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bowyer123

Help me pick a coffee maker

bowyer123
10 years ago

I know a coffee maker isn't as glamorous as a new range or refrigerator, but I use one every day. My current model is a stainless steel Cuisinart thermal carafe model that also grinds beans.

The grind aspect isn't good because when adding water, there is a tendency to spill some into the bean reservoir and it clogs. Also, the top of the carafe seems to clog too frequently and too many times I come into the kitchen with coffee all over my counters.

I like the thermal carafe aspect, but don't need a built-in grinder....I do that separately anyway.

What I need is HOT coffee...I have never owned a coffee maker that I didn't have to microwave the coffee before drinking it. Also, great tasting, stainless (or attractive) would be nice. I always am amazed at how HOT the coffee is at McDonald's..that's how hot I want mine at home! Any suggestions?

Comments (63)

  • MelaniePaul
    10 years ago

    I am not sure but maybe it would be a good choice to select a nespresso ? Check my recomendation link - my sister bought such a nespresso machine and is very happy with it. Maybe this helps - Mel

    Here is a link that might be useful: coffee maker selection

  • sas95
    10 years ago

    Technivorms are pricey, but they last forever. So they end up being cheaper than other machines that you end up tossing much sooner. The place we got ours online threw in some free coffee, a paper filter, a gold tone filter, a coffee pot cleaning kit and some other stuff, so although there's no discounting on the price, it effectively took the cost of the machine down a bit.

  • joc6820
    10 years ago

    Technivorms are good. I've had one for years (it won't die) and it's one of the few brewers that gets the water hot enough to correctly extract the best from ground coffee. It now has serious competition from the Behmor Brazen. This brewer offers much more control and flexibility than the Technivorm and can produce an even better pot of coffee. My Technivorm is gathering dust since I bought one.
    Another alternative is the Bonavita unit. I have no experience with it but it has some happy users among coffee fans.

  • Gooster
    10 years ago

    So glad I read this thread, I found about things I must have without even knowing I needed them... I'm checking out the Technivorm right now.

    I have a Nespresso and we love it (the best capsule maker). But, comparing it to a coffee maker is like comparing a blender to a food processor. Similar appliances but for entirely different purposes.

  • weissman
    10 years ago

    Interesting. I never heard of the Belmor Brazen before. Here's a video of a blind tasting comparing it to a Technivorm. I won't tell you who won :-)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Coffee Comparison

  • sas95
    10 years ago

    I saw that video before I bought my second Technivorm, and it convinced me not to make the switch to the Behmor. But Behmor makes a great roaster!

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    My wife and I are addicted to our Keurig.

    We both usually have coffee at different times and never more than one cup each so a regular coffee maker just doesn't really suit our needs very well.
    With the Keurig I can have a nice cup of Italian Roast or Sumatra while my wife has a cup of hazelnut an hour earlier.
    We usually have about 15-20 different coffees on hand.

    I can stroll over to the Keurig and walk away about 1 minute later with a nice cup of coffee.
    No need to "keep it hot" since it brews one cup at a time when you want it.

    It brews at 195 degrees I think which seems to work just fine for me.

  • colin3
    10 years ago

    My reply from last night seems to have vanished, but just to add some data from this morning's brew: the Technivorm's filter basket measured just over 200F.

    The first cup poured out into a room-temperature ceramic mug measured 160. Another 5 minutes later 155.

    I like the Technivorm a lot. But given the OP's preference for really hot coffee, a Bunn with a heated plate for the carafe might be a better bet.

    (I could reduce the 40-degree drop by letting boiling water sit 5 minutes in the thermal carafe before brewing, but that's more trouble than I want to go to.)

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    The Keurig brews at 195 degrees and goes straight into my pre heated and insulated stainless mug with lid, it stays above 185 for about 15-20 minutes.

