Coffee Pot advice

[madnmas]

I am looking to buy my first coffee pot. I am the only one in the house that drinks it and I am tired of Taster's Choice Instant.

 

I don't even know where to begin to look...and to get reviews, too.

 

I want one that will benefit me (a few cups a day) but also when family comes I can make a big pot. I also want a bean grinder included.

 

I want to find the best deal (I can do that on my own)...I just want to know which coffee maker out there is the best...and how do I look for it?

 

Thanks,

Ginny

[happy410]

Just bought a Cusinart with grinder for friend. He seems to like it. Another friend has had one

for a while and loves it. I think I paid 99.00 for it at JcPennys.

[GrannyRuth]

I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond a couple days ago. They have a pot that grinds,& makes coffee ,for $149.00 It was &139. if you didn't want stainless steel. I really liked it but I'm waiting untill after Christmas ,then maybe it will be on sale & I can use coupons too. Oh and I believe you can make 10-12 cups but only take one at a time if you wish.

[tazolover]

I just bought the Cuisinart on BF, and I have to say, I'm not in love with it. My old Mr. Coffee was much quieter (the grinder is outrageously loud)! If you are looking for a "first" coffee pot, I would go with a good ol' Mr. Coffee or similar for under $20 and buy a grinder for like $10.

[preacherswife2]

I have to agree with tazolover, I also had one that did both and never did like it. I bought a grinder (bright red) at walmart and a Mr Coffee coffee pot also red all for under 50.00 that was over a year ago and I still love them both!

[kdymott]

I am an AVID coffee consumer.....

I fired Mr.Coffee a long time ago... They always leak!!

 

Excellent coffee needs water to be the proper temperature when brewing....the Bunn coffee makers keep heated water in a resevior which allows the fast brew.

I promise you will not regret this purchase if you love great coffee every day.

 

The best coffee maker EVER is the BUNN 3-minute brew.

I just purchased a replacement 2 weeks ago, and just researched/purchased for the unbelieveable price of $79 at DrillSpot.com.

Most retailers sell the basic model for $120.00 +taxes/shipping.

You may view all of the models at www.bunn.com

 

Best Price - Basic Model

(Follow these 'clicks', Using the search utility on the web page will NOT find it ...kinda strange!!)

go to www.drillspot.com

In left hand menu, click on 'Appliances and Electronics'

Click on 'Coffee Makers & Tea Brewers'

Click on 'Drip Coffee Makers, 10 Cup'

Look for item Bunn-O-Matic BX-B - 10CBLK/SS Coffee Brewer

Price: $79.43 (~ $90.00 w/ shipping)

[kdymott]

I forgot to mention, I agree with the other posts to purchase the grinder separate from the brewer. There are lots of reasons, the least of which is if one breaks, you have to replace both.... If the novelty/nuisance of grinding all the time wears off - you can grind several brands of coffee from the bean in the grocery store.

[triplestar]

Get yourself a percolator and a coffee grinder and grind your beans right before your ready to brew, maybe a little light coffee cream, and you have yourself the best coffee you ever tasted.

[sunnysky24]

I bought a hamilton beach brewstation because I LOVE TO BREAK COFFEE POTS and this doesn't have one and is soooo much nicer. walmart BF $25 compared to the $50 I paid 6 months ago!!!

[kmbrly]

I have the Hamilton Beach Brewstation programable.

[FourDreemz]

...the Bunn coffee makers keep heated water in a resevior which allows the fast brew.

I used a Bunn for a long while, but finally went back to the usual drip coffee maker (cheap one, at that) because I found that the Bunn-brewed coffee wasn't strong enough for me. It seems that because the water passes so quickly through the coffee in a Bunn, it doesn't have time to absorb as much flavor as when the water sits and brews for a moment.

 

Personal choice.

[mmm40]

Get yourself a percolator and a coffee grinder and grind your beans right before your ready to brew, maybe a little light coffee cream, and you have yourself the best coffee you ever tasted.

 

I am all for grinding it yourself. I'm too busy to busy to percolate it.

