop. Plus, there's just something about walking into one of my favorite shops and seeing what's new. Are there any small-batch roasted experimental types? What are the baristas really excited about today, do they sound like the type of coffees I generally enjoy? It's basically the difference in buying a loaf of bread from a grocery store and buying one from a local bakery. Absolutely will cost more, but it's a completely different experience.
+1 for the Sworksdesign WDT tool. It is absolutely worth it and beautifully manufactured. Another essential for me is a good tamper. I’d also prioritize it over the milk jug as I was able to successfully steam milk in a simple drinking glass without spout and handle, lol.
I think... my priorities are: 1) Specialty coffee: I mostly drink Copper Cow Coffee since when I started, I didn't have a brewer of any sort, but I had a electric tea kettle. CCCs are a pour over kit with essentially tea bags that you open and pour hot water over to brew coffee. It's also Vietnamese coffee and they tell you best how to brew it on the packaging. I find it delicious since I, somehow, started off on Vietnamese coffees because of work lol I've also started getting Square Mile coffee since its incredibly smooth too. 2) Sugar-free syrups: I'm pre-diabetic (though its getting better!) and they have flavors I can't make at home. and because of how I make my drinks, which kind of turns it into protein coffee drink, I'm making batches of coffee that should last me a day or 2 per jar and adding the syrup when I'm brewing is the best move. 3) Mason jars: It was a 4am buy and I've never looked back. It's been part of my journey into coffee and I don't think it'll change. plus its not like I'm burning my hands on them since my coffee is chilled. 4) Protein shakes: All I wanted when I started drinking coffee was a drink that was creamy and smooth. Instead of using milk, I use 1/2 a premier protein shakes carton that has no dairy or sugar and they have simple flavors. It also upped my protein because i just wasn't getting enough. now my coffee (which is more of a dessert for me) has the creamy and smooth texture flavor without being overly sweet. It's been much experimenting to find the best way to make and drink my coffee and these are things I can't live without and will splurge on every time. My coffee has absolutely helped me lose weight because now i don't crave the cookies and sweets. I just have a coffee or 2 and I'm good!
Completely agree with the knock boxes. My family dumps it into just any old container lying around since it mainly serves to just hold it until we compost it. The aesthetic is nice, but the cost isn’t necessary.
This was really fun! It's also super interesting bc I'm coming at this from a Cuban-American perspective, and the defining sort, of Thing, about Cuban coffee is taking often not-great constituent parts and making them taste excellent. Raw sugar is more expensive and harder to make espumita with, most household Cuban favorite coffees are quite cheap, and a good cafetera costs, like, $15, maybe a little more if it didn't come with a silicone gasket, and they're extremely easy to take with you. (My family has used hot irons in hotel rooms as stoves on family trips more than once!) This isn't discounting the cool work and chemistry that career baristas do, mind you - I've also worked as a more capital-T Traditional barista in the past, it's difficult and really cool - but I will say if anyone reading this wants to be able to make consistently good espresso without spending much money, have someone teach you how to make Cuban coffee. I will say a small part of my hometown boy side sees Italians drinking espresso without sugar and mentally treats them with the same fascinated derision one would show someone for eating chicken unseasoned in order to better appreciate it. But my non-lizard brain understands the difference lmao
For a DIY distribution tool I use lengths of excess guitar high E string (.25 mm music wire) inserted into a cork at about that same spacing. Is it janky looking? Yes. Does it work? Beautifully.
I was a huge coffee bean snob for years until covid and it was a nightmare trying to buy coffee at my local roaster. I started trying various whole beans on the grocery store shelf out of convenience and I never went back to my local roaster. I have been buying the store brand whole bean breakfast blend and will put that up against any expensive local lighter roast coffee. I realized grind, time, brew style, and temp play a far bigger role than the beans. I go back and forth between the Kalita Wave and Aeropress and my coffee tastes great.
a bottomless portafilter for home espresso (single and double/triple espresso) is a must-have item for me, on any level of espresso machine. Totally agree re high quality WDT tool being a mandatory thing to have. You also need a filter-basket funnel to use WDT properly as you have shown on this video. And good quality digital scales with accuracy of 1/10 of a gram (or even 1/100 gram) is absolutely mandatory for espresso.
The WDT needles are the same ones used to clean out the nozzles on 3d printers. You can get a pack of 20 for a couple bucks. If you know someone with a printer or have one, you can print a proper WDT tool for under 3 bucks.
@@morgandrinkscoffeeI know that at least in my area, some libraries are starting to get 3d printers that are publicly accessible, and you just pay for the filament by weight, so they’re just becoming easier to come by
I live in the inland northwest, and Alpenrose is definitely my favorite because it’s both so much better and is less expensive than the national brands. Also, I like that they don’t add emulsifiers or other additives to their creams like most others do.
I switched from Bones coffee to Trade Coffee. I liked they had a lot more coffee and it was from smaller companies rather than just one which let me find new ones I love and thanks to that I found one in my own state that I fell in LOVE with. I do cold brew mostly but not all the time and the cold brew works with my coffee filter straw and my final press coffee extractor.
Nice video; as a drip-drinker I definitely agree that coffee, specifically beans instead of ground, are the most important component to splurge on. Though since I drink black and not espresso my list is very different. 2: grinder, automatic burr grinders are quick, easy, and consistent; despite being loud and requiring maintenance/cleaning I think a grinder you splurge on will last a long time. 3: electric gooseneck kettle, again I think if you splurge it’ll be consistent and reliable; gooseneck kettles makes it easy to control your water stream and electric makes it easy to select and maintain a specific temperature. 4: filters, you don’t need to splurge on filters but I think it can help to have a reliable manufacturer vs a lesser known one; I use Hario for drip, French press, and aeropress because they’re a reliable quality. Since you’re an espresso person, what espresso machines would you recommend? I’ve been wanting to give the method a try, but don’t want to get anything cheap/shoddy/unreliable nor anything fancy / difficult; like I’m not interested in the Breville Barista Touch to baby me but also not interested to learn temp surfing for the Gaggia classic pro. So far in my search the Diletta Mio sounds like a great choice, but the concern is it’s also over $1000… finding a lifelong espresso machine is hard 😅
I "splurged" on my Chemex, but really it was because I worked somewhere with a steep emlpoyee discount. I think it's a beautiful item to display on my coffee cart, and I enjoy the coffee it makes. I skip expensive coffee syrups because if I can make most of them at home for pennies on the dollar.
