Some words about coffee, practically speaking.

Ikea Radig -- what I own

When you make a pot of coffee at a time as often as I do, inevitably you'll forget that you had it brewing (or fall asleep), and it turns cold.  Drip coffee always tastes bad even after reheating, no exceptions.  Honestly, it tastes exactly like instant coffee, after you reheat it.

What doesn't taste as bad, after reheating it, is french-pressed coffee.  Sure, you lose a lot of the aroma and flavor that a fresh brew has, but it isn't bitter and old like a wet cigarette.  Now obviously I've never tasted what a wet cigarette is, but that weird smell you get from a wet cigarette matches the taste that you get from reheated drip coffee or drip coffee that is old.

Starbucks' VIA instant coffee comes close to reheated french press coffee.  Though I haven't had any in a decade, Folgers and all the other instant coffees are bitter and taste like old coffee.

Commercial burr grinders are so good, that there is value to buying coffee that is freshly ground, as opposed to using a home grinder, even if you have a burr grinder at home.  But I suppose the reason why we love so much to grind our own beans at home, is that the aroma is something to treasure, each and every time you grind.

Ikea Anrik -- french press that I own

Speaking of burr grinders, they take a lot longer than blade grinders, but are supposed to grind more evenly. If you're not using a commercial burr grinder, this is still a challenge.  In some ways, it just makes us feel better about ourselves, that we're using the same kind of grinders that the pros use, I suppose.

I don't know why anyone drinks morning blends in the morning; they're lightly roasted, to the point that they're practically still green beans.  To me, this should be a late night drink, to let you down easy just before you go to sleep.  I try to stick with 100% dark roasts, aka French, Italian or Espresso roasts, regardless of the time of day.

Percolators make your place smell awesome when you're brewing coffee, but as far as the flavor, it doesn't seem to do much to it (I'd even argue that the perfect cup is actually low in flavor), though it takes the longest to brew.  Because of the way the percolation works, you're inevitably boiling coffee, and losing flavor.

My burr grinder

Pour-over coffee is a modern trend that I do not encourage for one reason only: I like my coffee hot, not lukewarm.  It brings out more flavor than drip machines, but all it is, is a longer brew cycle of that of drip.  And like I said, I like my coffee hot, not lukewarm.

I love french press.

I'm not so hoity-toity highfalutin, that I spend a lot of money on the best beans and equipment.  So here's the rundown of my current equipment:

• Ikea Radig espresso coffee pot (stove-top).  Talk about simple: you can take this with you on a camping trip and use it, and get a solid espresso every single time.  It doesn't get any more basic and solid as this.  I should say, the current generation is a slightly different build than the one that I have.
• Ikea Anrik double-hull stainless steel french press.  I hate plastic french presses, and I used to have a glass one, but it cracked after just a few years.  This one is a big fella and is so good, that you really don't need an electric coffee drip machine.
• Krups espresso machine.  It is two decades old, that practically no one owns one or has images of it.  ;)  I use it infrequently, because I use my Radig and I don't care for milk foam.
• KRUPS FMF514 drip.  The primary reason why I got this model was because of the double-hull stainless steel carafe.  I hate lukewarm coffee, to the point that even though this machine sucks, the steel carafe was worth it.
• Black and Decker CBM210 burr grinder.  Yes, I know it had bad reviews, but I only paid $18 for it, and it was still an improvement over a blade grinder; it's all about the heat generated during grinding.

My drip coffee maker

I know what you're thinking: nothing special in that equipment list.  Like I said, I'm not a highfalutin fellow.  I like my coffee almost any way I can get it, but having spent so much time drinking all sorts of coffee, I know what's good and what's bad, and I definitely know what I like and hate.

One last thing.  I like the flavor you get from K-cups and their ilk of single-cup brewers, but I can't get over the amount of plastic waste those things put out for each cup of coffee.  Also, I drink a lot more coffee than single-cup servings, so they make no sense for me.  If I were to choose, I'd select a small french press.

Oh wait, I already have one!  I bought this cheap (Chinese) one for a camping trip, years ago, from Next Adventure.  Double-hulled metal is my thing.  Unfortunately, the handle broke off the first time I used it, which goes back to why I try to avoid any plastic parts from China.  Nevertheless, when in need of just a single cup, I always have this french press handy.

That's my coffee experiences.