Comments on: Coffee Stupidity

By: Charles

Charles — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 19:22:46 +0000

I have that same Braun coffee grinder, oh man is it a pain in the butt. For some stupid reason, it makes an exceptionally uneven grind. I make drip coffee, one cup at a time in a Melitta filter (I only drink 1 cup a day) so I set the Braun to medium grind. But for some reason I’ve never been able to figure out, it grinds about 10% of the coffee to dust, which sticks in a big clump to the side of the receiving cup. But still, it’s a better grind than anything else I’ve used (short of pro grinders costing hundreds of bucks). The other problem with the Braun grinder is that it isn’t very clean, it drops lots of grounds all over, whenever you pull off the cup (which you do EVERY time you use it). Why oh why is it so difficult to design a decent coffee grinder that doesn’t create a big mess? I would think it would be a top design goal to not leak coffee grounds everywhere.

By: Arnaud

Arnaud — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 13:55:02 +0000

Jee!!! I pressed the Enter key too fast! LOL Anyway, we enjoy smaller quantity but with better quality. I don't know if you can find all Nestle products in the US but you should definitively try the Nespresso system.

By: Arnaud

Arnaud — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 13:51:24 +0000

As you’re talking about French coffee, I just would like to leave a French comment
If you want French coffee, you have to drink it in French quantities! As you probably know, we don’t drink coffee by the litter but prefer instead enjoying

By: bbum

bbum — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 18:52:11 +0000

csven; I totally understand. While I know there are some awful IDers in the industry, there are also absolutely wonderful ID folk whose excellent designs are revealed to the market in shite form because of engineering, manufacturing, or misguided attempts at cost reduction.

Thank you for the insight and the reminder that designers frequently find their product tainted horribly by process.

By: csven

csven — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 18:38:11 +0000

I’d qualify the first issue as a product engineering issue; most likely the result of material selection which most Industrial Designers don’t make (they usually only suggest materials then hope and pray for someone to listen). Sometimes product engineers don’t make those decisions either. An overstock of a particular, less-than-ideal resin might be used because accounting types say it needs to be used. Sounds crazy, but that’s business. Or, in this case, there might be safety concerns which demand a particularly tough material… which just so happens to be lousy in this regard so it’s a compromise.

The second issue does sound like an ID issue; however, I suspect the designer was aware and offered solutions but was probably overruled by the development team. Having worked on appliance handles (including coffee makers), I can say from experience that improvements are not always well-received. Quite the contrary. Anything that adds to the cost over the simplest – and often most inadequate – solution comes under severe scrutiny. That’s what happens when margins get as slim as they have in that industry.

So yes, they’re industrial design problems, but that doesn’t mean the Industrial Designer had anything to do with them. IDers usually work below engineering and marketing. And sometimes even the retail buyer gets to make the decision!

By: Ralph

Ralph — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 17:53:14 +0000

bbum: a fully automated machine does not limit you to espresso beans. Basically, you can throw anything you can find in there… So you’d just buy those beans instead of Arabica – it’ll work.

Personally, I have come to love those machines because they are about as convenient as it gets (put the beans in, put water in, push a button and wait for your cup to fill) and the taste of the coffee that comes out is, IMHO, unmatched.

For most people I have talked to, it all comes down to the question if one is willing to spend the money for such a machine. But if you go with the Swiss Juras or the Italian brands (Saeco, e.g.), you get a really robust machine that only needs some cleaning now and then.

By: bbum

bbum — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 15:34:38 +0000

Except that I’m not really into espresso or espresso based drinks. I like a good pull when I can get one (a rarity), but it isn’t the way I want to drink coffee normally. Personally, I prefer Turkish or Ethiopian coffee (I think — haven’t figured out entirely what it was that I liked so much, but it was at an eastern african place).

By: Ralph

Ralph — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:03:03 +0000

This is the final solution to the problem. Seriously, seems like a lot of money at first sight, but spend it once and you'll never regret it.

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 16:09:22 +0000

How ironic. I read your blog all the time, and yet I spend one weekend away from my computer and I miss this post. I happened to purchase a Brazil-style Bodum french press just this Saturday. I noticed the same thing about having to tilt the filter slightly to fit it past the handle-lip, but even moreso the lack of a good tight seal in the plastic lid. I cheaped out on the grinder too and bought the Bodum one – I can always upgrade later if I find myself using this a lot, and bring the cheap stuff to work.

My main issues aren’t with the above though, since it holds “8 cups” and I only make coffee for myself. Rather, I’m still trying to figure out how best to balance between making enough coffee (2 small cups or 1 good-sized travel mug) and making too much coffee, and getting the flavor/strength exactly where I like it. And dealing with the 2nd cup’s worth of coffee getting cold before I finish the first one. And getting the last bits of tiny grounds out from between the filter screen and the metal plate at the end of the plunger (to which the filter screen is adhered).

By: bbum

bbum — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 17:18:37 +0000

Clearly Steve has never been in the throes of trying to fulfill a widespread, socially acceptable, addiction.

Yes, Neil, you are doing something wrong — you are drinking the whole cup of coffee. A flippant answer and only partially correct. The same holds true for Turkish coffee and some other forms of service. It is the price paid for drinking this form of coffee.

However, the type of bean and, most importantly, the type of grinder used has a huge impact on how much silt is left behind. One of those whirly-blade grinders will produce a huge amount of silt.