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Coffee Makers


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for drip i microwave the water to boil in a 2 cup pyrex measuring jug. handle stays cool.

make sure its not superheated, then stir in the fresh grounds 30 sec

pour into a gold filter sitting over a melitta glass pot that's already warm

perfect drip for me.

if you heat water in a microwave, best to understand what superheated means

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Even with the temperature on the unit set to 205°F, the temperature at the brew head was actually 196°F. They also don't love the flat-basket design.

Given the long delay in releasing the 220 version, and these caveats, I may a) stick to pour-over and b) kluge a PID and heating element onto my pour-pot. I've been reading about hacking rice cookers into sous-vide baths and I'm inspired to go 'off the reservation.'

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for drip i microwave the water to boil in a 2 cup pyrex measuring jug. handle stays cool.

make sure its not superheated, then stir in the fresh grounds 30 sec

pour into a gold filter sitting over a melitta glass pot that's already warm

perfect drip for me.

if you heat water in a microwave, best to understand what superheated means

I've been using induction and a stainless (but induction-ready) pour pot. Hard to control the flow with Pyrex but I may give 'wave' a try (and stir). A Thermapen comes in handy here.Still, the MacGyver factor of klugeing a PID onto a pour-pot is hard to resist...

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My better half is coffee obsessed; we have an entire cabinet full of coffee devices, from an Aeropress to a Chemex, with far too many stops in between. But I had an espresso from a Nespresso machine for the first time last week, and it was better than decent. I didn't expect to like it, but I did. (I think it was an Arpeggio pod). LIght years better than the K-cup stuff I drink at work.

They had one in the staffroom at a place I used to work. It was always good but never great. Sort of like Starbuck's, come to think of it (but slightly less good-never-great than a Starbuck's cup).

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for drip i microwave the water to boil in a 2 cup pyrex measuring jug. handle stays cool.

make sure its not superheated, then stir in the fresh grounds 30 sec

pour into a gold filter sitting over a melitta glass pot that's already warm

perfect drip for me.

if you heat water in a microwave, best to understand what superheated means

I've been using induction and a stainless (but induction-ready) pour pot. Hard to control the flow with Pyrex but I may give 'wave' a try (and stir).

Can you recommend a good stainless pour pot?

Pyrex sucks since Corning dumped it.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Here's an interesting article on the impact of single service pods. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html?_r=0. We switched to the french press method a couple of years ago after our Krups coffee maker died and we've been very pleased with the results. The HB is certainly a nice looking brewer and I hope it's hitting the spot for you.

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for drip i microwave the water to boil in a 2 cup pyrex measuring jug. handle stays cool.

make sure its not superheated, then stir in the fresh grounds 30 sec

pour into a gold filter sitting over a melitta glass pot that's already warm

perfect drip for me.

if you heat water in a microwave, best to understand what superheated means

I've been using induction and a stainless (but induction-ready) pour pot. Hard to control the flow with Pyrex but I may give 'wave' a try (and stir).

Can you recommend a good stainless pour pot?

Pyrex sucks since Corning dumped it.

I believe Anchor Hocking still makes good quality tempered glass measuring cups.

Edited by Norm Matthews (log)
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Can you recommend a good stainless pour pot?

Pyrex sucks since Corning dumped it.

Was quite happy with the Hario Buono (I don't know if they're all induction-friendly but the one I borrowed was). I have to give it back so I'm going to get a Takahiro. I'm ordering it from Japan via Rakuten. Pyrex measuring cups are still handy... for measuring. Even the old ones aren't great for pouring. Pour-over pots have a really narrow spout which makes your flow easy to control. Alternatively, pouring from a Pyrex (or almost anything else) and stirring the grounds works well enough.

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I'm actually thinking of getting a capsule machine for my wife to use when I'm not around. I could stuff the capsules myself; no way I'm paying capsule-coffee prices, but she's not keen on grinding/pour-over-etc and left to her own devices she'll settle for <gasp> instant (which over here, is sugary crap, as opposed to plain crap). I guess indentured labor is a small price to pay for her conceding that it's "my" kitchen...

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I ran into a fellow the other day at a thrift store - he was looking at all the electric coffee makers trying to find one to make just one or two cups. I pointed out a nice little french press to him - he left a happy man!

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Here are two of the Sunbeam Coffeemasters which still make great coffee.

The one that started it all - the C20 A (Note the iconic incised Art Deco design that Sunbeam used for many years.)

Sunbeam C 20-A-00.JPG

And here it is in action with the water siphoned into the upper chamber and bubbling away.

