french press if you’re a true snob.
I think their may be some subtle differences in the drip machines but the coffee and water is more important. We grind our own beans for every pot. My friend is a real snob and he buys his own green beans and roasts them himself. Way better!
Get a coffee machine that has an insulated carafe rather than one with a hot plate.
I second that.
Check out Coffeegeek.com. The general consensus is that unless you’re drinking espresso-derived drinks, a French press is the way to go.
I highly recommend roasting your own coffee, too. It transforms coffee from a good-cup/bad-cup experience into something like the way wine snobs view wine, much more interesting. SweetMarias.com is a good starting point.
I use an iRoast. It’s fine.
I personally love the French press, but if you need a timed device that is automatic, my wife and I have this by Cuisinart.
http://www.cuisinart.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi/en/item.cgi?item_id=DGB-600BC
It comes with a gold filter, so you never have to use the paper ones, and you can load whole beans into it. The thing makes some damn fine coffee and the thermal carafe keeps it hot for hours. The only detraction I would have about it if any, is that the grinder makes alot of noise if you set it to grind before you wake up in the morning. If you time it while you are taking a shower, then forget I mentioned it.
Except for espresso, french press is my favorite, but if you want a machine, get a Bunn. The water temp is perfect and it is never bitter. It is also fast. 10 cups in 3 1/2 minutes. You can get 'em at Target.
I agree with the grind your own beans.
We have this one. I get up at 3:30, she gets up at 5:00. By turning the variable burner down to low, we are able to have the 5:00 coffe not taste so old and burned.
We also have a senseo, and love the dark roast coffe from it. I bought a second one that I use at the office.
I love a French press, and used one for a decade, but find it’s a pain in the ass to clean. Now I use the Juan Valdez pod machine. Coffee without the wait, and with no cleaning.
The problem with most drippers is that they boil the water in the coil in the base, so the water is TOO hot. They just hope it will cool enough to make decent coffee before the water hits the grounds. Bunns hold the water at 190deg F in a tank. Whatever volume of water you put in the top displaces that much waterfrom the tank, at the preset temp, into the beans–immediately. This is why it is so fast. You don’t need a timer, since it doesn’t take 15-20 minutes to brew.
Tom,
What model is that? Earlier Cuisinart link showed only 10 and 12 cup machines. She doesn’t drink it so I need to have SOME self-control, need the 4 cup.
Sorry, it’s a 12-cup.
Their whole line can be found here. Closest I could find was the one pictured below, but I have no idea if it makes decent coffee.
If it says “Made in Italy” and its to do with coffee buy it!
Quality over quantity, “lifes to short to drink bad coffee”…
2nd the Bunn recommendation. Also, I use a hot air pop corn popper to roast. Kind of a pain, but it was cheap.
With two coffee drinkers in the house, I probably roast 2 -3 times a week. It’s very easy, about as complicated as fixing a bowl of cereal, and once you develop a little experience, you can get it going and leave it. The only hassle is when you run out of green beans and have to rely on pre-roasted crap until your next order arrives. That serves as a good reminder of why you bother to roast your own.
Venting is an issue to think about before you take the plunge. Some people object to the smell (I like it), and it is strong if you roast indoors without venting If you roast very dark and without venting, you’ll get some blue oil smoke, which can set of your fire alarm. The roaster I have has an attachment that you can set up with clothes drier vent tubing to take the air outside (assuming you have a vent hole), but I roast in the garage, which means I have to compensate for ambient temperature in roast time and temp but keeps most of the smell out of the house proper. Sounds complicated but it’s not.
My roaster does a cup of green beans at a time, which makes about 1.5 cups roasted (they expand a bit, how much depends on the beans).
There is a better way to brew. It starts with barley malt, hopps, yeast, sugar…
Why not try the Civet method? Sounds like an absolutely fantastic idea.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2004/01/20/civet_coffee_good_to_the_last_dropping/
Maybe you can talk to IronMangilia and borrow a cat for a while.
Not to hijack - has anyone used the Miele or Dacor in-wall coffee systems? We are going to redo the kitchen and thought this might be a nice addition.
So, I have worked for a coffee roaster for 8 years. I have done a little roasting, but now I do finance. If people like roasting their own coffee, great. But as a person who sits twenty feet from a 240 kilo brambatti every day, I dont think home roasting is the best way to attain quality. Also the price paid for green been to home roasters is marked up about three to four times.
People talk about the freshness of grinding what you just roasted, but coffee will not taste right until it has had at least 72 hours post roast to de-gas.
To me it sonds similar to a person saying, hey, I like bikes, I am going to built a carbon fiber frame. I owuld tell you to try lots of local roasters and find one you like and trust.
But again, if you like it, more power to you. And try a frence press.
“but if you need a timed device that is automatic, my wife and I have this by Cuisinart.”
I bought that Cuisinart grind and brew last year and had to take it back. I had it set to brew at 5:00 the first morning and it sounded like a 747 taking off in my kitchen. Not a great way to wake up, jumping out of bed and running to the kitchen to see what disaster was taking place. Also not enough room in the bean hopper for a strong 12 cup pot. I returned it and bought the Cuisinart Brew Central and the Cuisinart Supreme Burr Mill. Now I grind just before bed and set the timer on the Brew Central.
Also, fill whatever you buy with Peet’s Major Dickason’s blend. Peets.com if you don’t live in the SF Bay Area.
Dave