  • rwiegand
    10 years ago

    I use a manual Melitta filter for brewed coffee, mostly because it allows me to stir the grounds for optimal extraction while brewing. We've had a Saeco superautomatic espresso machine which has been a workhorse over the years, with some 20,000 cups made, now experimenting with a Jura Impressa X90 as a replacement as the Saeco has finally grown tired. So far I think the Saeco at a third the price (~$600 at Costco) of the Jura actually makes better coffee. Love being able to make one cup at a time quick and easy with the superautomatic machines using fresh beans and my choice of coffee. Some of the pods are OK, but the cost can be astronomical compared even to very high end beans purchased in bulk.

    This post was edited by rwiegand on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 8:07

  • rudolf43
    10 years ago

    It's a good idea to match the capacity of the coffee maker to the amount of coffee you want to brew. We finally found an excellent "five cup" Zojirushi machine that brews a great cup of coffee. We brew 4-1/2 cups at breakfast and 3-1/2 after lunch. Water in the basket measured 195 degrees F.

    Perhaps more important than the brewer is the coffee grinder. We use a Rancillio Rocky burr grinder which produces a consistent grind.

  • rwiegand
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the correction colin3. I confess to a brain fart and have deleted the incorrect information.

  • herring_maven
    10 years ago

    colin3: Do you have a reference for that "most experts" claim, rwiegand? The standard advice I see is a range of 195-205 F or thereabouts ..."

    +1

    While you do not want the brew to boil (and altitude then will dictate the actual temperature to avoid that), the higher the temperature below the boiling point, the better.

    Strictly from a flavor standpoint, the best (non-espreso) coffee brewers are vacuum pots, sometimes called syphon brewers, such as the English Cona, some Bodum models, or the Yama brewers, but all of those are manual. (Sporadic attempts have been made to make an automatic electric vac pot, none successful in the implementation.) One reason that vac pots make such good coffee is that the water hits the grounds (from below) at a temperature just about as close to a boil as you can get without boiling. Our vac pot is a model of the excellent Hario line from Japan, but it is hard to get here in the United States (there is an importer, Rayfish Enterprises, in Richmond, British Columbia).

    (And vac pots make a super "oh wow" show-and-tell when you make after-dinner coffee at the table for your dinner party guests.)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Rayfish / Avenue 18

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    I know for some reason that people do not view the Keurig as making a good cup O joe but I have no idea why.
    The Temp is plenty good.
    The coffee in the Kcups is ground properly with a burr grinder then vacuum sealed, basically air never touches the grounds so it stays rather fresh as pre ground coffee goes.
    There are tons of Kcups, many of them are very good coffees, plus with the self packing cup you can use whatever coffee beans you wish.
    While it is not the classic drip it does "force" the almost boiling water through the grounds in a small sealed container thus extracting as much of the flavor and oils as you would ever want.

    We are totally hooked on ours, it is so easy in the morning to just make a quick cup in about 1 minute, in the kitchen or into our second bedroom upstairs, we have 2 Keurigs, one upstairs one downstairs.
    Then after dinner we each pick which coffee we want to go with dessert as we usually have about 20 different coffees on hand and 2 minutes or less later we have two piping hot cups of coffee that we could never do in a regular coffee maker.

    Prior to the Keurig we had a Krups that made a fine POT of coffee.
    I taste tested it against the Keurig with fresh ground beans in the self packing Kcup and I could not taste the difference between the two.
    So we donated the Krups to a local senior home for their party room.
    We have never looked back and are totally spoiled by the total ease of making a nice single cup of coffee exactly the way each of us want it, even better when we have friends over as 3,4,8 etc people can make exactly what they want be it decaf, flavored, bold, light, etc.

  • violetwest
    10 years ago

    I never like coffee maker coffee. After a while, it all tastes like "coffee pot" to me. My recommendation would be a simple plastic drip cone, with almost boiling water poured over the grounds.

    Makes the best coffee ever, never tastes like "coffee pot," never breaks down, and costs around $10.

    If anyone is interested, I can provide more details.

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    That is what I use for Camping.
    A 6" cone filter holder and filter.

  • jsfox
    10 years ago

    I'm addicted to coffee and cappuccino and over the years have had a collection of stuff. For pure taste, in my experience a vacuum pot is the winner. Very close second goes to a french press. In both cases a good grinder is critical (I have a Solis Meastro at our Cabin, a Mazzer Mini at home and both do a good job).

