Coffee Makers - Recommendations?

[Drew Peacock]

I've had it with my coffee machine. I own a Braun that has a grinder on the top that takes whole beans and grinds enough based on my settings. The grinder is so loud that it wakes the wife up every morning. The other issue I have is that the coffee goes stale after an hour. I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee so I find that I end up throwing away unused or burnt coffee.

I've just pulled the trigger on a new Flavia machine.

This creates a single cup of coffee, tea, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and other specialty drinks. I use one at work and while its not 'as good' as fresh ground beans, its close. Once I factor in the burn and waste issues it beats out the fresh ground method.

[Jazzmoose]

Jeez...I have an easy time brewing one cup by itself with fresh beans with a 4 cup brewer. Admittedly, I use big coffee cups, but still, it's a better option than overpriced systems like that.

[Free For All]

After a lifetime of disappointment with various machines I've given up and now boil the water in an electric kettle and pour it through a Chemex carafe (I also use my French press, which does a great job as well). I transfer the coffee to an insulated carafe that I've warmed up with some hot water. Well worth the extra effort.

I can finally make a good cup of coffee. Also, I have found that my Costco carries some excellent whole beans.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Free For All

[Drew Peacock]

I hear you moose, the price took me a while to accept. I justified it because I never have time to brew a cup on workday mornings. I can swing this because it takes 30 seconds from when I push the button. I also factored in the amount of bean waste I had with the grinder pot - be it burnt or just not finished (usually because its burnt).

I had problems brewing single cup amounts and getting good flavor. I think it passed through the beans to fast. I was happy as long as I brewed a half pot or more.

[sjarrell]

I don't think there's anything that beats a French Press. But the Bunn machine I abandoned for the FP was crazy fast and made good joe. And it cost a hundred bucks.

[Jazzmoose]

I can swing this because it takes 30 seconds from when I push the button.

Sort of "coffee on demand"!

[Peter Johnson]

Free, what kind of filters do you use? I've been thinking about getting a chemex myself.

After a lifetime of disappointment with various machines I've given up and now boil the water in an electric kettle and pour it through a Chemex carafe (I also use my French press, which does a great job as well). I transfer the coffee to an insulated carafe that I've warmed up with some hot water. Well worth the extra effort.

I can finally make a good cup of coffee. Also, I have found that my Costco carries some excellent whole beans.

[Tim McG]

My Krupps coffee maker is still chugging along.

What bothers me is when you break the pot, there are no replacements to be found any where or at any price.

[Free For All]

Free, what kind of filters do you use? I've been thinking about getting a chemex myself.

I ordered a bunch of Chemex filters fom Amazon (they came in boxes of 100), not too expensive. Regular paper coffee filters don't quite fit, which is too bad.

[Free For All]

Anticipating potential lame coffee on my Christmas trip, I bought a ceramic filter holder (it uses the same #6 filters as the Melitta). It fits perfectly on top of my insulated carafe so the coffee goes right into the carafe. I took these with me and they worked great, rave reviews on the coffee from all.

I like the ceramic cone better than the plastic Melitta cone. It's also much faster than the Chemex w/o sacrificing flavor. About 20 bucks from Amazon.

[Dave James]

I've had a Keurig B-70 for about a month and I'm a believer. Virtually no clean up. A fast and fresh cup of coffee every time, nothing wasted. Even hot chocolate or tea if you so choose. I had reservations when first bought it, but not any longer. IMO, a great way to go.

[riverrat]

Nice suggestion on the Capresso; I have the Capresso MT500 and I couldn't be happier. It uses a thermal carafe and makes outstanding coffee. Definitely recommended (by a total coffee addict).

I'm glad you had a better experience than we did. We had an older model from about 4 years ago, maybe they are better now. For $200 we expected it to last longer than 13 months (just after the warranty expired) before having the electronics break down. That controls the delay grind & brew so the thing is now basically worthless.

French presses work great, but produce fairly sediment laden coffee unless you let it settle for awhile.

On the River, we boil about 2-3 gallons of water, then take it off the heat and dump in a pound of high quality ground coffee, wait about 10-15 minutes, then pour it through a strainer into an insulated dispenser with a spigot. On cool fall trips, we keep it strapped to the raft frame and have access to hot coffee all morning as we float...

[carnivore]

I recently replaced a broken basic Krups drip machine with the Michael Graves coffee maker sold by Target. It makes the best coffee of any machine I've owned and is very well designed. and costs about $45

Edited December 31, 2009 by carnivore

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Our Capresso is dying quickly. The Capresso line out now is not getting very good reviews. It looks like the Technivorm is the one to buy today but it's expensive and it doesn't make a lot of coffee.

Any advice for a drip coffee maker out there today?

Edited January 13, 2012 by Kevin Bresnahan

[Christiern]

In close to 70 years of drinking coffee and trying more machines than I can recall, no cup of coffee has proved as satisfying as the ones drip-brewed with this simple, tried and true coffee pot—which we used to refer to as Madame Blue. "She" was like one of the family, but she craved the right beans, as any self-respecting madam would.

Victor knows what I'm talking about.

[Quincy]

Our Capresso is dying quickly. The Capresso line out now is not getting very good reviews. It looks like the Technivorm is the one to buy today but it's expensive and it doesn't make a lot of coffee.

