memes

Oh, I'm not saying all of it is hooey, just after the things you mention, there are rapidly diminishing returns.

I started with just an Aeropress and experimenting with different grocery store coffees. Then I got a Barratza Encore for my birthday. I switched to the OXO dripper pour over and prefer that cleaner taste, and my wife prefers the Aeropress still. She doesn't notice the difference between grocery coffee and fresh ground, so she usually gets a flavored coffee, and I get a different single origin from Trade every couple weeks.

I probably spend the most of my friend group on coffee, at least home coffee, but I think it's better than any coffee I get out, and I think the value ratio is still well in my favor for what I get. A coworker seemed interested in my setup and bought it all, but she seemed to like it when I did the work, and even that level of hands on was too much fuss, and her and her husband went back to using a French press without measuring anything.

I find the setup a bit much to do in the morning when I wake up and am all groggy, so I've gone to making it before I go to bed into canning jars, and I vacuum seal it so we can either warm it up or have "iced coffee" in the morning, and we think it tastes as good as fresh.