    I've used a french press every day for years and am quite happy. We now have eight of them of various sizes for when we entertain.

    For machines Nespresso is the winner. Better taste than any other machine (K-cup, drip, etc.) though not as good as press. However, the crema it produces is quite enjoyable.

    For larger parties we have a Fetco. It seems to produce much better tasting coffee than Bunn (which often tastes burned and weak) or other commercial machines we looked at.

  • wallycat
    10 years ago

    I have tried Keurig(sp?) (K-cup) coffee and find it watered down or bland. Perhaps it is the kcup brand that is typically offered (Green Mountain). I know it is "supposed to be" a good brand, but maybe the French press and my Gaggia have spoiled me.
    I'd rather use a moka pot than a k-cup...personal taste I guess.
    If you prefer milder coffee, it is probably OK.

  • herring_maven
    10 years ago

    nunyabiz1: "While it is not the classic drip it does "force" the almost boiling water through the grounds in a small sealed container thus extracting as much of the flavor and oils as you would ever want."

    All methods of coffee brewing put water in contact with ground coffee beans, but different methods produce different flavors, even when the water comes from the same source, and the beans are from the same roasting batch. The variables that result in the different flavor profiles are (a) surface area, or grind, of the coffee; (b) temperature of the water at the time of contact; (c) duration of the water-to-coffee contact; and (d) what happens to the brewed coffee after the contact and before it reaches the cup (effects of filters, warming plates, and, in the case of percolators, reheating and recirculation over the partially spent grounds).

    Espresso depends on very finely ground beans, and can get a good deal of extraction in a very short contact time, but as the surface area is increased and contact time decreased, so also the flavor profile changes significantly -- which is a large part of the reason that espresso tastes different from drip brewed coffee or French press brewed coffee or vacuum pot brewed coffee, and the reason why espresso afficianados can argue in great detail about tiny variations in "pull" technique. Excluding espresso, the brewing methods that produce cups that connoisseurs of coffee tend to prefer usually are those that hold all of the water on all of the ground beans for a period of two to five minutes. In drip methods of brewing, any given drop of water is in contact with the grounds for only a few seconds, and the first water to hit the ground coffee sees a different coffee than the last water, which sees only spent grounds.

    In the Keurig system the water is in contact with the ground beans for a short period of time, much less than the optimal time for, say, French press or vacuum pot brewing methods.

    This post was edited by herring_maven on Thu, May 2, 13 at 1:46

  • rwiegand
    10 years ago

    For ultimate control, there's the Clover machine. For a mere $11K it provides complete control over volume, time and temperature. I have to admit that the local Starbucks has one and I think it makes the best cup of coffee I've had since I lived next to the Menlo Park Peets many years ago (when Mr. Peet still ran the show) and got the full strength stuff. Sadly, the franchise Peets stores no longer honor that tradition.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Clover coffee machine

  • sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
    10 years ago

    I went through the same issue a few years ago. Researched till blue. Temp was also most important but we also drink our coffee black so good extraction was needed. Technivorm, Bonavita, Zoirushi, maybe Bunn.
    All worth a look. Most of my research was spent over at CoffeeGeek. Taste and temp nerds like us. Worth a visit.
    I've had many elec models over the years and must say that the best was an old 70's black and decker spacesaver from a thrift store for 5 bucks... was hot, reliable, and evenly 'hosed' the grounds. But long gone having suffered a fall by an assistant at work.
    I went a very different route in the end. Focused on the grinder, Bunn LPG low profile commercial, Chantal ProDesign kettle, Chemex, 9inch and 7inch. We make perfect coffee, a bit zen but a nice morning routine, and a pot of green tea at the same time in the smaller Chemex...i switch to tea after a good cup of black coffee. (we are up at 4am, tend to pups, enjoy the forest where we live, then off to work in crazy NYC. Works for us and no more headache appliances failing, no more hot water going through plastics.) 9 out of 10 coffee geeks use Chemex.
    Our grinder is handy in the pantry- a quick push of a button and it grinds a perfect amount and grind set by us after a few days of experimenting. And no counter clutter. We each take a small thermos to work. Hot for hours. On the weekends the Chemex is brewed and resting in a 2inch water bath on a low burner. Finally have a use for a copper low profile sauce pan. Insane maybe but i cannot image ever going back to the frustrations of an elec drip. (yawn, i'm boring myself, haha)

  • yeepat
    10 years ago

    The Keurig. Some people Love them, like I do and some hate them. But CS will back you up no matter what problem you may have, I have had a B50 for 6 years. I don't see the need for any other bells and whistles. I have my favorite pod. Hot, tasty one BIG cup off I go. I use it for ice tea as well. Pods are another story. But I can tell you all you will ever need to know.

