Coffee makers...what works best for you?

[shortyb]

Have an OXO 10 cup (haha, more like 3 cups for me) with a stainless thermal carafe, mainly because it matches the OXO burr grinder and the rest of our kitchen appliances. Makes a decent cup and stays hot enough for me. I have gotten into the habit of stirring the grounds in the basket with about a third of the brewing left to "air out" the grounds and produce some crema. For my Cubans and Corditas, the Bialetti stovetop is the ONLY one I use.

 

[Rand]

My wife is less picky than I am, so I make hers in a Moccamaster. She found a coffee blend she likes at our grocery store. I use a V60 pour-over technique and Comandante hand grinder. My beans came from Sey Coffee for the past two years. Subscribed to four, 250g boxes per month, paid annually. I'd get the beans, vacuum pack in bags having the quantity I want for four large mugs, then freeze them. I wasn't drinking enough to keep up with the subscription, so still have quite a bit in the freezer. Besides, the subscription price has gone up ~$200 the past two years to over $920/yr.

Sey sends different coffees with each subscription. It's been fun experiencing all the different coffees, having blends to single-origin from all over the world, including some very nice Geishas.

I get my green beans from invalsa coffee

They sell roasted as well if you are looking to try something.. their Bolivian coffees are excellent.
https://invalsacoffee.com/collections/valverdecoffeeroasters

 

[UncleDave]

Super automatic here. Every cup is the first cup.
Press a button it grinds the beans and makes you a fresh cup.

No aluminum covered pucks, no plastic waste.
No carafe sitting around getting cold or getting bitter on a hot plate.

 

[Nessism1]

I use one of these. Set the timer, and coffee is ready when I get up.

I have bean grinders, but typically use Kirkland coffee.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

https://www.amazon.com/BUNN-Classic...phy=91872&hvtargid=pla-4583520382218144&psc=1

I will never not own one of these. Fast, hot, high quality. I got tired of crappy machines. I do recommend grinding whole beans when you make it every time.

 

[Kestas]

I could never understand Keurig machines. It doubles the cost of coffee. That's a lot to pay for convenience. I use a french press. It's simple.

 

[Pablo]

Every time I've tried Kirkland/Costco coffee it's been disgusting, old, nasty burnt, stale, sour, inferior beans. I just won't ever buy it again.

Dude bought a $3000 Espresso machine, made me a cup with Costco beans. Not even drinkable.

Sorry.

 

[Thermo1223]

Always Keurig that way it's a cup at a time unless I am making a pot for the road which the Keurig also does. I used to be exceptionally snobby about it but alas life has other plans. I don't drink for the caffeine more so the ritual & taste in the morning. I may go back to grinding my own beans for the occasional french press cups. I haven't had a burr grinder in a while.

 

[Danno]

I could never understand Keurig machines. It doubles the cost of coffee. That's a lot to pay for convenience. I use a french press. It's simple.

K = Consistent, tasty, convenient, quick, no mess, 35 cents a cup.

"One sip, no one knows the rules"

 

[opus1]

Currently using a basic Mr. Coffee that I had to buy in May when the one my sister left at Mom's house finally died. She got it from her brother-in-law, but neither she nor the husband drink coffee so they left it at Moms for us to use. Not sure how long it was in use before it sat, but I think we got 3-4 years out of it before it gave up.

That replaced a Cuisinart coffee-maker that died a couple of months after the warranty went up. Little bit of a story with that one, it replaced the same model that we had to toss because the original carafe broke and a replacement's cost was ridiculous. Had I known, I'd have kept the unit and just used the new carafe because when the replacement unit gave out, it overheated and was actually boiling the coffee in the carafe. If I didn't need a coffee refill, the thing would have probably broken the carafe at best, or started burning at worst. My review on Amazon is here: Cuisinart Coffee Maker

Prior to that I had a Braun coffee maker that lasted almost 17 years. The tank developed a leak and started to mess up the counter due to the water leaking on it.

 

[SeaJay]

I have a percolator and wouldn't have it any other way. My friends say my tastes are finicky but once I started using a burr grinder for coffee beans vs my parents always using a spice grinder I found the taste was always smoother and noticeably better. I just can't get past the waste of Keurig cups even though now there are reusable cups for them.

I too only use a percolator, mine is the stove top kind.

 

[Rand]

https://www.amazon.com/BUNN-Classic...phy=91872&hvtargid=pla-4583520382218144&psc=1

I will never not own one of these. Fast, hot, high quality. I got tired of crappy machines. I do recommend grinding whole beans when you make it every time.

Those can be inferior for several reasons (also have pluses)

2 negatives:
the water gets heated then sits there hot.. for up to.. days.
that is electricity wasted.. and old hot water doesn't taste as good as fresh cold water that was just heated.
laugh but your coffee is 98% water.

So its ok if you make multiple full pots a day.. near ideal maybe.

if you make less than a pot the water goes through the ground coffee too fast.
if you use fresh beans they can overflow the brew basket making a mess.
I had one and plugged half the shower holes with toothpicks.. to make it take 3min for half a pot.

Much prefer anything on this list
https://sca.coffee/certified-home-brewer
to the bunn.

 

[Urshurak776]

Honestly it's not the best but I just use k-cups lol

Ssame. My wife drinks Iced coffee, so she has her own little machine that does all that.

 

[walterjay]

I use a cheap 5 cup Mr. Coffee drip machine. If I weren't so lazy in the morning I would perc it. That tastes best.

 

[thescreensavers]

I just started grinding my own beans with a Kingrinder P2 and Encore esp (for larger grinds), french press, aero press and drastically improved my coffee game over a Keurig but I definitely don't have time in the mornings before work to mess with all of that.

I have cold brew I make in my fridge and that usually works great for during the week.

 

[GSCJR]

Bialetti for me. It doesn't care about lime in the water either so no descaling required.

+1. If I get lazy, it's Nespresso time! Fresh and hot!

 

[Trav]

Bunn.

 

[Dborch41]

I just started grinding my own beans with a Kingrinder P2 and Encore esp (for larger grinds), french press, aero press and drastically improved my coffee game over a Keurig but I definitely don't have time in the mornings before work to mess with all of that.

I have cold brew I make in my fridge and that usually works great for during the week.

I have a French press (also insulated) that a keep in my travel trailer, I use a small electric kettle (or gas burner if boondocking) to heat the water. I use the same Kona/decaf blend but grind it a bit more coarsely. It definitely makes for a different brew, a bit more subtle than the Keurig but still very pleasant. I primarily have the Keurig at home for convenience, it's nice waking up to a fresh pot of coffee already waiting for you.

 

[UncleDave]

I'll always be a superautomatic guy after owning one.

One of the issues I have with any scheme using a pot, is my own innate aversion toward anything like waste, combined with knowing the longer it sits the worse it gets.

If I see coffee left in the pot, or on a burner cooking, I'll feel compelled to finish it because otherwise I've wasted coffee, energy, water, treatment and pumping of said water as well as wasting the end product.
I start drinking more than I otherwise normally would at times I normally wouldn't.

Much better for me to get whatever size cup I want with the ratio of beans to water calculated correctly with no waste.
Every cup is the first cup.

Now owning such a machine requires its own commitments, much like an Italian girlfriend, it always wants something.

 

[Rob_Roy]

Bunn VP-17. Water temperature is 200F and makes a great pot of coffee in the time it takes me to empty the dishwasher.

We use a timer with ours so it isn’t hot 24/7.