Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Freides[_2_]
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- |
The drippers are okay until, as you say, they cool and reheat continually. I think it tastes like styrofoam at the end.
If I press a large batch, I can nuke that, too. Thermal carafes are much better than the heating element.
You may want to pursue the variety of coffeemakers they use in S. America, which really steams the coffee and yields this small amount of intense, condensed coffe. You can let it go cold and just add boiling water to it. It takes some time, though, to determine just how much you need. Most overdo it and end up staying awake for a week.