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    Yeepat.

    Yep seems that way, fortunately for me I guess that I happen to love them. I find the coffee to be plenty strong, although 80% of the coffee I brew is "Bold" or self packed which uses twice the grounds.
    To me at least a perfectly fine cup of coffee in less than 1 minute and my wife can go right behind me with a totally different coffee and enjoy the same.

    The ease of that simply can not be beat.

  • herring_maven
    10 years ago

    sleevendog: "9 out of 10 coffee geeks use Chemex. "
    That may be, but that is a different statement than "9 out of 10 coffee geeks prefer Chemex," and more akin to "9 out of 10 patrons of ramen shops in Japan occasionally eat instant ramen at home." Chemex makes a pretty good brew, but I've yet to meet a real coffee geek for which it is a first choice; it is a more than acceptable convenience brew, but not a destination.

  • jsfox
    10 years ago

    I can't say I've ever been much a fan of Chemex. I've tried a few times but still prefer French Press or Vacuum. Vacuum is the same amount of work as Chemex, but better coffee (IMO) and more entertaining.

  • Nunyabiz1
    10 years ago

    Ha, actually most pure coffee "geeks" I have seen simply pure the hot water right into a cup with grounds and then skim the grounds off in a few minutes.

  • sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
    10 years ago

    Haha. Not looking for debate. Listed the preferred for giving the proper heat at delivery.
    A CoffeeGeek would say something is wrong in your brewing method if you cannot get a good cup from Chemex, ; )...CoffeeGeek.com that is.

    I've used everything mentioned and at work we have all the pod and other 'convenient' put-in-and-brew things, flavia, etc.(and the fridge at work has 2 dozen odd flavored coffee adders that have nothing to do with coffee) I have a graveyard of bad choices in the basement. Just giving sound advice for those looking for yet another elec appliance. From CoffeeGeek.com
    Those i listed are recommended and ones i considered at one time.

  • Mistman
    10 years ago

    My wife and I drink coffee pretty much all day and wanted something plumbed in just to eliminates some of the mess from pouring water. We've had Bunns for 15 years, I read up on machines and though no coffee geek would recommend an automatic coffee maker I did read on the Geek site that the Brew Express delivered a decent cup of jo @ a decent price point and is plumbed. I do love stove-top espresso and pressed coffee but as we drink so much, I only do that occasionally. We've been very pleased w/the Brew Express so far. Not quite as fast as the Bunn but worth the xtra $$ IMO.

  • bernise6
    10 years ago

    IMO, machines for good coffee based high to low:
    - Real espresso machine so you can make coffee (Americano) by Italian process. Hugely expensive in part because you need a proper grinder. Expect a good setup to cost you close to $2000. This is where I ended up after many years of trying to make good coffee.

    - Vacuum Pot. Cheap, makes excellent coffee but isn't plug and play. You have to practice to get it right. These were once common in the USA but got displaced by peculators in the 50s. I have a stainless one that I take camping which I found on Ebay for $25. Stainless is hard to find as they don't make them anymore. But glass ones can be found.

    - Drip Coffee. Convenient and makes good coffee if you can find one that can brew ~200 degrees and maintain that through the brew cycle. The vast majority of makers on the American market use a cheap plastic brewer that barely manages 185 if you are lucky. Some are far worse. Don't be fooled by brand name or price.

