coffee maker recommendations requested

In article <[email hidden]>,

smithfarms pure kona said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Doe John said:

On Thu, 19 May 2005 16:11:04 -0600, "Quilt!"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

One of the secrets to good coffee (other than the obvious point of

not

Quoted message said:

buying cheap, canned "brand name" coffee) is to use DI water and
_unbleached_ coffee filters! Once I got used to the raw paper coffee
filters, I could taste the chemical taste in the coffee from the
bleached filters.

The other real advantage to using distilled/deionized water in the
coffee maker is that the machine "lives" longer and you never have to
run vinegar thru it to clean it out. No hard water deposits. ;-)

FWIW: While "manning" a booth at the Specialty Coffee of America
Association (it is SCAA but can never remember where the 2 "A"s
go)--anyway, I was told many times, that the gold filter imparts the
least taste. I was told, white filters impart a white paper taste to
fine coffee and brown/natural impart a brown bag flavor, so only use
those "gold" kind.

aloha,
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

:-)

For some drip makers, you can also purchase a washable filter made of
fabric or fine metal screen. I've never tried one.

Anyone?
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell--you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

I use a MrCoffee 12-cup cone filter
No timers, no gadgets.....
and a SMALL counter-top footprint.
$19 at WallyWorld

Personally, I think a cone filter
gets more coffee out of the grounds....

Quilt! said:

Time for a new coffeemaker. Recommendations of brands and models, please.

<rj>

Quoted post said:

I use a MrCoffee 12-cup cone filter
No timers, no gadgets.....
and a SMALL counter-top footprint.
$19 at WallyWorld

None of the unnecessary features that drive the price up and then wear out and
require premature replacement. When my better <?> quality drip coffee maker's
carafe broke I bought a whole new bottom of the line Moulinex for $2 more than the
replacement carafe. I can't set my coffee maker up the night before to brew a pot
of coffee for me automatically. All I can do is put in the water and the coffee
and gee whiz in the morning I have to come downstairs and flip the switch and wait
a few minutes for the fresh coffee. It costs me no time to wait for the coffee,
but if I ever do find myself waiting desperately for a morning fix I can think
about how much longer the machine has lasted that the predecessor with the burned
out timer.

My sister in law replaces her expensive coffee makers at least once a year. She
uses crappy coffee, so no matter how good the machine is, her coffee is crappy.

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

smithfarms pure kona said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Doe John <[email hidden]> wrote:

> On Thu, 19 May 2005 16:11:04 -0600, "Quilt!"
> <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

One of the secrets to good coffee (other than the obvious point of

not

Quoted message said:

buying cheap, canned "brand name" coffee) is to use DI water and
_unbleached_ coffee filters! Once I got used to the raw paper coffee
filters, I could taste the chemical taste in the coffee from the
bleached filters.

The other real advantage to using distilled/deionized water in the
coffee maker is that the machine "lives" longer and you never have to
run vinegar thru it to clean it out. No hard water deposits. ;-)

FWIW: While "manning" a booth at the Specialty Coffee of America
Association (it is SCAA but can never remember where the 2 "A"s
go)--anyway, I was told many times, that the gold filter imparts the
least taste. I was told, white filters impart a white paper taste to
fine coffee and brown/natural impart a brown bag flavor, so only use
those "gold" kind.

aloha,
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

:-)

For some drip makers, you can also purchase a washable filter made of
fabric or fine metal screen. I've never tried one.

Anyone?
--

A big pain!
Dee

Quilt! said:

Time for a new coffeemaker. Recommendations of brands and models,

please.

I bought my parents a Hamilton Beach Flavorplus (model 43421) and they
really seem to like it. It has a timer so you can have it come on
before you get up. It has a pause and serve feature. The flavorplus
feature allows you to brew the coffee more slowly so that more flavor
is extracted from the grounds. I got mine from Amazon.com. The price
ranges anywhere from $30.00 to $40.00

Dee Randall said:

"Monsur Fromage du Pollet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Joneses wrote on 19 May 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

"Quilt!" wrote:

> Time for a new coffeemaker. Recommendations of brands and
> models, please.