(I didn't use any coffee in the demonstration - just showing how it works automatically)

Sunbeam C 20-A4 bubbling.JPG

And this is the next evolution of the Coffeemaster, the C30

SB CM C30.JPG

And this is the timeline of these models:

Timeline of SB 20 & 30.png

I had a lot of fun collecting these and the many other coffee brewers and machines I've written about on my blog, but now it is time to pass them on to others who are as fanatical about coffee as I am.

(I've finally triumphed over the "collecting bug" :rolleyes: - more or less!)

Note the gap between 1940 and 1948. Sunbeam, like many other manufacturers, changed over to war production in 1941 and after the war it took a few years to get the factories re-tooled because there was still shortage of materials but once that production got rolling again, American industry was at the top of the heap in the entire world. Too bad we can't get back to that today.

Edited by andiesenji (log)
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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Way Cool.

I especially like the braided electrical connector.

I remember similar ones ( electrical cords ) when i was small : they went to the 'Percolator' and I was fascinated by the color combos.

that was the '50's by the way

:biggrin:

Edited by rotuts (log)
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Here are the non electric-manual versions of the vacuum coffee pots. Both have cloth covered porcelain filters as well as the glass filters that were extra. They will break if used on an electric coil stove unless those wire M's or W's are placed between the element and the bottom of the pot. One is Silex, the other is Pyrex. The small opening of the Pyrex makes it a bother to clean. Looks like the electric ones that andiesenji has are easier to use.

DSCN1150_zps4a12ed58.jpg

Edited by Norm Matthews (log)
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I have about half a dozen of the stainless Cory vacuum pots and probably 20 of the nice little stainless filters that go in them. I sold a bunch of the filters on e-bay - very popular!

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I remember when most restaurants had vacuum pots, usually the 12-cup Nicro. Then Bunn introduced the automatic drip machine and all those lovely Nicro were retired. I have a couple in storage, along with their hot plates. They were not automatic, but they made great coffee.

At one time Farmer Brothers Coffee supplied a new Nicro vacuum pot with every 50 pounds of coffee.

We used that coffee in my mom's bakery, back in the '50s (coffee for back door visitors - like the state police and the local constable) and it was a good day when the Farmers man arrived with our order and presented us with a new Nicro for being loyal customers. Here's an 8-cup Nicro the bottom of the 12 cup was wider at the bottom.

I also have several of the glass vac pots, most with their own "stoves" (little hot plates) that were very popular and stylish in the 1930s.

The ones I have are a bit older than the ones pictured, although I do have a couple that are contemporary to those.

Silex 8 cup.JPG

Silex 4 cup 2.JPG

Edited by andiesenji (log)
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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I still don't understand how the vacuum pots work. Are they basically the same principle as a percolator?

Edited by Smithy (log)

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I still don't understand how the vacuum pots work. Are they basically the same principle as a percolator?

No, not at all like a percolator which repeatedly sends water up a center shaft over coffee grounds which drip back down and then that liquid is sent up again and again until the coffee is "done."

A vacuum pot has two sections that have a good seal between and when the water in the bottom section is heated, it expands and some turns into steam which forces the liquid up into the upper chamber, which has been loaded with the required amount of coffee grounds.

The bubbling of the water mixes the grounds, although sometimes one needs to stir with a spoon (long handled for safety) and if automatic, the head under the bottom section is turned from high to low and after a few minutes, the temperature drops enough that the pressure drops and the vacuum in the lower chamber draws the liquid back down, leaving the coffee grounds behind (if the filter is working properly) in the upper chamber, which can then be removed (with care) and set aside while the coffee is served from the bottom which is equipped with a pouring spout.

Coffee Geek has an illustrated article on how they work. And JitterBuzz has several pages on coffee apparatus.

Over the years I have known several men who would never consider stepping into the kitchen to do ANYTHING but when they discovered the technical intricacies of vacuum pots, began fiddling with them to get the brew "just right" and then branched out to various other coffee machines, espresso machines and the accessories. One wife, to whom I sold a Silex about fifteen years ago, claimed that I had, "created a monster" when her husband delved into it.

Now they have a top-of-the-line superautomatic espresso machine, roasters, grinders and several other coffee brewers and "extractors" and they have taken three vacations to coffee-producing areas. (Prior to all that, he drank instant coffee...)

Edited by andiesenji (log)
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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Yeah - love the stainless pots when it comes time to take the top segment off the vacuum pot. No worries about dropping hot glass or where to put the darn thing.

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  • 8 years later...
On 1/13/2014 at 10:21 AM, HungryC said:

But I had an espresso from a Nespresso machine for the first time last week, and it was better than decent. I didn't expect to like it, but I did. (I think it was an Arpeggio pod). LIght years better than the K-cup stuff I drink at work.

Nespresso had plans to put an extra boost in your morning Joe:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61343037

 

p

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  • 5 months later...
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