I don't understand why your coffee makers are not working for you. I have used cheap coffee makers that lasted for years and years and they produced fine drip coffee. They were ugly and I don't display them. I use filtered water, good coffee, grind beans before brewing and drink the coffee almost immediately after brewing.

I think most drip coffee makers are quite simple in their operations so what exactly do you want it to do? I am not being sarcastic, just asking.

Perhaps a french press might give you the flavor excitement you are looking for in coffee.

We have had very expensive coffee makers that blow out in thunderstorms. We have had expensive coffee makers that break their seal and leak all over the counter top. We have had expensive coffee makers the produced such awful coffee we never even drank it (it tasted like rancid plastic). We have had inexpensive 4 cup pots that worked well, but we were constantly making coffee.
What I want the maker to do is make coffee without sending grounds into the pot. I want it to last a few years. I really am asking for information anyone might have on a nice solid maker that produces good coffee without too much annoyance. That's all.

They're found in all the cheap places, but Mr. Coffee is usually rated highly by Consumer reports. I have had Mr. Coffee makers before and they work as expected. Plastic coffee makers are easy to store and lift.

I use a Revere electric percolator for morning coffee. It comes in 4, 9, or 12 cup models. They last FOREVER.

Thank you leel, I haven't convinced my husband yet, but I think the best coffee comes from a percolator,

I bought an old 14 cup stove top percolator on eBay last winter for $12. I love it! It takes longer than our electric drip coffee maker, but the coffee's excellent.

I have a 4 cup programmable Mr. Coffee and I'm very satisfied with it. It makes HOT coffee, it's easy to use and the coffee is ready when I get up in the morning. They also make one with just an on/off switch if you don't want to keep it on the counter. I think I paid $20 at Walmart for mine.

Don't understand your bad experiences. In forty years of plug-in drip coffee makers, I've never had such stuff as you've described. Currently have 20-year-old Mr. Coffee with dual 4-cup carafes. When we want more, we just fire up the second pot. Have broken and replaced 3 carafes over the years but the machine still works like new. If it broke tomorrow, I'd buy another one at Wal-Mart and expect the same good service. They're incredibly simple machines. Trying to imagine source of the troubles you've described.

Annie,

Have you ever used a French press coffee maker? IMHO, no coffee comes close to the delicious flavor of coffee made from a French press. Making the coffee in a french press is a bit more involved than a Mr. Coffee, but I think it's well worth the effort.

Cindyb va, I have a French press that we use occasionally, but I find the coffee is never quite hot enough.
asolo, If you haven't bought a coffee maker in 20 years, I'm afraid you might be in for a surprise and disappointment. They aren't the same as they were 20 years ago. You better keep that pot in good working order.

Actually, I have...as gifts for relations. None have reported such problems as you've described -- and I have coffee at their places from those machines with some frequency. That's why I'm mystified. Can't explain your terrible experience.

Finally I can say YES I love my coffee maker. It is a Moccamaster CD10 made by the highly respected Dutch equipment firm Technivorm. I picked the one with a glass carafe (Chrome Model # 9932). The Clubline meets the standards of the SCAA which means it brews at just under the boiling point 200 degrees F (not the dumbed down stuff resulting from the McDonalds suit). The unit is made to last a lifetime with a copper heating element rather than the aluminium found in most units. Truly the best drip coffee I have ever had!

I love my coffeemaker! It's a senseo pod machine...yes the pods are expensive but the coffee in them is terrific.I can push a button to heat the water and while I am putting a pod in the pot the water is hot....push another button and I have good HOT strong flavorful coffee, with none of that stale dirty coffee pot flavor.....and almost nothing to wash but my cup and the pod holder....and the spout mechanism about once a week.
And when I want a second cup....ot's fresh not leftover....and when I have guests and one wants de caf and another wnts hazle hut and another Columbian....why there is is....and I can make coffee different coffee for everyone in less time that it takes me to make 6 cups in the big pot.
BUT....the pods are expensive!
Linda C

the best coffepot I've ever had was a six cup Corning electric perculator ... the handle kept breaking and I kept replacing it until the pot was recalled. I refushed to surrender mine but after the recall the replacement handles were no longer available (something about folks getting burned when the handle broke).
I, too, have been through perks, drips. those press things, etc. and they either broke or produced coffee of dubious quality.
We finally settled on the Brookstone 1-cup drip. Not great, but each person makes their own cuppa and has no one else to blame if it doesn't taste good.