    -Drip Coffee makers - Technovorm is about the only drip maker that will brew at proper temp. Melita made a clone of it a couple of years back that was about 1/2 the cost and worked just as well. You might be able to find one. As mentioned above, if you can find an unused maker made in the 1970s, when they were still made in the USA and had metal parts, it might be OK. Krups once made a pressure brewer called Moka Brew that got to the proper temps. ~$80. I've heard they are being made again.

    - Pour over & French Pot. Will do in a pinch. At least you can get the proper temps for the water but brew time is tricky.

    - K-cups, pods, etc. IMO, these are not worth the money unless you like drinking warm watery coffee made from swirling old coffee in a piece of disposable plastic. I suppose this is why people choose the ones with the chemical flavors to mask the poor quality of the drink. It's convenient, but that's, IMO, about all you can say for it.

  • jwats612
    10 years ago

    we just bought a refurbished technivorm from Roastmaster.

    Product and service is wonderful, would highly recommend

    you save about 1/3

    John

  • SaraKat
    10 years ago

    I bought two old style discontinued Krups makers on e-bay. The new Krups are NOT the same nor do they have that nifty round pot that pours like a dream. When I got them I cleaned them like they had been through a nuclear melt down. They make HOT coffee and pour without getting coffee all over the place. Why they changed the style is beyond me. They have a cult following. What will I do when e-bay stops coming up with another obscure used one? The new Krups and other brands make "warm coffee" not hot coffee. I like my coffee hot and often have a burned lip but wouldn't have it any other way. I have been known to get a cuppa at Starbucks or some similar place, and if it is not hot I throw it right in the garbage. Waste of money. Sometimes Starbuck's coffee is hot and sometimes not. I don't know why. It's a toss up if it will be hot or barely warm. I always do the same with the cream so that's not it.

    My favorite coffee is Starbucks Breakfast Blend and that is it. I'm a coffee snob but have tried desperately to find something cheaper at Costco even a different blend of Starbuck's that they do carry but it's the French roast which I do not like. I have given so much coffee to my mom from all over the world trying to find one at Costco to keep from buying my expensive habit of the Breakfast Blend at Starbuck's but at the end of the day just ended up wasting more money by not liking it and giving it away. The only coffee at Costco that sort of had a chance was the Gevalia. But after a few days it was a fail too. OH well, it's my one big indulgence and since my husband doesn't drink coffee it's just me so it could be worse, it lasts a little longer since I only make about 5 cups a day most of the time. I am glad to hear I am not the only one who has to have their coffee HOT. I will check out the brands you suggest for hot coffee but I would never have a maker without a hot plate. I've had those insulated pots and it does not stay hot. Another purchase passed on to my mom. It's the old discontinued Krups that has my heart but in the future I will take a look at those other brands for some that understand what HOT is!!! Thanks.

  • carlfraine
    10 years ago

    I am using an older coffee machine. I would like to thank the members for posting the details. I need to change the machine as I am facing many problems with it.The above shared details are very useful for me.


    luwak coffee

  • ChristyMcK
    10 years ago

    We've had our Technivorm Moccamaster for >4 years now and still love it. Brews the best drip coffee according to this coffee picky Seattlite.

  • D Ahn
    10 years ago

    I've had some very good drip coffee with the right ground coffee, but the finest coffee I've enjoyed was from espresso machines, also from great beans ground to the right fineness (I prefer medium fine, though still MUCH finer than drip or French press).

    I'm too lazy for a manual espresso machine, so I've owned (and still own) multiple super automatic espresso machines: Krups Orchestro (discarded due to cockroach infestation), Jura Capresso Z5 (favorite machine, one-touch latte/cappuccino, only good espresso), Krups XP9000 (makes GREAT espresso, also one-touch latte/cappuccino), Krups XP7260 (good espresso, basic machine), DeLonghi Magnifica XS (good espresso). We bought a Miele CVA-4062 built-in but it's not installed yet; we're already tempted to get the new Jura Capresso Giga 5. We currently use 4 super automatics between 2 homes and 2 offices, and would never consider anything else! We do love the taste of Nespresso, but at $0.65 per capsule, between us and our staff, we'd be spending hundreds a month on pods instead of $120 every 5 months (on Lavazza Super Crema whole beans).

