[0 - 2] - Tell me about that big fella next to you.
[2 - 7] - This is my friend. (both laughing) (upbeat music)
[8 - 9] When it comes to making coffee at home,
[9 - 10] there's a huge variety
[10 - 13] of different machines and methods to consider.
[13 - 15] - If you're like me, you love coffee,
[15 - 17] but you don't wanna think about it that much.
[17 - 19] I just wanna hit a button and be done with it.
[19 - 20] - But if you're like me,
[20 - 22] you make your coffee a million different ways
[22 - 25] depending on your mood or how much time you have.
[25 - 26] - [Hannah] We're gonna take a look
[26 - 28] at Lisa's more elaborate setup
[28 - 30] and my more minimalist setup
[30 - 32] so you can choose your own coffee adventure.
[32 - 34] - All right, Hannah, coffee rookies go first.
[34 - 39] Let's go to your kitchen. (upbeat music)
[39 - 41] - All right, so here we are in my kitchen
[41 - 43] with my minimalist coffee setup.
[43 - 45] Coffee in its most basic form
[45 - 49] is simply ground up coffee beans steeped in water
[49 - 50] and then strained.
[50 - 52] You wanna start with good beans,
[52 - 53] and you do wanna grind them fresh,
[53 - 55] we found that was pretty important.
[55 - 59] So I have a Capresso Burr Grinder here.
[59 - 61] This one is our best buy,
[61 - 63] so that means our best inexpensive option,
[63 - 67] and it won because it's so simple to use.
[67 - 69] You load the beans in the hopper on top,
[69 - 70] you turn this dial
[70 - 72] depending on the number of cups you want
[72 - 75] and it produces the perfect amount,
[75 - 78] and then I move on to make the coffee.
[78 - 81] I make it in the Technivorm Moccamaster,
[81 - 84] which is our winning coffeemaker.
[84 - 87] Lisa tested coffee machines and it kind of blew my mind.
[87 - 91] Lisa, will you tell them a little about that testing?
[91 - 94] - Yeah, that was an amazing coffee test.
[94 - 95] We tested a bunch of different
[95 - 97] automatic drip coffee machines.
[97 - 100] I had seen this one on some coffee aficionado's
[100 - 102] website's bloggers talking about it
[102 - 105] saying this was like the coffee geek's ultimate
[105 - 107] and I bought it as sort of a funny sidebar.
[107 - 109] I was doing more mainstream ones
[109 - 111] and said hey, let's look at this thing,
[111 - 113] and every time I made coffee in it
[113 - 116] I was blown away by how good the coffee was.
[116 - 118] I did measurements of the coffee water
[118 - 120] as it was hitting the grounds.
[120 - 124] I temped it and I also timed the length of a brew cycle,
[124 - 126] so when it made a full pot of coffee how long did that take.
[126 - 130] The Specialty Coffee Association has metrics for that
[130 - 132] that they've done that are scientifically proven
[132 - 134] that you want the water
[134 - 137] between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit,
[137 - 140] and it should be done within seven minutes.
[140 - 141] And this was the only machine
[141 - 143] that did that every single time.
[143 - 146] Most of the other machines spent most of their cycle
[146 - 148] trying to get hot enough and then getting too hot.
[148 - 149] - Wasn't this thing,
[149 - 152] the shower head, too, pretty important?
[152 - 156] - Definitely. You want a shower head type situation.
[156 - 159] If you have the coffee sitting there
[159 - 161] and the water is just coming from one point,
[161 - 162] it just sort of drills down.
[162 - 164] I mean, you can imagine that, this drilling down
[164 - 166] through one part of the coffee,
[166 - 169] it's not getting all of that coffee nice and wet
[169 - 171] and really interacting with all the grounds.
[171 - 174] - So I got this machine after Lisa's testing
[174 - 177] because of this tasting she had with 21 tasters
[177 - 180] and we tried coffee from all of the different machines.
[180 - 183] She bought a giant batch of beans
[183 - 186] so they were the exact same beans from the same batch.
[186 - 188] She ground them the exact same way.
[188 - 191] The only difference was the coffee machines
[191 - 194] and the difference between them blew my mind.
[194 - 196] There were some that were weak and watery,
[196 - 197] others were bitter,
[197 - 198] some were perfectly rich and smooth.
