What would you say is the best stovetop coffee maker?

Just found a convenient lump of steel in the garage - approx 17.5cm in Dian and 7mm thick, trying it on top the stove as a possible prop ......... could prove handy for a number of reasons

 

Tony Press - that Atomic is one cool bit of kit, love it!
Kero, having just read the Turkish thread - man, you don’t half meet some cultured characters in these parts! Great stuff!

 

My favourite by far is my 'Miss Lavazza' by Balzano, Italy. It's only a 3 - 4 cup but it's stainless and it 'just works'.





My least favourite is this... it leaks and always has despite trying new seals, it prone to Aluminium corrosion and it's just a pain in the a$$!



Most fiddly and esoteric: my Cona syphon coffee system I got from a charity (thrift) shop. Using it without smashing one of the many pieces of glass is a military operation. No kids or pets should be in the same room, the windows should be kept closed for fear of draughts blowing the candle out or knocking the top vessel over and you need the patience of a saint! It does make bloody fantastic coffee though if you're prepared to put in the time which I'm not 99% of the time. The Lavazza is so much quicker and easier! It also looks like something from the set of Forbidden Planet!

 

Wash your mouth out, Cona is the best coffee maker ever full stop. I use mine all the time, despite pets, kids etc. Yours is a stove top model, I may be wrong but I don't think the candle on that model is for brewing coffee, just keep the brew warm.

 

Ahhhhhhh, that might explain a lot! But you are right, I've never had coffee as good as the Cona makes from any other device. It make much better, less aggressive coffee IMHO.

Now, who collects Piquot Ware? I have a ton of that stuff, including milk jugs, water pots and sugar bowls but not the K3 Kettle. I had one but it got 'lost' in my mums house before I could rescue it!

 

I tend to woomf the lot into what most would call a large mug - caffeine fixed for hours on what most manufactures call a two, three or four cup Never liked those Ali things - used em, but prefer stainless in this regard to use on Primus type stoves. I’ve a brabantia stainless hob kettle for the tea and general hot water, it’s followed me around for years and is bullet proof - managed to lose its whistle tho
I looked into buying another just recently, then found it’s a discontinued item blah blah and would have cost somewhere around £85 (This acquisition came along with a boat I bought and have since sold, all too many moons ago - a nice find in the galley)
A good cast iron wok, and likewise a frying pan of the same and all is ever good to go! The wife decided to kit us out with camping kit recently - I could have cried Luckily I packed practical back up .......... watching her weld food to these awful ‘camping sets’ of dubious quality - as for the kettle? (We each create our systems and we each decide our pack)

 

My experience with Bialetti clones is it is impossible to find seals. You have to make them. I have given away all the clones.
I do like a good pour over with the ultra light dropper from GSI.

Syphon, I have an old Cory, in the box, and a Proctor Silex metal electric.
The only concern with them is ... if the coffee plugs up the 'drop' turn the heat back on to blow it clear.
Considered the best coffee ever, I need to bring them down from the shelf.
Chemex is an awesome, tasty brew.

 

When I'm in a rush for that first cup in the morning I just use my aeropress. Then I put on the old stainless percolator. The wife loves the French press.

 

It was a good morning for some 'espresso type' coffee while on a very short overnight camping trip.



The beginnings of coffee goodness...

 

Because of you, I got one of those also. A very nice pot.

 

@Hazet , nice setup!

 

A good woman is the best stove top coffee maker.

Ben

 

Hi, I read this; regarding commodity prices, in the Economist newspaper today:

“In the background lurks climate change, fears of which have grown with the heat and drought battering Europe’s wheat crop this summer. European grain prices have surged as a result. But those of many other commodities are sagging. On August 22nd 2018 a pound of arabica coffee fell below $1, less than the cost of a takeaway brew and the lowest in 12 years. Raw sugar was also at ten-year lows. Both have been hit by oversupply in Brazil, as well as a slide in the value of the real, the Brazilian currency, which makes it more compelling to sell crops, priced in dollars, rather than store them.”

Anyone notice the lower coffee price feeding through to retail sales yet?

No? I thought not.....

Best Regards,
Kerophile

 

There are a lot of middle men and markups between bulk coffee beans from the farmer and your coffee cup. It's a very volatile market and one never knows when the price is going to go up again. Between that and people still being willing to buy the coffee, I don't blame the sellers for maintaining their prices.

You notice when crude oil prices rise, petrol stations IMMEDIATELY raise their prices, even though the petrol in their tanks was purchased at the previous lower price? They need to have the $$$ on hand to purchase the new higher priced petrol. I don't blame them at all either.

 

Oh, and best stovetop coffee maker. I like my Pyrex percolator best out of stove tops, but my experience is almost non-existent.

Unless heating water on a stove and then pouring it into a different container counts, in which case it's a tough call between a Melitta pour over and a french press.

 

This thing is awesome!
And it belongs on a brass stove.
I really want to own one of these.

 

Not strictly stove-top but in my book the Aeropress comes out tops.
Small, light, fast and easy. I never leave home without mine.

Combine the Aeropress with single-origin beans like Ethiopian Harar or Limu, Kenyan Peaberry, Mexican Chiapas but generally not South American beans,
fresh medium roasted, grind before brewing in a vintage Dienes hand grinder, and it will spoil you for life.

Confession: I cheat: I operate the hand grinder with a cordless drill

 

@phaedrus42
Do you use the upside-down method, or the standard method with the Aeropress?
I use the upside-down, but am careful when turning it over.

 

@snwcmpr , I use the standard method. The trick is to grind the coffee beans quite fine, then the water will not just run through the filter as you pour. Mix with the paddle and press within 30 secs. Great coffee flavour, strong but not bitter or acidic like you sometimes get with a french press.
I've heard that a few grains of salt in the brew can also improve the flavour.

 

Uggggg, salt?

I have used the same grind as french press, cowboy coffee, course grind, and let steep several minutes.