African high altitude coffee - yummo. I buy from a specialty roasting house in Melbourne Australia and have been trying their single origins from around the world and seem to always be returning to African coffee. They roast every day and you always get coffee within a week of roasting. Well worth the money as it still works out to only about 50 cents per cup.
As a former barista and drinking Vietnamese coffee growing up, obtaining a good coffee bean is one thing that I would slur on. I enjoy the novelty of grinning my own coffee in the morning and brew it however I like depending on my mood, either a hot cup of coffee or ice coffee for a quick caffeine shot. I think brewing coffee is very personal from person to person
Totally agree on milk, for YEARS I used regular 2% blue cap jugs and only switched to some organic whole milk because I started buying half gallons solely for coffee use - huge difference and I think it lasts longer in the fridge!
My coffee journey has been my own. I roast own green beans and grind fresh daily. Here are my 4 worth it items: 1) Good quality coffee (green)- can be locally sourced from a roaster who will sell it, or from places like Sweet Maria's online. 2) Good quality roaster. I started with an air roaster and upgraded to a drum roaster from Behmor and wish I had done so sooner. 3) Quality ways to brew the home roasted coffee you have put time into. We have a Technivorm, French press, stove top Italian espresso pot and an Aeropress. Depends on mood and quantity needed, but if you spend the time to roast, the method you then brew with is worth investing in. 4) Digital scale- For precision in brewing. Something I will not invest in, and this will be controversial: Expensive Burr grinders. I have used 4 different makes and models over the last 20 years. Both of the super premium models died within a few years. The two less expensive models lasted many years. I currently have a Bodum that was on sale for $49 and it is exceptional.
For the WDT tool, I couldn’t find a good one, so I just used a wine cork and stocked some sewing needles into it, it has been working pretty good for me
I’m glad you mentioned knockboxes. I don’t know what’s happened over the last couple of years, but I’ve seen knockboxes selling for just insane prices, $100+. I won’t blame ppl for loving their hobby enough to show off a bit, but ingredients are definitely the first thing you should be putting good money towards.
Yes! I first noticed the importance of milk quality with a disappointing cappuccino. Thought I maybe screwed up so I made another, being extra careful. Still not great. Found out it was a new brand...that led to my wife and I buying all the varieties we could find, including some really expensive ones. Finally found a clear winner, even though it's neither the cheapest nor most expensive but leaning closer to the spendy side.
Just saw your question. We get the whole milk from Organic Valley. I'm not sure how widely it's available. What surprised me was that more expensive didn't translate directly into how well a milk works with coffee after an initial quality threshold.
I saw your alpenrose milk and thought to myself, hey neighbor! Lol, I think my elementary school served alpenrose. You may have already tried my favorite local coffee roaster compass coffee in Vancouver. If you haven't, I'd highly recommend giving it a try! This place is where I learned that you can get multiple flavors from one roast!
250 gram stovetop motorized roaster by Kaldi. little bit of learning curve, fresh roasted coffee in 15 minutes, hi quality green beans at cheaper prices. favorite green bean vendors; sweetmarias, coffeebeancorral, burrmans Rests for 3 days in a glass jar, goes in the baratza, then brewed in the hario v60 or chemex. I just drink it black hot or iced. Thinking about getting a water filter but not sure yet
I live in Eugene. There is another big coffee channel run by a British gentleman, so I was thrilled to learn we had our own (and more recent) champion here in Oregon. Oh sure, Ms. Eckroth lacks James Hoffman's legendary modesty :):) but her presentation is more on my level. :)
I'm a pour over person, so I splurged on mostly coffee, then 1 good hand grinder, scale, and kettle, then I splurged on different brewers since they're relatively cheap. Everything else I can think of, I'm not too picky about, like the cup/carafe, the filter paper, and the little tools like melodrip and Lilydrip. They're fun to play around with, but nothing I'd say is necessary or makes a big impact.
On the milk front, I highly recommend goats milk. It's fine for lactic intolerant folks, has a nice light sweet taste, and foams perfectly. Just keep in mind it has a lower scalding point.
I finally bought a cheap wdt a few weeks ago. Definitely noticed you want those wires spread out, so I did that manually. I like it, use it every time. The portafilter funnel seems necessary to go along with it.
Being someone who is handy, my though is "I can make a knockbox.' I don't splurge on filters, I have coffee friends who search high and low for particular weight filters. At the end of the day the filter still does it's job and I can adjust my recipe accordingly.
Nice video. The way to get the very best coffee and economize at the same time is to roast your own coffee, which is really easy. I pay $5-7 a pound for single origin green coffee and roast it myself. The same coffee already roasted will cost $30-50 (and more!) per pound if you buy it from a specialty roaster. On top of that, they might sell you coffee that's beyond its peak (usually 3-4 days after roasting).
milk is a fun part to play with... I've had good results mixing whole or even 2% with half and half, or even thinning out condensed canned milk with water. I've played with alternative milks and have kind of settled on a basic homemade coconut milk recipe that I'll also sometimes mix with dairy. lends to a lot of easy variety in flavor and texture.
I agree with the first two. I tend to prefer whole milk and we buy the lactose free mix ok because our kid is very lactose intolerant. I don’t make espresso, but my 3rd thing I would splurge on is a good travel mug. The right travel mug can make all the difference.
Thanks for the recommendation about milk. Tried some fancy grass fed whole milk from a smaller dairy and its definitely sweeter than the usual milk i use.
Yessss very relatable, especially the milk and coffee quality. I always wanted to get the barista type for soy milk because the texture is different but my fam just doesn’t get it!
