We've got a Krups with built-in grinder that we're not impressed with. Cleaning is a pain in the butt and if it's not absolutely dry when it starts, it'll gum up. We generally grinf the coffee in a grinder and then put it in. Lose some of the benefits that way, but it works.
Got a Capresso, that seems to work very well also.
And a Black & Decker under counter unit that the SO loves but doesn't want to hang up because she doesn't want holes in the cabinets.
we got a Krups too, been nothing but trouble the last 6 months.. needed a rubber ring replaced, but now he doesn't do the cream top, which screws the taste....
I use Black & Decker, but my parents love to use this old Mr. Coffee. I grind my own beans with mortar and pestle. But, I hardly ever drink coffee, I'm a tea person.
What kind of coffee? For espresso, you should be prepared to spend over $200 for brands such as Gaggia, Saeco, and Rancilio. For good, old usual-strength coffee, don't overlook a French or press pot.
For a good website that will fill you in on a lot: www.coffeekid.com and its commercial relative with user reviews www.coffeegeek.com. Even though the latter is commercial in the sense of allowing advertising, it is objective in the sense that it doesn't sell any products to end users.
My favorite every-day small drip coffee maker is a Krupps 4-cup model no longer made. The newer Krups and Braun models are all pretty bad. They're all into visuals more than coffee quality these days.
The Cuisinart 12-cup models are excellent, however, but don't get an all-in-one model with built-in grinder. The one I have has an adjustable thermostat for the hot plate (superb idea, as most are set too hot), a clock timer (on and off -- most coffee makers don't have an "off" timer setting), as well as an adjustable brewing cycle for size of the pot. A stainless filter is included. The top of the carafe closes well, it's well-designed, and easy to hold.
There's a fascinating vacuum brewer in the Herrington's catalog, a Bodum from Germany. But I haven't tried it.
The best grinder, IMO, is the Swiss-made Solis Mulino. Worth every penny. You can put your filter basket under the unit to fill it, so there's less cleaning to do.
Look at all you gadget freaks. What's wrong with the octagonal percolator that goes on top of the burner? It's simple and easy to clean, very hard to break, makes good coffee too. The secret to good coffee is cleanliness. If you don't get rid of the oil that comes out of the coffee beans it begins to taste bitter like the disgusting tar-like liquid that comes out of the "coffee" machines here at work - the beans are ground fresh and it's drip-filtered, but the insides of the jugs are the color of tobacco.
Give me a pot of tea any day, just don't tell me there's no milk.
had to get a new coffee maker recently also--- broke the pot of a 12 cup braun and finding a replacement was tough going.
They all kinda looked the same to me and I couldn't find any 12 cuppers with pots not made of glass (we've broken that darn Braun pot 3 times) so instead we got one those stainless steel kinds--like you see at conventions--makes 36 cups at a time! It was pretty inexpensive--$30 It's an electric perk, the coffee isn't quite as good as the braun, but at least i can't break the pot and we NEVER run out of coffee--
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try the "starbucks barista"
it is a rebranded estro vapori. i have the estro profi, which is a vapori with a burr grinder (the only way to grind beans) attached. it also has a auto doser. i've had this machine five years, use it every day, and it has never let me down.
Originally posted by aeberbach Look at all you gadget freaks. What's wrong with the octagonal percolator that goes on top of the burner? It's simple and easy to clean, very hard to break, makes good coffee too. The secret to good coffee is cleanliness. If you don't get rid of the oil that comes out of the coffee beans it begins to taste bitter like the disgusting tar-like liquid that comes out of the "coffee" machines here at work - the beans are ground fresh and it's drip-filtered, but the insides of the jugs are the color of tobacco.
Give me a pot of tea any day, just don't tell me there's no milk.
My father went through many of those. He'd put them on and go do something else. When he came back, there was a puddle of molten, burned aluminum on the stove. He was a portrait photographer and he'd be out in the darkroom and couldn't smell it. Lucky he didn't burn the house down.
Finally got the auto-drip type and didn't melt any more.
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