Scores based on sentiment analysis of topic-related comments
Best praise vs top criticism for Hario V60
“I thought it always tasted like oil without a metric ton of cream and sugar. I used to put three of those pre-packed cups of creamer and three packets of sweetener, or whatever the office had. They only had pre ground French roast. One day they got a Columbian, and I thought the grounds looked lighter so I tried it straight. It wasn't great, but I didn't need as much creamer and sugar to make it taste good. That went on for a bit until covid hit and I didn't have my caffeine. I could survive without daily trips to the shop, but I did miss the taste, even if it was cream and sugar. Oddly, during covid I slowly got into whiskey via those small single serve bottles. I learned to appreciate it straight, but will always love a cocktail. So through various reading and YouTube, I happened to stumble across a little known channel called James Hoffman. After some videos, I though, surely coffee can't taste good on its own...right? Well when lockdown lifted, I researched and found a local roaster to try their medium roast pourover coffee. I thought, dang, I don't hate this straight! But it wasn't quite meeting expectations of this MAGICAL drink in my head. Not admitting defeat, I went back and tried a cold brew. That did it! I've always loved iced coffee from the chains, even in winter. So of course I had to try it again.... To cut the rest of the story short, I went down the rabbit hole. -bought Fellow ode gen 2 and a V60 -learned to buy good beans not from the grocery store -kinda fell out of love with filter, and wanted to try espresso -go to coffee shop and try espresso straight and a latte -buy new grinder and espresso machine -fiddle with espresso and milk steaming -fall in love with lattes and straight -stumbled on channels roasting own beans -dive down THAT rabbit hole -beg wife to allocate money for coffee roaster -she says we already have a roaster at home -Come full circle to like filter again using green beans and popcorn poper -ask wife again for a nicer roaster -??????”
“I'll add to this. Some pieces you'll want for any method: Kettle (temperature control is convenient but not required) Kitchen Scale Coffee grinder (optional but this arguably will make the biggest difference) Some user friendly brewers: Pour over - Kalita Wave or V60 are both cheap and easy to use French Press: add coffee, add water, press doesn't get much easier Aeropress: kind of a new age French press. Super easy, super reliable and tons of online tips and tricks. Drip machine: results generally aren't as good as the above. If you go this route I'd shell out for a moccamaster if you can but they make cheaper decent coffee machines just do your research. I agree with the coffee choice. Start with something familiar like Colombian, Brazilian or just blends that sound good. I personally would avoid flavored coffees but it's personal preference. I would find a local roaster if you can and try their house blend to start if that's an option. They can also usually grind your coffee for you. Some will even let you sample the coffee before making your bean choice. Big thing with coffee is freshness. Coffee is usually best within 3 weeks to a couple months from roast and loses more flavor after grinding if you don't make it right away. Coffee bags that list a roast date will generally be more quality focused than best by dates. Best by dates can be much later than what's optimal for coffee.”
1,521 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 2/24/2026