Tried a 12 dollar French press from a thrift shop in Tulsa, now my drip machine feels like a toy

Found this rusty old Bodum at a Goodwill for 12 bucks, took it home, ran it through the dishwasher twice, and made coffee that actually tastes like something. My $80 drip brewer at home makes bitter brown water by comparison. I dunno if it's the mesh filter or the timing, but now I'm side-eyeing my kitchen counter setup. Has anyone else had a random cheap find wreck their whole routine? What's the trick to not overcomplicating it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_thomas22d ago

My garage sale percolator makes better coffee than my espresso machine, now I'm scared to tell my wife.

dylan_bell21d ago

That "side-eyeing my kitchen counter" line hit me hard cause I got a similar thing happening with a cast iron skillet I found at an estate sale. Brought it home, spent a whole weekend scrubbing rust off it with vinegar and steel wool, and now my fancy nonstick pans feel like plastic toys. My buddy @the_thomas actually had the same thing happen with his garage sale percolator and now he keeps it on the stove just to stare at it while his espresso machine gathers dust. The trick I learned is to just embrace the janky old stuff and stop trying to figure out why it works better, cause the longer you think about it the more you'll convince yourself to buy another expensive gadget that does nothing.