1. coffee - obvious 2. water - obvious (either bottled or i mix R/O water with coffee water packs) 3. drinking vessel/serving vessel - the vessel that can handle aeropress push, the type that are great for milk drinks, the type that keeps cup hot/cold, the easily swirl-able for cold brew concentrate, the travel mugs, the special cups for tasting Kruve, the super dense hario shot glass for espresso, ember mug for keeping drinks hot, hyperchiller to make it go cold 4. grinders - one for espresso, one for pour over, one for batch, I don't want to change the dial on a machine that often 5. different brewers - love experimenting with all sorts of brewers with the same bag of coffee, V60, Kalita, April, Blue bottle, aeorpress, chemex, breville batch brewer, espro french press, a shot of espresso etc
Definitely splurging on coffee (local for the win!) but I never thought about splurging on my milks 🤔 Will definitely try that when I make my next espresso this weekend!
Re: dairy milk choice If you have a possibility, try non homogenized milk. It foams better than homogenized whole milk, but tastes the same or even a bit better. Alternatively, use skim milk and add sweet cream to get the right proportions. Not quite as good, but still better than homogenized whole milk.
I do pour overs primarily, so the brewing device itself, the v60, I'd say I wouldn't really spurge on, since the more expensive v60s are actually more troublesome to brew coffee in than the plastic ones due to heat issues. Same thing with water, in that I use britta filtered water instead of buying expensive bottled waters that stores sell. (Those might actually be worse for coffee depending on what's actually in them.) I haven't really splurged on a hot water pot although getting a goose neck kettle with more precise temperature controls could admittedly help a bit. Haven't really splurged on scales either, although I do use a cheap jewelry scale for measuring beans and a kitchen scale for pouring as the carafe and coffee both end up being too heavy and too unstable to be used on the jewelry scale. Coffee and grinders are where I've splurged the most. Upgrading to a more pricey hand grinder with nice large metal burs was a huge upgrade in terms of time and effort spent grinding from my ceramic hario hand grinder, although I'm not sure if I could tell the difference with the resulting flavor side by side. I don't use milk in coffee generally, but in terms of just drinking pant based milks, a lot of cheap oat milks out there are pretty watery and bland. I've found Minor Figure's organic barista standard oat milk to be quite tasty as a straight drink. I do feel like its strong oaty flavor would make it harder to taste the coffee it's being mixed in, however. I tried it once and wasn't a huge fan, but to be fair, outside of making Vietnamese coffee using beans meant for Vietnamese coffee, I don't really put milk or milk substitute products in coffee.
I don't like knocking against the trash can. I prefer to knock against the meat of my palm, the one not holding the portafilter. I knock my gripping fingers into my palm, so it's nice and soft for me, but the rapid deceleration is enough to lose the puck into the composter.
You know what I thought of regarding the spread of WDT needles? They have a spread of X from side to side, all good.. But from needle to needle going around the circle they are arranged in, they are so close together! Designing my own WDT I considered this as I noticed that needles beside each other almost touched each other at their ends as the WDT was used
without watching beyond the first minute, my essentials are: Hario Hand Grinder, French Press (some cheap one from IKEA lol - it works perfectly fine), a kettle with temperatur control and my favorite mug to drink from. Thats basically all I need to have for my perfect cup of coffe - you can get everything for like 50-75€ (excluding the coffee beans).
Water - the water needs to be soft in order to get better results. Coffee - generally light roasted. Grinder - to get the correct grind for the type of pour. And I used a V60. . . can't be bothered to get a home espresso machine. . .
Most underrated coffee gear is a 3D printer. I kid you not. My Umikot is a BEAST of a WDT tool. I’ve printed so many mods to my DF83. There’s so much you can do with a 3D printer
Tea Drinker's Log, Twelfth Moon of this year:
I have been on a non-stop binge of Morgan's coffee videos since last year. I have not consumed coffee in nearly twenty years. One would call that ironic, having been a life-long tea drinker who even worked in a tea shop. It is not lost on me. Yet here I am. Fascinating video after fascinating video, I delve deeper into the coffee rabbit hole deeper than I would the world of tea. I have learned about all sorts of beans, gadgets, and methodologies that I never imagined possible. I must escape. I must. But I cannot. A tea drinker, forever trapped in Morgan's coffee realm. All is coffee. All is gliding across the floor. All wear black.
Tell my wife I love her.
Honestly, that just means that you can offer better offer options with better techniques if you own/run a shop that sells hot steeped beverages.
I don't drink coffee or tea and I'm also obsessed with Morgan's videos. Just sipping away at my plain water lol
I don't drink coffee either; I mainly drink water and herbal tea. Or twigs and flowers, as my sister calls herbal tea. I like watching people who speak well about topics that they are educated or interested in. If they're interested, it can be interesting!
+❤+
Twel- it's june! What kind of tea are you drinking, Chifir?
(i jest)
As a former Starbucks employee, when you said ask your Barista what they’re roasting and why, my brain went “Today we’re roasting Pike’s Place Roast, because that’s what we always do. Why? Well, no one really likes it, but it was focus grouped to be as bland and forgettable as possible, in hopes of bothering as few people as possible.”
Hello fellow former Sbux Barista. I went and remembered the oily beans falling into their cubes 😅. Sumatra could have been used to oil a damn pan. Yeah, that's what we're roasting. The chicken from the Maple Catastrophe.
I worked at Caribou!! That's how our caribou and foxtrot blends were lol
If "no one really likes it" then why are there customers who get upset when it's not available?
@@sammiller6631 Because if you order the same thing over and over again you become accustomed to the texture and flavor of that item. When it runs out, you suddenly have to go through the mental gymnastics of figuring out what else to order off this daunting menu of confectionary dessert’s when all you really wanted was that original order. You don't want the dark blend, that is a chalky and smokey coffee, and you don't want espresso shots because those are far too concentrated and "bright" for your tastes, and you definitely don't want one of the many sugar overloads that are aren't really coffee, just caffeinated cream. All you want is that bland, multi-bean blend which is hot in your tummy and easy to sip on while you do paperwork.
So you get upset, throw a fit, then order something else anyways. There is your answer.
Heh. Pretty much.
A thing I found when I was getting milk from my local dairy was it also tasted different throughout the year (depending on what the cows are eating) I think I like the fall milk the best.
70 years ago I did not like milk. It tasted like onions. I only started drinking milk when the new processing was able to remove the wild onion smell and taste.
1. Water 2. Speciality coffee. 3. a decent to very good grinder.
grind, brew, enjoy.
