Foo - recommend me a coffee maker!

foo is littered with coffee threads, so i figured id start one more. my old pot has given up the ghost. i want something nice, something good.

requirements:

makes good coffee!
ability to make one cup at a time
not a french press (i already have one, love it, but its inconvenient on a daily basis for me)
i already have an espresso/cap. machine, so not one of those.

what are you all using??

I just bought a Capresso MT-600. It'll do half pots (3-5 cups) which are more like two good size coffee cups worth. Only had it about a month and am happy so far. Frankly, I find that cleaning the French press is just as putzy as cleaning this new drip machine.

If you only want one cup, why not get one of those combination French press/stainless travel mugs? Who drinks just one cup anyhow? :p

Oh, and Millcreek is pretty much the coffee authority on BF. He recommended the MT-600 to me. He has its predecessor, the MT-500.

The Capresso MT-600 is pretty much my 'go-to' recommendation if you can afford the $ 150 or so that it usually costs. The Capresso MT-500 is also still available from some vendors. If you want to keep it under $ 100, then the Zojirushi EC-BD15 would be my choice. Both of these meet two key criteria for the coffee fans: they reach the recommended brew temperatures of 195 to 205 degrees, and they have a thermal carafe rather than a hot plate that cooks the brewed coffee.

Both of these drip coffee makers are pretty legendary in the coffee world. Probably the only better drip maker would be a Technivorm Moccamaster Thermal, but they run around $ 300 and are too tall to fit under the typical kitchen cabinet.

i had this proctor silex for years, then got a french press. I like that it takes up less counter space and makes great coffee!

A few years ago, I was unhappy with my coffee maker. No matter what coffee I used, it tasted muddy. I read this review, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/74533/coffee_maker_my_review_of_the_technivorm.html?cat=22 ,then put a meat thermometer in the coffee maker to measure how hot the water was. It was 140 degrees rather than 195-200. I bought the Technivorm and am very satisfied. Its kinda expensive, but makes a great cup of coffee.

thanks all, i just picked up the MT-500 on sale at a local establishment.

i actually went to the store with my wife for unrelated items, and saw the MT-500 sitting there on sale, and excitedly told my wife that a bike forums coffee expert told me to buy this pot. she shook her head and laughed.

thanks!

I bought the Technivorm and am very satisfied. Its kinda expensive, but makes a great cup of coffee.

Those things look pretty awesome. How well does it work as far as the amount of coffee you brew? Is a full pot just as good as a half pot? I'm looking for a nice coffee maker myself and would prefer a small one, as I only need to make 2 or 3 cups at a time (2 or 3 usually are enough to fill up my thermos or commuter cup).

I recommend Carol...she's pretty good at making coffee and quite easy on the eyes too.

thanks all, i just picked up the MT-500 on sale at a local establishment.

i actually went to the store with my wife for unrelated items, and saw the MT-500 sitting there on sale, and excitedly told my wife that a bike forums coffee expert told me to buy this pot. she shook her head and laughed.

thanks!

mmm, and now the payoff, morning coffee!!

Of course, to reach true coffee nirvana, you need fresh-roasted coffee that is ground just seconds before brewing. Some of us roast our own beans and have burr grinders that allow us to reach this nirvana. It all starts with but a single step.......:innocent:

Of course, to reach true coffee nirvana, you need fresh-roasted coffee that is ground just seconds before brewing. Some of us roast our own beans and have burr grinders that allow us to reach this nirvana. It all starts with but a single step.......:innocent:

well, there is a local establishment that sources and roasts their own beans right down the street from me, they're a very small family run place and their stuff is great. i do have a burr grinder, and of course, i did grind fresh beans this morning to break in the machine.

roasting my own however, would be the next logical step.

thanks again all.

well, there is a local establishment that sources and roasts their own beans right down the street from me, they're a very small family run place and their stuff is great. i do have a burr grinder, and of course, i did grind fresh beans this morning to break in the machine.

roasting my own however, would be the next logical step.

thanks again all.

In all truth, you are already about 90% there, especially if you can get the fresh-roasted beans locally. At any one time, we have one pound batches of three different coffees kept in the freezer in one-pound airtight jars. I take them out and grind them just before brewing. Coffee kept this way is good for about two weeks. I roast about three pounds every two weeks. We go through a lot of coffee, and the economics of roasting my own, in addition to the quality, pencils out for us. I have about 200 pounds of green coffee beans out in the garage.

So AS, how is the Capresso working out for you?

So AS, how is the Capresso working out for you?

fantastic. as a matter of fact over the weekend i picked up a costa rican blend from the local coffee joint. the aroma of that stuff after i pop it through the burr grinder is simply fantastic, it actually is enough to elevate my mood, its that good.

i was worried about how long the thermal carafe would keep the contents warm, but generally that has not proven to be an issue. all in all, this was a big upgrade for me.

i will also mention that i do also own a capresso expresso machine as well as a french press, and none of the three machines i have now is disposable. each serves a purpose and they each work well. i may have reached my coffee nirvana.

what type of roast are you on this week millcreek?

