Vanity - Need recommendations for a good coffee maker

[Jet Jaguar]

Bunn.

[flaglady47]

“No matter what type of pot or coffee you use, add a good shake of Saigon cinnamon to the coffee before you brew. Makes a world of difference to the taste and doesn’t taste like cinnamon.”

Thanks for the tip. Will try it!

[InvisibleChurch]

Coffee is my last vice, too. Man, do I miss cigarettes and beer and Bloody Marys with horse radish, and a big plate of mashed potatoes and driving inconsiderately. I used my quota up in 1997.

[flaglady47]

their = there in #100 above. Caffeine typo.

[Darksheare]

Moose, you realize that I am not the best person to ask or ping to a question about making coffee as I am the worst person when it comes to coffee?

[pops88]

Here’s my thoughts-

French press- only really good for serving one cup of coffee per person because it doesn’t stay hot. Results can be variable. If the seal isn’t good you can get grinds in your cup. Also, the coffee gets stronger as it sits as the grinds are in the bottom. I gave mine way since I only used it for special occasions.

Melitta Drip- makes good quality coffee but you have to manually pour hot water into the filter cone. It comes with a copper wire to allow the pot to be put on a burner to keep warm, but I’d just microwave mine. When my husband is home he uses this so there is a pot all day.

Bunn- had 2 in the past and really liked them

Verismo- Starbucks name on a very popular European/Australian machine that uses K-Fee pods, not K Cups, so you have to buy the pods at Starbucks, or life hack them like I do. It has a unique high pressure system if you want espresso. I love the coffee it makes. Kuerig is easier and cheaper to get pods for, but I don’t really like the coffee it makes as much as Verismo. I get gourmet coffee from T.J. Maxx, fill my pod, slap a piece of foil on the top and have great coffee every morning. I originally bought it after I heard Starbucks bought Teavana and had tea pods. I hadn’t been drinking coffee for years and ended up going back to a cup a day after trying the Verismo.

So my recommendation is get a pod system- great coffee, immediately hot and fresh in about 1 minute. That’s hard to beat. If you don’t make much coffee, the pods are vacuum sealed so the coffee will stay fresh. Also, you can impress your friends by having a box of their favorite coffee on hand. I only recommend a French press if you’re serving coffee after a formal dinner with friends.

Hope that’s helpful.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

No divorce papers served by your ‘coffee maker’? :)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I admire anybody who can afford “outrageoey’d be goodusly expensive.”

That’s way beyond my pay grade.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I like “outrageoey’d be goodusly expensive.” That’s obviously WAY beyond merely outrageous.

I type on my iPad and get some wonderful spellings, too. But that was a first.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

No divorce papers served by your ‘coffee maker’? :)

She's from Mexico. She thinks that's normal. ROFL

Just kidding. Been married a LONG time. Never, ever laid a hand on her.

[moose07]

Your modesty is showing through again ,Darks. :)

[kiryandil]

Over 100 posts, and NOBODY mentioned "Chemex"?

http://www.amazon.com/Chemex-6-Cup-Classic-Glass-Coffee/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1436041846&sr=1-1&keywords=chemex

Grind your beans, and pour through the filter that sits in the hourglass neck. Heaven on earth.

Check the comments @ Amazon. Easy to clean, too. :)

[EnquiringMind]

No it doesn’t. That’s your personal prejudice

My personal preference is that I hate weak coffee. So, if you love weak, watered-down coffee, you might like Keurig. Maybe.

[hecticskeptic]

It all comes down to how you plan to use it.... 1. Keurig makes an ok cup of coffee, there are lots of flavour options and it relatively is no muss, no fuss. For occasional cups, it's the ticket but if you are going through lots of coffee, it makes no sense as the coffee on a per pound basis costs 5 to 10 times as much when it is in the k-cups. 2. French press.... makes nice cup of coffee but is messy enough that I wouldn't use it if more than a cup or two a day. 3. Between the office and home, I have several coffee makers but for my money, my favourite is a drip coffee maker by Cuisinart that makes up to 12 cups and has an insulated carafe. This latter point is very important... if the carafe is not insulated, the coffee sits on an element and in 15 minutes of warming, the coffee is already starting to taste like crap. With a thermally insulated carafe, it can stay hot for hours and since there is no heating element, there is virtually no degradation in the taste. In fact, I have popped a cold cup into the microwave the next morning if I'm in a hurry being the first one into the office and the coffee is not made yet...the coffee actually still isn't too bad when warmed up. Mine is an earlier version of this one and it has lasted without trouble for what must be 10 years.... http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DTC-975BKN-Thermal-Programmable-Coffeemaker/dp/B0000YTYGM Mine also has a timer (which I never use) and would likely of cost $125 or so.... bought it on sale at Starbucks for about $60.

[Inyo-Mono]

Check out Bunn coffee makers. I serviced them for years...you can easily learn to de-lime them after a few years down the road.

Two thumbs up on Bunn. We have had three of them in the last 30 years - pot of coffee within 3 or 4 minutes and it tastes great. There is a reason that restaurants use Bunn coffee makers: fast and good coffee.

[JoeProBono]

[Mariner]

Go to Amazon and buy the FarberWare Yosemite Stainless Steel percolator.

Lesss than $30 and will give a lifetime of service...and excellent, old school "just coffee" for those who like 3-5 cups per day:)

[catnipman]

More important than the coffee maker is the coffee itself and the grinder. You want to grind freshly roasted beans of a good variety, you want to grind just the amount you need each time you make coffee, the grind needs to be the right fineness, and most importantly you need to use sufficient coffee per cup brewed, at least a tablespoon per 8 ounce cup.

Here’s a good source of roasted beans of various varieties:

http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/

I personally go for the darker roasts of robust, low-acid coffees like Dark Sulawesi Kalossi 5 lb Whole Bean.

The best grinders are conical burr grinders:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?keywords=burr+coffee+grinders&rh=n%3A1055398%2Ck%3Aburr+coffee+grinders&qid=1436043074&sort=review-rank

[sphinx]

Stick with instant coffee. Boil some water, stir in a spoonful or two, and I'll bet they won't be able to tell the difference. Serve it in a Starbucks cup if you really want to look classy.

That's still more trouble than coffee is worth. If I were you, I'd stick with ladies who get their caffeine n diet coke.

[flaglady47]

My personal preference is that I hate weak coffee. So, if you love weak, watered-down coffee, you might like Keurig. Maybe.

Well, I suppose if you want coffee that will put hair on your chest, then indeed you need the likes of Starbucks burnt coffee. If, like most women do, you want a nice cup of coffee that comes in many varieties, at the strength you like, because k-cups come in different strengths from mild to strong, then Keurig is the coffee machine for many of us out here in the coffee world. Choose from Emirel Strong, Starbucks, Donut Shop, Newman’s Own, Green Mountain, flavored coffees, straight coffees, teas, cocoa, lemonade, apple cider, iced tea, Snapple, Crystal Light, you name it, you can drink it in k-cups with the Keurig coffee machines. Best coffeemaker out there, IMHO.