I'd love some coffee maker advice.

[MinneapolisMatt]

Hi everybody!

I've decided to get my mom and dad a coffee maker for Christmas (I was just over there last week, and they are in desperate need of a new one), and I'd like some input. What kind do you have? What kind have you had in the past that you hated? Or liked? I've been doing a little research, but there are so many choices out there, sometimes it's best to get some first-hand accounts.

I have a 12-cup Mr. Coffee, and have no complaints with it:

http://tinyurl.com/clq7n

I suppose I could just get them the same exact one that I have...but I'd like to try something different for them. I'd like to keep the price $150 or less and am open to just about anything.

Thanks so much!

-Matt

[NMDemDist2]

1. do they use whole bean gourmet coffees? there is a unit that is the

absolute Caddillac of brewers, but it's a little higher price range than you mentioned, closer to $200

I like it because it is the cleanest "all in one" unit I've ever owned and before I switched to an espresso machine, I had the top of the line Cuisinart, DeLonghi and finally ***Heaven*** the Capresso Team Luxe

http://www.capresso.com/prod_makers_lux.html

if they don't buy whole bean it's a whole nother story.......

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. Oh wow...

...that is one awesome machine. Yeah, they do grind from time to time, so it would be useful.

I was going to get them a couple of other small things, but if I just got the machine for $200, that's fine too. Hmmmm. Shopping is hard!

Thanks for the link, that's so cool.

Matt

[NMDemDist2]

4. nah, just get a good Cuisinart (or even Capresso) brewer if they don't

grind every day. a lot of the cost of this unit is the professional quality burr grinder. if they don't grind every day it would be a waste. just get them a nice grinder if they only need it occasionally. That's why I asked if they usually buy whole beans

this unit is for serious coffee snobs who love fresh ground brews

[MinneapolisMatt]

5. Gotcha!

They like their coffee, but not THAT much. :)

However, I might buy that for myself when this machine dies...

Matt

[NMDemDist2]

7. there ya go! you'll LOVE it, it's so clean and easy to use and you

can't get a better cup of brewed coffee at home

it can be programed to self start in the morning, we used to gently drift up out of sleep when the grinder started and by the time the alarm went off, the smell of fresh coffee drew us to the kitchen

heaven, I tell ya.....

[Mr. McD]

2. We have had a Cuisinart now for about 3 years

We like it a lot. They run around $100. We got ours at Costco for $70.

[MinneapolisMatt]

6. Nice.

That is similar to my machine, and I bet they'd like that. 3 years is a good run for a coffee maker, too.

Thanks!

Matt

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Here's a lower cost machine that is a truly great value

Bunn has been making workaday coffee brewers for longer than almost anyone. They're devoid of fancy bells and whistles but make great coffee simply and with no fuss whatever. They also last forever.

Unlike any pour-over brewer (one where you add water to brew your pot ....... like virtually any home brewer) the Bunn keeps water at brew temperature in its reservoir. It makes a full pot in 3 minutes flat. Everything else on the market needs more than twice that. The trick is an internal system where the cold water you add displaces hot water already in the reservoir. The displaced water (at full brewing temperature) makes the pot and the cold water you add is stored for the next pot, being heated after the brewing is done. (I hope that explanation is clear.)

Not fancy, but durable and highly functional, this is the machine I'd have no problem giving anyone who likes coffee but isn't a coffee snob. It'll last longer than anything else I know of and has a pleasing, slightly industrial look to it.

Bunn made its bones in the commercial market, adding these home units to their product line after many years in business. This unit is to their commercial equipment as a Kitchenaid mixer is to the industrial Hobart mixers - the same, but scaled down for home use.

Here's a link to some info on their line. I'd suggest the BT10 or the B10. At this price, you'll have money left over to buy them a nice burr grinder if they'd use one.

http://www.wholelattelove.com/Bunn.cfm

[politicat]

10. My BIL used one in Korea for over a year and loved it.

The man is a serious coffee addict, and when he was stationed in Korea, apparently the base coffee was something unholy. So my sister sent him a Bunn, and it survived a squad of helicopter mechanics (eek!) making 40 or 50 pots (yes, you read that right) a day (double eek), 7 days a week, and cleaning it ... never.

In fact, it made it back Stateside with him, and ended up getting fried in a freak thunderstorm on the loading pad when he transferred from Phoenix to Kentucky. Rain does it no good, but that may have been the only thing that could have killed that coffeemaker.

[MinneapolisMatt]

12. Your BIL

should seriously write to BUNN and tell them that story. I bet they'd use that for a commercial.

A friend of mine has the BUNN with the already-hot-water-built-in thing, and it IS great. So fast. Another one to consider! Thanks!

Matt

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. We love this one

Through the years, we've bought nothing but Cuisinart Grind'n'Brew units - always at Costco, where they're nicely discounted. And they are superb.