I recommend Carol...she's pretty good at making coffee and quite easy on the eyes too.

sounds good. my local baristas a like that. make a good coffee and very easy on the eyes as well.

For home use I use a Moka Express.

4-cup Sunbeam. $4 from Stanford Surplus Sales. But then, I'm not picky and I'm the only coffee drinker in the house.

Right now in the freezer, I have a Honduran Corah, a Zambian Munali and a Red Sea Blend. I had the Honduran this morning in a french press.

Right now in the freezer, I have a Honduran Corah, a Zambian Munali and a Red Sea Blend. I had the Honduran this morning in a french press.

In the freezer? I thought you weren't supposed to freeze it.

In the freezer? I thought you weren't supposed to freeze it.

This is a hotly-contested issue in the coffee community, dwarfing such minor tussles as abortion, gun control and the Middle East. There actually has been some research done on this. Based on my own controlled trials, my review of the literature and my training as a chemist, I put my whole beans into an airtight jar immediately after roasting and then put the jar in the freezer. I keep the beans in the airtight frozen dark, removing them only to portion out what is immediately ground and brewed. The beans are still pretty much frozen when the hot water hits them. To my palate, this preserves the quality of the beans for at least two weeks. I roast sufficient quantities such that I roast 2-3 pounds every two weeks, so my coffee is pretty much never more than two weeks out of the roaster.

In my opinion, and I emphasize that this is only my opinion, the worst way to store coffee is pre-ground in the refrigerator in a non-airtight container. The coffee quickly picks up odors and moisture from the fridge and goes stale quickly. If I did not roast my own, I would still put the whole beans in an airtight jar in the freezer. I think the combination of whole bean, airtight storage and freezing temperatures slows the staling process. The further you get away from this (pre-grinding, loose in a bag on the counter or in the fridge), the quicker you will get staling. I really can taste the difference between coffee stored in my preferred fashion versus other methods. I know, because I have run my own controlled trials using my own coffee. But, your mileage may vary.

PS: Over on Home Barista, there was an interesting experiment on freezing coffee for espresso. The consensus there was that freezing whole beans in an airtight jar preserved the quality for at least two months. And the experiment was done by some very experienced coffee people, so I give their opinion a great deal of weight. Given my turnover, there is no way coffee would last that long at my house, but it could be of value for those people who use small quantities and need to keep a pound or two fresh as long as possible.

I have found that the Costa Rican beans, Kenyan AA, Guatamalan, and Sumatran beans are the most flavorful. I buy roasted beans in bulk & freeze them.... no friendly local roasters near my house!! My beans go from freezer to air-tight container (about a week's worth) to burr grinder to coffee maker.

This is a hotly-contested issue in the coffee community, dwarfing such minor tussles as abortion, gun control and the Middle East. There actually has been some research done on this. Based on my own controlled trials, my review of the literature and my training as a chemist, I put my whole beans into an airtight jar immediately after roasting and then put the jar in the freezer. I keep the beans in the airtight frozen dark, removing them only to portion out what is immediately ground and brewed. The beans are still pretty much frozen when the hot water hits them. To my palate, this preserves the quality of the beans for at least two weeks. I roast sufficient quantities such that I roast 2-3 pounds every two weeks, so my coffee is pretty much never more than two weeks out of the roaster.

In my opinion, and I emphasize that this is only my opinion, the worst way to store coffee is pre-ground in the refrigerator in a non-airtight container. The coffee quickly picks up odors and moisture from the fridge and goes stale quickly. If I did not roast my own, I would still put the whole beans in an airtight jar in the freezer. I think the combination of whole bean, airtight storage and freezing temperatures slows the staling process. The further you get away from this (pre-grinding, loose in a bag on the counter or in the fridge), the quicker you will get staling. I really can taste the difference between coffee stored in my preferred fashion versus other methods. I know, because I have run my own controlled trials using my own coffee. But, your mileage may vary.

PS: Over on Home Barista, there was an interesting experiment on freezing coffee for espresso. The consensus there was that freezing whole beans in an airtight jar preserved the quality for at least two months. And the experiment was done by some very experienced coffee people, so I give their opinion a great deal of weight. Given my turnover, there is no way coffee would last that long at my house, but it could be of value for those people who use small quantities and need to keep a pound or two fresh as long as possible.

good to know....my routine is I roast about 1 1/2 cups of beans every five to seven days. I then place them in an not so airtight container for 24-36 hours for degassing. Then I grind them, and place them in an airtight container which goes in my freezer, even though I was under the impression not to do this. Every other day, I portion out some to bring to the office. Coffee done this way completely blows away the pre-ground crap from the store.