That's about the only drawback of the Technivorm though one could always buy another thermal caraffe and reload (it brews fast btw). Coffee has never been better around the homestead since getting it last November.

[GregK]

Bodum

[sonnymax]

I use beans roasted less than a month ago, grind them just before brewing in a conical burr machine, and pour water from an electric kettle over the grounds in a stainless steel french press. 4 minutes later, I fill my mug and pour the rest in a warmed double-wall stainless steel nissan thermos carafe that keeps it hot for a few hours if needed. For those who don't think they have the time for this 15-minute process, I say "get your lazy ass up 15 minutes early!

And take those beans out of the freezer/refrigerator and store them properly in a stainless steel container with a CO2 release valve!

[jazzbo]

I've used a #2 cone filter to make mugs of coffee for over 22 years. I started on this method when I got together with my late wife who was not a coffee drinker, so it was either make a pot and see a lot go to waste or make these individual mugs. I remembered my Gradma, Hazel Armstrong, used this method at home, she lived alone for about 25 years after my Grandpa William died, and I spent a few summers working on the old (built in the mid-nineteenth century) house and always remembered how good the coffee tasted made this way. I prefer this method to any other now. Nothing quite does it for me the way a mug of my Ruta Maya medium roast does made with my cone filter.

[Dmitry]

Buongiorno, tutti!

I just returned from two weeks in Toscana, and  probably will never look at the American coffee aesthetic with respect again...well, maybe iced coffee, but that's all. Wherever we've been bussed with our tour group, in the most provincial medieval town or village the smallest "hole in the wall" trattoria had a "bells and whistles steam locomotive" coffee/espresso machine. And coffee is cheap there, like 1 Euro - 1.50 for a proper caffe macchiato. We are being hosed here in America by the likes of Dunkin Donuts, not just pricewise, but quality, or the complete lack of it. 

Now that I'm home and addicted to caffeine, I was thinking of getting an espresso machine. I brew in the Bialetti moka pot and use a milk frother, a combo which is like the equivalent of a manual transmission car vs. the automatic for a chrome-clad machine some of you have. What am I missing, other than the convenience? How much upkeep does a very good machine require? 

 

Edited May 27 by Dmitry

[porcy62]

Not an expert of chrome clad machines but I am pretty good on moka after 5 decades. Here a few tips I may suggest:

1) the best coffe comes from the smaller bialettis, the big ones, more then 3 cups, do not the job well.

2) the water should be always below the valve

3) never press the coffee

4) the fire under the moka or the electric heat should be low, coffee has to get out slowly 

5) let the coffee comes out with the lid on, the vapor on lid shouldn’t drop on the coffee

6) switch off the fire just few seconds before the coffee ends

7) clean the moka after every use without soap with a rugged sponge

😎 use oligominaral water

9) coffee should be ground for the moka that means not as fine as filters

 

I know that it sounds like handling turntables compared to cd player, but as TT the results are much more satisfying.😁

Sorry if you already know it, but I thought it might worth repeating.

[mjazzg]

7 minutes ago, porcy62 said:

Not an expert of chrome clad machines but I am pretty good on moka after 5 decades. Here a few tips I may suggest:

1) the best coffe comes from the smaller bialettis, the big ones, more then 3 cups, do not the job well.

2) the water should be always below the valve

3) never press the coffee

4) the fire under the moka or the electric heat should be low, coffee has to get out slowly 

5) let the coffee comes out with the lid on, the vapor on lid shouldn’t drop on the coffee

6) switch off the fire just few seconds before the coffee ends

7) clean the moka after every use without soap with a rugged sponge

😎 use oligominaral water

9) coffee should be ground for the moka that means not as fine as filters

 

I know that it sounds like handling turntables compared to cd player, but as TT the results are much more satisfying.😁

Sorry if you already know it, but I thought it might worth repeating.

I'm very happy to take the advice from an Italian on coffee and Moka use. Luckily it looks like I've been using mine more or less correctly for a few decades but I do wash with soap so will stop that!

Many of the independent coffee makers don't distinguish between filter and Moka grinds so looks like I need to grind my own. I do have a grinder so will stop being so lazy.

For health reasons I drink only decaffeinated but the new independent coffee makers grind some excellent decaf these days. As it is, I've always found decaffeinated coffee is more available and understood in countries with a strong coffee culture like Spain and Italy rather than in the UK.

[Teasing the Korean]

Years ago, we had a high-end coffee maker with a timer - can't remember the brand - and it died in about a year. We now have a Kitchen Aid, and it works like a charm.

Incidentally, I can grind coffee beans without hearing the theme from The Ipcress File playing in my head.

[mjzee]

KitchenAid makes really good coffee makers.  We’re partial to the ones with thermal carafes.  We now use a Zojirushi - what a great brand.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I bought a Tachnivorm Moccamaster several years ago and me & my wife love it. It makes a very nice cup of coffee and is easy to use & clean.

Because of my experience with our previous coffee maker, a Bonavita BV1800, I ordered a spare glass carafe for my Moccamaster. That Bonavita was a great coffee maker but they went belly up and I couldn't get a replacement carafe.