We got this particular model at Costco for $100 - http://tinyurl.com/74bdm

You're a good kid, Matt..................:)

[MinneapolisMatt]

13. You know

that looks like a really great alternative to the machine AZDem listed up above, especially considering my parents aren't coffee snobs and don't grind too terribly often, but would still use it from time to time.

Oh cool, I see it comes in black too. (I have an aversion to white coffee makers. It's so hard to keep them looking clean!)

I'm book-marking this one too. Thanks!

Matt

[The empressof all]

17. This is what I use as well

It's a great machine. I do get a little frustrated with fitting the cover of the basket on it. If it's not lined up correctly the thing won't swing under the grinder. For some reason it's a pain in the ass for me to do it. Other than that, the machine is fabulous. I'm greatful that my husband makes the coffee most of the time so I don't have to struggle with it. He doesn't seem to have any problems with it. :shrug:

[NMDemDist2]

18. that's a good unit, I owned one for a couple years and fine if you don't

grind every day. for us it was messy and we got tired of the massive cleanup every day

[OldLeftieLawyer]

20. "massive cleanup"?

You had the same unit? All we do is take out the filter with the grounds, toss it, and rinse the parts. Sometimes we run them through the dishwasher.

What was massive? Now I'm confused. Ours is neat as can be.

[Shakespeare]

21. The one I had was a pain in the butt, too.

I had the identical model pictured in that link--saw it advertised when it first came out in 1999, and HAD to have it IMMEDIATELY.

And I hated it. Absolutely hated it, and it's the only kitchen gadget I've ever regretted buying. The coffee grounds and grime managed to get all over the entire inside of the coffeemaker, every time, which was horrible as the grinder wasn't that easy to clean. I used it for about a month, then put that puppy up on eBay and got rid of it. I happily went back to my Braun programmable.

I noticed that Cuisinart changed the design somewhat a year or so ago, so maybe it's better now. But that first one....awful.

[The empressof all]

23. I must have the new one

I don't have any problems with cleaning mine. Just dump and rinse the filter every day. I will occasionally flick underneath the bottom of the grinder with a small paint brush just to keep the area free of build up. I find it much less messy than grinding in the grinder and transfering the grounds to the coffee maker.

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:


I love, love, love my coffee maker. My only problem with it is that it makes only 10 cups.

[NMDemDist2]

24. they must have really improved the design, the Capresso (from link

in my post above) was the ONLY coffee maker that had the grinder and brewer systems separate when I got mine. Admittedly that was several years ago. If I had to guess I'd say I got the Cuisanart around '98-99

Glad to hear they improved the design, trust me, they were horrible. you had to remove the guts (entire brew basket assembly) and clean and dry them throughly every pot. The little tube the grinds came thru got plugged about every 20 pots and was a pain to take apart.

If I ever have to go back to brewers, the Capresso will still earn my business, it was bulletproof and a joy to clean and use.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

26. Old Yeller just informed me

that our coffeemaker is two years old.

Let's hear it for The Timekeeper, Old Yeller..........

:applause:
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[OldLeftieLawyer]

25. We don't have ours that long

If you guys had trouble with it, there was a design flaw, probably.

Well, if you ever decide to change back, honestly, it's wonderful. Whatever was wrong, they fixed it.

I'd kill someone if coffee grounds got ever everything. There's nothing worse - for me - than finding even one tiny ground in my coffee.

OldLeftie's a little high-strung in the morning..............

[politicat]

11. Have you considered a french press, a grinder and an electric kettle?

For what you're looking at spending, the Slave to Coffee to whom I am yoked for life says that he'd buy the above. All three are simple to use, cost effective, create minimal waste, make GOOD coffee, and are easy to clean. Said Slave loves his Lexan French press that he got for camping so much that he uses it year round (it also has an insulating jacket that keeps the coffee hot for a couple of hours... and Lexan doesn't break easily.)

Here's what he suggests (and after four years of various nit picking about his coffee, I can assure you that these are also the things he does not complain about):

The French Press ($16.00):
Available at the link below:
http://www.bentgear.com/product_info.php?products_id=105&engine=Froogle.com&amount=.0 (though he has the 50 some odd ounce one, not the 33 ounce one)

The grinder ($39.99-$50):
http://store1.yimg.com/I/zaccardis_1871_18578416
Available at the link below:
http://store.yahoo.com/zaccardis/capresso--burr-grinder-sensor-553.html

The Kettle: ($39.99, though there are cheaper options... but the Slave bitched.)

Available here:
http://www.livingincomfort.com/chchcoelwake.html

Our grounds go out the back door to the compost heap, but they can go down the garbage disposal, too, or in the trash. They're actually good for plants, especially roses, apples and pears, and vegetables.

