OT: Coffee Makers

stike

...we've got an older one (maybe ten years old?) that is giving up the ghost.

Anyone have a good day-to-day maker they can recommend? I know coffee is an esoteric thing for some folks, and we like a good cup of coffee, but a couple things i'd be looking for is ease of use and relative speed. ...assuming it produces a decent cup, too.

We had a Bunn, which kept the water hot and would turn out a pot in three or four minutes. I KNOW! not the best way to prepare coffee. But i can pour a massive mug and hit the office in five minutes (not always a good thing).

What's a good maker? Our friends have one where you brew individual cups. But they say it adds up if you drink a lot. ..and i don't need honey-nutmeg-cinnabun-crunch flavor.

Is there something good but simple enough that i can manage in my groggy fumbling state first thing in the morning?

Bacchus

Personally I use the $20-$25 Mr Coffee type units and replace them every 18-24 months when they start spitting and sputtering more than usual.

stike

well, i know you are pretty savvy re: the vino, i imagine you don't put up with a crappy cup of coffee. so it brews a good cup fairly quickly?

my father in law has a coffee maker that brews from cold water, and i swear, fifteen minutes after pouring the water, the thing is still burbling and dripping coffee. hahaha

with the bunn, as i'm pouring the water it's already coming out.

i'll check the mr. coffee out, thanks.

bobbyb

For me I like a french press. It's almost as fast as the mr coffee types, and so much better coffee IMHO.

Bacchus

Yeah Stike, I'm a bit of a wine snob, but not so with coffee. I am happy with the harshest swill on the planet. That being said, they do make a decent cup of coffee. And I can recognize the difference. About 10 min or so to brew. If you are really into coffee, then maybe get something nicer or even a French Press like BobbyB submitted.
I just dont like to have to clean the darn things often, so I get the cheap units and view them as semi disposable.

civil eggineer

I have a Cuisinart that stores the coffee internally and dispenses it one cup at a time and like it. The first one did go bad after 2 years (3 year warranty) and Cuisinart replaced it pronto with a brand new one which impressed me. Picked it up at Sam's for around $50 although sells elsewhere for around $100. I would recommend it.

tjv

best source on coffee makers is the Chubster...might give him a call. Beleive is his number is on whiz's gratemates page. T

DynaGreaseball

While I have not attained the status of "coffee snob" yet, I do enjoy a good cup. I prefer to use whole beans, so I use a Cuisinart Grind and Brew. Don't remember how much I paid for it, but is wasn't one of the cheap ones. Maybe a little more trouble cleaning and loading, but I can do it pretty fast...even when I'm in my groggy, hypnotic state, early in the mornings. Good luck.

stike

...that's what i like about this place.

ask a question, get some good info. i'm off to comparison shop!
J

dukedog

Have had a Capresso MT500 for a few years now. Absolutely love the thing. Brews in 7 minutes, easy to operate, makes an outstanding cup of joe and bullet proof.

Downside, pricey. I did the replace a cheap unit every few years thing for a while and decided to invest in a better unit. So far, very happy and don't think I'll need to replace it for many many years.

http://www.capresso.com/coffee-makers-mt500.shtml

JudyFoodie

I have an Aeropress, similar to a French press, but soooo much easier to clean and makes the best darn coffee. Only $25 on Amazon with rave reviews. Maybe this is what your friends have? I have 2 and keep one at the office...it's a real conversation piece. It's right up there as one of my best gadgets along with my egg.

lowercasebill

any coffee maker that drips 200° water onto the grounds is going to makes similar coffee . what your paying for is bells and whistles.. you [and i] want the coffee ready to pour as soons as you are finished taking the morning whiz.. go with the bunn,,, mr coffee
$tyle$ will make the same coffee cept you will have to wait..why bother? get the bunn... french press for special occasions or a rancilio sylvia and rocky doserless grinder if you like espresso based drinks

bitslammer

Had a lot of coffee makers and finally settled on the perfect setup for me at least.

A Bodum French Press: http://tinyurl.com/4t32fk

and

Electric Kettle from Costco: http://tinyurl.com/3v6lsg

That kettle is at a roaring boil in ~2 minutes. I can make a lot or a little. If I need more it's quick to fire up the kettle for a 2nd batch. To keep it warm I just drape a dish towel over the press. Stays plenty hot for me to drink my morning fill.

The only thing with presses is to remember to get coarse grinds so you don't get coffee "silt" in the cup and be careful to let it settle a bit before pouring.

Very little to break, very little to go wrong and I use the kettle for many other things.

Pdub

First of all I highly suggest getting a burr grinder. It is by far the biggest bottle neck in making good coffee. With little to no more effort. Also getting water to the coffee as quickly as possible after grinding it. I picked up an old manual grinder and could not be happier. Also it helps to keep the brewwed coffee in an air tight container. Coffee pots should dispense water at 180 degrees, from what I have read not many of the cheap ones do. I second judy foodies suggestion of the aero press.

DatilpepperBBQ

After owing a bunn for the last 4 years, And about 20 cheeper coffee makers before that(most died within a year). I think you will be dissappointed with anything else after having a Bunn.

Charleston Dave

I third the Aerobie Aeropress.

