Food Snob® wrote:
> On Aug 15, 8:45 pm, 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.
>
> Cheap coffee makes crappy coffee, if you're meaning cheap like
> Folger's or 8 O'Clock.

I did not mean that.

> The Java Delight at SuperValu stores * is
> pretty good, and it's usually $4.97/12oz.

We bought whole bean coffee for about that much money at the local
grocery store - seemed good, don't recall the brand or if it was a store
brand. I think just buying coffee they know people will take home and
grind themselves eliminates a lot of the really awful stuff.

>>> 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.
>>
>>> 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.
>
> I used to have a Cuisinart that ground the coffee. It was a hassle to
> clean each time, and quite a bit of coffee got wasted each time inside
> the grinding part. The grinder broke after a few years. I used the
> thing for several years after that, using a separate grinder.

The conpany was great to deal with - ours broke after about 3 years, but
it had a 5 year warranty. After replacing a few parts for us, they sent
us an entirely new machine, and we never paid a nickel for any of it.

>> 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.
>
> A few hours? I turn it off as soon as the coffee is finished.
>
>> 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.

Right, but if you get a coffee maker with a thermal carafe, you can
drink the coffee right after you make it, and drink it again in a few
hours without having to remember to turn it off, and without having to
reheat it.

> I wish mine didn't even have that stupid heating pad.

Uh, yeah.

-S-