    There's quite a bit of variability in the quality of espresso you can get from a super automatic depending on the quality of the burr grinder, grind fineness, temperature, pressure, speed of extraction, and of course, beans. IMO, properly adjusted, any super automatic will give you better coffee than a drip machine for a LOT more convenience: press a button, get cup, lather, rinse, repeat. There is deferred intermittent work: filling the water reservoir, emptying the pucks and drain reservoir, the rare detergent cleaning cycle.

  • msbrandywinevalley
    10 years ago

    Another Technivorm fan here. I preheat the thermal carafe with boiling water, the resulting coffee is quite hot when I pour it, and it stays hot for a good, long time. Not only that, it makes a darned good cup of coffee!

    All that said, I'm about to give up my Technivorm for another coffee maker because of logistical challenges I'm facing in a design for a kitchen remodel. I'm thinking about the Brew Express EC-110 with an automatic filling feature. In fact, I'm about to post a query on this forum because there's so little written about it.

    Wanna buy a slightly-used Technivorm?

  • jakkom
    10 years ago

    I'm with sleevendog in going non-electric. As I can't drink a lot of coffee (sob! medical reasons) I switched for convenience to having the coffee shop grind it for us. Peet's French Roast, #2 grind - one step up from #1 powdered Turkish grind.

    We buy it every week, use it up fast. Cheap porcelain cone, small Bodum teapot (hey, it fits the cone bottom) or a pre-heated glass vacuum pot which lives up to its 5-star Amazon reviews for keeping hot liquids actually hot for hours (I hate lukewarm coffee).

    But I do use Chemex woven filters. Found a very real difference in taste between using the Chemex filters and cheaper paper filters.

    Cold extraction works very well, btw. My brother and his wife love making coffee this way. We actually like the moderate acidity and bitterness of Chemex-style drip, however. Our coffee comes out very strong - we've gone to restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area that make weaker espresso than our daily coffee.

    When we first started dating it took over a year to get my DH to stop putting cream and sugar in to ruin good coffee!

  • cj47
    10 years ago

    I watched the video on the Technivorm Vs the Behmor posted above, and I can't honestly say that it would have convinced me either way. Two out of the three preferred the Technivorm, but everyone said that they were very similar in taste. Three people aren't enough to sway me. I have had a chance to play with a Behmor and I'd definately fiddle with the factory presets--that's the whole reason for all of the controls, to be able to adjust for your altitude, the freshness of the coffee, and the temperature at which you prefer to brew. They didn't do any of that for the test. It's a coffeemaker that caters to all the things that geeks like to adjust when they're using a manual brewer. It made a really good cup of coffee, and I wouldn't hesitate to actually buy one if I were in the market for a good quality machine. I've not had a chance to putter with a Technivorm, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt in that regard. I do know that Behmor stands behind it's products, some folks were having trouble with the spouts on their carafes dripping a little, and Joe Behm actually sent out a part to fix it. I was pretty impressed with that.

    Just my $.02.

    Cj

    PS...Nunyabiz, those people who scraped the grounds off the top of the cup were probably not actually drinking coffee, they were engaged in a formal tasting called "cupping". :-) That's the way it's done--mix the coffee with the grounds, let it sit, scoop the grounds off the top and then sllllluuuuurrrrrppp as loudly as you can.

  • alina1grace
    10 years ago

    i am using Technivorm Moccamaste coffee machine and love it

  • EATREALFOOD
    10 years ago

    Great thread
    Not what you are looking for but I love my old electric perk.
    Going to reread davidahn's post about espresso machines, lots of good info

  • msbrandywinevalley
    10 years ago

    For anyone concerned about difficulty washing the Technivorm's thermal carafe, there's an easy solution. I use a bottle brush I bought at the local kitchen shop.

  • Jupiter212
    10 years ago

    I bought a DeLonghi ESAM4200 coffee maker, and used it in my office, it make good espresso but is not enough powerful for a large office

    Here is a link that might be useful: Perfect Coffee Solution

  • trinkette1
    10 years ago

    We've been using a Bunn A-10 (the smallest of the metal pro-type models) for years and we've never had a bad cup or problems with the unit. We wanted access to coffee throughout the morning without having to remake a pot each time, so we sought out something that would keep the coffee plenty warm without burning it. And we wanted a coffeemaker that would last for many years. Bunn fits the bill. Also, because water is always in the unit, preheated, it takes no time at all to make a cup. I'd purchase another anytime. A Technivorm would be a great choice as well.

