Best way to make the best tasting coffee

[lordkenmore]

The Norelco lack of a power switch might be because of the age of the design. Wasn't Norelco one of the earliest home drip coffee pots, released in the 70s someplace? Coffee makers before that era were percolators and vacuum pots which--at least on all specimens I've seen--have also lacked a power switch.

And yes, unplugging is probably safer than a switch. Particularly in this brave new world of cheap appliances. I've heard claims that more than one fire has been traced back to a marginal switch in something like a cheap modern coffee maker.

 

[petek]

I'm thinking that the Mr.Coffee was the first home drip coffeemaker on the market touted by Joe Gariagola

 

[dogboy44]

Percolator, then French press.

 

[hunter]

Actually it was...

Actually Mr. Coffee was touted by Joe Dimaggio.

God, I feel old

 

[cycla-fabric]

HB Scoop CoffeeMaker

I gave the HB Scoop coffeemaker to my partner for Christmas and he loves it. Whats nice is that you can make single servings with your own coffee. You don't have to buy all those little containers of coffee. Bill uses it durning the week as he doesn't drink enough to make a pot. So far it works well and its easy to keep clean too!

Doug

 

[petek]

Two poz reviews

Was yapping on the phone last night with Davy and he said after seeing the vid I posted on the HB Scoop coffee maker in another thread he went and bought one for the office and it's getting rave reviews. Now I want one

 

[westie2]

Pete it is really making me want one too.  Would be nice in the evenings.  I makemy Bunn pot full in the mornings and have my couple of cups then take the rest in insulated mug to work.  Our work coffee is bad.  When done with my fodd I consider done until I get home.

 

 

[westie2]

Reading the above on the Mr.Coffe the first two I had were good machines and were like the Bunns in a way.  You put the filter and coffee in then filled the pot and switched the power on and poured the water in and it traveled through the heater by gravity and sprayed the coffee with the water.  The first one laste me 4 years and the second one a Mr. Coffee II was still workin 6 years later when we got our first Bunn.  Nowdays they use the pump thing not gravity. 

 

[aeoliandave]

Re: Reply# 44 & 45

Yes, I did, Pete...after intensive online researh. As always, I wanted to see and examine the item in person to see if it would meet and satisfy my needs.
Agree whole-heartedly, Doug.

I luvs my coffee and have a rather excessive collection of vintage manual drip and electric percolators which all mostly make a fine pot of coffee.
However, after 10 weeks winter vacation time I returned to regular 9-5 M-F work this past Monday. In the Christmastime ramp-up to this work-a-day time I fell for the Krups/Nescafe Dolce Gusto line of Pod coffee makers - because the Pods were priced the cheapest off the shelf at SEARS (16 pods for CN$8.99) and the diminutive and cute 'Puffin' version was on sale at SEARS for $49.99 marked down from $99.99. (Pods in bulk can be had considerably cheaper on-line)

I like the Pod machines for what they are but would never rely exclusively on one. But little Krups takes up little space on the counter - about the footprint of a blender - sets up quickly, cleans up easily and shoots out a small European sized cup of very hot and tasty drink for that jet fuel start in the morning. It is simpler than the other pod machines I looked at because it utilized only ONE Pod piercing needle, using the high pressure to pop the bottom pod seal (Other machines clamp their pods between a top needle and a toothed bottom post that is forced into the pod - I could predict the Pod Chamber closing mechanism struts failing early on from constant use)

The Scoop has a 5 year guarantee sticker on it!

Anyway...this single-cup Pod machine will get me out the door with a minimum of fuss, leaving the vintage percs for weekends and days off when there's nothing better than a full pot of coffee to see me through the day.

My work habit the past few years/decades had become a morning trip to Tim Hortons for two or three workday coffees on the way in. Adds 15-20 minutes to the detour even tho I live a 12 minute direct walk to work. So I fell into the habit of driving the Subaru or the electric scooter...another significant cost to consider.

So, the Ham-Beach single cup Scoop makes a lot of time saving sense as the departmental coffee maker at work. No point to having a full carafe Bunn because of the waste factor. Very low maintenance, easy cleanup, no disposable filters and everyone can brew one large very hot cup for themselves when they wish...and with their own preferred brand & grind of coffee.

It has proven to be an excellent choice for our situation.

BTW, I don't like the taste that stainless steel travel mugs and cups add to the coffee so I went out yesterday to ZEHRS where they have tall heavy double-wall ceramic travel tumblers with silicon sippy-lids on sale - 2 for $10 - and again, they keep the fresh coffee hot without imparting a strange metallic taste; I got four for the folks at the office...or they can use any handled mug they like.

Dave

The adorably cute Krups Nescafe Dolce-Gusto PICCOLO 'Puffin Penguin'.

 

[polkanut]

Quite some time ago I remember seeing an article that when Mr. Coffee first came on the market, it was sold by Hammacher Schlemmer because it was a very high-end machine at the time.  I would like to find a 70's Sunbeam drip machine, and also a West Bend version.

 

[rp2813]

Add me to the list of those who abhor flavored coffee.  God, that stuff shouldn't even be allowed to be called coffee.

