Coffee maker question

I can't help you with your drip coffee question, but I switched over to a French Press and love the darn thing. $30. Makes 2-4 cups.

I love espresso, so I got Nespresso. I love it.

One more thing: Check out Indigo Coffee Roasters in Mass. Great stuff, fresh, nicely priced and tip-top quality.

Here is the Cook's Illustrated take on the subject:

linky-thingy

i use my 4cup kitchen aid for the last 4+year
and very happy!

We have a Capresso from Williams-Sonoma which has an option for smaller brew sizes. It has worked very well and produces very high temperatures.

It doesn't exist. You can get the Technivorm Moccamaster with approx. 8Cups and those are arriving any day now from selected shippers. That are the only product available that maintains the correct temp and time while brewing.

I have that same one and I like it a lot. The coffee is good and it looks nice in my kitchen.

quote:

Originally posted by Djdyal:
We have a Capresso from Williams-Sonoma which has an option for smaller brew sizes. It has worked very well and produces very high temperatures.

It has been my experience that the coffeemaker itself is not the most important factor in the equation. If you get freshly roasted beans, grind them right before brewing you are many steps ahead towards a great cup. Wholefoods in CA roasts their coffee on the premises.

quote:

Originally posted by ddavis130:
It doesn't exist. You can get the Technivorm Moccamaster with approx. 8Cups and those are arriving any day now from selected shippers. That are the only product available that maintains the correct temp and time while brewing.

This is the correct answer. I have had one for a year or so now. Accept no substitutions. Btw, if you want more info regarding the Technivorm go here link

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleD:
I can't help you with your drip coffee question, but I switched over to a French Press and love the darn thing. $30. Makes 2-4 cups.

Just switched as well. I put my old drip coffee maker up and don't plan on pulling out again. The coffee is so much better when made in a French press, a bit more work but worth it.

Hey Sean,
I also started buying freshly roasted coffee beans from Indigo Coffee (which another forumite had recommended). You can get $8-$9/lb coffee that is much better and cheaper (if not just as cheap) than any beans from Whole Foods or Starbucks. The only caveat is that you have to buy 5-lbs.

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleD:
Hey Sean,
I also started buying freshly roasted coffee beans from Indigo Coffee (which another forumite had recommended). You can get $8-$9/lb coffee that is much better and cheaper (if not just as cheap) than any beans from Whole Foods or Starbucks. The only caveat is that you have to buy 5-lbs.

Thanks for the tip, there is a local roasting house in OKC that sells to a few of the locally owned coffee houses. I just tell them what I want and can buy it by the pound.

quote:

Originally posted by seanr7:

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleD:
I can't help you with your drip coffee question, but I switched over to a French Press and love the darn thing. $30. Makes 2-4 cups.

Just switched as well. I put my old drip coffee maker up and don't plan on pulling out again. The coffee is so much better when made in a French press, a bit more work but worth it.

Same here. Loving my french press so far.

Speaking of fresh roasted beans...you might consider roasting them yourself! Get an iRoast2 roaster and buy green coffee beans from sweetmarias in Oakland (they ship anywhere and have hundreds of varieties). The difference is amazing (almost all commercial roasters end up roasting way too dark). Oh, and I would recommend a decent grinder...maybe the Rocky made by Rancilio, especially if you are using a french press or if you need a fine grind for espresso.

The first question: what size cup in ounces do you typically prepare? If you make a 12oz. cup, a Bodum French Press is tough to beat. Go for the 32oz size.

French Press Pros/Cons

Pros: no paper filter to separate the grounds from the brew, it is achieved through a mesh screen. So your resulting brew is pure coffee flavor.

Cons: the resulting grounds get a little messy, but once you get it down, it is easy to manage. Glass brewer is a bit delicate. Get a spare glass when you order.

IMHO, the best brewer, affordable too, is the NEWCO 8 Cup maker. It is SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) approved. In my opinion, it is better than the Technivorm because it delivers a consistent great brew like the Technivorm. Bonus: It is cheaper.

