Cold brew is often pitched as the "easiest" way to make coffee. You just throw some coarse grounds in water, wait 12 hours, and strain it. Simple, right? Though if you know me, you know I tend to find that word easy usually means a poor cup of coffee.
I will say this until I am blue in the face: Your cup of coffee will only ever be as good as your choice of grinder.
The French Press was actually the first ever daily method my wife and I used to make our morning coffee almost 15 years ago now. It is one of the most forgiving brew methods, but it has one nemesis: "fines." If you have ever taken a sip of French Press coffee and ended up with a mouthful of sludge, you know the problem.
For a long time, "filter coffee" (or drip coffee) had a bad reputation. It was the stuff you got at a diner at 2 AM, or the burnt sludge sitting in the breakroom pot. The "serious" coffee people, or reluctant coffee snobs like me, were all drinking espresso or meticulous pour-overs.
The Moka pot is one of those brewing methods that always seems to remind me of camping. It’s analog, it looks classic on the stove, and it produces a cup that is rich, bold, and incredibly close to espresso, without the need for a $3,000 machine on your counter. You can also use it almost anywhere with a heat source and some water.
If you are building your first home espresso setup, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder is probably on your radar. It’s everywhere. It looks professional, has a fancy digital screen, and often comes recommended as the go-to "budget" option for espresso.
I have a lot of respect for Baratza. They are legendary in the coffee world for building grinders that are repairable, reliable, and backed by incredible customer support. So when I started looking for a dedicated espresso grinder, the Baratza Sette 270 espresso grinder was at the top of my list.
Here is the most common mistake I see people make when getting into home espresso: they spend their entire budget on a shiny new machine and then plug in a $50 blade grinder they bought at the grocery store.