My coffee comes right out of a crappy Mr.Coffee like god intended:
My coffee comes right out of a crappy Mr.Coffee like god intended:
John Brown wrote: My coffee comes right out of a crappy Mr.Coffee like god intended:
That's fine if you like your coffee to taste like furniture varnish after the "heater" burns the E36 M3 out of it 
I too use a Mr Coffee, although I have a french press, but just haven't tried it yet.
As far as swiffer dusters and landfill fodder, I have found that a cheap gerber prefold cloth diaper sprayed with endust works even better than the disposable cloths. Not to mention it's cheaper, fits the duster perfectly and when you are done with it you just toss it in the wash with the rest of your cleaning rags.
edit: Just got out the french press and I don't think the mr Coffee is going to see much more use.
maybe I am just cheap.. but I really do my best to avoid buying anything who's selling point is it is disposable. I do not even buy trash bags.. I prefer to reuse the plastic bags I brought the groceries home in to take the trash out
I notice THIS hasn't been mentioned yet:
Vacuum Coffee pots may seem expensive for a few pieces of plastic and metal between two glass bowls (this one is $44), but they really aren't much more than a large ornate French Press, and they make a GREAT cup of coffee. Just put your water in the bottom bowl, grounds on the top, put it over a stove top on high and wait for the magic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxIs2GVsqgY
We have a Keurig... and I don't mind the coffee too much. I generally use Newman's Own Special Blend "Extra Bold" that I can get at Sam's club for a decent price. As cheap as bulk coffee? No... but cheaper than stopping at Dunkin Donuts on the way home... the biggest plus-point for this system is the speed: it brews a cup of coffee in seconds flat.
still using an old style perculator here. The coffee has been good out of this one so far no bitterness from improper brewing. Not enough of a coffee afficianado to know better >
What bugs me about the Keurig/Flavia machines is control. These are the automatic transmissons and traction nannies of the coffee world.
I use a Krups Aroma 10 cup w/ a "gold" metal mesh filter and some sort of burr grinder for drip and have big, honking Italian Pasquini Livia 90 espresso machine and it's matching Moka 90 grinder/doser for espresso-based coffee.
The "Mighty L+M90s" as they're known around here were tossed in a storage closet of the parent company of a biotech firm for which I worked some time ago. When the little parasite company moved out I knew that if I didn't liberate these 2 beautiful machines, they'd end up in a dumpster eventually.
I rescued them, installed a new pump (which looks and works suspiciously like a Facet fuel pump) tidied them up and have had the best espresso and lattes since for chump change.
As for the fuel, I'm loyal to a local roaster and use enough that it's always fresh. That's the key.
OrangeRazor wrote: I notice THIS hasn't been mentioned yet:
That great until the Feds kick down your door because they think you're running a mini Meth lab in your kitchen 
Yeah, I have a Keurig that my Mom gave me the other year. I got my GF one for Christmas. Definately not the grassroots way to make coffee, but if you buy the right kind, you get a good cup of coffee. Much easier than using any other apparatus to make it while I'm still half asleep, and clean-up is quicker and cleaner than any other as well.
The other nice feature is that it allows for varying tastes. Rather than me dealing with half a pot of "normal" coffee or her dealing with half a pot of something richer. She can have a cup of Nantucket Breakfast, and I can have a cup of Sumatran.
I'm with JB, percolator! I've used the Keurig, it brews a good cup of joe but the wastefulness of the single use containers turns me off.
I am just so glad I am not a coffee drinker.. too many choices in how to brew
we have the Keurigs at work. our have a selectable size, so in a 10-oz mug i brew a 6 and a 4. they are OK for free work coffee, esp in a large place.
at home we had a french press, then it broke. we had another one, then it broke. too much of a hassle we have a percolator and it makes a good cup of coffee, and is great for entertaining.
my mom just bought us a cuisinart grinder /brewer, and it seems to work really well. it holds 1/2 pound of beans in an airtight hopper, has a burr grinder, and a metal filter and insulated metal carafe. it's programmable, so i can have coffee ready on my way out the door, and cleans much easier than the perc does.
Keurig rocks the house - coffee quality is great, a cup of rocket fuel for me and a cup of Earl Grey for the missus. No cleanup, and it makes coffee faster than I can get down the hall in the morning to pee.
Keurig haters on the basis of non-enviro-friendliness be gone...I present to you, the My K cup!
Insert your own coffee, and when youre done, no plastic garbage.
Hocrest wrote: She can have a cup of Nantucket Breakfast, and I can have a cup of Sumatran.
...both of which are way too weak to be what I consider "coffee".
My lovely wife just bought me a Cuisinart self-grinding coffeemaker for the new kitchen. I'm eager to try it. Fresh ground beans make all the difference, whether you use a french press or a drip machine.
Duke wrote: ...both of which are way too weak to be what I consider "coffee". My lovely wife just bought me a Cuisinart self-grinding coffeemaker for the new kitchen. I'm eager to try it. Fresh ground beans make all the difference, whether you use a french press or a drip machine.
My g/f's brother has one of those... does make a great cup of coffee... his main complaint is it's a major SOB to clean...
A zillion flavors, no stale coffee hanging around, coffee/tea/etc, Quit happy with mine.
