I might have been the original pretentious coffee nerd around here. And I disagree with Chaos34, but only somewhat. I do think, as a matter of first principles, that the brewing process is more important than the beans. If you're brewing his Geisha beans at 190 degrees, I don't think you're going to get a very good cup. But I agree with what he said earlier in that there are now a lot of options that can give you an acceptable brewing process. When we were doing these types of threads 15 or 10 years ago (I know, shudder), Technivorm's were one of only a few models of home brewers that assured you had water hot enough to make an acceptable extraction. And the other options were also in that $250 to $300 range. Now we have more options at lower price points. And even just hand pour-over methods are common enough that you're not going to have any trouble finding a Kalita, some filters, and a good electric kettle.
I think we also have more grinder options than in the past. So, I think it's relatively easy, and not necessarily prohibitively expensive to find your bulletproof process with decent beans from a good provider (even at the grocery store, Stumptown will have a roast date on their beans). And then you can start experimenting with the beans you like. For all my snobbery, I've never been a guy who scoured online for the very best beans. I tend to find a local roaster who I trust and work with what the source.
Do you remember where I live?
Ridgecrest if you forgot. Bakersfield is heaven by comparison. I don't have a local roaster or I would use them 90% of the time. I encouraged others to support their local roasters. So in my case, scouring online has become fun.
Where you disagree with me, I agree to disagree. No matter your process, you can't get really good coffee from yucky beans. I pretty much think all Global Giant Coffee Industry beans are yucky. I wish Stumptown was on the shelves here. There's nothing fresh roasted here. When traveling to LA, I try to remember to buy from a roaster there. Of course you're right. Fresh roasted geishas or whatever can make bad coffee if you're not getting whatever process right. We probably agree on most things. This disagreement is what? i'm encouraging fresh roasted nerd beans before process, and you suggest process first? It's both? Get them both right and up your coffee game. I'd agree 100% there.
15 years ago you couldn't get geishas and pacamaras the way you can now. Not at these prices or choices anyway. It is a great time to be nerdy about coffee. I started up again after my bday in Feb this year (because of a gift). Surprised and impressed by the state of things. Fwiw, my daily method is a Kalita 185. 16:1 ratio for simplicity. An ounce of beans using a scoop and no scale. 20 ounces of water. Stop the pour at the 16 oz line on the vessel. Electric gooseneck kettle (Bodum again). No thermostat, so just off the boil. Adjust the grind to dial it in, maybe. Might sound complicated to some, but for me this is the simplest and most convenient way to do it. Zero mess. Fussing with a machine or my other manual devices seems like work.
Glad you chimed in. Hope all is well in beautiful Bakersfield. haha