Coffee makers?

My faitfhul Mr Coffee died this week. In spite of the myriad of choices for fancy coffee makers, over the years, I've always used a Mr Coffee drip maker. Theyt had a simple design that worked and never leaked. My coffee was always hot and tasty (provided I used good coffee to start with).

Now they apparently have changed and not for the better. I've read user reviews of flimsy plastic, breaking parts - swing out baskets and the mid-brew shutoff are the usual suspects) and leaks. Unfortunately, these flaws seem to plague ALL the brands of coffee makers, from the $15 basic machine to the $150 with bells and whistles.

I've found a basic Delonghi ($40) that looks good but it only has one review. I also found a commercial Mr Coffee that apprarently is the same design as my defunct machine, without the timer function.

But, I'd thought I'd ask the experts on this forum what they use and why. What you've had that didn't work, likes and dislikes, etc.

I was given a Cuisinart Grind and Brew Thermal for Christmas last year and I love it.

The biggest plus for me is that the coffee gets dispensed into a stainless thermal carafe and stays quite hot for quite a long time without being cooked on a burner. This works great for me as I am usually the only one drinking it and I tend to drink it over an hour or more as I work in the studio or online.

I also like the programmable feature.... I use it as an alarm clock. When the coffee starts grinding I know I better finally get out of bed!

I used to use a basic Mr Coffee machine with a timer and glass carafe and would grind the beans first. This new machine conveniently eliminates one step for me, not that it was ever a big deal. But I like having the coffee ground just before it's brewed instead of the night before.

It also has a setting for doing a small amount of coffee, I think it's 1-4 cups, that seems to give a good flavor profile to small batches instead of them being off.

Edited to say: I probably never would have purchased this machine had I been buying it for myself. I'd used it at my friend's place and loved it, but I wouldn't have been able to justify the bite out of the budget. (I work for a not-for-profit!)

Currently weighing up a few Gaggia machines...

[James Roscoe]

Let me join Doug by saying I have the same question. We have an old Mr. Coffee machine that is on its last legs. What are the best machines out there? I despise coffee by the way. This is for my wife and daughters.

I once had a friend who didn't like coffee. Turned out that they didn't like badly brewed coffee. They'd never had a decent cup until they came to my house.

Not that I am trying to convert you, James!

[James Roscoe]

I despise coffee in ALL its forms, ice cream, cakes, whatever. I don't even like the smell. I have been told I brew a mean cup of coffee by my in-laws who are all coffee drinkers. I am a lost cause.

For about 10 years I used a restaurant style two burner Bunn coffee maker and enjoyed every cup it made. However it finally played out, and my wife wanted to be shed of the big monster, so I tossed it instead of repairing it. To replace the Bunn I bought a Cuisinart 12 cup programmable, with which I have been pretty satisfied. So many counter top coffee makers these days are 10 cup instead of 12, and that is a major factor for me. Anyway, here is a URL for the pot I purchased. http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/produc ... 5&cat_id=3

We have been using a 6-cup cone with filter into a 1 liter carafe for thirty years now. Have only worn out one cone in that period. It includes twelve years of running a B&B when we made six or eight liters of coffee every morning. We use Melitta Natural Brown #6 cone filters. We pay $2.29 for a 40 pack. You boil a liter of water and pour into 1/3 C grounds; that is all there is to it.

YOU DO NOT NEED A COFFEE MAKER!

Zojirushi with thermal carafe.
I used a Mr Coffee for years but this drip model blows it away. Not only does it make a really nice cup of coffee but it stays hot for hours (4+) without getting all burned and bitter like it would if you left it on a hot plate.

There have been better prices out there than this Amazon link..but this is the one...

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-EC-BD15 ... 32-0679242

In my view, almost anything Delonghi that i have bouight has been worth every penny, but I've never had their coffeemaker. That's because I drink only espresso and for that I use a Francis, Francis.

But I'm with Carl. When I used to drink regular coffee, the Melitta drip served me well for many years. Hot water, coffee grinds, and a cone with filter--no electricity and no parts to leak or break.

Story about Mr. Coffee. In the late 1970s and early 80s I was a producer of industrial shows. In one of the shows held in San Francisco, we had Joe DiMaggio as a speaker. I got to meet Joe in the dressing room, as I was his stand-in for lighting the stage, etc. Anyway, I sheepishly asked for his autograph for my nephew and he was nice about it. Then, I asked him about his Mr. Coffee machine, which he brought with him backstage (he was doing their commercials then). I asked if it really made coffee so well that he carried it around with him. He said, and I quote: "I don't know about that, but I know who pays the bills..."

My faitfhul Mr Coffee died this week.

I'd suggest that this is a great time to try a French Press. From the first time I tried one, I found I couldn't go back to any drip filtered coffee, whether it's cone or basket brewed. The resulting coffee is much richer and more complex. Drip coffee just tastes thin and bitter to me now.

Dave

[Jenise]

My faitfhul Mr Coffee died this week.

I'd suggest that this is a great time to try a French Press. From the first time I tried one, I found I couldn't go back to any drip filtered coffee, whether it's cone or basket brewed. The resulting coffee is much richer and more complex. Drip coffee just tastes thin and bitter to me now.

Dave

What David said. I can't go back either.

