Oh wow, lovely thread. Never knew there was so much to coffee. Really interesting. Could someone list out the components needed to get started making proper coffee? Amazon links would be great.
MaSh
Beans: Start with Blue Tokai. Can get directly from their website. As good as any fancy imported beans.
Anchal speakers of the coffee world.
Grinder: Hario manual (pro). I found it painful.
Grinder automatic: Baratza is available on Blue Tokai as well as on amazon. After my Delonghi grinder broke down after 10 years, I bought the Baratza. Will serve the need of 90% users.
Machine: Bean to Cup machines are too expensive (70K onwards) and no way to service in India. Also limited scope of changing the settings.
Devialet of the coffee world.
Espresso machines can be had for 15K to 20k. Mine is running well for 10 years, daily use.
Mokka Pot: Bialleti is famous. Local brands are also pretty good. Personal experience very less.
Aeropress: Never used but users are happy.
French Press: My evening drink. Super easy to use. Makes a brew that is relaxing rather than charging up. Bit rounded off, less acidity.
Valve amplifier of the coffee world.
South Indian percolator: Every grandma's best friend.
There is no one best way. Try out different varieties and methods and you will find what you like. For more than 10 years I got my beans from abroad. Now being forced to buy locally I realized that Indian beans are 2nd to none. Expensive beans are expensive not necessarily because they are good. It's often because of rarity, marketing etc.
If you have the way, get them from Ethiopia. I used Sidamo beans for many many years. My old patient used to send me through her local business contact in Hyderabad. She never took money (so cheap of me) as they were not at all expensive. When I bought a packet of Starbucks Sidamo in UK, it was ridiculously expensive and poor quality.
Now I am a firm supporter of local beans. Apart from Blue Tokai, there are multiple outlets for Karnataka beans. If you are from Hyderabad or New Bombay, get IKEA house brand Karnataka beans. Excellent they are.