The secret to great coffee

We have, at last count:

• 2-3 french presses
• A Moka pot
• A vacuum pot
• A jezve (and the ultrafine hand-grinder to go with it)
• A Chemex
• An Aeropress

…and I’m probably leaving several out. We used to have a drip machine but my stepdaughter inherited it when we moved.

We have a commercial-quality grinder and we roast our beans (often from Sweet Maria’s) at home.

All of these devices make great coffee when used well. Each makes coffee with its own unique characteristics.

I do not own a special “pour-over” coffee maker because a) that’s what a Chemex is; and b) the “pour over” method is what every poor bastard with nothing but a funnel and a can has ever done. Making it out to be some amazing exotic new thing is silly.

According to the internet, each and every one of these devices will make the “best coffee in the world”, far superior to other, plebian coffee.

Coffee is good. Coffee is good for you. Mostly I drink it black. Sometimes I drink it with godawful amounts of whipped cream and flavored syrup. Sometimes I drink it with sweetened condensed milk. Sometimes I drink it from the gas station (and sometimes it’s surprisingly good there). Sometimes I drink it at Starbucks.

You wanna know what’s the best coffee in the whole world? You really want to know the secret? Lean in really close now…

The best coffee in the world is whatever coffee you enjoy with a good friend, or a with good book.