I have talked about pour overs a number of times on this blog because they are a standard brewing method within the coffee industry. They help bring out more flavors and notes within the coffee by using a variety of ways to get the best extraction. But, with so much emphasis on pour overs within the industry, it can seem like any other brewer or brewing method is inferior.
The more I got into speciality coffee the more I felt like I had to get rid of my automatic coffee brewer. It seemed like unless I had an expensive machine like a Moccamaster, I was lazy and didn’t want good coffee. Even now that I have a Moccamaster, I still feel like there is this pressure to focus more on smaller recipes and the personal feel of brewing a cup at a time. The coffee I made in my coffee maker at home was good but I still felt like I would not be a good coffee professional unless I chucked everything but my pour over cones in the trash. However, the coffee that someone makes or orders for themselves should be just that: For themselves.
If you like your automatic coffee maker, here are five things to remember when you feel like throwing it away.
A Pour Over Cone is Not God
There is not one pour over that is the ultimate brewer. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each brewer will come down to what the person brewing values in their cup, so if the perks of an automatic coffee maker work for you then use that.
Make What You Like
Depending on what coffee you like, the best brewer for you may be an automatic coffee brewer because those coffees shine when made in larger doses. I have found that darker berry notes like raspberry or deep chocolate notes can end up being more bitter on certain pour over brewers but smooth out when brewed on drip. Darker roasts, also, shine for those coffee pot brewers, often easing up on the more roastier notes for a solid and strong cup of coffee.
Don’t Buy It If You Don’t Need It
The possibility of a new piece of kit can be exciting but, something to keep in mind when you are eyeing a new brewer is will you use it. Think about your morning routine and, if you are pretty comfortable with your regular coffee brewer than do not feel like you need to buy another one. Upgrading for upgrading sake is wasteful, especially if you buy it because you are excited, but it gets relegated to the cupboard after only a few uses. Think before you buy.
Convenience is valid
As a barista and educator, I have a fair bit of coffee gear at home but, so often when I go to make coffee at home, I reach for my automatic machine. Why? Because after slinging lattes and running a shop, I often just want an easy coffee experience when I’m making coffee for myself on my days off or in the morning before I go in. How you make your coffee in the morning should reflect not only your personal taste but should fit your schedule and energy level. If you do not have the energy to make a pour over every morning (or most of them), let your automatic brewer do what it does best while you enjoy your morning.
Consider the Money
Let’s be real: coffee gear is expensive. There are groups like Getchusomegear that can help out with the monetary costs for marginalized groups and ways to get around some expenses, but coffee equipment and good beans are not cheap. There can be this pressure seeing the different pour over options or even home espresso machines that you have to have these elaborate home set-ups, some people posting pictures with a coffee station that has hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars worth of gear. If you do not have the money, do not think that you are somehow less than worthy to be in the industry and community. Start where you are, buy what you can and will use, and let the gear heads exist in their own space. Most of them are just coffee bros with huge corporate money or brand sponsorship anyway.
If you scour youtube, you will find videos of coffee pros rating their experiences with cheap coffee machines and watching their discomfort can be funny one minute then uncomfortable the next if it is similar to a machine you own. Those videos and often times the standard that coffee professionals set themselves to is the idea that every coffee we make needs to be up to the highest Q grading standard. When in reality, we all just want to drink coffee we like. So, if you have been thinking about throwing out your automatic coffee maker but like the coffee that you make with it, leave it on your kitchen counter and make, to quote Twin Peaks, “a damn fine cup of coffee.”
The Non-Binary Barista 