 

I have had 100.00 coffee makers and I have had 4.00 coffee makers. I like good coffee but am no expert. I suggest spending Way less on the coffee maker and buying a grinder. You could always sign up for Gevalia, get the coffee maker free and only get one or two shipments in a year.

[JJ_61755]

Pay extra for an insulated carafe. Krups makes a nice blade grinder for less than $20. A good burr grinder runs at least $80.

 

http://goodeats.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?t=27580&highlight=grinder

[happy410]

I have the brewstation as well as my mother and my in-laws. I agree with you they are nice but they do not hold up well. They start leaking and does not keep coffee hot. If

you can get one for cheap go for it,but would not invest to much because you will have to

replace in a year or less.

[mom_of2boyz]

I have the brewstation as well as my mother and my in-laws. I agree with you they are nice but they do not hold up well. They start leaking and does not keep coffee hot. If

you can get one for cheap go for it,but would not invest to much because you will have to

replace in a year or less.

Thanks for the advice. I almost bought one, and then just didn't. But I had still been thinking about it. Guess I won't after all.

[sunnysky24]

Thanks for the advice. I almost bought one, and then just didn't. But I had still been thinking about it. Guess I won't after all.

mine keeps my coffee hot for 2 hours and came with 3 extra seals and haven't had a problem yet. my mother, mother in law and my grandparents have one also with no problems yet. I have to have this as I love to break coffee pots lol.

[madnmas]

Hey everyone...I have an update on a coffee pot. After much investigating, I decided to get a Farberware percolator.

 

Like another poster said, I think the novelty of having the grinder within the coffee pot is nothing more than that, making it truly unnecessary. I was going to go with Cuisinart but many reviews stated the grinder sounds like a lawnmower starting up and who wants to wake up to that? Also, the Cuisinart was known for making messes.

 

There were way to many negative reviews on that one.

 

I hope I am happy...the endless positive reviews say I will be...The thing with investigating on the internet is that there will always be a bad review...someone will always purchase that ONE item that is a lemon. My DH said I just had to weigh it all out. I'm excited....

 

One Negative- I ordered it from Amazon with the super saver shipping and it will not be here until the 3rd week of January!!!

 

Until then...here's to my instant Taster's Choice

 

My in-laws use a percolator and the coffee has such a richer flavor. Because I am the only one drinking the stuff with "once-in-a-while-visitors" I decided to go with the 2-8 cup percolator. It does not have a programmable timer...I would have had to go to the 12 cup percolator for that.

[happy410]

Hope you will be happy! Now there are so many choices out there. I will be on the search for a new one now. My husband bought me a Bunn for Christmas, but I agree with the post,the water passes through so fast that I can't get the coffee strong enough. I've already thrown out my brewstation because it had had it. Broken and leaked. Wish me luck.

[kbasketcr8r]

I use a french press and grind my beans for each pot. It only makes 2 cups, but you wouldn't catch me dead drinking anything that had been sitting in any kind of coffee pot for over 10 minutes- lol- I guess I am what they call a "coffee snob" - I won't even drink the stuff at work.

[kren]

I'm not a coffee snob -- I buy Starbucks, yeah, but I make them grind it for me, which the purists would shudder at. You're not supposed to grind anything you won't use up in, like, an hour. I'm not a coffee snob, but between my husband and I (who works at home), we go through a pound of Starbucks every two days. We drink a LOT of coffee. That's why grinding it just won't work -- it just takes too darn long!

 

That said, we know something about what coffee makers stand up to our abuse *and* make good coffee. We recommend a brand no one has mentioned: Capresso. You can check out their reviews on Amazon; we own a $200 model that froths milk for lattes. Very nice feature; everyone who comes to our house wants a latte now. We have an espresso machine also, but that whole ritual is just too much of a pain. With the Capresso, we make it extra-strong, and even though it's automatic drip, we get the coffee ground finer than normal, and all that means we get good strong coffee. The unit comes with a stainless steel carafe -- a MUST if you're knocking pots around like us. It keeps the coffee good and hot for a couple of hours, which is the most a pot ever lasts around us, and most important: the coffee isn't sitting there on a hot plate, getting burned.