I've been a member of SCAA and the Roasters Guild for five years. We use NEWCO brewers for our coffee catering business.

Never underestimate the actual freshness of the coffee. And that the coffee roaster sources great coffee.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, Novasurf.

We use the Bodum at home and I agree that it's the best way to get the full coffee flavour.

What I had in mind was more for the office, where the Bodum is a little cumbersome and messy.

Thanks for your recommendation!

Cheers!

One thing I will add is if you have a French Press you need a Burr Grinder. The two blade cheap grinder work great with a coffee pot with a paper filter but the grind is to inconsistant for a French Press.

I would say don't bother with a drip coffee maker under any circumstance. I make a cappucino in an old fashioned stove-top italian coffee maker every morning. Not as good as top of the line espresso maker, but until I can spend the several hundred to a thousand dollars for an adequate home espresso maker, this does fine.
As for coffee we use a large Bodum French Press. In Six years of use my wife broke the carafe once, I never have myself, so one replacement in six years is pretty good.
I use a regular grinder though have been thinking about switching to a burr grinder based on the discussion I saw on Good Eats. However, I have no real complaints about the standard grinder. There is a small amount of very fine "sludge" of sediment in the bottom of my cup, but it is nothing really and I don't mind.
I cannot foresee any situation in which I would switch back to drip at this point. It is really no more effort to boil the water. If really pressed for time consider electric kettles, they boil a sufficient amount of water in about 3 minutes.
As for the office, I don't know, I take my coffee from home for now, and eventually plan to get a good espresso maker for the office.

quote:

Originally posted by mitPradikat:
Thank you, Novasurf.

We use the Bodum at home and I agree that it's the best way to get the full coffee flavour.

What I had in mind was more for the office, where the Bodum is a little cumbersome and messy.

Thanks for your recommendation!

Cheers!

Then shoot for a Newco 6 or Newco 12 drip coffee brewer.

www.newcocoffee.com.
You won't be disappointed.

Okay, finally I decided to bring my Bodum and a kettle to work to replace my current and underperforming drip machine. It should be very nice.

Okay, so as a new coffee drinker (last 6-9 months), I have been exploring different options. I finally made the leap to a French Press for Christmas, and WOW!! what a difference. I will never go back. In fact, I stopped and bought another Bodum for my office this morning and used it at the office. It is really not that much more work, and the results are just great!

Question, though. I have the 8 cup Bodum, and was just wondering how people keep the coffee hot for the whole drinking process? It is perfect for the first cup, fine for the second, but the last gets a bit cooled off for my taste. Any hints (other than drink faster or share)?

thanks, Dale

Dale I use the french press and have the same issue as you also. What I do is I have a small thermos that I keep with my press. when I boil the water, I boil extra. Once the water is ready, I fill the press and pour the rest in the thermos to get it hot. Once the coffee is ready I pour my cup and the rest goes in the thermos. I can take it to work and enjoy later or have it for my wife if she is not there once it is ready.

Enjoy your press. I have been using one for almost 10 years and would never think of buying another drip machine although I do have a Nespresso for espresso and love it.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but the wife and daughter are.
We purchased a Cuisinart 12-cup kind where there is no pot, you just place your cup under the spigot and press a lever. After about 2 years the thing went kaput, and after some internet research, I found out that there was a design flaw that let condensation drip into the circuitry and many people had complained. So with no warranty card or receipt in hand, I emailed Cuisinart asking what could be done? Two weeks later we received a newer model via FedEx, and all they asked was that we send back the old one in the same box, postage paid.

So kudos to Cuisinart for standing by their products.

epml - I think that that may be the only real 'fix', but that is/may be more hassle than I am willing to deal with here. I think that there must be a double-wall or some similar 'insulated' model out there, and am going to just look for it.

