Small Batch Brewers

dfk41

I always have a black coffee (americano 6 ounce or so) at breakfast and quite often I find myself wanting a bit more. Being retired and having no time constraints and all that. I have all the usual suspects for brewed coffee but one thing I have never really had a good play with is a batch brewer. I do not need to manufacture a litre at a time. I wondered if any forum members favour this type of coffee or whether folks prefer say the Sage Brewista to the Technivorm Moccamaster or is there something better?

HarveyMushman

We’re exactly the same. Black filter coffees in the morning, then espresso based the rest of the day.

I’ve bought three Moccamasters (for me and family) over the years and love them. Dutch made, old company. The parts are almost all easily removable and replaceable (I dropped a carafe and broke it, bought the replacement for about £18 on Amazon with same day delivery).

I’ve also seen them in countless third wave coffee shops for small batch duties. It won’t make world class v60 style brews but it tastes great to us and so efficient.

However, they are VERY simple. No temperature control, some people manual stop the brewer to stir the basket like they would a v60 etc. If you want more control another option might be better.

Edit: replacement carafe is now £25 but still easily available

dfk41

HarveyMushman Being just my self as a coffee drinker, Technivorm do a one cup version which looks interesting

HarveyMushman

dfk41

Yeah they look great!

InfamousTuba

I always wondered about something like the Melitta aromaboy for 1 cup brewing, never used one though

https://www.melitta.co.uk/products/coffee-machines/filter-coffee-machines/aromaboy-filter-coffee-machine-black/

dfk41

InfamousTuba That is an interesting point, IT……whenever you see a film or american tv series they always have something like that on the kitchen bench. They always have an enormous tub of pre-ground coffee so we all know what is coming out! But, I am not into delicate flavours and single origins…..I like my coffee to taste of well, err….coffee and I just wonder if something as basic as this would actually quell my needs as well or better than one of the more expensive offerings

HarveyMushman

Just a thought though, if you did want to go back for a top-up it looks like it literally does one cup.

I usually eyeball about 600ml in mine (the glass carafe model) which is a cup each for the wife and I and a bit more for seconds.

HarveyMushman

I always notice the same thing! Possibly a bit of a sad admission but it was seeing some American show where the guy comes down to the Kitchen bleary eyed and just pours himself a black coffee from a jug that made me think ‘what am I even doing with my life timing pours and worrying about fines at 7:00am’ 😅

I’m more careful with espresso based drinks and will occasionally indulge in a properly prepared V60 but yeah, the morning coffee is all about whatever gets a big jug of it made quickly. It’s freshly ground and still tastes better than 99% of takeaway coffee.

Adrianmsmith

HarveyMushman what am I even doing with my life timing pours and worrying about fines at 7:00am’ 😅

I thought i was on facebook 😎😘🤭 🤔 for a moment then.

I dont get that bit at all.

Tried the moccamaster with thermal carafe then the sage , sold them both. One reason was i proved once and for all i dont like pour over but the other was all the faff and cleaning, filter paper folding, pre wetting etc etc

Possibly im spoiled having an acs evo leva but , what could he easier. Come down bleary eyed (hey google already turned it on) steam half a cup of milk, throw a pre weighed 21.5g in the grinder, tamp , fit portafilter, put mug of milk under, pull lever, after 6 seconds flick it up and go to the toaster. Wait for and Butter the toast , take a bite, (honey and jam optional) grab the cup and take a nice coffee. Oh yeh, im idle and brew directly on to the milk in the mug.

The main reason i love it is its so simple. Its actually difficult to make a bad cup! The polar opposite of popular opinion.

InfamousTuba

In my opinion, the sage precision brewer makes better coffee than the moccamaster. The sage has better temperature stability and adjustable flow rate. But the moccamaster (especially with the thermal carafe) will last forever and is much easier to repair. You can sometimes get a good deal on a second hand moccamaster but they do get snapped up very quickly.

The v60 adapter for the sage is the same price as the aromaboy. The reviews seem to say that the aromaboy works best for medium - dark roasts because the temperature doesn’t get as high

MWJB

I bought a Melitta Aromaboy a few months ago, I normally make 1 cup brews (13.8g to 200-210g) with manual brewers, but the slightly larger brew size (giving 2 small/regular cups of 140g each) & possibility that my other half might actually use it (though not happened yet), drew me to try the Aromaboy.

Now dialled in (calibrated Niche Zero set to 67.5), I’m finding it surprisingly good. Seems to work best at max capacity (22g coffee, 330g water), but it is certainly consistent, extracts normally (20.1% avg over 10 brews, each with a different coffee) and occasionally gives preferred cups over manual brews. Not bad, considering it costs about the same as a V60 02 ceramic dripper.

HarveyMushman

I must’ve changed since I posted that! I’m now a careful V60er in the mornings now!

Agree espresso can be straightforward in the mornings, I just like a nice complex pour over in the morning now.