Boutique Coffee Makers

richnota · #1 12-08-2007, 01:51 PM

So what's the best coffee maker going? Lots of kick-ass espresso machines, but what about drip coffee?

Some say its a simple french press.

Or is it the Krups Moka (steam-driven)? The Bodum Vacuum?

Or the Technivorm Moccamaster (sort of a Fodera/Ritter coffee-maker)

Mike Money · #2 12-08-2007, 01:56 PM

i like the coffee machines where you put the coffee in, and then put the water in... and then you hit a button.... then you go take your A.M. dump, and when you come back you have coffee.

**cheezewiz** · #3 12-08-2007, 02:10 PM

French Press

ba-dum-ba-dum · #4 12-08-2007, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Money

i like the coffee machines where you put the coffee in, and then put the water in... and then you hit a button.... then you go take your A.M. dump, and when you come back you have coffee.

To me its typically reverse that order. Interesting.

...ALL HAIL COFFEE!

I have for a long time now only bought whole bean coffee which I store in the fridge, grinding just before brewing. I think this makes a better cup of joe.

As for a machine, I have no complaints about my drip. I've got a "potless" one where you depress a button with your coffee cup. This way I have near IMMEDIATE access to fresh coffee.

I've never tried a french press... how are they better?

*compulsively runs downstairs to make coffee

Stuggi · #5 12-08-2007, 03:58 PM

For French Press you need a good burr grinder (150 dollars +) , not the crappy blade ones bodum's selling. It makes great coffee, but it's a bit tedious. The Vac pots are known to make the best coffee, but are as well a bit tedious, since they take their time and needs to be watched.

The Technivorm Moccamaster is the best drip brewer I know off, and actually makes good coffee from preground. My friend have one, and his place is the goto place for drip, while I handle the espresso part.

Stay away from anything that combines steam and coffee. Coffee needs to be brewed from hot water below boiling point, about 92 degrees celcius. Boiling water, or even hotter steam will burn the coffee, which gives it a very foul taste.

Can you tell I'm taking my cup of joe a bit too seriously?

BellBottomBlues · #6 12-08-2007, 04:05 PM

I have two coffee makers, a French Press and a Black and Decker one.

My B&D one only makes a single cup of coffee at a time, but it tastes fine, and makes a cup in about 3-4 minutes.

French press tastes a lot better but its a pain in the ass to make.

Hawaii Islander · #7 12-08-2007, 05:07 PM

I have a Saeco Easy automatic espresso machine. You put whole beans in the hopper (lasts about a day), fill water reservoir (lasts about 1/2 a day), put a cup under the spigget and press the button. It brews a single cup of fresh ground coffee in less than 1 minute.

I use it a lot!

iamlowsound · #8 12-08-2007, 07:37 PM

My best advice to you if you want a great cup of coffee, is to start roasting your own coffee beans. So fresh and so much better. Check out www.coffeegeek.com.

lowsound

bmc · #9 12-09-2007, 05:20 AM

http://www.italiancoffeemachine.com/...mocha_pot.html

A good old fashioned Italian stove top percolator does the trick.

Stuggi · #10 12-09-2007, 06:08 AM

Sorry to tell you this, but those are about the worst thing you can do to coffee, they flush 100 C + water through your coffee-grounds, pretty much ensuring that it'll taste burnt. Some people like it, up until they try French press.

Deacon_Blues · #11 12-09-2007, 07:32 AM

I have a simple drip coffee machine, a mocha pot and a small French press. And many kinds of coffee.

The drip coffee machine is the most straight-forward to use and it makes good coffee even though it's one of the cheapest models. I use this for light to medium roasted, pre-ground coffee and it is the coffee maker I use most of the time because it's so easy to use and clean.

I use the mocha pot to make espresso shots. I hardly ever drink espresso as such but use it to make cappuccino and it works well for that. I just heat up some milk separately and use a battery driven milk whipper to whip it. The cleaning of the mocha pot is a bit more work and you can't do it instantly because it's so hot, so I often leave it until the next time I'll be using it.

The French press I use when I grind my own coffee and for café au lait. It's very straightforward to use and makes really good coffee, but I don't like to clean it afterwards. It's hard to remove all the coffee grounds so a lot of it end up in the sink instead of the garbage bin. It's also more work to clean the press.