 

The other good thing about Capresso: their distributor is in Long Island and a human being picks up the phone. We've had two Capresso pots and both work great (the old one we put in the closet in favor of the frothing model, but it's still good also), but in eight years we have dealt with customer service for a couple of different problems. The auto drip lever broke on the first one, and on the second one, something in the power mechanism died fairly quickly. We got a replacement within a week, no probem.

 

Long message. Great coffeemaker. Hope it helps.

[madnmas]

One thing I will enjoy about my percolator is the rich flavor of the coffee...with the drip, that water is just going to go straight through....One thing I don't get is how the grinds won't go through. I know they don't...but how? LOL

[madnmas]

My next venture (LOL)...getting a mug that keeps my coffee INFERNO HOT. I can't stand drinking lukewarm coffee... I may just end up buying a decent looking thermos. I don't drink coffee fast and I can't stand going to the microwave to heat it up. :)

[tazolover]

So glad you found something that works for you! I took the Cuisinart Grind and Brew back today and bought a Kitchen Aid on sale at Kohls. Hopefully the blasted thing will be less loud and actually work! The Cuisinart gave up after being used maybe 6 times and it started to leak. I felt so horrible that DH didn't have coffee in the morning, I was running out to Starbucks every morning this week. Had to end that expense, so I really hope the Kitchen Aid one I bought works!

 

P.S. We have a Bodum press, but honestly, it isn't something that is convenient when making coffee during the week. Great for weekends, but not for regular use. Just my opinion of course.

[tazolover]

My next venture (LOL)...getting a mug that keeps my coffee INFERNO HOT. I can't stand drinking lukewarm coffee... I may just end up buying a decent looking thermos. I don't drink coffee fast and I can't stand going to the microwave to heat it up. :)

They have coffee warmers which are little burners you can rest your coffee mug on. Perfect for use at a desk or up on a counter away from little hands. I use mine all the time for candles. Instead of having an open flame, I just warm the candles on the mug warmer.

[Guest mldepalma]

P.S. We have a Bodum press, but honestly, it isn't something that is convenient when making coffee during the week. Great for weekends, but not for regular use. Just my opinion of course.

I'm with you. The press makes a tasty cup of coffee, but it is not at all convenient during the week when I'm busy getting DH and kids ready for the day. For that, I'll use my (FREE) Senseo....

[wyntyrose]

So glad you found something that works for you! I took the Cuisinart Grind and Brew back today and bought a Kitchen Aid on sale at Kohls. Hopefully the blasted thing will be less loud and actually work!

 

 

 

I have the Kitchen aid Java Studio and I love it. As someone who has NEVER been a coffee drinker this machine made me fall in love with all things Java.

[mildmom]

Thanks for the advice. I almost bought one, and then just didn't. But I had still been thinking about it. Guess I won't after all.

I've had the Brewstation for almost 3 years now and I still love it. I got it because I ususally only make a little but can make a large pot if I have company. It has a programmable timer and auto shut-off. It is easy to clean, either by hand or in the dishwasher. I went through several pots the year I got that one. I had an insulated carafe because it is such a great idea, but then the lid leaked and also got mold in it so that all the coffee coming out tasted moldy to me-yuck. I had talked my mom into the same one and hers had similar and different problems. There was no way to take the lid apart to clean it.

 

The key to the Brewstation not leaking is to clean the little spout where the coffee comes out every so often. It gets clogged with oils from the coffee. You are supposed to run a vinegar rinse through every month to keep it running best. I don't do it that often, but occasionally. Once a year I have taken a q-tip to the little spout area and that has done the trick.

 

As for hotness, I find that the coffee gets hottest if it sits for 10-20 min (duh, makes sense). I love the fact that I can draw out as little as I want at a time and always have hot coffee (it is so EASY- you just push your cup up against the button and it goes right into your cup). I've been known to draw out two sips at a time (just because I'm the Mom and I CAN).

 

It also comes with a water filter which I have never replaced (I have good water though). I also find that using an espresso grind yields much better flavor-don't know if this is the pot or true in all cases; I'm not much of a coffee nut, just appreciate a good cup of Brazilian coffee : )

 

I totally recommend the BrewStation by Hamilton Beach.

[triplestar]

Great choice!