My wife wants a coffee maker, and I have no idea… I know there are resident experts on this board, so I thought I’d ask your advice. Here are her ‘requirements’:
-it must be black in color, stainless, or combination of the two
-needs to brew at least 10 cups at a time
-as compact as possible
-would like a stainless carafe (sp?)
-interrupt-a-cup feature
-possibly grind it’s own beans
-timer
-she doesn’t want espresso,cappucino
-needs to be high(er) end model/brand that will last a long time (not a cheapo).
I tried google, but I can’t get it to narrow down the 10 million different models. Saw a percolator that might fit the bill, but not sure exactly how that is different from the maker. Sorry, I’m pretty ignorant about this, I just drink the stuff.
I was just going to suggest visiting the cute little barista at the local coffee shop as a recommended coffee maker. I doubt you can find one that is stainless steel, but, I know they come in black
I have one that meets every requirement except the stainless caraffe one. It’s a Cuisinart, stainless steel and black, timer, 12 cups. An additional feature you didn’t request that i find useful is the adjustable burner temp. I turn the burner down, which keeps the coffee fresh longer. I see it in stores all the time for around $100. They also make a model that grinds, but I think that’s less likely to hold up in the long run. Too much to break.
Here’s the model I have at the sears website. I can’t remember where we got ours:
While we’re talking about coffee, my wife got the phillips senseo pod system, and it makes a great single serving (their 2-cup = my 1-cup) of coffee. I wake up to fresh brewed coffee at 3:30 am, work out, then head to work with a travel mug full of senseo coffee. It keeps me from swinging through the expensive Starbucks drive-thru. Probably will cover the $70.00 cost of the senseo in 3 months!
when i moved to the states i only brought 2 luxury things: my bike and my 1000 watt coffee maker (shipping cost alone $70). i just can’t live without it. the coffee has at least starbucks quality, you don’t have to clean it (only once a week or so), no filters, a nice cup of coffee at the press of a button.
downside - it’s probably a little more expensive …
Andy - check these guys out http://store.everythinghome.org/coffee.html. E-pinions has a bunch of info too. I have a Cuisinart Grind-n-Brew that was pretty sweet until it crapped out 2 days ago. It’s like an alarm clock only better, at least it was. I think they have carafe/thermos models too.
We just picked up the Starbucks labeled 12cup thermal carafe coffee maker. It is the second Starbucks branded brewer that we have owned. We’ve been happy with both of them as far as the quality of the coffee. They don’t have a grinder option as far as I know. Ours is a SS/Black version.
The one feature that we find to be valuable is a thermal carafe. I’m not sure if it matters so much that the carafe is seales, but the coffee stays good a lot longer than any style that I have used with a heating element.
Capresso makes a nice one with all of the doodads that you asked for except the bean grinder…
Most of the bean grinder maker combos (cuisinart) do not measure out a set amount of beans from a dispenser instead you have to measure out the amount of beans you want then fill the grinder then set it… not as helpful as you might have thought… Besides if you are as serious about coffee that you can tell the difference between beasn ground the night before or that second you are going to own a nice low speed burr grinder.
I have the cofee tec model but never use the milk frother so I would reccomend the model without it (again if you are serious about milk frothing you will have something to do this) It makes a kick ass cup
Call me a snob, but since using the Saeco single cup grind and brew machine where I work (US startup of a German company) I don’t know if I can ever go back to coffee out of a pot or carafe. It drives my wife crazy, but I find myself going into work on Saturday just to get a cup of coffee. Similar to the one pictured by SebBo above, our takes whole beans, grinds them to the fineness you desire, tamps them, brews one cup, and brews either espresso of up to a full cup of coffee, then disposes the grounds in a small drawer. No more stale coffee sitting in the post for several hours, waiting for a pot to brew or cleaning a pot. Our machine even has an auto descaling feature. All you have to do is empty the dreg drawer occasionally and the inside are very easy to pull out and clean. They are not cheap, but I keep looking for a good deal on ebay. Plus with the Saeco it is a company that at least used to support cycling.
I have the same one…though it is a Kitchen-Aid. It appears Starbucks bought the rights to it (and reduced the price significantly…I paid about $300 when it first came out 5 or 6 years ago). I tried almost every coffee maker on the market using the liberal return policy of a local retailer. This one makes the best coffee and the stainless carafe keeps it warm without constantly heating the coffee and ruining the taste.