 

My parents had the first pre-Dial-a-Brew Norelco.  As I recall, they went through two of them under warranty and after the third one quit, they switched to Black and Decker which used a similar system with filter basket that sat on top of the carafe.

 

It's interesting that my sister's Chemex automatic, which has been her daily driver for around 30 years, is still going strong.  It's basically a Norelco machine with a few tweaks added.  It was repaired by Chemex once quite some time ago, but considering its age, it's amazing that it continues to function.  Pictured machine is not hers, but was lifted from somewhere on line.  Should anyone ever come across one of these, please notify me immediately!

 

[westie2]

RalpWow

That first Norelo had the Chemex pot.  I din't know that.  I like my Chemex to use on weekend.

 

[lordkenmore]

My parents had one of those Mr. Coffee machines with gravity feed. I don't really remember much about it, except the gravity feed part. I think it came with a special pitcher that one filled with water to pour through.

I think it arrived in our kitchen in the mid 70s when the glass knob to the percolator broke. (I don't recall the break, but I recall the thrilling shopping trip to try and replace it. Somehow that left an impression that has survived all these years.) No suitable glass bulb turned up, so my parents got Mr. Coffee.

I think the Mr. Coffee lasted more than a year, but less than five.

 

[qualin]

I have a friend who wants to buy one of those Dolce Gusto machines.

From what I can see, it seems like a really quick way to make a Capuccino, with no cleanup required. I'm tempted to buy one now.

 

[polkanut]

Ralph,

That certainly is a rare bird!  I would think that finding one would be scarcer than hens teeth.  Will keep my eyes open here in central WI, but don't get your hopes up, we're pretty boring when it comes to stuff like that.  Does the pot have a handle?

 

[rp2813]

Chemex Automated

The Chemex version of this coffee maker has a couple of extras on it that the Norelco doesn't.  The water is distributed by a sort of shower head component.  You can see it on the box in the picture above, to the left of the word "cycle."  It's a hockey puck looking thing that protrudes out beyond the front of the machine. 

 

The Chemex additionally has a lighted on/off switch and a temperature control for the warming plate.  There is also a mechanism that pauses the brewing process every couple of minutes to extract maximum flavor.  That is the "exclusive wetting cycle" touted on the box.

 

Tim, the Chemex carafes don't have a traditional handle.  You use the wood grip in the center to hold and pour from the carafe.  I have seen pictures of an entirely different looking Chemex carafe that has has an integrated glass handle, but I don't think that type is compatible with an automatic brewer.

 

[passatdoc]

My mother used a Chemex automatic for years. Along with Chemex, I remember Norelco (which made the electrical part of the Chemex for Chemex) and Melitta as being very early drip coffee makers, like 1974. Mr Coffee was not the earliest on the market. I remember the Joe Di Maggio ads, but they were later in the 1970s. My aunt was using a Melitta automatic by c. 1974---I remember because I was from Calif, she was in NY (so I was an infrequent visitor in her house), and from 1974 I was at university in New England, at which point I was a guest 2-4 times a year. I remember seeing an article in the NY Times Magazine trying to rate and review all of the new models, and my aunt had the Melitta machine depicted in the article.

My first machine was the four cup Norelco, which used the small diameter flat filter. It did not have an on-off switch or any dial settings. Plug it in and it was "on". Pull the plug out and it was "off". It was black with silver sides, and the filter holder on top of the carafe was either orange or black (can't remember). I bought it for $20 at the original Price Club in San Diego in 1978. (Price Club merged with Seattle-based Costco to form the present Costco in the early 1990s, but San Diego-based Price Club began earlier than Costco, from mid-1976).

 

[passatdoc]

ps re: Chemex

Chemex carafes were also used free-standing, by pouring hot water from a kettle over the grounds in a filter. THey used the same glass design with wooden handle.

We made coffee the same way at home in the early 1970s: #4 Mellita filter in a plastic Mellita filter holder, placed over a small earthen pitcher. Fill filter with coffee, slowly pour hot water from a water kettle over the grounds. Cumbersome, and you had to pour the water slowly and evenly, but the result tasted good, as long as it was for immediate consumption.

 

[rp2813]

My stash of camping gear includes a plastic #4 size Mellita filter holder and a quart sized thermal carafe upon which the filter holder can be securely (relatively) positioned.  It took me while to find the combination of filter holder and carafe that could be used without having to steady the filter holder with one hand during the brewing process.

 

Free-standing Chemex brewers abound on eBay and at many coffee and kitchen-oriented retailers.  Of course, on eBay you'll find plenty of "Eames" references regarding the carafe design.

 

 

 

[volsboy1]

I love coffee also I have Tons of makers...My Favorite is the  Technivorm so far it is a great coffee maker and made very well compared to others.. For my espresso I use Saeco Talea Touch and I have Keurig I got for Xmas which I like a lot its not a bad machine... I have a Bunn and I used it about two weeks and put it back in the box and it's been collecting dust the water goes through to quick that is the only good thing is that it's fast...