Recommend a coffeepot?

Ok, major household emergency here - the coffeemaker died. Any recommendations for an 8-cup coffeemaker? My needs are very simple -

• Pilot light.
• Able to withstand several hours of runtime without melting.
• Carafe-sensing switch so you can sneak a cup while it's still brewing.
• Reasonably available replacement carafes - no weird sizes or shapes.

I don't drink foo-foo coffees, so I don't need a steamer or any other special effects.

A cuppa Joe for your advice!

We have a Krups set up. It has a Expresso/ coffee set up. No complaints....

Go for a 8 or 12 cup coffee press. Bodum is a good brand all glass and stainless. Grind the beans. Put in pot, add boiling water, wait a few minutes, put the top on and press. Once you try it you'll never go back.:wow:

Put the top on and press? How hard? I've never used a coffee press before!

Most of the tiem 6-8lbs of force, just enough to push the grinds down slowly so the coffee doesn't jump up and bite you. BTW the caffeene and coffee oils are much stronger that perked or brewed coffee. Lots of squids who never wash their coffee cups, love pressed coffee.:lolsign:
http://www.1stincoffee.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=chambord8

My mom and her brother (my uncle) both like to use a coffee press. What I'm really curious about, though, are "green beans"--raw beans which you then roast in either a roaster, or a popcorn air-popper. http://www.sweetmarias.com/ Click on "Home Roasting Tradition" when you get there for some very interesting info.

Like PHILIPHB mentioned about the Bodum coffee press. I prefer that one and is what I use the most than the drip or Senseo we have. Besides, the coffee does taste better—according to my taste buds, especially if the coffee is JBM. . .Bold Full flavor! ! !

I love the "Kenya Auction Lot 622 Peaberry" at sweetmarias.

Bunn makes a residential version of the ones used in restauraunts. I bought mine for about $100. Makes the best coffee I have tasted.
It won't allow you to remove the decanter while it is brewing, but you won't need it, it will run 12 cups in under a minute!

I've been using a Toastmaster brand from Target for a few years. It was the cheapest one I could find, about $8 on sale. Works fine. At prices like that just replace the whole unit if the carafe breaks.

Geoff

Making good coffee is the result of using good beans, cold and pure water, and storing the coffee well (cold, dark, and air-free). The machine has little to do with these. The brewing techniques can vary, but coffee presses are touted as the best, while drip machines are fast and pretty good. Perculators can make very, very nasty coffee.

Air is the enemy of a good cup of coffee. Going for a good thermal carafe makes sense if you don't want to make only a cup at a time. However, there are very few coffee makers that let you use a thermal carafe on a warmer -- and if the carafe is a good one, and you don't take all day to finish the pot, it shouldn't be needed all that much.

Bunn coffee makers make a pot in about 3 minutes by always keeping hot water in a reservoir. They have a carafe as an optional piece. Keep the Bunn clean and use the de-liming tool about once a month and it will make pretty good coffee.

Coffee presses make the optimal cup of coffee, but keeping it hot and air-free again requires a carafe.

The number one reason why people make a bad pot of coffee is failing to keep everything clean. Very, very close behind is using too little coffee, which causes the grounds to be over worked and makes coffee very bitter. Use too much coffee and it gets strong, which can be easily cured by adding a small amount of hot water. Bitter coffee cannot be fixed.

Sooooo... get a press and a carafe if you want a funky machine (more work, but better coffee), or get a Bunn and a carafe if you want coffee fast. Virtually any other coffee maker is just a copy of any other, and only the features available (timers, size of reservoir, etc.) separate them.

We got a Coffe Connoiseur or should I say a Barista? Good one CHMSAM!

Guys, he asked for an electric drip machine!. If you are going to go OT on recommendations, at least try to first give some on-topic ones first.

chmsam has some good points in his post above, but I would add a few points:

Water temperature is also key, and most electrics don't heat the water up hot enough.

Also, those that keep the hot water in a reservoir are to be avoided because the water looses all of its oxygen and the coffee tastes a bit flat compared to methods where you heat and infuse over a short time period.