[198 - 201] So your coffee beans are a really important part
[201 - 202] of getting a good cup of coffee,
[202 - 204] but so is the machine.
[204 - 206] This thing really does a nice job.
[206 - 209] It is expensive, it's around 300 bucks.
[209 - 211] We also have a best buy from Bonavita
[211 - 213] that's a good option, that does the best job
[213 - 216] of hitting that time and temperature parameter
[216 - 219] on the lower end of the money scale.
[219 - 221] All right, so let's make some coffee.
[221 - 223] Here's the insulated craft.
[223 - 227] This is called the brew-through lid.
[227 - 229] You can brew and it's gonna keep it warm still,
[229 - 230] which is really cool.
[240 - 241] All right, so I'm gonna grind my beans.
[241 - 243] I've got the Capresso here.
[243 - 244] It's already set on medium
[244 - 252] which is perfect for a drip coffeemaker. Perfect.
[254 - 256] Got my filter in here already.
[256 - 264] Pour the grinds in. Lid on.
[265 - 269] And then now just hit the switch.
[269 - 272] So it's burbling away, it'll be done in a couple minutes,
[272 - 273] but that's it, that's the gist.
[273 - 275] It's easy as can be,
[275 - 278] but excellent, excellent coffee.
[278 - 280] I'm a minimalist, though,
[280 - 281] I don't like to think too much about my coffee.
[281 - 288] I can't wait to see Lisa's maximalist spread over there. (upbeat music)
[288 - 289] - Okay, so here I am
[289 - 292] with some of my coffee machines and methods.
[292 - 294] I have my Breville Barista.
[294 - 297] This is an automatic espresso machine,
[297 - 299] semi-automatic, you need to do a few things.
[299 - 304] I have my French Press from Bodum.
[304 - 306] I have my Bialetti Moka Pot.
[306 - 308] I have a Melitta Cone,
[308 - 310] which is the original pour-over
[310 - 313] with an old vintage pot to drop it into
[313 - 315] if you don't wanna do it into a cup.
[315 - 317] I have a Turkish Coffee Maker,
[317 - 318] I actually have two of those,
[318 - 319] so I just only brought out one
[319 - 321] because I didn't wanna look too over the top.
[321 - 323] - Wow, Lisa, that is amazing.
[323 - 325] You have so many cool coffee tools.
[325 - 327] How do you decide which ones to use when?
[327 - 329] - A lot of it depends on two things.
[330 - 331] One is how much time do I have,
[331 - 333] am I running out the door,
[333 - 334] or do I have time, like say, on a weekend
[334 - 336] to fuss around a little bit.
[336 - 337] If I have a little bit of time
[337 - 339] and want strong, strong coffee,
[339 - 341] I'll use my Bialetti Moka Pot
[341 - 344] which makes a very strong fierce little pot of coffee
[344 - 346] and I'll drink the whole thing.
[347 - 348] If I have a little more time
[348 - 351] and I want the heavy body of a French Press
[351 - 355] because the particles are really suspended in that coffee,
[355 - 358] you get a thick almost sort of slightly gritty texture
[358 - 361] which is I find really pleasing, some people don't love,
[361 - 362] I might use my French Press.
[362 - 363] That takes a little more time.
[363 - 365] This pour-over cone is pretty quick,
[365 - 368] but you do have to be there to pour it over slowly.
[368 - 370] The Turkish coffee,
[370 - 373] I have to say I've always loved Turkish coffee.
[373 - 375] It's very, very strong,
[375 - 377] super fierce, tiny strong cup,
[378 - 380] foamy on top, sort of a froth,
[380 - 382] that's part of the coffee,
[382 - 384] not like a crema, it's a different kind of froth,
[384 - 386] and it's very, very fierce
[386 - 387] and often sweetened right in the pot
[387 - 388] as you brew it.
[388 - 389] So this is kind of fun,
[389 - 392] but this definitely took some mastery
[392 - 393] to figure out how to do it
[393 - 394] and it takes some time.
[395 - 398] And obviously the Breville Barista
[398 - 401] Semi-Automatic Espresso Maker is another choice.
