French press produces your average thinnish coffee that in my eyes usually fails to deliver the same good results a pour over does.

Mokapot I'll never quite understand. I have yet to achieve decent results with it but in today's time I believe every half decent espresso machine delivers better espresso than this.

Mokapot coffee imo is somewhere in between real espresso and pour over/french press. with neither strengths. But both weaknesses.

These are both my goto methods. The reason I have two goto methods is because they are so different.

For me french press is the method I use when I want a black coffee. The coffee tastes sweeter. The process is easy and repeatable. I do get some sludge at the bottom of the cup. I've tried adding milk and the only ratio acceptable is a dash of cold milk.

Moka pot is the method I use if I want a milk coffee (ala latte) and only sometimes when I want a concentrated shot of coffee. The coffee is heavier and more intense. The process is more difficult. It has a good zone and out of that your coffee will be either bland, astringent, or sour. It generally mutes the special flavours of some coffee (i.e. single origins taste more similar). I don't get sluge with the moka pot. It's big advantage is that it can sustitute an espresso shot and make lattes and long blacks.

To answer your question, french press make better coffee, moka pot is stronger, and if I had to live with only one it would probably be moka pot because it has a better chance of doing the fp's job than the other way.

I struggled with my moka pot tbh. I mean it wasn’t bad coffee, it just never got any of the tasting notes that I got in the espresso. Just tasted like standard coffee.

French press on the other hand is my go to if I just want something light to drink with Nice sweet flavour. Easy to make, easy to clean up, clean rounded flavours when made properly.

Both are relatively cheap options And you could always sell one at a small loss if you decide you like one method better :)

Better is subjective. They are very different brewing methods.

A mokapot produces a small amount of very concentrated coffee. It’s trying to be stovetop espresso. It’s not real espresso, but it’s stronger than most brewers produce.

A French press is a more traditional cup of coffee. Since it isn’t filtered, it lets all the oils through making for a richer, fuller mouth feel than most pour over devices. I enjoy it from time to time, but my own preference is a pour over.

The guys on here will usually insist that the grinder is important, and there are reasons for this if you look into it (explained on numerous threads). Basic take-away is that the consistency of the grind means better coffee. For a cheap option that grinds well, hand grinders are often recommended. These have a handle instead of a motor - and because they are a very simple design, are often very cost effective way to get good results, if you dont mind doing a little work :)

I would suggest that instead of a french press, to have a look at an Aeropress. The main advantage of Aeropress that I experienced was sediment control. They are very cheap, easy to clean, and produce good coffee.

The moka pot is also a good idea, but this produces a very different kind of coffee to the Aeropress. Its also easy to clean and relatively inexpensive.

Another option is a V12, which is a differnt method again (drip through), but still capable of making decent coffee. Very affordably.

Start with good beans and the best grinder you can afford, and work from there. All three of the options above will make coffee that tastes good. Search the sub for more info on each one - they are all discussed extnsively here.

I have a moka pot and a blade grinder, and I'm pretty fine.

On the other side, however, my bag of coffee is far beyond two weeks fresh, so...

Moka pot is fun but a big hassle. When getting / grinding new beans, dialing it in is such a hassle. I rrally enjoy my FP but use my clever dripper more for ease of cleanup

Yes, during covid and working from home I've transitioned from my Nespresso to french press to Moka. I ordered the wrong beans so I was able to finally use a Moka that was gifted to me and bam, best coffee I've had in long time. Really enjoyable, smooth and strong.

Yes. The difference is astronomical. I don’t want to say better, because everyone has their preference. But it’s absolutely worth dropping $25 on a Bialetti from Target and learning how to make a good brew with it. It also allows you to make superb milk drinks if you already have the French press to froth milk

YES! Bought mine at Target and don't regret it at all. If you like strong espresso "like" coffee or milk drinks, then you should DEFINITELY buy one. They are great!

The question is rather why dont you already have one?

Certainly! While I like a good drip coffee (and I'm not especially fond of a french press) I love (LOVE!) my moka pots. It will produce a coffee that's as close to the espresso as possible without using an espresso machine. For sure you should try one - and if possible buy a good one like Bialetti.

I’ve never used a moka pot, but between a French press and Aeropress I’d go with the Aeropress. It’s small, easy to use, versatile, makes almost no mess/easy to clean up, easy to travel with, and makes really good coffee. The only negative is it has more parts, but it can all stored assembled making it basically one unit, so that’s a non issue to me.

Why not both? That way you are able to switch things up when feeling adventurous.

