Coffee Pot Challenged

[CindyG111]

A couple years ago, my husband bought me a Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffeemaker. The thing made great coffee - but what a serious pain in the ass to clean up. I really hated that thing. I bitched about it constantly.

Then last Christmas I got a Hamilton Beach Brewstation

Brewstation

The kind where you put your cup in to get the nectar. Yeah! Happiness!

Then one morning I put my cup up and it would not stop giving me coffee. Coffee all over the counter and onto the floor. EEEK! Reese diagnosed that a coffee ground had become stuck in the delivery apparatus and cleaned it out. Voila - all fixed. Ha!

Instead it was leaking, every brew cycle. It got to where I'd put a paper towel under it every time I made coffee. 8%$*!$##!! :angry:

Last month for my birthday, Reese surprised me with a Mr. Coffee. Simple, easy, works like a charm.

But then we noticed a small problem. The plastic holder where you put the ground coffee in (swing out, coffee in - swing in to brew) wouldn't close completely. It wouldn't latch right for some reason so by the time it finishes brewing the brew holder thingy starts to swing out.

This morning, not awake, make coffee, sit down on computer. Here the beeper, go look for coffee and see coffee all over the counter and almost to the floor. Sigh.

Even worse, the circuit board switcher thing got wet and the on/off switch doesn't work now. (all the buttons on the right side)

But I did get coffee this morning. I used the delay brew button on the left, switched the time to a couple minutes later and prayed.

Does anyone else have these issues or is it just me? Any suggestions for a new coffee maker?

Help!!!

[ellencho]

Sounds to me like you're the black widow of coffee makers A lovely french press perhaps? No electricity or circuitry required. Just hot water and grounds.

A co-worker of mine has similar coffee maker problems herself and has a whole graveyard of broken coffee makers in her house. Why she won't throw them out is beyond me.

Edited February 4, 2005 by ellencho (log)

[BeJam]

Funny you should bring this up today. I just got off the phone with a friend and we made plans to drive over my new Krupps "thermal-pot" machine (with my car). It is the brand new one that I got when I had to return the previous model I had gotten as a Christmas gift just a few weeks ago when the coffee wouldn't drip into the pot. It would overflow into the pot but not drip.

The new one makes the worst coffee I've ever had and it is sooo poorly designed. For starters it has a hot plate on the bottom. Yes it is a thermal-carafe. Krupps only wanted to make one coffee maker that serves both types of carafes (so I surmised after the customer service rep said that was how they boiled water). So not only did I burn myself touching the pad that shouldn't be hot, but there is also a pervasive smell of burning plastic. Then there's the water level indicator which is a small tube about 1/10" of an inch. The water that goes in never fully drains away or evaporates so you never know how much water is in the machine. Then there are the mystry coffee slicks under the machine that I have no explaination for. Then there's the quality of coffee. I never thought that coffee makers could be so different. But doing the exact same thing yesterday and today I got burnt/dark coffee yesterday and weak thin coffee today. And you have to tip the pot entirely upside down to get the last of the coffee out.

My motto has always been, don't buy a Krupps. Today the glass carafe Braun is going back home from the office.

[CindyG111]

You know come to think of it the best coffee maker we ever had was a Braun. Hmm. I'd go pick up one up now if my Le Creuset entry level (not cast iron) dutch oven didn't need to be replaced. It's glass lid has a chip which cuts you if you're not careful.

sigh...

All these coffee pots just have poor engineering!! Is Braun German? Like the Mercedes of coffee makers.

[Sandra Levine]

I use the non-electric white ceramic Melitta with its own separate filter cone. You boil the water in a kettle, put a filter paper in the cone, ut the ground coffee into the filter and pour the water over. Nothing simpler or better.

[Mayhaw Man]

We use this DeLonghi at work for our every day drip pot. We have some swell Italian Espresso machines as well. but this thing gives us good service and one thing that I like about it is that the brew speed is actually drip-not pour and dump in 2 seconds.

We have, because of the place that I work (My Job),we have lots of very expensive coffee from all over the world to work with and this pot is a good "standard" brewer to use to compare coffees-as it brews the same way everytime. Coupled with a good burr grinder (we have several brands as well) it makes a nice cup.

I am currently knocking back some Ethiopian blend that is quite tasty.

[Marlene]

I've had the Grind and Brew Cusinart for a couple of years. The first one I had, the grinder stuck and I couldn't get it out. Cuisinart sent me a new one and I've had no trouble with it ever since. I love it and the thermal pot that keeps my coffee hot for hours.