[MinneapolisMatt]

14. Oh I just love French Presses!

Seriously, I had the best one for years. It was perfect for my living-single days, and the coffee tasted so good...but then a friend got a little too zealous with it and shattered it. Tragic!

I'm not sure my mom and dad would like it though. They might think it's too fussy (which is ridiculous, but you know how people can get set in their ways), but your post reminded me how much I missed having one and am buying a replacement next weekend.

Matt :)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

15. This jogged my memory,

and I went to look it up.

Yep, just as I recalled it. This was why we gave up our French press back in 1996, when this research was first made public.

You might want to reconsider your coffee-making method:

http://tinyurl.com/9rdbt

[politicat]

16. Study iffy? Too many variables not controlled....

When I drink the stuff (rarely) I'm an espresso drinker. DH's cholesterol is almost obscenely low, so we're not worried at all. The only issue he has is his triglyceride molecules are too small... not that there are too many of them, but the few he has (and he has rather few to begin with) are too small. Besides, I dare not tamper with the Slave's preferred form of adoration. That gets me nights of having to get out of bed when a kitty barfs.

I'd like to see the study replicated with straight coffee drinkers, rather than what passes for unfiltered coffee drinks here in the states. No one practically drinks black espresso or black press coffee - most of the espresso in the US is consumed in froo-froo drinks that contain cream/milk... uh, cholesterol, anyone?

Let's compare Italian espresso drinkers' cholesterol levels to American Starmuck's Frappemochalattechino drinkers' cholesterol levels....

[OldLeftieLawyer]

19. We Italians don't bother much with presses

and we never did get interested in cardiovascular disease. I believe we give it, but we don't get it. My numbers are of the sort that leave my internist sitting and staring at me.

I've never been in a Starbucks or any of those places that serve coffee in containers for people to drink while they're walking about. The point of the escapes me, since the ritual of coffee has always - in our family, from my beginnings on - to sit and enjoy and sit and talk. It's interesting how the American system tends to corrupt otherwise simple and qute enjoyable traditions.

The names of those drinks sound too much like ice cream bars for me. I suspect the people who indulge in them don't really like coffee, or never had a decent cup.

But, so long as the press method works for you, I celebrate it with you. I don't understand what it has to do, though, with you having to get out of bed to clean up after a cat.

[politicat]

29. I meant comparing Italian espresso drinkers to American "espresso"

drinkers. (Being the academic psychologist I am, creating studies in my head is a rather obnoxious occupational hazard.) And anyone who does drink Staryucks really doesn't like coffee - because that burnt, bitter brew isn't coffee. It's a liquid oral caffeine delivery solution, but not coffee.

As for the cat... That would be my punishment for messing with the Coffee Worship Eucharist. I'd be deemed a heretic, cast out and excommunicated, and instead of having to wear a dunce cap and self-flagellate, I'd be the designated cat cleaner-upper.

[kestrel91316]

22. I never did replace my Mr. Coffee when it died, I just got a

Melitta filter cone, with it's own thermos carafe. I also have a one-cup Melitta filter cone. And instead of always buying the paper filters, I bought the reusable gold metal filter. The coffee tastes great, never sits and gets that burned taste of course, and all i have to do is put a kettle of water on to boil. When it whistles, I pour, and voila! Coffee. And the grounds always go into the compost pile.

I drink only decaf, or else it's tea in the AM. Limited to one cup of either. Can't do caffeine anymore - suddenly developed an extreme sensitivity to it, with irregular heart rhythm. Oh well..........

[tishaLA]

27. I use a vacuum coffee maker

like this, except in light blue:


It has the great flavor of a French press and the convenience of an automatic drip. I love it.

[NMDemDist2]

28. now THAT's a cute unit! the best of Melitta and the Press looks like n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

30. Vacuum pots may be the perfect way to brew coffee ........

.... apart from a true espresso maker. :)

I've got two of them .... both vintage Corys. One is a real old narrow neck jobbie, like this one:



And the other is the later wide neck one from the 50s.

Espresso makes a concentrated coffee.

A french press makes a deep coffee.

A Vacuum pot makes the cleanest, crispest, brightest coffee that is absolutely faithful to the taste of the bean.

If espresso is a tuba, vacuum coffee is a coronet.

[tishaLA]

31. The only problemo is cleanup

But it's a sacrifice I make for the best cuppa I can have.

I don't think I could do it with a non-electric version like yours, though. Just the idea of it on the burner intimidates me! I know I'd fuck it up all kinds of ways.

[MinneapolisMatt]

32. Hi everybody!

Thanks so much for all your tips and advice. I've book marked everything, and am still deciding. I'll post an update when I finally make up my mind. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Matt :)

[NMDemDist2]

33. you're welcome! we're the friendliest forum in DU IMO, but it's hard

to shut us up about kitchen stuff

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