# Work alternatives



## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Looking for something to replace the cheap single mug press I use in work and advance my coffee enjoyment there a bit more to bring it up to speed with home 'a bit'. At home its all, well pretty much all espresso but work will be a piece of equipment to accompany the now in residence Porlex for making something with a splash of the old moloko.

Sooooooo this is where I ask for your help from those who have used some different types of things in comparison. I don't know need to keep it simple and easy to clean if poss as hey its work "and time is money" at least that's what 'the man' says etc......but want good flavours and possible improvements on the little press I have if poss.

Money I dunno up to and around the thirty quid mark so will include the likes of Aeropress, Chemex, drippers etc I suppose.

It's the experience of people on here of the above methods and others I may not have thought of in comparison to each other and a possible best without me having to buy them all to try them! As well, you see I'm starting to trust all of your judgements and advice after being here a while and realizing just how mad and obsessed you all are by it now









So there, throw your thoughts, advice in and help my working life a little more bearable with a more refined cup of coffee than I am experiencing at the moment.

Thanks!!!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Sowden/end thread


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

jeebsy said:


> Sowden/end thread


+1

use mine everyday now.

Can be had for £35 online using the £5 off voucher you get for subscribing to the retailer's newsletter.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Or V60, Clever.

Now you can close the thread.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

...open it again...

Sowden.

...now close it. ;-)


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

froggystyle said:


> Or V60, Clever.
> 
> Now you can close the thread.


V60 would require significantly more faffing than an Eddie.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Or, tinker a bit with the French press method you currently use?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Nah no faff when you get your head round it, takes me a few minutes now....


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

MWJB said:


> Or, tinker a bit with the French press method you currently use?


Try a two cup maybe, i have one every now and then, tends to keep warm enough to drink for a good 45 minutes, i dont touch it for the first 20 minutes anyway.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

froggystyle said:



> Nah no faff when you get your head round it, takes me a few minutes now....


Walk me through your routine please


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Or, tinker a bit with the French press method you currently use?


I have been for months MWJB honest but just left feeling there must be better. I could be wrong obviously but after improving it over what I was doing, refining rather than chuck a bit of that in etc that'll do I still feel there could be more to be had.

*potters off to see what the hell a Sowden is............


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> Walk me through your routine please


Turn kettle on

Weigh beans (16g), grind them, whilst wetting/warming paper/cup

Drop grinds in

Give kettle 30 seconds after boiling

Wet grinds, stir, leave for 30 seconds.

First pour, fill up V60 then top up when about halfway down, twice.

Total time from water hitting grinds, about 2.30 minutes.

So in all about 4.30 minutes.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Where are you at now re. French press recipe? What is it you don't like?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Do you weigh your water?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Weighed it first few times, always same cup, always to same point in cup, so near enough.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

jeebsy said:


> Do you weigh your water?


Not really. Yeah with the coffee but played or (play with a new bean) until I found the right level (for flavour I like) from a cup then pour boiling water in cup to that level then pour from there into the press each time. So not super precise to each time water wise but close. Oh and I pre warm the cup before pouring 'using' water into cup for the press also.

The Sowden look very nice, no real instructs I can see and it said scoops where I did. Scoops are a bit naughty from bean to bean weight wise aren't they? Weight to volume, bean to bean wise etc....


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## Dallah (Jan 31, 2015)

Aeropress is my faff free coffee fix at office. Use the scoop, it is pretty consistently 17g. Water to the appropriate shot line on the Aeropress. Leave for 90 secs. Flip, press and you have decent coffee quicker than going to the office coffee bar.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

The Aeropress comes with a scoop too....

The Sowden has a line inside which (for the wee one) is 400ml. I put 22ish grams of coffee in, fill up with water and leave it, for 50-ish mins. Job done.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

jeebsy said:


> and leave it, for 50-ish mins. Job done.


Is that the brew time though '50' mins? Thats a long brew time isn't it? Aeropress is massively quicker.....but Sowden does two....

I like the idea of a 2 cupper. Routine in morning is up, ready, espresso leave for work. Arrive at work 45-55 mins later. Settle in and have a coffee quite often two over the next two hours. Saves a double trip....or one large mug...


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Sk8-bizarre said:


> Not really. Yeah with the coffee but played or (play with a new bean) until I found the right level (for flavour I like) from a cup then pour boiling water in cup to that level then pour from there into the press each time. So not super precise to each time water wise but close. Oh and I pre warm the cup before pouring 'using' water into cup for the press also.


What's your grind like, I'd be around the first setting where the burrs stop audibly rubbing on a Porlex? Tried the 'cup measuring' trick, amazing how far off it can be.

Leave the kettle a minute after reaching boil then straight in, NSEW stir & leave covered but nothing touching the grinds/slurry. Sink any solids before you put the plunger in & leave a few min to settle, then pour off the first shot glass worth & discard, before pouring the cup.

After the Sowden, French press would be my preferred method for making a mug's worth.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Sk8-bizarre said:


> Is that the brew time though '50' mins? Thats a long brew time isn't it? Aeropress is massively quicker.....but Sowden does two....