[401 - 405] This is really, really quick in the actual brewing,
[405 - 409] so espresso fast, right, 20 seconds or so to brew,
[409 - 412] but the build-up and breakdown takes minutes.
[415 - 416] if I got up on time
[416 - 418] and I have a little time in the morning,
[418 - 420] or if it's the weekend and I wanna sort of fuss around
[420 - 423] and make myself a beautiful cappuccino or latte.
[423 - 426] So of all the many, many methods I have
[426 - 427] for making coffee here at my house
[427 - 429] I'm gonna show you two of my absolute favorites.
[429 - 430] One is the French Press.
[430 - 433] This is the Bodum Chambord,
[433 - 436] and this is our best buy which has a glass vessel.
[436 - 439] The winner has got a metal body and it's insulated
[439 - 440] and so it's not as breakable.
[440 - 442] These can be a little fragile.
[442 - 444] It has a mesh on the bottom
[444 - 448] and a lid that comes down and basically pushes down.
[449 - 450] So you take that out,
[450 - 454] and I have already ground some coffee.
[454 - 457] This has to be coarsely ground
[457 - 459] and you basically want to,
[459 - 461] I'm gonna make four cups,
[461 - 463] so I've measured and weighed this out
[463 - 464] to a good proportion.
[464 - 467] And I've heated some water in my electric kettle.
[467 - 470] It's 200 degrees. I checked with my Thermapen.
[470 - 474] I'm just gonna pour this over the grounds.
[474 - 477] It has markings on the side, this is four cups,
[477 - 479] and that's about right.
[479 - 482] So you put this on top, and you just rest it on top,
[482 - 484] and now you're gonna wait four minutes.
[484 - 486] Just as with an automatic drip
[486 - 487] where you want that water and the coffee
[487 - 491] to interact for a certain amount of time, same here.
[491 - 493] So this has been sitting for four minutes.
[493 - 495] I'm not gonna start pushing down right now
[495 - 497] because that makes a sort of,
[497 - 498] the coffee floats to the top
[498 - 501] and makes a little bit of a tight raft on top,
[501 - 503] and you don't wanna start pushing.
[503 - 505] That's how people break French Presses a lot.
[505 - 506] So I'll just lift it up
[506 - 508] and I'm gonna either use my wooden spoon
[508 - 511] or my wooden chopstick, not a metal spoon,
[511 - 512] and we're just gonna stir that up
[512 - 514] to loosen it up and blend it in
[516 - 518] so that it'll be easy to push down.
[518 - 519] I think that's a key tip.
[519 - 520] When I learned that, it was like,
[520 - 523] oh, that's why it was so hard.
[523 - 525] So now the mesh disc
[525 - 527] is gonna be on the end of the stick
[527 - 529] and it presses down very easily.
[529 - 531] You see people really stressing and straining
[531 - 533] and that's when they break this.
[533 - 534] And that's it.
[534 - 538] I'm gonna get my cup and there you go.
[538 - 542] Inside the lid, there's even a little filter
[542 - 544] that just holds back larger particles,
[544 - 546] but that's it, it's very simple.
[546 - 548] It's a very relaxed
[548 - 550] and mellow kind of way to make coffee
[550 - 552] and your coffee is gonna be strong
[552 - 554] but really delicious and luxurious.
[554 - 557] Speaking of luxurious experiences with coffee,
[557 - 558] we're gonna talk about
[558 - 563] the Semi-Automatic Breville Barista Espresso Maker.
[563 - 566] We wanted semi-automatic espresso machines
[566 - 568] with built-in grinders
[568 - 570] because otherwise you're getting
[570 - 573] into rating the grinders as well as the machines.
[573 - 575] So this has a built-in grinder.
[575 - 577] This is the hopper where you put your beans in
[578 - 582] and it basically grinds and makes the espresso.
[582 - 585] It also has an attached steam wand for milk.
[585 - 587] I rated six different machines.
[587 - 591] They went up to almost $2000.
[591 - 593] This is one of the more affordable ones
[593 - 595] at around 5 or $600.
[595 - 599] So it's pretty expensive. This is dedication.
[599 - 601] On the other hand, if you really love espresso
[601 - 603] and you go out and you buy it everyday,
[603 - 606] it's like two bucks for a little one ounce shot,
[606 - 610] so it pays for itself pretty quickly
[610 - 611] if you love espresso.