4. a V60
Having the right grind for the brewing method is half the battle.
The fact that the first thing you talked about was about your inspiration and that you immediately linked the creator you got the idea from made me subscribe
You are so correct about the coffee! It cracks me up when I think about how I work at a SB licensed store, but every 2 weeks when I leave work I stop by a coffee shop on my way home to pick up some fresh locally roasted beans to use at home. (and I am usually still in uniform).
Definitely coffee is something I’ll always splurge on but the only gear I think is really worth splurging on is a really nice grinder. No matter how you brew it, consistent grinds will make your coffee extract more evenly. A nice grinder is something I wish I splurged on a long time ago.
Good coffee, a good brewer, and my $30 aeropress do the job perfectly well!
What brand of grinder do you recommend?
@@alexismartinez7092 never go by brand. It should be on the product level.
I have a Eureaka Mingon Facile. It’s everything I personally want and nothing more. It’s an espresso focused grinder but does well for AeroPress.
It’s quiet, uniform across several grind settings, offers a stellar cup and taking it apart to clean is ONE screw to access the burrs.
There’s fancier grinders with built in timers, scales ect but are not necessary IMO. I just grind into a dosing cup on my scale.
I will say though Eureka as a whole (at least for their Mingon) line probably objectively has the best build quality of any grinder in its price point. It’s all metal, hefty, and has never stalled or given me issues.
Definitely love the Eureka Libra 👏🏼
Had a really stressful day. Got back from helping my mom at work recently. Getting to unwind with Morgan sounds great!
Glad to have you here!
It's magic when Morgan can just laugh at herself. Love the sweet and transparent demeanor
Pretty much agree with everything you said Morgan except the syrups. We fell down the specialty coffee rabbit hole because both my wife and I are old people diabetic and we needed at least one vice that wasn't going to kill us or at least have our doctors look at us disapprovingly. Specialty coffee is a wonderful undertaking where you can spend ridiculous amounts of money on what is essentially a small beverage and derive immense satisfaction from just the tiniest improvements in taste and/or technique. I've never been a barista and at 68 years old I never will be and my puck prep borders on tea ceremony levels of obsession but I find it fun and delicious.
BTW shout out to your local Clive Coffee and their wonderful La Spaziale Lucca A53 mini espresso machine. It's been staggeringly reliable and the steam wand is a beast.
LUCCA A53 Mini V2 Espresso Machine
COMPARE MACHINES
Regular price$2,295
One thing to remember: You don't have to drink your absolute favorite, first-born-child coffee every day.
A former coworker gave me a small sample of Blue Bottle's Three Africas coffee, and it quickly became our absolute favorite. However, it's probably four or five times the cost of our every day coffees, so when we want to treat ourselves, my wife does a French press of the Blue Bottle for us to share.
Wouldn't it be better to just consume it quickly and not let good coffee go stale.
@@ntdnguyen85that was my thought too.
@@ntdnguyen85 Well, he forgot to tell you it’s a 5 and a half liter French press. One bag, one brew. No stale coffee! Caffeine!!!🫨😵💫🫨😵💫😵
@@ntdnguyen85
i would say i can see letting coffee 'stale' for a day or two than drink it when i don't feel like it
it obviously heavily depends, but there are windows of time for everything, maybe you have a 200g bag, and for 60g a litre which is a bit weak, you have 3.33litres of coffee which, for again a small-ish cup of 200ml would be 16.67 cups, between 2 people we have about 8.33 cups per person
for the average of 2 cups a day, that's done in 4 days, way less than coffee can keep its freshness
if you brew a strong 75g/l, you'll have 2.67l, which in a 250ml cup will mean 10.67 cups, or more like 5.33 cups per person, can be finished in three days
i won't weigh in on freshness, but i'd say within two weeks after resting is not an insane amount to wait, so maybe you'll only drink the special coffee every other day or only at noon
in any case, what i want to say is good coffee can be out of your life much more quickly than you realise, though it may have a lasting impact
while i don't expect quality from the desire to stretch out coffee, i can understand spending less money on freshness and more on a specific coffee
my parents had to stretch out store bought coffee, that was a luxury in the old cold closed-down embargo'ed nation
anyway, no harm meant, i totally get it and i also would have less cofee than stale coffee, but that's still within comfortable parameters
cheers!
Total agree with the syrups comment! I've found getting different extracts to be more economical. A few drops of lavender/vanilla/whatever-I-want added to my sugar and things end up tasting great. I use the extra water in my kettle after making my coffee to make my syrup directly in a travel mug or a larger vessel for storage/use throughout the week. This generally saves me time and money
I just use cardamon, or cinnamon, or fennel... sans sugar.
A 2:1 rich simple syrup is (supposedly completely) shelf stable (that changes if you add herbs or fruit juice, though not spices). The 'Truffels on the Rocks' channel recently had a video on tinctures to add to normal simple syrup, that adds a gramm or two of strongly flavored ~40% alcohol to your drink.
Not supposedly, I can testify that I have syrups I've made a year or more ago currently and they are completely fine.
I agree on the barista oat milk! Even when I just make a French press coffee and add a splash of oat milk it tastes much better with the barista ones. They’re also less likely to curdle than regular oat milk.
yeah, the barista oat milks have things added to make them less likely to do that. Just a better mouth feel in warm drinks compared to regular oat drinks. I prefer the oddly goods one that I find here in Sweden.
@@theablanca17 I don’t think we have that one here in Germany yet, but I’ll keep my eyes open! My favourites that are easily available are the Oatly barista one and the Alpro Not Milk oat milk.
I’ve been loving the elmhurst barista oat milk for a few years now, my local grocery store had it as a special and I got hooked!
I use oat milk only when I want some fat in my cold brew. So far, I've only bothered with "Planet Oat Milk" (in the US). I can see the benefit of barista blends for hot coffees and frothing, but is it also better for cold coffees?
I am so lucky to have a local dairy who has a shop five minutes from my home. I usually do my regular coffee black, but with cold brew concentrate….AMAZING! Worth the splurge!
When it comes to coffee grounds, my family always used a big plastic bin like for sugar or folgers coffee to collect them, and my grandpa put them on his garden to deter pests. Then he'd give us back the bin and we'd refill it. Coffee grounds are surprisingly useful!
