Coffee makers...what works best for you?

[GSCJR]

My routine lately has changed. I have a shot from either my Nespresso Inissia or my Lavazza Omnia before I leave for work, then an entire pot from my Lavazza Principessa when I get to work.

 

[Pablo]

In the camper van is our trusty Nespresso (DeLonghi) machine and a brand new 120 new water kettle.

Guess who popped the 15A breaker? I guess I thought that worth posting, as I didn't even think about current draw, and the kettle is ~1500W!)

It was a good drink. Bought some real (pure) heavy cream from a local dairy.

 

[Opelman]

I'm and old school guy all around, not just my cars. Universal Coffeematic brand percolator by Landers, Frary & Clark. It does a great job and I use less grounds for the same strength brew than with other brand percolators. Vintage Fire King coffee cups are a must also. The usual brand is Chock full o' Nuts as the local chain grocery stores don't have much variety. Occasionally I will hit the Amish place and pick up something from the local roaster in the next town south. I also collect gas pressurized appliances so the almost 98 year old Basford camp stove gets called in to duty on occasion. Pyrex percolator this time around.

 

[ripcord]

The last couple of days I've been drinking percolator coffee made with the original automatic coffee maker, a Sunbeam AP10. My brother and I found a matching pair while cleaning out my folks storage unit.

The quality, design and materials of these percolators is way better than anything you can buy today and they make a tasty and interesting cup.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Still use my 5 cup Gevalia that I got for free back n the 90s when you got Gevalia coffee by mail...

I used to have one, too. It disappeared some time ago, not sure what happened. Probably threw it away during a move.

 

[Vil_Riker]

I'm and old school guy all around, not just my cars. Universal Coffeematic brand percolator by Landers, Frary & Clark. It does a great job and I use less grounds for the same strength brew than with other brand percolators. Vintage Fire King coffee cups are a must also. The usual brand is Chock full o' Nuts as the local chain grocery stores don't have much variety. Occasionally I will hit the Amish place and pick up something from the local roaster in the next town south. I also collect gas pressurized appliances so the almost 98 year old Basford camp stove gets called in to duty on occasion. Pyrex percolator this time around.

View attachment 324440

View attachment 324441

So percolator coffee doesn't taste burnt?

 

[Reloader59]

Cuisinart 14-cup coffee maker. 43.5 ounce container of Folgers makes a lot of great coffee for dirt cheap. Cups are a rip off and not economical.

 

[Huskyguy68]

I use a $15 (Canada) Simplicite coffee maker.
I buy all sorts of package ground coffees. Or like yesterday, I go to my supermarket and buy flavored bulk coffee beans. I have a small electric coffee bean grinder at home, so I grind at home (if the store does not have a grinder).
I love all sorts of flavored beans. Coconut mocha/caramel/Irish/ choco mint, etc.
This low budget Simplicite has nothing but an On/off switch.
I have in the past owned all sorts of coffee makers, including the K cup that broke after one month. Or $40-80 coffee makers. They all eventually burnt out after 4-5 years.
So now I buy the cheapest I can find and so far after one year of usage, nice hot cup of coffee.
In my coffee cup I add to my black coffee a bit of Half & half cream, half teaspoon of brown sugar. Sometimes I add to the coffee grounds in the filter a small sprinkle of cinamonn and or tiny pinch of hot cocoa powder. For awhile I was using filtered water in the coffee maker, but I did not notice any great change in taste, so I went back to regular tap water.

 

[Nessism1]

I've been using a Zojirushi EC-YSC100 since 2018 with excellent results. For reasons that escape me, I imagined that the thermal carafe was getting heavy from water absorption, and since a new carafe was over $100, I decided to just buy a new Zojirushi. Unit came in, and lo and behold, the carafe is the exact same weight as my old one! D'oh! Took this as a symbol to clean up the old unit, and hold the new one as a backup. Spent a goodly amount of time cleaning; used boiling water and baking soda in the carafe, and the black scale came out. The hardest thing to clean was the carafe lid, since I don't know how to take it apart, and didn't want to break it. It has a hollow cavity inside that the coffee flows through. I used the baking soda again, and shook, watching the scale come out. Did that again and again, and the grunge kept coming out. Boiled that thing and shook it again and again, and eventually it came clean. The machine now looks like new! It's quite gratifying to use again! Love this machine!

 

[Rand]

Still have my technivorm moccamaster 15+ years. Tempted to get a new one but I already have a backup bonavita 1800ts

I might just buy an ebay broken moccamaster and refurb mine.

 

[GSCJR]

Inissia @ home and the office, with Illy Forte' capsules. Further, I have an Essenza mini @ work that is in test mode. My colleague has been having issues with it not powering on, but it hasn't acted up for me yet

 

[GI_GRIFF]

I wouldn't say I was a hardcore coffee snob, I'll drain a few cups at my favorite cafe or taqueria without complaint, but I do find that using the right machine/technique with the proper bean certainly makes for a better cup at home. For me a high-quality drip machine can do the job, but the real game changer is how the coffee is kept hot. Most of the cheap "Mr Coffee" style machines have a glass carafe sitting on a hotplate to keep the coffee at a drinkable temperature, and that's where they get a deservedly bad rap. Before long that hotplate will give the coffee a bitter, stewed taste that we've all experienced at some point, but fortunately there's a better option...the thermal carafe.