Aeropress isn't massively quicker if you want to get the same kind of profile as the Sowden (sweet, fair clarity). It makes a quicker, but different, cup.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Thank you hmmmm I am around a three on the click setting so you are extracting more I suspect. I shall give your method a try as it does differ in other ways.

But



MWJB said:


> After the Sowden, French press would be my preferred method for making a mug's worth.


 that is a little bit of a, yeah but you said











MWJB said:


> It makes a quicker, but different, cup.


and there is the clincher and personal preference comes in........


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

The point being, I don't think there's a great range of brewer's that will do a better job for 1 mug than a French press in a work/low faff (regular kettle, paperless brews, less strict timing) situation.

I'm about 3-4 Porlex clicks out too.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

A little more playing, and possibly some more work specific beans first then..........but after seeing a Sowden and with a press that's seen much better days they do look rather nice don't they :S damn it!


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## spune (Oct 3, 2011)

I was the lucky winner of one of these - http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/cores-brewer-mug

Looks great an brews a lovely coffee. Easy to clean and use as well!


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

What about this?

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?19349-Minipresso&highlight=minipresso

I ordered one a couple of weeks ago...coming from Hong Kong so should make a nice xmas present. Don't know how they actually perform.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

spune said:


> I was the lucky winner of one of these - http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/cores-brewer-mug
> 
> Looks great an brews a lovely coffee. Easy to clean and use as well!


Very nice looking but wonder if it being one cup/mug it has the room/movement to allow the grind to brew as well as say the size of the Sowden. Also with it not being able to pour at optimal brew time when do you start/stop drinking? Could be a step back......

Not ruling it out though!


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

GCGlasgow said:


> What about this?
> 
> http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?19349-Minipresso&highlight=minipresso
> 
> I ordered one a couple of weeks ago...coming from Hong Kong so should make a nice xmas present. Don't know how they actually perform.


Gimmicky but looks a bit faffy for work but if away or even more so camping looks very cool with potential as a half decent espresso. Wouldn't rule it out for work as if i could have espresso at work and just back up with fizzy water I'd be very happy.

Be very interested on your feed back on one of these indeed even if i had bought something in the meantime!


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

Will post feedback when it arrives and get a chance to use it, other members have ordered one before me and haven't heard if any have received theirs yet.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Thanks GC will be interested....Hope for your sake more than mine soon!

My Porlex from Japan took two months and for the first time I got stung on import tax so didn't even make the saving, total git lol.


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## spune (Oct 3, 2011)

Yeah all good points. I brew, steep, then remove the whole thing out into it's lid.

The Sowden looks lovely too, sounds like the way to go!


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

spune said:


> I brew, steep, then remove the whole thing out into it's lid.


Hold on Spune! My bad totally I only looked at the one pic and immediately thought of one of these http://www.zyliss.com/en-us/images/products/secondary/e990001u-1.jpg a bad knee jerk comparison which a guy has at work and the grind stays at the bottom as you drink.

Yours isn't designed like that at all and is made to be removed to drink so very close to the Sowden. The only real difference comes down to the size and maybe filter differences.

I must look and read more carefully in future please accept my apologies it's nothing like I thought, quite different.

*How do you find it in comparison to other methods you have tried?*....and you won it! Very cool. It's not actually real gold is it!!


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## Steve7 (Dec 19, 2014)

I stick 75 g into a technivorm and enjoy.

There is always some to share and that makes it even better.

Only downside is the made by knock hand grinder range means two fills to get the grinds. Anyone get a better idea?


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Just had to look a Technivorm up, nice but over what I was looking to spend really. An electric grinder of sorts sounds like it would suit you better at 75g a time......


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

A Lido handgrinder will do 75g of a light/med roast in one fill & around a min of cranking.


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## spune (Oct 3, 2011)

Sk8-bizarre said:


> Hold on Spune! My bad totally I only looked at the one pic and immediately thought of one of these http://www.zyliss.com/en-us/images/products/secondary/e990001u-1.jpg a bad knee jerk comparison which a guy has at work and the grind stays at the bottom as you drink.
> 
> Yours isn't designed like that at all and is made to be removed to drink so very close to the Sowden. The only real difference comes down to the size and maybe filter differences.
> 
> ...


It's an easy mistake to make! It produces a really lovely clean tasting cup. It's so handy to use too, doesn't take any time to clean and it's self contained too.

I've got an Aeropress and V60 for brewing and in my opinion it produces something that's in between in terms of a body/clarity profile.


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Just smashed the flipping press with early morning hands!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Oh no! Early morning nightmare!


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

hotmetal said:


> Oh no! Early morning nightmare!


Just nicked someone elses 8 cup to make one, not ideal but getting by.....fingers hovering over the buy button on a Cores mug like Spunes....Think the Sowden purchase being more expensive may be a home one as the only one I really like aesthetically pleasing to me is the white 4 cup, 4 cup probably being overkill for work.


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