I've been enjoying your brown sugar syrup recipe for home made (and frankly superior) Starbucks oatmilk brown sugar shaken coffee! Thanks for everything, Morgan, you make the world and better place!
I whole heartedly agree with good coffee just tastes /good/. I purchased some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee as a Christmas present for my parents and they were kind enough to send me home with enough to brew a small pot for myself, and it was the only coffee that I drank without any kind of dairy or sweetener. It was just so smooth an delicious! Sadly it is very expensive and outside of my budget, but I dream of a day where I have more disposable income and can purchase some for myself. :)
G'day Morgan, soon after I bought my SMEG coffee machine and Sunbeam grinder, I bought a large Sunbean knock box, and I have been delighted with my knock box; nearly four years later, I still use it every day.
I empty it about once or twice a week straight onto the garden. I'm retired, but three years ago, I worked self-employed as a lawn mowing man/gardener.
The coffee grounds are suitable for the garden if you spread them around, and for another use, my niece has collected the grounds from my knock box and used them as a face pack, haha.
So you can see I'm delighted with my knock box. It saves me so much time, is easy to use, and is environmentally friendly.
I splurge on making sure my water is consistent each time I brew. Lance Hedrick is big on this as I am sure you know. When I first started using specialty coffee, I used RO and Third Wave water packets. Once Lotus started shipping their minerals, I was a Kickstarter supporter, I use them. I noticed a significant difference moving from tap water, to Third Wave, and now Lotus. I think this enhances the flavor profile and makes each cup consistent regardless of where you are. On the road I buy distilled water or batch RO water in order to keep the consistency in my pour over brews.
A bit late to the party here, and maybe you’ve already come across it, but as someone who also has a hard time digesting dairy, I recently learned that many dairy-intolerant folks are actually bad with the A1/A2 beta-casein protein of commercially farmed cow breeds, NOT the lactose sugar in dairy. After much research, I’ve landed on Alexandre Family Farms milk, which has A2/A2 protein from heritage breeds like Jersey cows. Their cows are also pasture raised on regenerative organic farms, and their milk fat content starts just above 4%. Their cows are 80% grass fed but they do carry a seasonal full-fat milk that is 100% grass fed, which is my favorite. Plus, they’re out of California, so not too far from home for those of us in the west.
my #1 is getting coffee responsibly (or trying to at least). I buy through Trade and try to give the little indie roasters my money. Tastes soooooo much better than the grocery store stuff.
I like to roast my own. It really makes a big difference because the coffee I use is always very freshly roasted. I prefer Ethiopian Dry processed coffee in a light roast for its magnificent flavors!
I'm willing to spend money on: water filtration, good grind mill, quality coffee beans (learned to never buy faster than I consume), and my coffee pot. I love my cone drip thermal coffee pot set up. There's no warmer/burner, they always burn the coffee. The water reservoir is visible, the machine programming lets the grounds bloom before running the full pot of water and there are two temperature settings for a standard pot brew.
Thanks for the tip on milk alternatives.
Thank you Morgan, spot on!! One comment on coffee: purchase beans that have been recently roasted and have not been sitting on the shelf for months! This can occur a both a grocery store and coffee shop, less so at a local roaster, but still happens!
Hi Morgan!!! I just found your channel not too long ago and watched ALL your shorts in one go. Your channel really gives me a comfy vibe that I really need rn with exams coming up. I've sent my boyfriend many of your shorts with a caption saying "this person is so sweet it makes me so happy 😭" because you're literally so sweet!! Keep up the amazing work!!!
Alpenrose is delicious. Shout out to my fellow Portlander. So many great coffee houses here.
I started roasting my own beans a couple years ago, and I'm never going back. It opens up such an enormous catalogue of beans from around the world. Trying just a fraction of them will be a lifetime journey. Lots of very good green bean suppliers with extensive cupping notes for each variety.
I not that into fancy coffee stuff, BUT, I moved from Maxwell house and Eight O’clock to Black Rifle Coffee Company, monthly I get their Beyond Black. I also get a bag each month of their Micro Roasts. That’s the coffee splurge. Gear wise I have pour over coffee daily. But I’m a Scout Leader so I take my Coffee too woods. I splurged on a GSI Hand grinder that’s packable. If we are doing a tailgating camp out the other gadget I splurged on GSI has an Espresso maker for a backpacking stove. And having just recently watched your “Long Black vs Americono” I’m gonna try that out on next camp out. I tend to make other Scouters Jealous. Cause they wanna leave camp and go too DD or STARBUCKS. I sit back in my camp chair and relax. Love yer content keep it up.
I’m going to give a plug to my favorite coffee in the world, ALDO’S in Greenport NY. Still roasts his own beans, old European guy. Amazing stuff, and always a treat to make. Highly recommended.
Just wanted to say that this is the first long form video I’ve watched from you- so delightful and informative! Thank you! 🥰
I don't drink coffee. I just find these videos very relaxing.
I will always splurge on coffee beans. Recently, I moved across my state and it puts me right next to my favorite coffee roaster, I am so excited.
Your vibe is always so amazing both in your RUclips videos and your TikToks . I love your energy and it brings me an impeccable amount of both joy and peace
I have a pretty basic coffee setup, but definitely the most expensive parts are my grinders. I have two, an electric one that is good for pour-over, aeropress, or phin filter, and a manual that is great for espresso. I completely agree, though, that coffee from a specialty shop is just so much nicer than anything I can get from a grocery store. Even when I can find our locally roasted coffees in a grocery store, they're often not nearly as fresh as you would get from the coffee shop. Plus, there's just something about walking into one of my favorite shops and seeing what's new. Are there any small-batch roasted experimental types? What are the baristas really excited about today, do they sound like the type of coffees I generally enjoy? It's basically the difference in buying a loaf of bread from a grocery store and buying one from a local bakery. Absolutely will cost more, but it's a completely different experience.
+1 for the Sworksdesign WDT tool. It is absolutely worth it and beautifully manufactured. Another essential for me is a good tamper. I’d also prioritize it over the milk jug as I was able to successfully steam milk in a simple drinking glass without spout and handle, lol.