French press and aeropress are similar systems, but Aeropress gives more control and introduces pressure as a variable. It also has better sediment management.

Moka pot is a totally different beast to both of them and produces a very distinct type of coffee.

Main pro/con I can think of is aeropress is a bit of a pain to make, say, 4 cups at a time, but a larger french press can do this easily in one process, as can a larger Moka Pot. That said, a large moka pot is overkill if you only want small serves, and they dont work with 'part fills' in their baskets.

So, if you like the coffee and want a bit more precision, Aeropress. If you want something completely different in flavor and process, Moka pot.

Personally I think the AeroPress is better, even if all you want is fairly concentrated coffee like the moka gives. You have a lot more flexibility with the Aeropress (almost-espresso to fairly diluted sipping-strength coffee) and I personally find it easier and with orders of magnitude less cleanup.

Go with the Aeropress unless you need to make larger quantities in a given sitting.

Moka pot basket needs to be filled completely...in that case..3cup moka pot will consume 16-18gms of coffee and give output of around 150ml on concentrate

For lesser quantities, Aeropress is the solution

A moka is fine for medium and dark roasts, but if you want to go for anything with delicate fruity or floral notes, the moka will overpower it completely.

The Aeropress is very versatile and will work for everything. That's my go-to recommendation for everyone

Ps: i see you are using a French roast. Yup, moka would be fine. I dose around 12 gm into the moka

What's a French roast?

Aeropress is the only brewer that you wouldn't regret buying and may not look for an upgrade to, anytime soon.

Milke base - Moka

Other than milk - Aero

The moka pot is definitely closer to actual high pressure espresso than a French press. Let's talk about why.

So first - espresso is a percolation brew. That means the water flows through a bed of coffee grounds, extracting on its way through. Moka pot is also a percolation brew, as is pourover and drip coffee. So why don't they get closer to espresso than a moka pot does? The answer is pressure and bypass. Moka pots brew coffee at just above 1 bar of pressure, created by steam. That means for a given quantity of water, there is more extraction. In contrast, a normal V60 might brew around 0.08 bars of pressure just from the weight of the water. As far as bypass, that refers to water that doesn't flow through the bed of coffee, instead going around it. It doesn't happen in a moka pot - the water is forced through the coffee grounds, and there is no side for it to bypass.

A french press doesn't have any bypass either, but it's an immersion brewer. That means there is a pretty hard limit on how much extraction you can actually get, because no water without any coffee solubles in it is ever added after the first contact.

Third, it's more concentrated. Moka pots brew around a 1:10 ratio if not slightly lower. Most french press recipes are in the 1:16-1:15 area, and it's really where it shines.

Also - you can buy larger moka pots for serving more people. It still kind of sucks compared to pulling back to back shots on a pump powered espresso machine.

I'd use the moka pot to brew the coffee, and french press to froth the milk.

But since you have both, why don't you try making lattes with both and tasting? The 1:4 or 1:6 won't taste better than the coffee you get out of a moka pot, but maybe using good milk might mask some of that

Edit - BTW OP, if you want to speed up the moka pot brewing a bit for multiple people, consider getting 1-2 extra filter funnels. They are relatively cheap, and you can dose for muliple mokas, and brew them back to back after refilling the water and cleaning the base of the filter on the top collector.

I'd go with the Moka Pot. Definitely closer to espresso in terms of strength, flavor, and body.

If you do ever decide you're okay with buying more gear, go with an aeropress. Very versatile... Depending on the recipe you could make a nice mug of filter-strength coffee, or a couple ounces of highly concentrated, espresso-like coffee.

If you like your coffee strong, you should use a 1:4 ratio. But French press coffee is usually more intense than from the Moka Pot. But, I suppose you are aware of the differences in the tastes. So, if you don't drink coffee that often, and you've mentioned that you brew it once a week, I suggest you take the call proportion of coffee, which is 1:8.
Besides, if you brew coffee for several people, I suggest you invest in a bigger French press. I've recently bought myself this one — https://www.amazon.com/French-Double-Wall-Stainless-Mirror-Finish/dp/B00MMQOZ1U. I have at least two coffees every day. Usually, I brew my coffee in this French press, and since it's made of stainless steel, it keeps the drink warmer for a bit longer.
I'm not insisting on you buying this specific option. I just want to help you save some time and money. You can brew coffee for everyone in no time.

I don't think so. I think the Moka pot can do it cause it brews the coffee under pressure (not espresso pressure), while French press...would just be an extremely strong immersion brew.

I could be wrong though, would definitely be an interesting theory to test.