But when I do brew, I use a Krups. True story: when I moved from Alaska to California, I bought a Mr. Coffee because it was cheap. My good Krups was on a boat with the rest of my things and I moved into my house with six cats and a couple sleeping bags. Coffee was needed, so I bought a Mr. Coffee because it was cheap. Then my stuff came and the old coffee maker had been broken in transit, so I continued using Mr. Coffee. Coffee didn't taste good in California--thin, no matter how much coffee I used--and I blamed it on separation from my good fresh local roaster Kaladi Brothers. After a year or so Mr. Coffee crapped out and I bought a new Krups. From one day to the next the difference was startling: same coffee, same water, different machines, and coffee was good again. Well, maybe not Kaladi-good but a lot better! That apparently is the difference between the flat-bottomed Mr. Coffee basket and the cone-shaped basket in the slower Krups. Mr. Coffee's flat bottomed basket meant the hot water whizzed through faster and took less good coffee flavor with it.

Point is, there's a substantial difference between machines beyond just the quality of the parts.

And that said, try a French Press while you're in limbo.

First recommendation: Hit http://www.coffeegeek.com to get a ton of reviews and recommendations on coffeemakers of all types.

Second recommendation: The Krups FME-10. We picked one up a couple of years ago based on a couple of factors. One was the cone filter. The other was the wattage of the heater. We've been very happy with it. No problems in two years, and the coffee is hot and tasty. Only downside is that it doesn't brew into a thermal carafe. That's not a big deal for us as we have a couple we can always pour the coffee into. We usually drink it up before it has a chance to get burned by the heating element anyway.


Mike

My faitfhul Mr Coffee died this week.

I'd suggest that this is a great time to try a French Press. From the first time I tried one, I found I couldn't go back to any drip filtered coffee, whether it's cone or basket brewed. The resulting coffee is much richer and more complex. Drip coffee just tastes thin and bitter to me now.

Dave

I agree, coffee through a press is the next best thing to espresso. But make sure the press filter is tight--I've seen some cheaper ones with filters that are too loose.

Doug, we bought the following coffe maker to take with us when we travel locally (driving trips). It is highly rated by Consumer Reports and does a decent job for the genre (cheap to boot).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005IX9U/102-6288196-6675300

We use the Melitta Flavor Pores Natural Brown Coffee Filter #4.

That said, I'm not giving up my super automatic -- I like the push one button approach.

[Jenise]

Doug, we bought the following coffe maker to take with us when we travel locally (driving trips). It is highly rated by Consumer Reports and does a decent job for the genre (cheap to boot).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005IX9U/102-6288196-6675300

We use the Melitta Flavor Pores Natural Brown Coffee Filter #4.

That said, I'm not giving up my super automatic -- I like the push one button approach.

We travel with individual French press thermal mugs that we bought at Starbucks. Hot water's easy to get, and your own grounds are easy to pack. The same mug would make an excellent way to try to process on for size, and maybe have something useful for travelling even if you still prefer the brew method at home.

Mike
Thanks for the link - very useful
regards
Ian

Thanks all for the good ideas. I'm off to the stores to go look at some in the flesh, so to speak, so I can see how they're made and inspect the moving parts.

I have a French Press that I use on occasion. Most of the time I don't care for the coffeeI get from it, but there are some coffee varieties I won't fix any other way. For instance, Guatemala Antigua tastes weak and flat from a machine, but from the press it develops a rich cocoa-like base with fantastic aromas and flavors.

My faitfhul Mr Coffee died this week.

I'd suggest that this is a great time to try a French Press. From the first time I tried one, I found I couldn't go back to any drip filtered coffee, whether it's cone or basket brewed. The resulting coffee is much richer and more complex. Drip coffee just tastes thin and bitter to me now.

Dave

I cannot agree more. I have gone to a french press over the last several months and cannot go back. I know the coffee doesn't stay hot for more than a half hour but you cannot get a better cup of coffee.

Thanks all for the good ideas. I'm off to the stores to go look at some in the flesh, so to speak, so I can see how they're made and inspect the moving parts.

I have a French Press that I use on occasion. Most of the time I don't care for the coffeeI get from it, but there are some coffee varieties I won't fix any other way. For instance, Guatemala Antigua tastes weak and flat from a machine, but from the press it develops a rich cocoa-like base with fantastic aromas and flavors.

I found in the beginning that I wasn't using enough coffee. 1 3/4 tbl to 2tbls coffee per 8 ounce cup gives beautiful cups of coffee.

I found in the beginning that I wasn't using enough coffee. 1 3/4 tbl to 2tbls coffee per 8 ounce cup gives beautiful cups of coffee.

Yup. I've done that - and played around with the grind. I just find that most of the time the flavor is too intense and overpoweringly one-dimensional.

The French Press works just fine, so long as you pour the results though a filter cone.

I found that I need to grind the coffee quite a bit finer than was recommended to get results I liked from my french press. Once I did that though, ooh la la! Of course that means that the last cup will be kind of muddy, but that I can live with. Easily.

Dave

[Robin Garr]

I know the coffee doesn't stay hot for more than a half hour but you cannot get a better cup of coffee.

Try what we do, Howard: Buy a decent Thermos. Make your coffee in the French press. Decant immediately into the Thermos. Enjoy!