Pick your path.

Buy fresh, from a roaster you trust. Use within ~30 days of the roast date.

Trap: Supermarket bag with no roast date. — back to start.

1. Lucky tap

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   Oslo, Zurich, Munich, parts of NYC. Lucky you.
2. Bottled, right minerals

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   Look for ~50–150 ppm TDS on the bottle. Cheapest way to try whether water matters before you commit to a filter; pricey if you stick with it long-term.
3. Filter pitcher + magnesium cartridge

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   BWT Magnesium Mineralizer, Peak Water, or similar — drops into a standard Brita-style pitcher. Costs ~2× a regular cartridge but adds magnesium ions, which sharpen extraction. Plain chlorine-removing cartridges (e.g. Brita) don't do that — skip them.
4. Distilled + DIY salt blend

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   MgSO₄ + NaHCO₃ from a chem supplier. One Third Wave Water packet costs roughly what 5 kg of raw salts does — skip the markup.
5. Reverse osmosis + remineralizer

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   Plumbing job up front, then ignore it for years.

1. Grind at the shop you buy from

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   Buy beans at a 3rd-wave roaster, ask them to grind on the spot — free with purchase, usually on an EK43. Use within 2–3 days before the grind goes flat.
2. Hand grinder

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   Comandante, 1Zpresso K-series, Kingrinder K6.
3. Electric mid-range

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   Baratza Encore, Wilfa Svart Uniform.
4. Electric flagship

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   Niche Zero, EK43.

Trap: Blade grinder. Pre-ground supermarket bag. — back to start.

1. Cup steep ("cowboy")

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   Coarse grind, hot water, four minutes, sip carefully.
2. French press / immersion

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   Forgiving. Cleanup is the friction.
3. V60 / Kalita / Origami

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   Bright, clean cup; demands a steady pour.
4. AeroPress

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   Forgiving, fast, the workhorse.
5. Cheap auto-drip

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   Bosch, Tefal, store-brand. Rarely hits proper brew temperature, so the extraction is meh — but the friction is also zero.
6. Specialty auto-drip

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   Moccamaster, OXO 9-cup, Wilfa Classic+. SCA-certified temperature and shower head.
7. Robot dripper

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   xBloom, Fellow Aiden. Push a button.

Trap: Single-serve pods (the Keurig sort). — back to start.

1. Stovetop + eyeball

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   Boil, open the lid, wait 3–5 minutes. Honest enough.
2. Cheap electric + probe thermometer

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   Cheapest path to a real number.
3. Variable-temp gooseneck

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   Stagg, Brewista, Fellow Corvo.

1. 0.1 g pocket scale

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   Search "0.1g jewellery scale". $10–20.
2. Coffee scale with timer

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   Acaia Pearl/Lunar, TimeMore Black Mirror, Felicita Arc.