Moka pot produces what’s more like a poor man’s espresso than coffee. So, even though I drink black coffee from a French press, I usually cut the moka pot coffee with milk. That’s how I would get by the volume problem.

But yeah, I would think of moka pot coffee as cheap espresso as far as your coffee apparatus purchasing plan goes.

An Aeropress will get you more of a variety for a good price. You can make small quantity, concentrated "espresso-like" "shots" or you can fill the whole thing up with water for a larger (though still strong) cuppa. Just add hot water if you want to de-concentrate it or make it more like an americano.

French Press and Moka pots only make one type of cup of coffee each. Look up the Aeropress. I think they're only like $40.

I like pour overs. I enjoy the process

Moka pots good too.

And french press.

Juts depends on what I’m in the mood for.

Actually I like all brew methods. I really want a proper nitro setup.

For me lately has been pour over. Got a metal filter one, I enjoy the oils similar to a french press but a really clean cup.

Might I suggest a Clever Coffee Dripper? Clever is an immersion method similar to French press but uses a paper filter to reduce sediment. It's a very forgiving method that yields a cup somewhere between a French press and drip. It's easy to use and does not need a gooseneck kettle like some pour over methods and is easier to clean up than a French press.

I make this suggestion because:

1. you want a method that can make coffee for two (Aeropress is best for one IMO.

2. Some new coffee drinkers may fine French press too gritty

3. Some new coffee drinkers may find Moka pot too intense

4. While pour over can be done without a goose neck kettle it is recommended. This increases cost and pour over has more learning curve.

Research is the key :) Also, once you get into making good coffee for yourself, you might want to prepare for the varieties of devices you might end up purchasing down the road ;) I personally have a French Press, 2 Moka pots, an Aeropress, and a Syphon pot :)

AeroPress, and a JavaPresse manual grinder. Get a metal filter for your AeroPress.

Fair enough. Just, having all three brew methods at home, find the Aeropress to be more versatile than the others. ;)

the french press will make you more coffee, and it has a closer taste to drip coffee. it would be faster for you make a full press of coffee and your wife might enjoy it because of the similarities. it’s my go to daily coffee method before work because it’s so fast and very easy. the moka pot makes a more concentrated cup, and is a more labour intensive brewing method, but i still personally enjoy it. it’s for the weekends when i have time to really savour it. i have a small 3 cup that makes a small amount, i top it off with boiling water and make an imposter americano. i think the moka pot is more versatile, you could make lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas with it.

both the french press and moka pot are very cheap, tbh. you can get a good bodum for about 20$ on amazon and a small moka pot is probably closer to $35. there’s no reason why you can’t try both. :) i also suggest getting a grinder if you don’t already have one.

Are you particular about milk based or black drinks? Do you want to try both?

Universal answer for this budget: kaldipress.

Milk: Moka pot / sif (Added advantage: preground is fine here since you'll add milk. Not optimal but fine.) Moka pot Americano is decent too imo. Others may not agree.

I don't use a french press / v60. Pourover needs a decent scale and kettle which will be beyond the budget and imo i wouldn't want to keep practicing pours as a beginner.

A grinder is an important investment but don't buy an agaro one. Timemore c2 can be limiting, maybe spend 1-2k more and get a c3. But you don't need one to start.

Coffee: have you had specialty coffee before? Try it at a cafe and choose a bean you like. Most people like med dark roasts with milk in the beginning

Hey so I would suggest to go for a French press as your budget friendly coffee gear…

1. Mokapot can be a bit stronger as you generally use Dark roasted coffees in it you can use medium but is overall stronger, but French press you can even try out medium and medium light if you don’t like your coffees too strong and it gives you a full bodied cup with coffee oils in it can be a bit muddy both of them actually.
2. Mokapot generally people drink medium and medium dark because they tend to dilute it with milk , if you plan to have milk coffees than Mokapot is the way but you like black French press will be a better option you can use medium and medium light or any of your choice. And the grind size whenever placing order you can select French press or Mokapot, won’t say it’s the best but to stay in a budget preground you can start with as to grind beans you would need to have a decent Chestnut C2 like which is appropriate 4K hand grinder, that’s bare minimum for a hand grinder.
3. Most easily available brand is Blue Tokai you can place an order on their website and you can even explore other brands like Genetics Coffee, Quick Brown Fox , Savourworks , curious life , Caarabi coffee , Ground Zero , Devan’s , Half Light , Grey Soul, most of them have their own websites and this list is just to name a few there are many more….
4. Get a good French press like the below one:

https://amzn.in/d/9Tixm5P

You can dm me in case if you have any doubts!!