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Nordlys schrieb:
Exactly, by hand during a full moon, spring tide, and wearing rubber boots. Otherwise, it won’t work.

You forgot walking backward around grandmother’s grave.

Damn, we don’t have spring tides here.

chand1986 schrieb:
Before buying a coffee machine worth thousands of euros,

Still not proportional

Nordlys schrieb:
Exactly, by hand, during a full moon, at spring tide, and wearing rubber boots. Otherwise, it won’t work.

Not quite: you have to eat freshly peeled crabs beforehand and place a slice of dark rye bread underneath while grinding. Otherwise, the flavor won’t develop properly.

Good to know!

bon1980 schrieb:
You have dual boilers and claim that you can’t make good brewed coffee with an immersion brewing method? That doesn’t exactly show a broad coffee perspective... *shakes head*
By the way, I also have a dual boiler and still enjoy brewed coffee.

I have the dual boiler too, as well as a Commandante C40, and I also really enjoy brewed coffee. But trying to educate others by claiming that preparing coffee in a tea infuser (!) has anything to do with immersion brewing makes me shake my head just as much. Well, this is a home construction forum after all, so no big deal.

Just a note: what pressure ensures in your single/dual boiler or dual boiler device with a well-polished puck—that is, an even contact between water and coffee grounds to enable a clean extraction—is achieved during immersion brewing by stirring (French press or AeroPress) or by carefully pouring in a circular motion. Maybe I just lack imagination, but I can’t see how hanging a tea infuser filled with coffee in hot water would accomplish that. It doesn’t really make sense, especially considering that tea in a tea infuser is meant to steep, not brew. I’m pretty sure coffee is brewed, sometimes even cold brewed, but that’s another story.

Otherwise, I agree that good coffee doesn’t necessarily require an espresso machine, although it certainly doesn’t hurt to have one to make equally good coffee. Fundamentally, it’s great to see that people care about making more than just hot, black slop with lots of sugar and milk—but a tasty beverage with a wide and diverse flavor. But pretending that a TM (Thermomix) is some kind of all-in-one miracle machine and has anything to do with a coffee grinder goes way too far. As has been written before, when it comes to coffee, the fun stops there. No, it can’t make coffee—it’s not designed for that. And it’s certainly not for mixing concrete either, in case that’s next on the list. Although that would probably be more fitting.

About the beans. Yes, they play a major role, no question, but not as presented here. Without a good grinder, you waste the potential of even the best beans—or more dramatically: the best beans don’t help if the grind isn’t right—and this is where it gets tight for the TM. There’s a reason very good grinders cost 0.5 to 1 times as much as a TM. And I’ve never heard that a TM has a good grinding mechanism… that would definitely be talked about in specialty coffee forums. So please, let’s keep things in perspective. Do you need expensive equipment for decent coffee? No, definitely not. A good manual grinder (around 50–200€) and, for example, a French press or AeroPress (about 20€), plus good beans, are enough to make far better coffee than you get in 90% of restaurants, pubs, hotels, and unfortunately so-called espresso bars. The TM’s grind setting might just about suffice for French press in a pinch. But for espresso, grind quality is the limit—and for the tea infuser, it’s wrong on all counts.

And on the chemist argument: just because I know how to hold a brush doesn’t mean I’m an artist.

Making good coffee (like cooking) has less to do with mastering technical or scientific knowledge and more with artistry (as a counterpoint to the overly analytical scientist/engineer). It’s about enjoyment, sensuality, improvisation, creativity—not formulas, exact measurements, or “correct” ratios of anything. Especially as a coffee lover, one should know that every bean (of any age), every water hardness, every machine, every grinder, every coffee ground amount and grind size—and above all, every person—has their own individual recipe. The five M’s and their importance should be familiar. Otherwise, things can get very weak, and weak coffee is rarely full-bodied and simply tastes less than something rich and substantial.

@ruppsn
Now it gets confusing.
Everything you say about grinding, beans, extraction, water, and taste is correct. However, contrary to your opinion, it is implemented exactly that way.

The beans are ground with a conical grinder, then the coffee grounds are placed in the Thermomix, where water is stirred at 94°C (201°F).
Then the coffee is poured through a filter.
I only hang the tea infuser because I’ve tried it and can’t taste any difference, so I don’t have to use the filter.

I only do this a) when I need to make more than 1 liter (about 1 quart) or even 2 liters (about 2 quarts) of coffee, and b) I never wrote that I grind the beans in the Thermomix. That would really be nonsense.

Extracting coffee grounds in moving water at the desired temperature for a defined time is exactly what happens here.

Through trial and error with the coffee variety, grind size, temperature, and time, I have determined the method to get the coffee that I find the most delicious. This is not just holding the brush; in the end, it results in a nice picture (uh... tasty brewed coffee).

For private use for two people, we use an inexpensive porcelain pour-over filter. I invest the money in the beans and keep experimenting here. We do not have a coffee machine or fully automatic coffee maker. For good quality, those would cost quite a bit, so it’s a matter of cost/benefit.

We don’t brew coffee continuously in the Thermomix. Only when we need a large quantity for guests. My point was just to show that I have a function here that standard users don’t think of and that makes other equipment unnecessary.

Seeing people write here who are convinced the Thermomix is far too expensive for what little it can do, and in the same post (!) reveal they spent even more just for a pure coffee maker—that is... well... funny?

chand1986 schrieb:
It’s funny when people join the conversation convinced that the TM is too expensive for what it does, and then in the same post(!) admit to having spent even more on a simple coffee maker, isn’t it?

I think I was the only one who complained about the price, but I’m not the one who upgraded to an expensive KVM...