After a quick Google search, I may need to step up to the "Arabica" model from Bodum. I have the basic, and this one is stainless and not glass and states that it is insulated.

quote:

Originally posted by epml:
Dale I use the french press and have the same issue as you also. What I do is I have a small thermos that I keep with my press. when I boil the water, I boil extra. Once the water is ready, I fill the press and pour the rest in the thermos to get it hot. Once the coffee is ready I pour my cup and the rest goes in the thermos. I can take it to work and enjoy later or have it for my wife if she is not there once it is ready.

Enjoy your press. I have been using one for almost 10 years and would never think of buying another drip machine although I do have a Nespresso for espresso and love it.

Any updates??

I'm about to buy a drip coffe maker for home.
I like the French press but a drip coffe maker is simpler.

We like the stainless steel pot (thermo type) because it doesn't burn the coffe and keeps it warm. Plus it doesn't brake.

Any recent experiences with drip CMs???

Redknife, I love good coffee and have been using a Mr. Coffee simple and inexpensive pot for the last 6 years or so. The basket uses flat bottom filters. As stated in an earlier thread, freshly-ground beans are MUCH more important than the brand of coffee maker. There is pretty much no technology with this kind of machine. I've been using a simple Black & Decker two-blade grinder. The finer the grounds, the fuller the flavor. I only use water that is filtered through the system in my refrigerator. If you have a coffee shop nearby that roasts their own beans, that will greatly improve the freshness. Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by redknife:
Any updates??

I'm about to buy a drip coffe maker for home.
I like the French press but a drip coffe maker is simpler.

We like the stainless steel pot (thermo type) because it doesn't burn the coffe and keeps it warm. Plus it doesn't brake.

Any recent experiences with drip CMs???

We use this Zojirushi. Very good drip coffee maker and thermos will keep the coffee warm for at least a couple of hours, probably longer. There is only one issue with this unit; before you hit the brew button make sure the coffee pot is squarely underneath the drip mechanism. Sometimes I get it off kilter when I'm half asleep making coffee and I get coffee all over the counter as a result. Other than that one issue: recommended.

A dear friend who is a bit of a coffee nut got one of THESE recently and loves it. Makes a pot or a cup. Actually thinking about one for myself....

PH

Just over a year ago, we bought a Cuisinart automatic (programmable) coffee maker with a built-in burr grinder. Other than the fact that the grinder is very loud, it works great, and can be set for 2-12 cups with a really good thermal carafe that keeps the coffee pretty warm and still tasting fresh for over an hour.

My wife is pretty happy with it since she wakes up to a hot fresh cup of good fresh-ground coffee, and the noise, which is the one real shortcoming to the unit, doesn't bother me in the bedroom. I still prefer to make espresso in a manual Saeco machine that I've had for years.

In my opinion, and I have owned a LOT of different brands of coffeemakers, Krups manufactures the best coffeemakers in the world. I recommend the KT4065 10 cup machine with a thermal carafe to avoid burnt coffee. Or, if your willing to spend the money, the KM9000 Cup-On-Request unit is the ultimate in coffee making.

I've always liked these. They're simple.

Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew Thermal by Cuisinart.

I have been using this for a few years and I luv it.

quote:

Originally posted by Robo Porker:
Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew Thermal by Cuisinart.

I have been using this for a few years and I luv it.

Ended up getting the cuisinart.

Thank you all for your input

quote:

Originally posted by redknife:

quote:

Originally posted by Robo Porker:
Fully Automatic Burr Grind & Brew Thermal by Cuisinart.

I have been using this for a few years and I luv it.

Ended up getting the cuisinart.

Thank you all for your input

Missed your question redknife. Hope your enjoy your purchase.

We have four ( ) coffeemakers at home, so always interested in this topic.

I also bought a small bodum French press that I used for the first time this morning and liked it.

quote:

Originally posted by Seaquam:
Just over a year ago, we bought a Cuisinart automatic (programmable) coffee maker with a built-in burr grinder.

My wife got me one of these for my birthday. Looking forward to giving it a whirl Sunday morning. A bag of Stumptown dark roast came with it.

I have the Bonavita BV 1800 arriving today. Have a Cuisinart that barely lasted a year, normally I have been satisifed with there products.