Dan Abel wrote:
> In article >,
> "Steve Freides" > wrote:
>
>> phaeton wrote:
>
>>> I'm considering replacing it with an
>>> electric percolator. I see them for around $40 at misc stores, such
>>> as Sears.
>>
>> A $40 coffee maker is penny wise and pound foolish, IMHO. Even
>> inexpensive coffee, purchased as whole beans, makes pretty decent
>> coffee in a pretty decent coffee maker.
>>
>> A Cuisinart Grind 'n' Brew will set you back about $120 - I saw a
>> refurbished one online for $90 - but you can put whole beans into it
>> the night before and have it make freshly ground and freshly brewed
>> coffee for you every morning. Freshly ground makes a difference.
>
> Freshly ground is much better. I'm not sure I'd pay the money or deal
> with it, though.

There's nothing to deal with - you put in whole beans instead of ground
the night before. Well, you do have to clean out the grinder.

>> Another reason to get the Grind 'n' Brew or similar is that it uses a
>> thermal carafe, not a heater - anything that heats your already
>> brewed coffee is just going to make it worse - the carafe keeps it
>> hot for hours. It's still a drip coffee maker, just one that grinds
>> first and then keeps the coffee hot in a thermal carafe.
>
> The "keep warm" feature on really cheap drip coffee makers can be bad
> news. With age, they get too hot. Even new, they burn the coffee in
> a few hours. My present coffee maker turns off the warmer after two
> hours. Sometimes I turn it off earlier. My microwave is just across
> the kitchen, and that reheats the coffee just fine. Phaeton says he
> just wants one cup to drink and enough to fill his travel mug.

The keep warm feature on _any_ coffee makeer is bad news. The microwave
will reheat coffee from a thermal carafe, too. A good friend of ours
makes only his own AM cup of coffee in a Grind 'n' Brew and has been
doing it for years.

Percolators make awful coffee.

-S-