Greetings 2 all, from the Far East of the Western World. where our wind & wave swept craggy coast meets each new day First!!

Coffee makers? Had a fantastic Braun for 23yrs..thermostat finally gave up. Now very happy to be using a Cuisinart Brew Central 12c - max, 6c French Press, & 2 stove-top espresso makers. Each, obviously serves a different purpose,( in order ) std coffee, after a nice Greek or Indian dinner, cheese, artisian bread & fruit platters and the mini-Espresso maker is almost exclusively used for baking!
The Cuisinart needs a home of its' own..it is not a lightwheight; but looks great! I have mine next to my Silver Turkish Teapot.
Cheers 2 All!

While 'love' may be a bit too strong of a word, I really have enjoyed the Cuisinart coffeemaker I have. It is a drip pot (takes a Melitta #4 filter) that drips into a vacuum carafe.

It fits how I like coffee and how I serve it. I tend to make strong french roast coffee, and strong coffee tends to go bitter quickly if you keep it heated on a hot plate. So the flavor of the coffee is better IMHO if it's kept in a vacuum carafe rather than simmered on a heating element under the carafe.

Also, the carafe can be brought where you want the coffee--the dinner table, the bedroom, the back porch--and it stays pleasantly hot (without scorching) for the entire time it takes for the DW and I to finish the pot.

Only flaw I see is that the swing-out door that holds the coffee filter basket, on rare occasions, does not 'catch' securely, and on occasion the coffee hasn't dripped into the carafe but rather cascaded over the filter, grounds and all, onto the countertop. This may be due not so much to a design flaw as much as operator error, fixing coffee when I'm sleepy...

The link is to a similar coffeemaker, although mine has a smaller capacity and a glass carafe.

I am definitely sold on the coffee dripping into a thermal carafe rather than having a heating element. I'll never go back to a coffeepot with a warming element. YMMV.

Here is a link that might be useful: cuisinart thermal coffeemaker

Coffee makers have indeed changed over the last 20 years, and most are just plastic junk. With all due respect for the folks that like perked coffee, it's really not the best brewing method. Recirculating water through coffee grounds endlessly makes for a bitter brew. Some of the best coffee is made with a non-automatic coffee maker--like a French Press. Or, if you like something really pretty you can get a Chemex. You can make great coffee with any manual type coffee maker, and many of them are very attractive, but it does involve more effort than pushing a button. The problem with many automatic coffee makers is that the water does not get hot enough. Proper brewing temp is 197-205 F. If you want an automatic, Bunns are good, as well as those freebies from Gevalia. It doesn't sound like you're wanting to spend huge amounts of money, and I don't think you really have to. I'm not sure how long any of them last--I don't use an automatic drip maker anymore, but if you can find one that does a good job and isn't too expensive, it won't hurt so much to have to replace it every so often.

Cj

"Finally I can say YES I love my coffee maker. It is a Moccamaster CD10 made by the highly respected Dutch equipment firm Technivorm."

I have a Technivorm as well. They brew excellent coffee.

ditto on the Technivorm. I have the 8cup vacuum carafe model. It's very simple and heats up quickly.

I also have an old wall-mounted Krups. I've had it about 20 years now. Still works, but i use the Tech.

"With all due respect for the folks that like perked coffee, it's really not the best brewing method. Recirculating water through coffee grounds endlessly makes for a bitter brew"

Do you know this from experience, or are you just repeating what you've read on the internet? I wonder because I now own a stovetop percolator and have yet to drink a bitter cup of coffee from it. I follow the instructions you'll find from many perk fans: when the coffee starts perking, turn the heat down as low as you can without causing the perking to stop, and turn off the heat when the coffee color is to your liking. The coffee isn't "endlessly" recirculating through the grounds; only for maybe 5 minutes from first bubble to last. And why would it matter anyway if dilute coffee or plain water is circulating through the grounds? The coffee is just picking up more flavor from the grounds, just like plain water would be. I can't think of why there would be a chemically significant difference.

