NOw it's the turn of test victim number six, the one-cup Brookstone Tools
Automatic Drip Coffeemaker. Another one of those simple little electric
brewers, this one brews its output by pumping water through a heating
element and up a pipe located in the middle of the water tank, over the top
and out a single spout into a permanent filter made in the design of the No.
1 size, Melitta style modified cone. The brew drips into a double-walled,
flat-bottom straight-sided 12-ounce mug which is shaped like the coffee mugs
you get in many American diner-type restaurants.

This unit is made of sturdier-feeling plastic than that used in the Black
and Decker one-cup Brew 'N Go, and it has more metal in its construction.
It also costs more, 30 dollars or so plus shipping from Brookstone Tools, as
compared to the $14.95 to $19.95 you're likely to pay for the B and D. Both
machines use that no. 1 filter cone size, not the larger no. 2 as I
mentioned in the test report on the B. and D.

I think this filter cone size is too small for these machines, since unless
you grind the coffee very coarsely to allow a fast drip-through, you can't
put enough ground coffee in the basket to get a decently strong cup l' Joe,
at least not by my standards.

This time, I ran water through the Brookstone to get it good and warm. The
cup was thus warmed up, and the water tank and filter cone and basket were
warm when I loaded it up for the test. In this machine, the conbination of
the shape of the cover and the dimmensions of the filter basket meant that
in order for the stiff steel barrel of the probe to go into the filter
basket, there would be an opening about half an inch or more high around the
lid, which will result in an undershoot on real-world actual temp readings
of this machine. This was true of most of the other test subjects, but on
all the others, including the B. and D. model, I could close the lid down
more with a smaller gap between filter basket and cover than I got with this
Brookstone unit.

Air temperature at beginning of test, 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cold tap water goes into warm water tank, and wait a minute or two:
water temperature, 88 degrees.

Insert thermometer probe into ground coffee, 90.5 degrees.

Start the watch:
5 seconds, start the coffeemaker
10 seconds, 90.8 degrees
13 seconds, water begins pumping
20 seconds, 140.6 degrees
30 seconds, 175.4 degrees
Water pours into cup
40 seconds, 187.3 degrees
50 seconds, 191.3 degrees
1 minute, 195.2 degrees
1 minute 5 seconds, 196.5 degrees
1 minute 12 seconds, "one hundred and ninet..." and the talker wimped out
1 minute 21 seconds, 198.2 degrees
1 minute 28 seconds, 198.7 degrees
1 minute 38 seconds, 199.5 degrees
1 minute 44 seconds, 199.3 degrees
2 minutes, 199.6 degrees
2 minutes 5 seconds, reading not voiced
2 minutes 13 seconds, reading not voiced
2 minutes 19 seconds, faster pumping, reading not voiced
2 minutes 30 seconds, faster pumping, no voiced readout
2 minutes 38 seconds, 208 degrees
2 minutes 43 seconds, silent squawker
3 minutes, heavy gurgling, heavy steam, slower water output
3 minutes 12 seconds, slowing pumping, sighing, hot steam
3 minutes 19 seconds, switch clicks in brewer, still no voice output
3 minutes 39 seconds, 2100.8 degrees
3 minutes 46 seconds, 200.6 degrees
3 minutes 52 seconds, 200.1 degrees
4 minutes, 199 degrees
4 minutes 4 seconds, probe still in filter, most brew dripped out, 199.3
degrees
4 minutes 7 seconds, 197.3 degrees
4 minutes 13 seconds, 194, (voice wimps out).

MOve probe from filter basket into the coffee cup; heavy sigh from
coffeemaker
4 minutes 37 seconds, 178.9 degrees
5 minutes 39 seconds, 176.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

It's a sink drink, just too weak. PLain old hot water would taste almost as
good.

I actually found that if I used pre-ground store-bought coffee, like
pre-ground Eight O'clock, or something like pre-ground Dunkin' Doughnuts
coffee, I got a more acceptible brew from these one-cup jobs that take only
the no. 1 size filter.

If I want a single-cup type machine, maybe I should really check out that
Starbucks "Solo Grande" which does have a no. 2 size filter, and brews into
one of their tall 16-ounce travel mugs.


Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA USA
Email: Phone: 1-404-814-0768

Please pardon a question from a novice espresso fan, and newbie. When you
say the machine pumps water through a heater and up the pipe, do you mean
a mechanical pump or a steam driven burst of pressure? Every autodrip
machine I've had used steam to gurgle water up the pipe to the filter
basket.
Don

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 10:26:19 -0500, > wrote:

>
>
> NOw it's the turn of test victim number six, the one-cup Brookstone Tools
> Automatic Drip Coffeemaker. Another one of those simple little electric
> brewers, this one brews its output by pumping water through a heating
> element and up a pipe located in the middle of the water tank, over the
> top
> and out a single spout into a permanent filter made in the design of the
> No.
> 1 size, Melitta style modified cone. The brew drips into a
> double-walled,
> flat-bottom straight-sided 12-ounce mug which is shaped like the coffee
> mugs
> you get in many American diner-type restaurants.
>
> This unit is made of sturdier-feeling plastic than that used in the Black
> and Decker one-cup Brew 'N Go, and it has more metal in its construction.
> It also costs more, 30 dollars or so plus shipping from Brookstone
> Tools, as
> compared to the $14.95 to $19.95 you're likely to pay for the B and D.
> Both
> machines use that no. 1 filter cone size, not the larger no. 2 as I
> mentioned in the test report on the B. and D.
>
> I think this filter cone size is too small for these machines, since
> unless
> you grind the coffee very coarsely to allow a fast drip-through, you
> can't
> put enough ground coffee in the basket to get a decently strong cup l'
> Joe,
> at least not by my standards.
>
> This time, I ran water through the Brookstone to get it good and warm.
> The
> cup was thus warmed up, and the water tank and filter cone and basket
> were
> warm when I loaded it up for the test. In this machine, the conbination
> of
> the shape of the cover and the dimmensions of the filter basket meant
> that
> in order for the stiff steel barrel of the probe to go into the filter
> basket, there would be an opening about half an inch or more high around
> the
> lid, which will result in an undershoot on real-world actual temp
> readings
> of this machine. This was true of most of the other test subjects, but
> on
> all the others, including the B. and D. model, I could close the lid down
> more with a smaller gap between filter basket and cover than I got with
> this
> Brookstone unit.
>
> Air temperature at beginning of test, 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
> Cold tap water goes into warm water tank, and wait a minute or two:
> water temperature, 88 degrees.
>
> Insert thermometer probe into ground coffee, 90.5 degrees.
>
> Start the watch:
> 5 seconds, start the coffeemaker
> 10 seconds, 90.8 degrees
> 13 seconds, water begins pumping
> 20 seconds, 140.6 degrees
> 30 seconds, 175.4 degrees
> Water pours into cup
> 40 seconds, 187.3 degrees
> 50 seconds, 191.3 degrees
> 1 minute, 195.2 degrees
> 1 minute 5 seconds, 196.5 degrees
> 1 minute 12 seconds, "one hundred and ninet..." and the talker wimped out
> 1 minute 21 seconds, 198.2 degrees
> 1 minute 28 seconds, 198.7 degrees
> 1 minute 38 seconds, 199.5 degrees
> 1 minute 44 seconds, 199.3 degrees
> 2 minutes, 199.6 degrees
> 2 minutes 5 seconds, reading not voiced
> 2 minutes 13 seconds, reading not voiced
> 2 minutes 19 seconds, faster pumping, reading not voiced
> 2 minutes 30 seconds, faster pumping, no voiced readout
> 2 minutes 38 seconds, 208 degrees
> 2 minutes 43 seconds, silent squawker
> 3 minutes, heavy gurgling, heavy steam, slower water output
> 3 minutes 12 seconds, slowing pumping, sighing, hot steam
> 3 minutes 19 seconds, switch clicks in brewer, still no voice output
> 3 minutes 39 seconds, 2100.8 degrees
> 3 minutes 46 seconds, 200.6 degrees
> 3 minutes 52 seconds, 200.1 degrees
> 4 minutes, 199 degrees
> 4 minutes 4 seconds, probe still in filter, most brew dripped out, 199.3
> degrees
> 4 minutes 7 seconds, 197.3 degrees
> 4 minutes 13 seconds, 194, (voice wimps out).
>
> MOve probe from filter basket into the coffee cup; heavy sigh from
> coffeemaker
> 4 minutes 37 seconds, 178.9 degrees
> 5 minutes 39 seconds, 176.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
>
> It's a sink drink, just too weak. PLain old hot water would taste almost
> as
> good.
>
> I actually found that if I used pre-ground store-bought coffee, like
> pre-ground Eight O'clock, or something like pre-ground Dunkin' Doughnuts
> coffee, I got a more acceptible brew from these one-cup jobs that take
> only
> the no. 1 size filter.
>
> If I want a single-cup type machine, maybe I should really check out that
> Starbucks "Solo Grande" which does have a no. 2 size filter, and brews
> into
> one of their tall 16-ounce travel mugs.
>
>
> Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA USA
> Email: Phone: 1-404-814-0768
>



--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/