Full Disclaimer: I used to work for Keurig (who is now owned by Green Mountain Coffee ) about 4 years ago as their Online Marketing Manager
Overall they aren't a bad little machine, and you can get a re-usable metal mesh filter for cheap money if you don't like the disposable K-cups. It is great for a household where you there may only be one or two coffee drinkers. I use mine regularly as my wife does not drink coffee and it is certainly less wastefull than making an entire pot when I only need one cup as I run out the door to head to work. It is also a great benefit when entertaining as you can have a variety of teas, coffees and strengths, decafs, etc. to suit your guests individual tastes. We also have 2 machines here at work and again, it saves wasted water/electricity/grounds over brewing pots of coffee that then get left on a burner all day to eventually get poured down the sink. Additionally, it's good for a quick blast of hot water if you are making a bowl of oatmeal, or need a quick 8 oz of hot water for something like that.
I will admit that I have seen/heard about a few that have fail in my day, but then again I used to sit right next to the customer service department, so I probably heard the biggest horror stories. I can tell you that, at least when I was there, Keurig was very concerned about quality and would replace any brewer that failed under warranty and often well after the warranty was up. Typically they would fail because of using regular tap/well water that had high mineral content. Using spring/bottled water alleviates the problem drastically. I believe the heating of the mineral rich water would accelerate scale build-up on the heating elements, causing the failure.
<blockquoteSee and raise:
I love these things, makes a great cup of coffee quicker, cleaner, and better tasting than my old french press. I think I'll make a cup right now.
+1
I keep one in my desk at work and use it every day. The free office coffee is so bad that toenail clippings would be an improvement! I enjoy torturing my officemates with the smell of real coffee. Oh, and sorry, but it only makes one cup! Awwww.
I prefer this over a traditional french press because it uses a paper filter. Not to mention it doesn't have the word "french" in the name.
I've got so much to say that I had to open a new tab to review the thread. Here's what I was thinking as I read this thread, because I know how much everyone wants to know what I'm thinking. Or maybe I'm just bored at work.
mad_machine wrote: I find them right up with the "swiffer" method of putting as much junk into the dumps as possible. Definatly a "fix" for something that was not even broken.
For real! What the berkeley is wrong with a broom and mop? Oh yeah, they're not disposable. Silly me.
ignorant wrote:proper. I've used the K cup things and they make a good coffee or tea, but I don't see the point in the machine.
Agreed. The french press is a cheap and simple way to get a damn fine cup of coffee.
EricM wrote: Filters?! I just boil the coffee in the water and drink it, grit in all. OK, I don't drink coffee
See Turkish coffee. It's pretty awesome.
JeepinMatt wrote: Me? I just get a shovel and scoop the ground beans into my mouth. Bah, liquids.
That cracked me the berkeley up, and totally blew my cover as a productive member of the workforce.
ignorant wrote:I use this guy for camping and for times when I'm away from a coffee pot. It is heavy, so not for backpacking, but is sturdy and holds an extra dose of coffee in the bottom of the mug.
For camping, I've got a French press adapter for my Jetboil that takes up no extra room and makes a damn fine cup of coffee.
John Brown wrote: My coffee comes right out of a crappy Mr.Coffee like god intended:
Yes. I've got the crappiest 12 cup drip coffee maker for daily use with a reusable filter, and by using the right coffee and proper ratios, you can make a good cup of coffee. My girlfriend has spent a lot of time as a Barista, and she was amazed that I could make good coffee out of a crappy coffee maker.
Soma007 wrote: That's fine if you like your coffee to taste like furniture varnish after the "heater" burns the E36 M3 out of it
You're not drinking it fast enough, Bob Costas.
We got a Senseo machine as a gift a couple years ago and have the Keurig machines at work. I think the Senseo makes better coffee than the Keurig, but the choices for Senseo "pods" at my local food store are a bit limited.
I still prefer coffee from a French Press, but the single cup machines are certainly convienent.
Ian F wrote:Duke wrote: ...both of which are way too weak to be what I consider "coffee". My lovely wife just bought me a Cuisinart self-grinding coffeemaker for the new kitchen. I'm eager to try it. Fresh ground beans make all the difference, whether you use a french press or a drip machine.My g/f's brother has one of those... does make a great cup of coffee... his main complaint is it's a major SOB to clean...
really? i haven't had much trouble at all cleaning ours so far. the biggest pain is the gear thing that goes over top of the filter basket, but i only clean (i.e., wash) that piece about once a week. the metal filter cleans right out in a few seconds. my biggest gripe is that the carafe is poorly designed, and needs a better way to direct coffee toward the spout.
OrangeRazor wrote: I notice THIS hasn't been mentioned yet:
I have been looking at these, I have been a bit intimidated since the one I have seen looks like:
Bah the wife is a chemist, I should let her figure it out...
924guy wrote: I have no use for single cup coffee makers, just not enough volume for me... though they are good for tea i suppose. And the krurig set up is just another variation of the genevalia coffee of the month deal, but i suspect have a much higher profit margin, and the coffee isnt nearly as good imo. Ive been using a Bunn coffee maker for years, it spits out a full pot in less than three minutes, and keeps a reserve of perfect for brewing 195 degree water in its internal thermos. they are also engineered for "optimal" saturation, not too weak or too strong, every time. They are an investment, in fact , i nursed the old one (probably 15 years old) i had along by relining the water tray when it started leaking for half a year or so, until i found killer deal on a display model to replace it with.
What he said. Bunn coffee makers are machines, not appliances.
If you only make one cup, you ain't a coffee drinker. And if you are washing the coffee maker or the cup, you're doing it wrong. Coffee machines and cups are like cast iron cookware, they need to be seasoned and touching them with a soapy rag is sacrilege.
Sorry, but I don't like the taste of stale coffee. My press gets washed every time.
You'll need to log in to post.