Coffee is one of those comfort foods to which rational analysis does not readily apply. Yes, you can measure the extraction fraction of flavor elements, and determine how much of the potential flavor was extracted, but the final analysis will be "Does this brew taste good to ME?"

Heat is a two-edged sword when it comes to coffee. You need a certain amount of heat to get the flavor from the grounds, but if you use too much heat after that it does make the coffee taste bitter. (Think McDonald's coffee before they started having specialty coffees. They kept their coffee way too hot, IMHO, and you couldn't drink it safely until it cooled down, and the flavor was lousy from the excessive heat.) I do find that perked coffee does pick up a bit of that burnt flavor which I don't like, but who's to say I am the arbiter of all taste? If you like the product you produce, keep up the good work. My own preferences are towards a dark French roast made in a drip pot. That's what I grew up on, and that's what good coffee is to me.

I've had my Bunn 8 cup drip coffee maker for about 10 years now. I love it because I can pour the water into the maker, go outside to get the newspaper in the morning, and the coffee is done when I sit down at the kitchen counter, less than 5 minutes later (I think Bunn says it will brew a pot in 3 minutes). I think it makes the best tasting coffee, and it works well making tea too.

The only drawback, a small one, is that it's so fast. My brother-in-law once poured water in using the carafe and the water came out so fast it made a little mess.

I have had many over the years, including the Bunn. I have to say that I like my Cuisinart Grind and Brew the most. But I do believe that I would be just as happy with the less expensive model and use my coffee grinder. I do, however, LOVE the thermal carafe.

Our discontinued Melitta Fast Brew 12-cupper with a timer is still chugging away after over 4 years of daily use and, I shamefully confess, irregular cleanings with vinegar. Maybe it's hit or miss but we got one of the good ones on sale at Target for about $29.99, if I remember correctly. The successor model is really bizarre in appearance but ours just might last until THAT one's been replaced in the Melitta lineup.

I can't say how the flavor compares with that of a percolator because by the time I started drinking coffee everyone I know was using drip, but our favorite coffee maker is the Toddy cold brew system. DH and I even prefer it to French press and Chemex (our other favorites), and it's a lot easier. We used to buy only premium coffees but now we can get a decent cup even from mass market brands (although in that case we generally stick to Colombian).

With respect to appearance, it is a simple lightweight plastic cylinder with a well for its filter and a rubber stopper. Ours lives in the back of a cabinet for the many days between batches. Plus whatever container/pitcher you like to hold the concentrate (their system comes with one, but you don't have to use it).

Extraction is a time-temperature trade-off, with different components extracting at different rates. Instead of subjecting the coffee to hot water for a few minutes, you extract it (a half to a whole pound at a time) in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. This makes a concentrate that you keep in the fridge and mix as needed with hot water. Cold extraction is better at holding onto the volatile flavor components (after all, we mostly "taste" with our noses). The heated-just-before-drinking coffee actually tastes as good as good as freshly-ground beans smell. Cold extraction also seems to be a lot slower at extracting the bitter flavors. And using the shorter period supposedly reduces the acid for those that are bothered (I'm not, so I can't say from actual experience).

I like my coffee rather hot, and my instant hot is hot enough to make a good cup with the refrigerated concentrate.

I like the Toddy cold brew system as well. A lot of the acidic oils end up on the top of the grounds and don't make it into the extract, so the resultant beverage is deceptively smooth. However, all the caffeine IS extracted. On more than one occasion I've had a several cups of Toddy extract coffee, only to be awake at 2 a.m.....

One other thing: the extract stays good for several days in the fridge, but eventually does go bad. If you are an intermittent coffee drinker, then you can freeze the extract in ice cube trays and store the cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer, and they'll stay good for a long time. Good technique if you want to have an occasional flavored coffee but don't want to have it every day.

The extract can also be used to make your own Kahlua or to flavor ice cream or whatever. Potent and versatile stuff.

I'm a coffee pot Junkie! I've had several brands & now using the Gevaila(cheapie).My problem w/most of them is:Coffee NOT HOT! The best one so far (I've used),is the "Bunn",but I just hate to pay that much for it!! A lot of people use the "Mr.Coffee",which some of them are 1,000-Watt which is Hot Coffee! Do you know the wattage of yours? I don't need a big coffee pot,just a small one. Ideas? Razenette

Yes... because it was free...