I like the model with a timer. That way I can set it to brew while
I'm in the shower and can set up the pot the night before.

Can't even tell you what brand I have w/o getting up to look. It's
lasted for at least 10 years. Maybe more.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I drink way too much coffee to move up to espresso. I believe the
proper brewing temp is 205F and a good bean is one you like the taste
of. So get a brewer that brews at 205F and find a bean and a grind you
like (harder than it sounds). I like dark european roasted beans the
best. I like the taste they have. And I like a real fine grind. But
that's just me...find your own preferences.

Tying the brewer method plus machine and the bean roast you like can
take a long time. But inroads can be made fairly cheaply getting in the
ballpark, so to speak, on the type of roast.

Dear Monsur Fromage du Pollet,
I picked this information up in Canada (assuming you are Canadian?):
Expresso coffee is made with 'expresso coffee beans'.
I have bought cans of coffee saying "Expresso Coffee."

I won't dispute your experience.

Quoted message said:

If one has a expresso coffee machine, doesn't one always use 'expresso
coffee' made with a specific type of coffee bean? And what beans are
expressly made for expresso.

I'd use dark roasted beans (French, Italian roast) and an expresso to
turkish grind. Beans are another ball of wax, as they say. I like
African Blend or Suluwasi.

Quoted message said:

Aren't expresso coffee beans processed a certain way so as to make it less
caffeine; and perhaps less bitter?

Again, no. The darker the roast, the less caffeine is left in the
beans. Weird, huh? I read it somewhere, so it must be true. I know
I don't get a caffeine rush in the morning and I drink a huge cup of
coffee made with the darkest roast I can find, ground at "Turkish". I
don't measure, I dump in the coffee and I know I use half again as
much as mere mortals, because I like my spoon to stand up by itself.
Anything weaker is too "watery" and undrinkable, IMO.

Quoted message said:

And are these beans used for expresso always ground to a certain fine grind,
called 'expresso grind.'

Absolutely.

rosie read n' post said:

we have tried just about every "common" brands available, and find
absolutely NO DIFFERENCE.
imo,its about the coffee bean, temp, and storage of beans.

"Back in the day", when I bought ground & canned coffee beans ... I
liked the one with chicory. Have you tried it?

Dave Smith said:

I can't set my coffee maker up the night before to brew a pot
of coffee for me automatically. All I can do is put in the water and the coffee
and gee whiz in the morning I have to come downstairs and flip the switch and wait
a few minutes for the fresh coffee. It costs me no time to wait for the coffee,
but if I ever do find myself waiting desperately for a morning fix I can think
about how much longer the machine has lasted that the predecessor with the burned
out timer.

You can always buy yourself one of those plug in lamp and appliance
timers. They are small units with a dial and cost $10 or less.

sf said:

Quoted message said:

I can't set my coffee maker up the night before to brew a pot
of coffee for me automatically. All I can do is put in the water and the coffee
and gee whiz in the morning I have to come downstairs and flip the switch and wait
a few minutes for the fresh coffee. It costs me no time to wait for the coffee,
but if I ever do find myself waiting desperately for a morning fix I can think
about how much longer the machine has lasted that the predecessor with the burned
out timer.

You can always buy yourself one of those plug in lamp and appliance
timers. They are small units with a dial and cost $10 or less.

Or I can just flip the switch manually :-)

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

smithfarms pure kona said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Doe John <[email hidden]> wrote:

> On Thu, 19 May 2005 16:11:04 -0600, "Quilt!"

Quoted message said:

For some drip makers, you can also purchase a washable filter made of
fabric or fine metal screen. I've never tried one.

Anyone?

