There is a practically endless supply of coffee making devices and models to choose from when deciding to make coffee at home, naturally ranging from your run-of-the-mill boring drip coffee maker all the way to fancy highfalutin aeropress vacpots, moka pots, and others.
But which coffee maker is best for home use?
This depends on what you are looking to do – which is why I won’t leave you with a blanket answer, but rather an in depth look at your two best options and how to best evaluate different technical setups for your own home use.
The Hario v60
I recommend this coffee maker for a wider demographic than any other device. In fact, if I were to dive in head first and acknowledge one single brewing apparatus as the best and brightest it would without a doubt be the v60. This is because it is inexpensive, simple to use, and requires virtually no maintenance whatsoever.
Let’s take a deeper look at its merits:
It is a single ceramic cone – it doesn’t have any moving parts, any replacement needs, and it can easily be rinsed out or tossed in a dishwasher. The v60 is the epitome of low maintenance, which is something is something I value greatly and is one of our strongest criteria here at project vvlgar.
It’s a $20 investment – v60 cones don’t run you very much dough, which for basic home coffee making is pretty important. If it turns out that you really don’t like the flavor profile of a cup of coffee produced by the v60 then big deal, you lost $20 and learned a valuable lesson. On the other hand, if you are anything like me and discover that the v60’s ability to extract flavor from a bean supersedes other similar apparatuses you will have discovered an amazing device for $20. Incredible value. Even if you get in an argument with a fellow home coffee madman (or woman) and throw the v60 at them, destroying not only your relationship with a fellow ‘massive extractor’ but also shattering your v60 you can buy a new one for $20. The price is right.
It doesn’t take skill to master – I’ve watched some pretty serious videos of baristas using extremely technical methods to brew coffee through the v60, and yeah maybe they get a better extraction than I do, but not by much. Even if they are drawing more flavor from the bean than I do, they have pushed the law of diminishing returns to the extreme and devoting a lot of time and energy to a little extra flavor from the bean. My pour over method is extremely simple and produces a very full profile of nuances. The first time that you use a v60 you’ll find you’ve made a phenomenal cup of coffee. It’s that simple.
The Bialetti Moka Pot
The moka pot could not be any more different from the v60 if it tried. The mechanics behind it are completely different and it extracts through water boiling and reaching the upper chamber where it infuses with the finely ground coffee, thus producing an almost espresso like java that you can make at home for very little money. Moka pots are a little more than v60s, but for about twice the price you can get access to a very powerful device.
So what makes it worthwhile?
You can experiment more – the Bialetti is able to produce a small, concentrated coffee that works great for making Americanos and lattes, which is great for your average up and coming home barista. If you are interested in making cappuccinos at home or just trying out your average home latte beverage then the Bialetti (or any other moka pot) is a great way to get yourself started without shelling out serious cash.
Low maintenance setup – like the v60 you don’t have to do much to take care of the Bialetti. It seasons as you use it, so you don’t have to worry too much about cleaning it aside from a basic rinse to get the excess espresso out. I always recommend low maintenance coffee making methods to anyone new in making coffee because you’ll be more inclined to use it (and to use it more frequently) if it doesn’t take much work or cleanup.
Take Your Pick
This isn’t the end of your home coffee making journey, obviously, but a solid primer on what you need to get started. If you want to make the best coffee at home with little upfront money and not a lot of responsibility for cleanup or maintenance, starting out with either of these two devices will set you out on the right path.
I own both of them and I use both with a high degree of regularity. Yeah, admittedly the v60 gets a lot more play in my kitchen, I use it to brew v60 black diesel every morning whereas I only whip out my moka pot when I want an Americano or something else that might require a combination of ingredients.
If you still aren’t satisfied I wrote a very similar article a while back called What is the Best Coffee Maker in The World that is designed to be more of a focus on absolute best technology, and less of a primer on getting started in home coffee barista madness.
That said, get out of here. Go buy yourself a v60 or a moka pot and then hit me up with emails and comments letting me know how they worked out for you.
Happy brewing.