  • jwats612
    9 years ago

    no, the Keurig does not pay for itself overtime, it keeps costing you far more than other systems, here is an article from NY Times

    , you just plug in a pod and moments later get exactly one cup of your favorite joe. Faster than heading to a coffee shop, and you don't have to tip a barista. But while it may be cheaper than takeout, single-serve brew is considerably pricier than coffee by the pot or by the pound.

    How much more expensive? It's hard to tell at first glance since pods are measured in grams rather than ounces. After doing the conversions on two brands -- 10-packs of Nespresso Arpeggio and 12-packs of Folgers Black Silk -- The Times provided a jaw-dropping reveal: Consumers were paying $50 to $51 per pound.

  • chisue
    9 years ago

    Knock, knock! Anybody still here?

    Any Plain Jane coffee maker suggestions for a non-coffee-snob, non-foodie? DH drinks two cups of coffee at breakfast. I have one cup, cafe au lait. (Acid tummy.)

    Our 15-year-old Krups drip coffee maker with thermal carafe is acting up -- failing to use all the water in the reservoir, despite de-scaling with vinegar. It uses #4 Melitta cones. I use a separate small burr grinder. I warm the thermal carafe before making coffee. My main objectives are a decent brewing temperature, a thermal carafe, and a medium-low price point.

    Among the medium priced five drip coffee makers that Consumer Reports says reach high enough water temps, only the Capresso MT600 did not have bad user reviews on the carafe. (Complaints about drips; some people resorting to pouring *over the sink*.)

    Costco has a Capresso CM300 for $60. The MT600's MSP is $140.

    Would you encourage/discourage me from buying either one? (At least I could return the CM300 with no loss.)

    Would you encourage any of the 'pod' type coffee makers? (I would not be spending hundreds per year on pre-made pods, but using our own freshly ground beans.)

  • Karen Eagle
    9 years ago

    I love my Zojirushi. I've had it a couple of years now. Not required but I put very hot water in the carafe while I set up water and coffee. Then I dump the hot water and make my coffee. It stays hot for a long time (At least 4 hours). The full 10 cups are made fairly quickly and coffee tastes great.

  • PRO
    VOKE3
    9 years ago

    I have a little problem. A have Jura coffee maker and it's broke down. I would like to fix it, but I know that is specific services. Where I can found it in Texas state?

    kavos aparatų remontas

  • dplayers1
    9 years ago

    Moccamaster for sure. I used to Aeropress 2-4 cups per day for me, wife, friends for 2 years. Moccamaster tastes even better for a regular mug "american coffee." I have the 14 cup stainless carafe model. Keeps the coffee at the proper temperature for hours. Just as importantly, the coffee tastes just as good when stored in the fridge and reheated even a day or two later. OP might not be interested, but the leftover out of the fridge is also some of the best iced coffee I've ever had. I buy beans from a quality local roaster, usually med/light "Peak Roast" of different blends and origins, and grind to the proper level with a conical grinder.

    I assume others have stated, when overheated, coffee tastes like burnt tar. The correct temp is just below boiling... I think 198-205 F or somewhere around there. Moccamaster keeps it at just the right temp as long as possible without ruining the brew.

    Enjoy.

  • D Ahn
    9 years ago

    Lorenn1992, you have to call Jura customer service and send it in for repair/refurbishing. I've had that done on my Z5 and it's lent it new life. 1-800-767-3554.

  • Christine Ng
    8 years ago

    I like usingComparaboo as a baseline tool before reading editorials. After reading several articles on Good Housekeeping, i'd have to say there is a good amount of overlap in editorial content and the way they've parsed through their reviews. Notables are probably Hamilton Beach one for me. I'm not a huge coffee snob like my bf who handgrinds everyday :) the http://www.comparaboo.com/best-coffee-makers