My first one was made by Melitta, which worked on the same principle as the standard drip machine but had a stainless steel insulated carafe that kept the coffee plenty warm for several hours, more than long enough for my wife and I to drink "12 cups" (seriously?). After a few years it started leaking so we found a Keurig machine that also had a metal carafe and could do K-Cups as well as a full pot. This one seems to do a better job at extraction resulting in a very smooth brew and the carafe keeps the coffee hot for quite a few hours. We don't use the K-Cups all that often but my wife like to make a flavored coffee every now and then, which is not my thing.

Coffee-wise I wasn't always that picky until my aforementioned bride, who's a closet Pacific Islander, turned me on to the Hawaiian varieties. Fortunately my local grocery store sells a whole-bean Kona blend in bulk that does the job nicely, unfortunately we both have to cut down on our caffeine intake so we do a 50/50 blend with a quality decaf. Not the same as the high octane stuff but better than nothing.

In short, what do you fine folks like to use the prepare your morning brew...French press, an old-school percolator, a high end espresso maker or just your basic drip machine? Whatever it is it certainly beats waiting in line for an overpriced, mediocre cup of warm brown water.

I bought this Bunn Commercial stainless-steel years ago, added their stainless basket at the same time. It has been trouble free over 25 years so far. I really like Ethiopian Yargacheffe medium roast beans, I buy a 5-pound sack at a time.

https://commercial.bunn.com/13300.0001

https://commercial.bunn.com/20216.0000

https://commercial.bunn.com/06100.0101

https://www.coffeebeandirect.com/co.../ethiopian-yirgacheffe?variant=40502805397549

https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-K...me-garden&sbo=RZvfv//HxDF+O5021pAnSA==&sr=1-5

 

[vwmaniaman]

I have a Kenmore that i recently acquired. It was new 2 years ago a has a charcoal filter in it from the water tank to the heater. Makes good drip coffee but never as good as percolator coffee is. I also have an old universal percolator that is getting retired because filters are getting harder to get.

 

[blain450]

So percolator coffee doesn't taste burnt?

If you allow them to run all day, yes.
The procedure for my Sunbeam AP10 is to percolate the coffee on slightly over medium strength. Drink two 10oz cups out of it and shut it off.
When I'm ready to drink the 2nd cup, the brew has run its course, so I unplug it. In terms of time, I'd say it's about an hour give or take.
The coffee that's left in the pot is fine for microwaving. I generally dump the pot when its down to a 1/4-1/2 standard cup.
I use a paper filter when brewing, which cuts down on the sediment left over. But I do feel like the paper can trap some of the coffee oils, so I rinse it under hot water prior to adding the coffee ground to the basket.

 

[Pablo]

I've had my Gaggia 6 months now. My only regret is not buying the like 20+ years ago.

I have learned to be very quick and precise and the machine and I sing in harmony. I cannot remember my last funky cup and I do three shots every morning.

Must warm up and set the kettle on.

I weigh. 14-18 grams depending on mood.
I adjust my grind only very slightly.
I blend my own beans.
I pull - time - based on looks of the crema.
I use an open (bottomless) portafilter
I used a puck screen
I use a manual tamper and my pressure is much, much less than I first thought I needed

I will drink straight, with boiling water, with cacao powder, vanilla bean paste, my non-sugar (monk, inulin, allulose), heavy cream depending on mood and day.

PS I didn't mention beans/roast much. This is 100% personal taste, IMHO.

 

[gman2304]

My old Ninja drip and my 6 month old Moccamaster. I’ve used the same Folgers Black Silk coarse grind in both machines. The Ninja is good but the Moccamaster is great. I would have never believed that the machine would make such a huge difference using the exact same ground coffee.

 

[rszappa1]

I use a $15 (Canada) Simplicite coffee maker.
I buy all sorts of package ground coffees. Or like yesterday, I go to my supermarket and buy flavored bulk coffee beans. I have a small electric coffee bean grinder at home, so I grind at home (if the store does not have a grinder).
I love all sorts of flavored beans. Coconut mocha/caramel/Irish/ choco mint, etc.
This low budget Simplicite has nothing but an On/off switch.
I have in the past owned all sorts of coffee makers, including the K cup that broke after one month. Or $40-80 coffee makers. They all eventually burnt out after 4-5 years.
So now I buy the cheapest I can find and so far after one year of usage, nice hot cup of coffee.
In my coffee cup I add to my black coffee a bit of Half & half cream, half teaspoon of brown sugar. Sometimes I add to the coffee grounds in the filter a small sprinkle of cinamonn and or tiny pinch of hot cocoa powder. For awhile I was using filtered water in the coffee maker, but I did not notice any great change in taste, so I went back to regular tap water. View attachment 332940

I still use my 5 cup Gavealia coffee maker that I got for free with an order back in the 90s.....

 

[Kryptic Mentality]

For 20 yrs now nothing comes remotely close to espresso. No doubt an acquired taste, starting with instant and rapidly seeking perfection for my taste/expectation. Finally found a quality workbench I set up to match the machine, grinder, etc. No doubt espresso is costly, but a quality setup will pay for itself many times over and will last my lifetime with typical cleaning/preventive maintenance. Also home roast that really covers all bases and saves $ along the way.

 

[Hermann]

I still use my 5 cup Gavealia coffee maker that I got for free with an order back in the 90

Those made darn good coffee.

 

[Huskyguy68]

I still use my 5 cup Gavealia coffee maker that I got for free with an order back in the 90s.....

Sure, why not?!? Lol.
But i hope you give it a clean inside of it now and then.
Run a wee bit of baking soda and water thru, let it brew.
Might be better methods, Google them.