I think... my priorities are:
1) Specialty coffee: I mostly drink Copper Cow Coffee since when I started, I didn't have a brewer of any sort, but I had a electric tea kettle. CCCs are a pour over kit with essentially tea bags that you open and pour hot water over to brew coffee. It's also Vietnamese coffee and they tell you best how to brew it on the packaging. I find it delicious since I, somehow, started off on Vietnamese coffees because of work lol I've also started getting Square Mile coffee since its incredibly smooth too.
2) Sugar-free syrups: I'm pre-diabetic (though its getting better!) and they have flavors I can't make at home. and because of how I make my drinks, which kind of turns it into protein coffee drink, I'm making batches of coffee that should last me a day or 2 per jar and adding the syrup when I'm brewing is the best move.
3) Mason jars: It was a 4am buy and I've never looked back. It's been part of my journey into coffee and I don't think it'll change. plus its not like I'm burning my hands on them since my coffee is chilled.
4) Protein shakes: All I wanted when I started drinking coffee was a drink that was creamy and smooth. Instead of using milk, I use 1/2 a premier protein shakes carton that has no dairy or sugar and they have simple flavors. It also upped my protein because i just wasn't getting enough. now my coffee (which is more of a dessert for me) has the creamy and smooth texture flavor without being overly sweet.
It's been much experimenting to find the best way to make and drink my coffee and these are things I can't live without and will splurge on every time. My coffee has absolutely helped me lose weight because now i don't crave the cookies and sweets. I just have a coffee or 2 and I'm good!
Completely agree with the knock boxes. My family dumps it into just any old container lying around since it mainly serves to just hold it until we compost it. The aesthetic is nice, but the cost isn’t necessary.
This was really fun! It's also super interesting bc I'm coming at this from a Cuban-American perspective, and the defining sort, of Thing, about Cuban coffee is taking often not-great constituent parts and making them taste excellent. Raw sugar is more expensive and harder to make espumita with, most household Cuban favorite coffees are quite cheap, and a good cafetera costs, like, $15, maybe a little more if it didn't come with a silicone gasket, and they're extremely easy to take with you. (My family has used hot irons in hotel rooms as stoves on family trips more than once!)
This isn't discounting the cool work and chemistry that career baristas do, mind you - I've also worked as a more capital-T Traditional barista in the past, it's difficult and really cool - but I will say if anyone reading this wants to be able to make consistently good espresso without spending much money, have someone teach you how to make Cuban coffee.
I will say a small part of my hometown boy side sees Italians drinking espresso without sugar and mentally treats them with the same fascinated derision one would show someone for eating chicken unseasoned in order to better appreciate it. But my non-lizard brain understands the difference lmao
Morgan, I WILL hear you out, it's why I'm here! I'm the student, you the teacher, I'm all ears! ❤
For a DIY distribution tool I use lengths of excess guitar high E string (.25 mm music wire) inserted into a cork at about that same spacing. Is it janky looking? Yes. Does it work? Beautifully.
Ginger syrup is soooo good in coffee! Highly recommend!
I was a huge coffee bean snob for years until covid and it was a nightmare trying to buy coffee at my local roaster. I started trying various whole beans on the grocery store shelf out of convenience and I never went back to my local roaster. I have been buying the store brand whole bean breakfast blend and will put that up against any expensive local lighter roast coffee. I realized grind, time, brew style, and temp play a far bigger role than the beans. I go back and forth between the Kalita Wave and Aeropress and my coffee tastes great.
I have to always pick almond milk, I don't feel well similar to dairy milk when it becomes oat, anyway that was very good advice, thx Morgs
a bottomless portafilter for home espresso (single and double/triple espresso) is a must-have item for me, on any level of espresso machine. Totally agree re high quality WDT tool being a mandatory thing to have. You also need a filter-basket funnel to use WDT properly as you have shown on this video. And good quality digital scales with accuracy of 1/10 of a gram (or even 1/100 gram) is absolutely mandatory for espresso.
The WDT needles are the same ones used to clean out the nozzles on 3d printers. You can get a pack of 20 for a couple bucks. If you know someone with a printer or have one, you can print a proper WDT tool for under 3 bucks.
Or just use a cork from a sparkling wine or bottle champagne. ☮️
Knowing someone with a 3D printer is always the tricky part but most definitely, there are some ways to make really good ones
@@morgandrinkscoffeeI know that at least in my area, some libraries are starting to get 3d printers that are publicly accessible, and you just pay for the filament by weight, so they’re just becoming easier to come by
@@kellenoconnor4396 You must live in an upscale neighborhood if your libraries are getting 3d printers.
@@sammiller6631 it’s only a few of them, and all of them are downtown in relatively big cities
I live in the inland northwest, and Alpenrose is definitely my favorite because it’s both so much better and is less expensive than the national brands.
Also, I like that they don’t add emulsifiers or other additives to their creams like most others do.
2:1 sugar syrup is shelf-stable for years on end. Mine lasts as long as it there's syrup left in the bottle
3rd like!! Always happy to see you posted videos, and love your shorts too!
I switched from Bones coffee to Trade Coffee. I liked they had a lot more coffee and it was from smaller companies rather than just one which let me find new ones I love and thanks to that I found one in my own state that I fell in LOVE with.
I do cold brew mostly but not all the time and the cold brew works with my coffee filter straw and my final press coffee extractor.
Nice video; as a drip-drinker I definitely agree that coffee, specifically beans instead of ground, are the most important component to splurge on. Though since I drink black and not espresso my list is very different. 2: grinder, automatic burr grinders are quick, easy, and consistent; despite being loud and requiring maintenance/cleaning I think a grinder you splurge on will last a long time. 3: electric gooseneck kettle, again I think if you splurge it’ll be consistent and reliable; gooseneck kettles makes it easy to control your water stream and electric makes it easy to select and maintain a specific temperature. 4: filters, you don’t need to splurge on filters but I think it can help to have a reliable manufacturer vs a lesser known one; I use Hario for drip, French press, and aeropress because they’re a reliable quality.
