In our house, we love our coffee, and when we love something, we go all out.
We grind our own beans (coarseness of 26 on our grinder), heat water to an exact temperature (I like 194°, but Dan likes 185°.), we pour in a specific pattern, and we weigh the beans and water (50g of beans to 900g of water). A touch obsessive you might say, but it makes AWESOME coffee ever time. I like awesome coffee every time, not burnt one day and weak the next.
The biggest drawback of this method is serving coffee to guests. Our coffee pot is only big enough for the amount of coffee Dan and I drink in the morning. Keeping extra pots hot is an issue, we don’t have a warmer, and when we have guests, we spend a lot of time brewing coffee that we’d rather spend chatting around the table.
Our solution: the airpot!
This little beauty is not a big investment at all. I think we spent $35 on Amazon. It holds 101 ounces (3 liters) of a hot or cold beverage. For us, that translates into 3 pots from our Chemex.
While it does take some prep, warming the pot then brewing 3 pots of coffee to fill it. It is so nice to have your guests wander into the kitchen in the morning to hot, fresh coffee which they can refill without having to ask to brew another pot! Life changing, I tell ya!
With Thanksgiving next week, we will be using this everyday, likely a couple times a day! Fully caffeinated brew in the morning and decaf with dessert in the evening, It will be getting a workout for sure!
Any other tips to share for making the holidays easier and more enjoyable?
Great idea! I’m going to have to check it out! We bought a special coffee pot that was recommended by Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters, but it only makes a small pot. So, when our kids are in town we are making pot after pot as needed…would be nice to make it ahead of time and have it be ready!
Yes, we love it! It really helps my father-in-law who likes to have coffee available all day, and he doesn’t have to feel like he’s putting us out.