I do know and that "gold screen" is the best. A few dollars at any
kitchen shop. Do not get a fabric one that needs laundering.

with aloha,
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

Dave Smith said:

sf said:

Quoted message said:

I can't set my coffee maker up the night before to brew a pot
of coffee for me automatically. All I can do is put in the water and the coffee
and gee whiz in the morning I have to come downstairs and flip the switch and wait
a few minutes for the fresh coffee. It costs me no time to wait for the coffee,
but if I ever do find myself waiting desperately for a morning fix I can think
about how much longer the machine has lasted that the predecessor with the burned
out timer.

You can always buy yourself one of those plug in lamp and appliance
timers. They are small units with a dial and cost $10 or less.

Or I can just flip the switch manually :-)

It was just a suggestion. Before my DD gave me the coffee maker unit
with a built in timer (which has lasted at least a dozen years), I
used the plug in variety.

Beaker said:

On 20 May 2005 07:13:16 -0700, Sheldon quoth:

Quoted message said:

If yoose drink lattes you ain't
drinking brewed coffee at all, may as well be instant.

Now that's absolutely not-true. I've quaffed many a latte
in my day, and the espresso quality makes a big difference.
Not as much as for a straight espresso shot, but you can
taste the espresso quality in a cappuccinos and lattes.

Espresso is no test, espresso is essentially burned beans... doesn't
really matter what beans but most usually the poorest, which is why
they're burned rather than tossed... those who compete for whose
espresso is best is tantamount for competing whose [censored] doesn't stink,
matters not, it's all [censored]. Espresso mavens are morons sitting around
in a circle jerk... espresso doesn't even qualify as coffee... like
trying to figure out exactly what's ground mystery meat, you can't.

Sheldon

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dee Randall said:

Isn't that what Starbucks is: Burnt beans? People seem to love Starbucks
coffee. Somehow I thought that Starbucks coffee (burnt coffee beans) was a
little different than expresso (burnt coffee beans), other than the fineness
of grind.
Don't know, tho.
Any comments?

Starbucks over roasts their coffee... mainly because they're not in the
business of selling coffee: they sell coffee-flavored dessert drinks.
The taste of good coffee would be lost in all that cream and sugar (and
caramel, or vanilla syrup, or whatever else). They're darn good
marketers, though, and have convinced many people that this is what
"gourmet" coffee should be like.

Espresso blends need not be very dark.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

In article <[email hidden]>,

Lou said:

While the coffee snobs may not agree, I've been very pleased with my
Bodum Antigua Electric Burr Grinder for several years now. It uses
quality burrs and my only complaint is that it is noisey. I use a
french press pot and don't make espresso so I never grind very fine
for that purpose. They are quite reasonable at $59.95 and can be
found at numerous source by using "Froogle".

For something like press or autodrip coffee, the Antigua is fine.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

Scott said:

Espresso blends need not be very dark.

Thank you.

As one who roasts my own coffee, I can confirm your statement.
Espresso is a blend of bean varieties, not a degree of roast. While
espresso is typically roasted to what is most commonly referred to as
French roast, it's neither madatory nor always desirable. Light
espresso, which is roasted just a few degrees beyond medium, is quite
popular in France and N. Italy. I often prefer a lighter roast if I'm
blending an espresso with stronger flavored beans, like African
arabicas.

nb

Lou said:

While the coffee snobs may not agree, I've been very pleased with my
Bodum Antigua Electric Burr Grinder for several years now. It uses
quality burrs and my only complaint is that it is noisey. I use a
french press pot and don't make espresso so I never grind very fine
for that purpose. They are quite reasonable at $59.95 and can be
found at numerous source by using "Froogle".

I have a cheapo Capresso Burr Mill that works great except for the fact
that it flings coffee everywhere and the static is something terrible.
It also has a flimsy see through bean hopper with a lid that doesn't fit
tight. I'd kinda like to store my beans in the burr mill if possible.

~john