Since you’re an espresso person, what espresso machines would you recommend? I’ve been wanting to give the method a try, but don’t want to get anything cheap/shoddy/unreliable nor anything fancy / difficult; like I’m not interested in the Breville Barista Touch to baby me but also not interested to learn temp surfing for the Gaggia classic pro. So far in my search the Diletta Mio sounds like a great choice, but the concern is it’s also over $1000… finding a lifelong espresso machine is hard 😅
I "splurged" on my Chemex, but really it was because I worked somewhere with a steep emlpoyee discount. I think it's a beautiful item to display on my coffee cart, and I enjoy the coffee it makes. I skip expensive coffee syrups because if I can make most of them at home for pennies on the dollar.
I use whipped heavy cream instead of milk. It's wonderful.
African high altitude coffee - yummo. I buy from a specialty roasting house in Melbourne Australia and have been trying their single origins from around the world and seem to always be returning to African coffee. They roast every day and you always get coffee within a week of roasting. Well worth the money as it still works out to only about 50 cents per cup.
Makes me feel better about our shop just using a bucket next to our espresso machine to dump our grounds into instead of a knock box lol
As a former barista and drinking Vietnamese coffee growing up, obtaining a good coffee bean is one thing that I would slur on. I enjoy the novelty of grinning my own coffee in the morning and brew it however I like depending on my mood, either a hot cup of coffee or ice coffee for a quick caffeine shot. I think brewing coffee is very personal from person to person
I find that water is super important. I start with distilled and then add the minerals back in so I can make it perfect!
Happy Mug is the best! It's the only coffee I brew! If you like dark roasts, Black Velvet and Vagabond are exceptional.
I kept waiting for a name or brand of pitcher after hearing all the good things about it.
Great list, great content! My list is similar but I would add in 2nd place water, good coffee plus good water is the foundation for a great brew
Totally agree on milk, for YEARS I used regular 2% blue cap jugs and only switched to some organic whole milk because I started buying half gallons solely for coffee use - huge difference and I think it lasts longer in the fridge!
No. Once you open the carton, it should be finished by 10 days. It even says it on the container.
I tried Trade because of this channel and found a roast I absolutely love. Thanks!
My coffee journey has been my own. I roast own green beans and grind fresh daily. Here are my 4 worth it items: 1) Good quality coffee (green)- can be locally sourced from a roaster who will sell it, or from places like Sweet Maria's online. 2) Good quality roaster. I started with an air roaster and upgraded to a drum roaster from Behmor and wish I had done so sooner. 3) Quality ways to brew the home roasted coffee you have put time into. We have a Technivorm, French press, stove top Italian espresso pot and an Aeropress. Depends on mood and quantity needed, but if you spend the time to roast, the method you then brew with is worth investing in. 4) Digital scale- For precision in brewing. Something I will not invest in, and this will be controversial: Expensive Burr grinders. I have used 4 different makes and models over the last 20 years. Both of the super premium models died within a few years. The two less expensive models lasted many years. I currently have a Bodum that was on sale for $49 and it is exceptional.
For the WDT tool, I couldn’t find a good one, so I just used a wine cork and stocked some sewing needles into it, it has been working pretty good for me
Your clock in the background is neat and also showed how fast you film! Morgan Drinks Coffee in One Take
I’m glad you mentioned knockboxes. I don’t know what’s happened over the last couple of years, but I’ve seen knockboxes selling for just insane prices, $100+. I won’t blame ppl for loving their hobby enough to show off a bit, but ingredients are definitely the first thing you should be putting good money towards.
I don't know how I've watched this much Morgan and not realized she was in the Portland area. Makes sense the coffee scene is great!
Yes! I first noticed the importance of milk quality with a disappointing cappuccino. Thought I maybe screwed up so I made another, being extra careful. Still not great. Found out it was a new brand...that led to my wife and I buying all the varieties we could find, including some really expensive ones. Finally found a clear winner, even though it's neither the cheapest nor most expensive but leaning closer to the spendy side.
which milk ended up being your winner! i'm super curious
Can you share the winner milk? You got me super curious!
Just saw your question. We get the whole milk from Organic Valley. I'm not sure how widely it's available. What surprised me was that more expensive didn't translate directly into how well a milk works with coffee after an initial quality threshold.
@@danielchin8073 Thanks for sharing! I saw it before at a Whole Foods near me. Will definitely give it a try!
I saw your alpenrose milk and thought to myself, hey neighbor! Lol, I think my elementary school served alpenrose. You may have already tried my favorite local coffee roaster compass coffee in Vancouver. If you haven't, I'd highly recommend giving it a try! This place is where I learned that you can get multiple flavors from one roast!
250 gram stovetop motorized roaster by Kaldi. little bit of learning curve, fresh roasted coffee in 15 minutes, hi quality green beans at cheaper prices. favorite green bean vendors; sweetmarias, coffeebeancorral, burrmans Rests for 3 days in a glass jar, goes in the baratza, then brewed in the hario v60 or chemex. I just drink it black hot or iced. Thinking about getting a water filter but not sure yet
I live in Eugene. There is another big coffee channel run by a British gentleman, so I was thrilled to learn we had our own (and more recent) champion here in Oregon. Oh sure, Ms. Eckroth lacks James Hoffman's legendary modesty :):) but her presentation is more on my level. :)
Very well said morgan MOST coffee shops serve some sort of coffee as the coffee shops in my country do NOT serve coffee
I'm a pour over person, so I splurged on mostly coffee, then 1 good hand grinder, scale, and kettle, then I splurged on different brewers since they're relatively cheap.
Everything else I can think of, I'm not too picky about, like the cup/carafe, the filter paper, and the little tools like melodrip and Lilydrip. They're fun to play around with, but nothing I'd say is necessary or makes a big impact.
The World Brewers Cup two years ago was won using a hand grinder (Kinu M47 Classic)
On the milk front, I highly recommend goats milk. It's fine for lactic intolerant folks, has a nice light sweet taste, and foams perfectly. Just keep in mind it has a lower scalding point.
I finally bought a cheap wdt a few weeks ago. Definitely noticed you want those wires spread out, so I did that manually. I like it, use it every time. The portafilter funnel seems necessary to go along with it.
Being someone who is handy, my though is "I can make a knockbox.'
I don't splurge on filters, I have coffee friends who search high and low for particular weight filters. At the end of the day the filter still does it's job and I can adjust my recipe accordingly.