I would like to have one of those boutique coffee machines, but you need to pay several hundreds of euros or even a couple of thousands to get a decent one that is self-cleaning and makes tasty coffee. I don't have that money to spend on a coffee machine...

Tsal · #12 12-09-2007, 08:04 AM

Yep, you can't really go wrong with something that's called Technivorm Moccamaster. It's probably not the Lamborghini of coffee makers, but I'd rate it around the BMW/Audi level. I agree that the French Press aka Presso pan is a good option also, when you have the time to really brew something a bit better. But when it comes to the automatics, the Moccamaster can't be beat easily.

As you can see from this thread, a cup of coffee is the holy grail (or ten) of daily beverages to Finns - that's what you get from the nation that's consuming most mocha per capita!

Chunk-O-Funk · #13 12-09-2007, 09:35 AM

I'm a single cup machine guy.

I bought a Black and Decker pod machine a few years ago. It's not the same cheaper one you can find today. I consider the taste of the coffee it produces a step up from the drip machines. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this being a New Englander, but it kicks Dunkin Donuts arse!

The Black and Decker is now broken. They used to many plastic parts and the cup that holds the coffee pods has cracks in it so I lined it with tinfoil so it doesn't leak water pass the pod and into the cup.

So now I'm looking for a new single cup machine! At work we have one of those K-cup machines. I think I'm going to stick with a pod brewer. There seems to be a lot more variety with pods right now. Besides that, Green Mountain coffee seems to be the coffee of choice with K-cups and I think it taste like they filtered the coffee threw an old sock. If that's "gourmet" coffee I'll just stick with Folgers or something.

Here's the two machines I'm looking at. If anyone has any experience with them let me know. I would love to hear your opinions.

First up is the Cuisinart Cup-O-Matic

I like this one because it will do both pods and ground coffee. Besides the quick convenient pods I can possibly try roasting/grinding my own coffee.

It has a water filter in the tank

This one also will press the coffee at the end of the brew cycle. From what I've read it make a big difference.

It will also accommodate travel mugs. Most single cup machines won't and only do 8-9 .oz cups.

The only downside I've read is it's noisy.

The other is the Bunn My Cafe

A lot less features. Pretty simple, but from what I understand it brews a great cup of coffee. It's brews much quicker and without the noise of the Cuisinart.

They're both around the same price and are both hard to find on the store shelves so I'll be making this purchase online.

spade2you · #14 12-09-2007, 10:10 AM

Hey Rich, why not a custom one by Rob Allen with figured koa sides and Brazilian rosewood facings?

bmc · #15 12-09-2007, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuggi

Sorry to tell you this, but those are about the worst thing you can do to coffee, they flush 100 C + water through your coffee-grounds, pretty much ensuring that it'll taste burnt. Some people like it, up until they try French press.

To each his own. My french press is in the basement. Do you want it?

Tsal · #16 12-09-2007, 02:56 PM

If you'd like to get rid of it, put it in a box and ship it my way - I'm still missing one

fenderhutz · #17 12-09-2007, 02:57 PM

No matter what type of coffee maker you use, you must use these beans. I will not lie.

BEST I HAVE EVER HAD.

http://www.mayorgacoffee.com/

My favorite

http://www.mayorgacoffee.com/indonesian.html

I'm out.

Stuggi · #18 12-09-2007, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmc

To each his own. My french press is in the basement. Do you want it?

Nah man, I already have five!

theshadow2001 · #19 12-09-2007, 04:04 PM

I love the idea of a machine that you just put coffee beans and water in and you just push a button whenever you want coffee.

What features in these machines are desirable?

Is there much of a difference from one to the next?

What about the up keep of them? In terms of cleaning/maintenance do you have to do it often?

Is cleaning them awkward.

Are they expensive?

el_Kabong · #20 12-09-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richnota

So what's the best coffee maker going? Lots of kick-ass espresso machines, but what about drip coffee?

Some say its a simple french press.

Or is it the Krups Moka (steam-driven)? The Bodum Vacuum?

Or the Technivorm Moccamaster (sort of a Fodera/Ritter coffee-maker)

IMO you got it right on the first line, it's espresso machines that kick arse.

These are great. Totally manual and no convenience features at all. No taking a dump while the coffee brews! But with something like this and a little practice you can make great coffee. After this I'm spoiled, I won't drink the stuff that comes out of the drip filter machine that my band uses at rehearsals.