It brewed a nice cup of coffee and I love the insulated carafe, but a part just broke after 6 years. This is for morning, before work coffee so I don’t want something complicated or that takes much time.
Looking for great taste, convenience and ability to brew into a non-heated carafe (or at least one you could turn off the heat). I grind my own beans every morning, so I don’t need a grinder attached.
This is THE ticket. The best coffee machine in the friggin world. I get all my coffee from Howell as well. It’s like shopping for wine there…but coffee. That machine brews like nothing else and I’ve gotten through 20 probably.
It may not be the prettiest but trust me, it’s built like a tank and does what it supposed to do better than any other machine.
I’m going to relay the advice of Kriss R. and tell you to consider a French press. If you grind your beans every morning, you’re already half-way there. It’s not that complicated and it is some of THE best coffee I’ve ever had.
I just got the Keurig Platinum and couldnt’ be happier. It makes one cup at a time, but instantly and your choices of coffee types is limited only by how many k-cups your cupboard can hold.
Daisy & Jordan - Many thanks for that suggestion. I forgot I already have one, but for me it’s too much cleanup work. I just never got into a routine of making it and perhaps I’m not going about it in the most efficient manner. I may pull it out and see if I can get into the swing of things before I drop bigger money on Max’s machine.
Max - I could afford one of those if I hadn’t dropped all my disposable coin at your shop!! Truthfully, this one shows up every single time I’ve seen this question asked so it must be good. You guys that have one, do you have the thermal carafe?
Thanks for the suggestions and I’m open to more if others have them.
I also recommend the French Press. Very easy to use and makes great coffee.
But, my techie-nerd friend has a vacuum coffee-maker. Although it is expensive and high-maintenance, the pluses are: it makes excellent coffee and is a great conversation piece.
I used to use a french press until I learned about Aero Press on another board. There is no comparison. The aeropress has a shorter brew time at a lower temperature, and it’s a very clean cup with no sediment. It’s sort of like a french press, but upside down. It costs under $30 with a year’s worth of filters, and the replacement filters cost maybe $5 per year. As a side perk, it’s so much easier to clean the aeropress than a french press. Steve and I never enjoy brewed coffee anywhere as much as we do at home with this silly little contraption.
Let me point out that I take my coffee seriously. Don’t have an Aeropress, but I have a Technivorm, French press and vacuum pot. French press is cheap and convenient. Full flavor, but you get more oils in your coffee and it is a much richer cup of coffee than a standard drip. The Vacuum is better than French press to me because it gives you all the flavor but is a little easier on the oil. My Bodum stovetop model was only about $69 and it’s not hard to use but cleanup takes time. Not for weekday AM coffee.
The big thing about the Technivorm is the technology. Just like anything else, you can get a cheap drip machine but water temp and brewing time is not really very good and, especially if you use good beans, you will never achieve the desired results. It’s an expensive “coffee maker” if that is how you look at it, but if you expect that it is a 10+ yr. appliance you’re getting your money’s worth. When I first got it, I compared it vs my cheap Braun machine and there was a HUGE difference. I will never go back. I have the non-thermal model, BTW.
Oh, and if you’re going to spend $265 on a Technivorm I hope that you have a burr grinder. It’s kind of pointless to spend the $$ on the maker without a proper grinder. There’s another $200-300 for a decent burr grinder.
They have one of these at the Hannaford’s supermarket near me and I’ve tried it. They have Green Mountain Coffee thingys, and the Green Mountain whole bean coffee is actually pretty decent. No offense, Mark, but this stuff tastes a step or two away from instant to me. Hey, where’s the puke graemlin?
We have a Jura Capresso E8 that we use for espresso, etc and have been using it for the last 3 or so years and love it. Great stuff.
However, when it comes to a downright good cup of coffee, the French Press is the way to go. How can it be hard to clean? Dump out grounds, place in dishwasher…
Well, Max convinced me to go with the Techniverm and I’ll use my French Press until it gets here. Thanks for all the comments from everyone. Great to learn from everyone. Compared to most people I’m pretty into coffee, but I knew coming on here there would be some folks who really take it seriously!
And the grounds come out easily? They never do in our Bodum french press. They sort of glom to the bottom and sides. Then you have to take apart the filter part to wash the mesh screen by hand, and it snags on the sponge. It’s not like it’s a fate worse than death, but I always found it annoying and I was never totally satisfied with the final product. We plunge the grinds and filter straight out of the aeropress and into our compost pail. Then it’s three small plastic parts to wash with a soapy sponge, and it’s ready for the next cup.
A french press is easier straight from the box. It took us a week or so to hit our stride with the aeropress. Once you get into its rhythm it’s so simple. And since it’s a much smaller volume of water, I find it so much easier to brew at a precise temperature.
Anyway, that’s what we do, and we’ll never go back to a french press, drip machine (our Cuisinart is in the garage) or consumer Espresso make like our old FrancisFrancis X1.
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