Anyway, back to the topic. Most important point here is this: spending a lot of money on a coffee maker is no guarantee that it is good. One of the worst makers I have ever experienced was a very expensive, "high-end" brand with thermal carafe (which I think is a waste).

Check out the consumer reviews on www.coffeegeek.com to see how perspective coffee makers rate.

I would personally recommend going on ebay or doing a websearch for a new-in-box KitchenAid 4, 10, or 12 cup electric. They are making a really expensive one now, but it has a reservoir and is just not worth it. The ones I am talking about should be $20 or $30 or $40 or so, but not more. And they are great. I have the 4 cup ultra and it makes a pot in the right amount of time (4 minutes) and at about the right temperature, although it is, admittedly, a bit low--but pretty good for an electric.

If you want to spend more money, a technivorm (sp?) is certified to make coffee at the right temperature, but some of the reviews put me off a bit--you'll see why if you read up on them.

On to press-pots and vac pots:

These DO NOT, categorically, make "better" coffee. Saying that is like saying that gold filters "make better coffee than paper filters". Not necessarily. Not if you like a very clean, sediment-free, cup of coffee. Be careful before investing in a press-pot or vac pot. And if you DO go that route, you will most definitely need to spend a LOT of money on a good grinder. Otherwise you will most likely be disappointed.

In fact, getting a good grinder is a very wise coffee investment, . . . if (and only if) you are looking to start exploring the world of fine coffee. If not, get a cheap (but good) electric, use paper filters, and get any blade grinder and whole bean coffee which you keep in an air tight container, and NOT IN THE FRIDGE.

Empath, please note the things I didn't say. I am being good. And note that Trashman is not associated with me, LEDmodMan, or Javafool. I mean, we are not colluding here.

For those who are interested in learning about, or talking about coffee and beans and *cough* roasting your own, please refer to, and confine all discussion to, LEDmodMan's thread A Coffee thread for the Café...

True, if you do not use the Bunns regularly, the water will degrade the flavor. That usually means not using the brewer for several days though, and it is possible to drain the tank. Bunns tend to keep the water hot in the reservoir, and the coffee making water will be hot enough to do a good job.

And, also true, use cold water to start.

And it is also very true that the most important suggestions about making good coffee are to research what coffee you're using, the differences of maker styles, and most significantly, to read the instructions. Not all coffee makers of even the same style work the same.

As for any suggestion, it's the opinion and interruptation of each persons' individual taste. There are a lot of variables about any purchase suggestion.

By now the questionis moot. I can't imagine going 13 hours wiyhout replacing your most important appliance.

We use a Krups with the thermal caraffe. It works great. The lid design is such that old, arthritic hands can open it. I'll never buy another without a thermal caraffe.

gadget_lover said:

By now the questionis moot. I can't imagine going 13 hours without replacing your most important appliance.

Click to expand...

:laughing: We're on the same wavelength here!

I appreciate all of the input, guys. I'm not much of a coffee conniseur so it's helpful to see the stuff out there that's beyond my immediate universe of pedestrian appliances. I've never even heard of a coffee press until this thread.

And I didn't realize that using too little coffee can overwork the grounds and contribute to bitterness. That certainly explains what I thought I was only imagining!

I know a fellow who used to work at Underwriters Labratories. One of his jobs was to test coffeemakers, and their lab had a large collection of defective machines in various stages of malfunction/meltdown/combustion. It was that collection of torched coffeepots that I had in mind when I started thinking about getting a new one, especially since my current one failed catastrophically from overheating.

Anyway, I now have a better idea of brewing methods vs speed and taste.

Thanks!

So???

Which one did you buy?

The UL lab tests to destruction. They deliberately overwork them till they fail. It passes their test if it fails without being dangerous. Melting down is (apparently) OK as long as it does not catch fire, pose a shock hazard or release toxic fumes.

I bought a Black and Decker brewer for my parents last winter. It was cheap and very usable. I think
it was model TCM 500. It has all the features you asked for. Here's an amazon.com review
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005MF9A/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I bring a cheap 10 dollar thermal caraffe with me when I travel. It makes all the difference whether at my inlaws, a timeshare or hotel. I also keep a box of those folgers single brew bags for emergencies like power failures, coffe pot meltdowns and such.

Daniel