Nice video. The way to get the very best coffee and economize at the same time is to roast your own coffee, which is really easy. I pay $5-7 a pound for single origin green coffee and roast it myself. The same coffee already roasted will cost $30-50 (and more!) per pound if you buy it from a specialty roaster. On top of that, they might sell you coffee that's beyond its peak (usually 3-4 days after roasting).
milk is a fun part to play with... I've had good results mixing whole or even 2% with half and half, or even thinning out condensed canned milk with water. I've played with alternative milks and have kind of settled on a basic homemade coconut milk recipe that I'll also sometimes mix with dairy. lends to a lot of easy variety in flavor and texture.
I agree with the first two. I tend to prefer whole milk and we buy the lactose free mix ok because our kid is very lactose intolerant. I don’t make espresso, but my 3rd thing I would splurge on is a good travel mug. The right travel mug can make all the difference.
I splurge on my decaf. I rarely drink decaf so when I need to avoid caffeine it's nice to have something more elevated than my "daily driver".
Bri is the man. Glad you took some inspiration, this info is super helpful!
I can't/don't drink coffee but I love watching these videos.
Thanks for the recommendation about milk. Tried some fancy grass fed whole milk from a smaller dairy and its definitely sweeter than the usual milk i use.
Yessss very relatable, especially the milk and coffee quality. I always wanted to get the barista type for soy milk because the texture is different but my fam just doesn’t get it!
1. coffee - obvious
2. water - obvious (either bottled or i mix R/O water with coffee water packs)
3. drinking vessel/serving vessel - the vessel that can handle aeropress push, the type that are great for milk drinks, the type that keeps cup hot/cold, the easily swirl-able for cold brew concentrate, the travel mugs, the special cups for tasting Kruve, the super dense hario shot glass for espresso, ember mug for keeping drinks hot, hyperchiller to make it go cold
4. grinders - one for espresso, one for pour over, one for batch, I don't want to change the dial on a machine that often
5. different brewers - love experimenting with all sorts of brewers with the same bag of coffee, V60, Kalita, April, Blue bottle, aeorpress, chemex, breville batch brewer, espro french press, a shot of espresso etc
Definitely splurging on coffee (local for the win!) but I never thought about splurging on my milks 🤔 Will definitely try that when I make my next espresso this weekend!
Re: dairy milk choice
If you have a possibility, try non homogenized milk. It foams better than homogenized whole milk, but tastes the same or even a bit better.
Alternatively, use skim milk and add sweet cream to get the right proportions. Not quite as good, but still better than homogenized whole milk.
I do pour overs primarily, so the brewing device itself, the v60, I'd say I wouldn't really spurge on, since the more expensive v60s are actually more troublesome to brew coffee in than the plastic ones due to heat issues. Same thing with water, in that I use britta filtered water instead of buying expensive bottled waters that stores sell. (Those might actually be worse for coffee depending on what's actually in them.) I haven't really splurged on a hot water pot although getting a goose neck kettle with more precise temperature controls could admittedly help a bit. Haven't really splurged on scales either, although I do use a cheap jewelry scale for measuring beans and a kitchen scale for pouring as the carafe and coffee both end up being too heavy and too unstable to be used on the jewelry scale. Coffee and grinders are where I've splurged the most. Upgrading to a more pricey hand grinder with nice large metal burs was a huge upgrade in terms of time and effort spent grinding from my ceramic hario hand grinder, although I'm not sure if I could tell the difference with the resulting flavor side by side.
I don't use milk in coffee generally, but in terms of just drinking pant based milks, a lot of cheap oat milks out there are pretty watery and bland. I've found Minor Figure's organic barista standard oat milk to be quite tasty as a straight drink. I do feel like its strong oaty flavor would make it harder to taste the coffee it's being mixed in, however. I tried it once and wasn't a huge fan, but to be fair, outside of making Vietnamese coffee using beans meant for Vietnamese coffee, I don't really put milk or milk substitute products in coffee.
Questions.
1. What is your opinion about UHT milk in coffee?
2. Can I use a toothpick as a WDT tool?
3. Can simple syrup with vanilla extract expire?
I don't like knocking against the trash can. I prefer to knock against the meat of my palm, the one not holding the portafilter. I knock my gripping fingers into my palm, so it's nice and soft for me, but the rapid deceleration is enough to lose the puck into the composter.
Interesting, I could see that
I use this method as well. Quick and easy. No knockbox to clean is the best part.
I am in Madagascar and they have fabulous Bourbon Arabica here. Fresh roast. About $25 per kilo. I love it.
Switching from a grinder to a mill was also worth the money
You know what I thought of regarding the spread of WDT needles? They have a spread of X from side to side, all good.. But from needle to needle going around the circle they are arranged in, they are so close together! Designing my own WDT I considered this as I noticed that needles beside each other almost touched each other at their ends as the WDT was used
1. coffee beans - local roaster (love Ethiopian and Indonesian Monsoon Malabar)
2. grinder - Comandante C40
3. scale - Acaia Pearl S
4. gooseneck kettle - Stagg EKG
Agree on the Alpenrose! I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a preference for their whole milk in my lattes haha.
without watching beyond the first minute, my essentials are: Hario Hand Grinder, French Press (some cheap one from IKEA lol - it works perfectly fine), a kettle with temperatur control and my favorite mug to drink from. Thats basically all I need to have for my perfect cup of coffe - you can get everything for like 50-75€ (excluding the coffee beans).
use cold foaming methods for alternative milks, I found it useful in keeping the sweet nutty flavour from the alternaive milks.
Water - the water needs to be soft in order to get better results.
Coffee - generally light roasted.
Grinder - to get the correct grind for the type of pour.
And I used a V60. . . can't be bothered to get a home espresso machine. . .
Most underrated coffee gear is a 3D printer. I kid you not. My Umikot is a BEAST of a WDT tool. I’ve printed so many mods to my DF83. There’s so much you can do with a 3D printer
1. coffee - snap
2. milk - 4.3% w/w organic or 3.5% w/w organic
from cows in the (grasses) paddocks
3. (hand powered) grinder
4. bialetti moka (or brikka, sometimes mukka) pot