Its coffee is smooth, rich, balanced and flavorful. Differences between beans and roasts are suddenly more obvious, something like the way a great new stereo makes you notice things you never noticed before in a favorite recording. The coffeemaker is completely portable, a single filter will last for dozens of uses, and coffee is ready in around 2 min 30 sec (2 min to heat water in microwave, 30 sec to use the Aeropress).

I usually put a cup of water in the microwave, and while it's heating I grind a single serving of beans. The Aeropress is much easier to clean than a French press and to my taste makes far better coffee, comparable to espresso machines that are >$500. It can be used for plain American-style breakfast coffee or for barista-style drinks (espresso, cappucino, latte), although technically what it makes is not espresso.

Disadvantages: it isn't ideal for making lots of coffee at once, so if you need to prepare coffee for 6 or 8 people at a time it's an awkward choice. Also, it uses a bit more fresh coffee per cup than a drip machine.

Nevertheless, I'm very pleased with mine, and I frankly enjoy my home-brewed Americanos and lattes much more than the stuff at $tarbuck$. At $4 per latte it paid for itself within a week.

http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress.htm

If you want to see how it works, there is a demo video here.

stike

gee, i go away to do actual work for an hour or so, and i come back to even more great replies.

i was hoping it would be like asking about the Egg vs. a Primo, and that everyone here would say to get the same unit. hahaha

i like the idea of a french press in tandem with a work-a-day unit.

thanks everyone (again)

fishlessman

ive got the big commercial bunn at the shop, its probably 20 years old, im a 12 to 15 cup a day drinker. cant kill that thing. at home i have a 50 year old plus 3 cup electric perculator and a 5 cup old fashioned stove top perc, i like the little electric one and the new ones are much faster. i like a strong perced coffee best with "heavey cream" not that sissy stuff called half and half.

stike

15 cups a day explains why yer knee was bouncing so fast that time meeting paul for lunch. i thought maybe you were a sewing machine operator, the ones with the treadle.

i figured there'd be one definitive 'best' coffee maker. guess i gotta do some homework

mom's got an old perc., thing makes the hottest damn coffee. somehow hotter than boiling it seems

milesofsmiles

FWIW I like the bunn, we're on our forth. Miles out.

fishlessman

when you make a cup you can see the coffee bean oils float to the surface. on the weekends i get only a couple cups and then take aspirin for the rest of the day because it just aint enough. they say it dehydrates you, but between the coffee and beer i should be a raisin. at camp we went thru a couple mistercofees in 4 years, i dont know what the present one is, but it has the stainless mesh filter, i like that better as no more filter replacements, but if your drinking 1 or 2 cups a day, i think the little perc is the way to go, no filters and they last a long time. not as good as a cappucinno in the north end at 3 in the morning eating in a backroom mob run hidden from the pulic italian resteraunt. funny the places you end up late at night after 50 guinesses, ever sit in a resteraunt watching a table were 2 men in suits stand while the family eats their dinner

bitslammer

I like the idea of a manual grinder. I bought a Cuisinart burr grinder and hate it. Even on "Coarse" it produces a fine powdery grind that goes right through the screen on my press.

stike

i think i should get a bunn or Mr. coffee AND the aeropress.

thanks guys.

Pdub

Check out the first site below. You can also find them on ebay for roughly 30-50 dollars. I bought a PE-DE and I set it so that I no longer get fine stuff in my french press.
http://www.orphanespresso.com/
interesting reading.
http://www.kwilson.fsnet.co.uk/burrs.htm
good forum.
http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/grinders

Essex County

We have Keurig(?) in the office that makes single cups. They're super convenient but the coffee is just ok.

I am a huge fan of the french press. It requires you to have something to boil water in. We have an electric teapot thingee. But the coffee is the best. I'm now buying beans roasted by a lady who sells coffee at the farmer's market in Andover. It's roasted on the day I buy it.

Paul

stike

that Keurig thing is what my friends have... that's it.

french press or an aeropress seem to be the favorites here.
thanks

Chef Charles

You certainly have gotten many useful ideas. For several years, I used a French press. However, I lived in France and believe it or not, I had a hard time finding one when I first moved there. An Italian colleague of mine suggested looking for a stovetop expresso maker and I have been sold on them ever since. I currently use the Moka Express by Bialetti along with coffee I grind at home. They have several models and sizes to choose from.

(http://www.bialettishop.com/EspressoMakerMainPage.htm

Fencewire

Cuisinart Grind and Brew here as well. Now, we usually buy our coffee at central market each week, and grind it there, since I prefer to not have to clean the grinder every night.

The beautiful thing? You get done preparing a meal on the egg and as your doing dishes, you turn around, load the coffee, fill the water, hit two buttons and some how there is a fresh pot of coffee prepared every morning by the time I leave for work.

No on/off since the stainless pot holds coffee at a drinkable temp for 3 hours.

Smokin Tiger

These get great reviews but are pricey. Maybe Santa will bring me one..... :laugh:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.technivorm.shtml

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Fidel

Great coffee pot. I have one of these at work and the Capresso E8 at home.

dhuffjr

Being a person that always spills the coffee when pouring it.......

I saw several years ago the Hamilton Beach Brewmaster and really like it. Walk and up push the little button and coffee pours itself into my cup....... "look ma no drips"