OT: Coffee maker selections, which to choose?

[johnthomasmacdonald]

I'm a coffee snob and have a mazer mini grinder and an old 15 bar pressure espresso machine - i get the beans weekly from a place that roasts them on site - for foam ( soymilk in my case as i'm vegan) i use one from Nespresso which is excellent - put a bit of milk in, push button and in about a minute you get foam that you can cut with a knife

for ground coffee i use a french press - just coarsely ground beans, hot water, sit for 4 minutes and then strain out the grinds with a filter plunger

[NateS]

I purchased the Keurig. I can buy coffee of many countries that I enjoy and the machine makes it to my preferred taste; coffee seems more fresh and rotated in the stores; best coffee comes from outside the U.S.; of course.
After a few hundred cups I have not been disappointed. Until the Keurig most coffee consumed in the U.S. where coming from the same plantations and would sit in the silos and ferment.
At first I believe it an expensive machine. the questions that sold it for me was: do I want a great cup of coffee when I want it and without the expense of having to heat the pot till empty burning the coffee? And do I want a great cup of coffee not just a good cup; of what I was used to since the beginning of time.

My question sold the machine for me and other than cleaning once every six months has worked almost flawlessly with a few quirks that you will learn of if you have one.

jos

We also tried many different types of coffee makers over the years and most of them are now stowed away. We love our Keurig, and get a regular subscription delivery of San Francisco Bay Coffee OneCup for Keurig K-Cup Brewers, Fog Chaser from Amazon for daytime, and San Francisco Bay Coffee OneCup for Keurig K-Cup Brewers, Decaf French Roast for dinner.

San Francisco Bay makes what we find to be delicious coffee which fits in a Keurig but is not in an all-plastic container like official K-cups, so the individual containers must be stored in air-tight containers we picked up at BedBath&Beyond. And the Rogers Family which owns San Francisco Bay is very generous to the communities where the coffee is grown. No water goes into our Keurig unless first run through our Brita Water Filter Pitcher. And I flush the Keurig system with white vinegar every 90 days by the Google Calendar.

And, by design every cup is as fresh as the first cup in the morning! No reheating leftover coffee in a pot; no dumping of leftover or cold coffee into the sink; no soaking or washing out a scalded pot.

We recently retired our older Keurig after years of use, and bought their latest model, which has some neat new little conveniences added.

Our love of the coffee our Keurig makes may make us look like hicks to some, but almost everyone who visits or stays with us comes away vowing to buy a Keurig and that coffee!

Best wishes, Nate

[chunkyfrog]

Keurig K-cup (model K65), and Wolfgang Puck's Breakfast in Bed, with Stevia in the Raw and heavy whipping cream to taste.
We both like soft, mellow coffee, not that burnt stuff so many seem to prefer (and we cannot fathom why they do)

[BlackSpinner]

Keurig K-cup (model K65), and Wolfgang Puck's Breakfast in Bed, with Stevia in the Raw and heavy whipping cream to taste.
We both like soft, mellow coffee, not that burnt stuff so many seem to prefer (and we cannot fathom why they do)

My stomach and digestive system much prefers dark roasted coffee. The light roast, mellow stuff acts like Exlax on my system.

[ems]

I love a really great cup of coffee. However, in the a.m., the taste is secondary... it just has to be strong! Any old cheap pot works just fine. Add some French Vanilla cream and I'm good to go. The best part of waking up is "coffee" in your cup. Ain't that the truth!

I use the Keurig the rest of the day, or when company comes.

[Lambeau]

http://www.nespresso-us.com/machines/?u ... 1t1-VQ16-c

http://www.nespresso.com/us/en/pages/gr ... ffee-range

[BigBennyB]

I am not sure how much effort or time you are willing to invest in each cup of coffee, but I like my AeroPress. I like to use freshly roasted, freshly ground (as in right before I make the coffee), to get the most out of each cup.

I'd say it's worth looking into, but the primary caveat is that it's one cup at a time.

[JohnBFisher]

Due to my work with computer data centers, I personally used Keurig coffee makers for years before they became so popular. And I've had a Keurig coffee maker for about three years now. I love the ability to have different types of coffee. I love the ability to brew just one mug at a time. I love the ability to have it ready to rock and roll when I awaken, but turn itself off after a couple hours. Plus, I prefer dark roast coffees - unlike most folks - and can have my mug of dark roast, while others have their light or medium roast coffee.