[611 - 613] And I sure do.
[613 - 614] I like having the espresso
[614 - 617] before I go out and have to order an espresso somewhere.
[617 - 621] Some of the machines were super complicated to use,
[621 - 625] really cryptic little diagrams, they were huge.
[625 - 627] This was a fairly compact machine
[627 - 629] as was its co-winner, the Gaggia Anima,
[629 - 632] which is even smaller and is even simpler to operate.
[632 - 634] It's more of a push-button.
[634 - 635] This is a little more hands-on.
[635 - 638] It has a water tank on the back that lifts right out
[638 - 640] and you can fill that at the sink.
[641 - 643] Has a coffee grinder on the top.
[643 - 645] You put your beans right in here
[645 - 646] and you can store them in there.
[646 - 647] This has got a little gasket on it.
[647 - 649] It keeps it all air tight.
[649 - 652] And that can come right off for cleaning.
[653 - 655] This top area is a warmer
[655 - 657] so you can keep your ported filter
[657 - 659] or little cups up there and they'll stay warm.
[659 - 661] With espresso, everything is about
[661 - 665] leading up to this 20 seconds where it makes your shot,
[665 - 667] and then, of course, you have to clean up after it,
[667 - 671] but warming everything up, getting everything going
[671 - 674] is part of the deal with an espresso maker.
[674 - 677] It also has a little drawer
[677 - 679] with some secret storage in the back,
[679 - 680] which is so cool.
[680 - 681] Here's the little filter.
[681 - 682] So you pop it in.
[684 - 686] You put it right in these little embracing arms,
[686 - 689] and it's on double, I have my double filter.
[689 - 691] Push it once.
[694 - 697] It's ground and dispensed
[697 - 699] the amount of coffee that I like,
[699 - 700] which is a lot.
[700 - 703] And then this is something you wanna practice.
[703 - 706] I did this on a scale to learn,
[706 - 708] but you wanna use,
[708 - 711] I think it's 30 pounds of pressure,
[711 - 713] as you tamp down that coffee,
[713 - 714] and this is really critical.
[714 - 715] This makes all the difference
[715 - 718] between a good shot and a not so good shot.
[718 - 722] You wanna press it down and twist it
[722 - 723] and you wanna level it off,
[723 - 726] and then you put it right in here and lock it in.
[726 - 728] Next I will steam the milk.
[728 - 733] So I'm putting about a half cup of milk in this, maybe less,
[733 - 736] actually probably closer to a quarter cup.
[741 - 743] So we got a little foam.
[746 - 747] It's a double espresso,
[747 - 749] and it's got a really gorgeous
[749 - 752] kind of creamy tan and brown swirl to it.
[753 - 757] But there we have it, that's it.
[757 - 760] - Wow, so that is such an amazing array of tools,
[760 - 763] but coming from a minimalist like myself
[763 - 767] can you tell me why someone would want so many options?
[767 - 769] - All of these methods give me
[771 - 775] the most delicious flavor and the most options
[775 - 776] for enjoying that flavor.
[776 - 781] I love coffee and I drink one great cup of coffee a day.
[781 - 782] I enjoy the heck out of it.
[782 - 784] And depending on my mood
[784 - 787] and the amount of time I have to put into it,
[787 - 791] I will choose from my vast array of coffee toys
[791 - 794] and make myself that great cup of coffee,
[794 - 796] and I think that's worth it.
[796 - 797] - Coffee is a real
[797 - 799] choose your own adventure type of project.
[799 - 802] You can be a minimalist, you can be a maximalist.
[802 - 803] You can be a minimalist one day,
[803 - 805] a maximalist the next day.
[805 - 807] So coffee is so fun and cool that way,
[807 - 809] and, Lisa, I can't wait 'til we can drink
[809 - 811] a cup together again.
[811 - 812] - Yeah, definitely.
[812 - 815] In the meantime, you know, here's to you.
[816 - 817] For more information
[817 - 818] on all the products we showed you today
[818 - 820] check out the links below.
[820 - 821] - Make sure to leave us
[821 - 822] your coffee questions in the comments
[822 - 827] and hit that subscribe button. (upbeat music)