Having said that, the machine that I had for years was the Braun Flavour Select Braun.

This is the easiest machine I've ever had to clean. The whole basket swings out and comes off for easy cleaning and it makes a wonderful cup of coffee. In fact I still have it downstairs on my bar.

[snowangel]

I use the non-electric white ceramic Melitta with its own separate filter cone.  You boil the water in a kettle, put a filter paper in the cone, ut the ground coffee into the filter and pour the water over.  Nothing simpler or better.

←

Me, too. And, now I just let it drip into a thermal carafe. Foolproof, inexpensive and doesnt quit working.

[andiesenji]

Try the Senseo.

[lancastermike]

Since Christmas I have been using the french press my wife got me. The best thing that ever happened to my coffee. I have had various drippers over the years. My current model is a DeLonghi that I like. I had a black and decker that was good too, but I drip no more

[SushiCat]

I strongly encourage you to give up on the electric auto brew makers - the only thing good about them is timing it so that you wake up to coffee. Go for French press or a manual drip as people have suggeted, not much work. Other methods you might evolve into are more labor intensive, e.g. at our house we brew espresso 99% of the time, occasionally a french press guests are here and I don't feel like being in the kitchen for 10 minutes.

Once you convert to French press, you will enjoy your coffee so much more - I would like to guarantee it, but alas ... and you will certainly avoid annoying coffee spillage for no realistic reason. French presses can break, so beware, but it is usually a rare thing.

Happy drinking and by the way, has anyone read the interesting areticle on caffeine in National Geographic? Perhaps I should start a new thread.

[BeJam]

Follow up. I returned the new Krupps this morning contributing some serious disappointment to a violence-eager pal excited to drive over things and destroy them.

I have a French Press and love to use it when I want to sit and really enjoy a cup of coffee. I usually am an espresso/latte brewer on weekends and evenings and use the cold brew toddy maker in the summer and always grind my own beans.

I know I may be in the minority here, but I like the feel/temperature/taste of a hot drip cup of coffee on those mornings I have to be up. I can't really explain it. There seems to be (for me) a strange balance between acidity (crunch as a Southern friend used to call it) and smooth that sits well on a groggy palate at 7:00 am or 5:00 am depending. In fact, I used to get giddy about going to bed many years ago because when I'd awake, I'd get coffee.

I exchanged the Krupps for the new Braun design series So far (I'm still on the first cup) it's as easy to use as the flavor select and tastes as good too. The only negative point, here in the second hour of ownership is that the thermal carafe doesn't have an automatic closure when you remove it from the machine. Although the lid drain is small, I understand that this will contribute to premature cooling in the third hour or so. Otherwise, it has the same ease of use/cleaning features as the flavorselect. (It comes with a gold filter basket which the Krupps does not, and costs $50.00 less. It does not, however, have a clock or program function but shuts itself off after 17 minutes.)

[Huevos del Toro]

Either a Moka Pot or a vacuum pot.

I've also used a press pot but wasn't quite enthused with the sediment that slipped through.

[murkycoffee]

Unfortunately, coffee brewers of all shapes and sizes have inherent shortcomings that result in improper coffee extractions (of varying degrees, of course). Even commercial brewers (BUNN, etc.) usually fall short.

The #1 issue is brew-water temperature. Most coffee machines just can't get the water hot enough: about 201-203*F. You're really not 'hitting the sweet-spot' of coffee with anything that falls short.

If only that were the only problem! Another, oft overlooked issue is how even an extraction you get from your setup. The ever-popular 'paper-cone' or 'gold-cone' filters, generally considered a superior design, overextract the grounds toward the apex of the cone. Then there's the agitation issue. In an ideal setup, there's turbulence created that helps 'stir-up' the grounds, allowing for, again, a more even extraction.

This is why a french-press or vac-pot is so ideal. It really takes care of all of the issues above... that is, if you start with the right temperature water. The environment promotes an even extraction, and turbulence is automatic in a vac-pot, and can be promoted by stirring up the grounds with a french-press (YES... you should stir it up!!!)

Bob, I can understand your aversion to the sediment... it's a very common reaction. But notice the body and mouthfeel that you can get from french-press coffee! The sediment gives the coffee a great texture, no? BTW... are you using a blade grinder? A burr-grinder will help reduce the amount of finer particles.

Nick

www.murkycoffee.com