[Rob108]

We use a cuisinart with the "auto on" function. It doesn't have a thermal carafe , it has the glass one. I didn't like the thermal (stainless steel I believe) carafe because the cuisinart with it did not have a bottom warmer plate. That kind of defeated the auto on function because even freshly brewed was not very hot. Customer service at cuisinart said that was by design and recommended I use hot water in the reservoir. I asked them how that water was going to remain hot overnight with the house temp going down to 60 and I got the answer of "Awwwwwh guess it won't".

[chunkyfrog]

We just found a big variety box at BB&B, on clearance. We used our 20% off coupon.
It's fun trying new brews.

[Madalot]

My first choice would be an old fashioned percolator over an open flame, but since I have an electric stove, I can't do that anyway. I was using an electric percolator and loved it, but with not having as much help around here (kids growing up, leaving, etc) I decided to go Keurig. Like several have mentioned, I love having a variety of coffees to select from. I buy from Green Mountain, coffee.org & Gevalia. At this point, I probably have 15-20 different types of coffee, mostly medium to light roasts, but I have couple dark roasts for company. I also have hot chocolate, cappucinos and an assortment of teas. My son likes the ice teas so I have an assortment of cold brew beverages too.

My boys moved my brewer and my coffee to the dining room at wheelchair level, so I can get my coffee without having to get up and walk. I brew 2 8-oz cups into a travel mug (with a lid) and take it to my desk each morning. I select whatever coffee tickles my fancy at that particular moment. I frequently have another cup or two through the day and frequently a cup of decaf after dinner.

I've got my husband trained to refill the water reservoir (from our Brita pitcher so its filtered) each night so I have a full tank for the next day.

[BlackSpinner]

Due to my work with computer data centers, I personally used Keurig coffee makers for years before they became so popular. And I've had a Keurig coffee maker for about three years now. I love the ability to have different types of coffee. I love the ability to brew just one mug at a time. I love the ability to have it ready to rock and roll when I awaken, but turn itself off after a couple hours. Plus, I prefer dark roast coffees - unlike most folks - and can have my mug of dark roast, while others have their light or medium roast coffee.

At the last place I worked they had a big machine and it was great to be able to have a good strong fresh cup of coffee instead of the usual stale bitter stuff you find at work. I think they are good for that situation. Maybe because I was i Quebec but there was also a run on the dark brews to the point that people would squirrel them away in their desks after the coffee guy came with refills and to clean the machine.

[pootsie]

It is both the cheapest and best-tasting coffe you can get. (Assuming you start with good beans--an absolute must!)

The preparation ritual is also satisfying.

[sleeplessinaz]

Madalot - can you come over here and "train" my husband to fill up the water tank on my Keurig please? I don't think he knows how! Haha! He will drink coffee and leave the water tank darn near empty. We use the RO water so it takes like 5 seconds to fill it up.

Love having the different types of coffee brews and all kinds of flavors. I order mine from Keurig.com and usually get free shipping and a ten percent discount since I am a regular customer.
Enjoy!

Carrie

[CapnLoki]

We use a cuisinart with the "auto on" function. It doesn't have a thermal carafe , it has the glass one. I didn't like the thermal (stainless steel I believe) carafe because the cuisinart with it did not have a bottom warmer plate. That kind of defeated the auto on function because even freshly brewed was not very hot. Customer service at cuisinart said that was by design and recommended I use hot water in the reservoir. I asked them how that water was going to remain hot overnight with the house temp going down to 60 and I got the answer of "Awwwwwh guess it won't".

I'm a bit surprised a Cuisinart had this problem - what model was it? I just checked my Capresso - I had checked the first one I had 12 years ago, but not its replacement. Starting with my usual 65 degree tap water it was delivering 195+ degrees at the "showerhead" - this is just what you want for best extraction. Often I heat the carafe before brewing to extend its warm time, but my wife and I usually empty it within an hour.

When I first got into this I started checking brewers and found that very few were over 180 degrees, and the cheap West Bend etc brewers were around 160. The top brands now, like Capresso, Braun, Cuisinart, etc usually try to do better.