Hamilton Beach Brew Station

[laundromat]

This coffee maker is to die for. I saw them at Costco three years ago and bought one along with a nice Cuisinart coffee bean grinder. It has worked perfectly every single day ever since with only a few issues that are solved by good product maintainance.It has no pot and all you do is hold your coffee mug up to it and fill 'er up!It makes 12 cups and is programable to set it for the AM.Awsome!!!I paid only $50 for both!!!

 

[yogitunes]

They are excellent....got them at the flea market for $10.00 each...bought 4, for spares and gifts!

but my daily driver is the BUNN pour-o-matic....coffee in under 3 minutes fast....I really want the one hooked up to the water line...or the in-wall dispenser, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, espresso, all at the push of a button, one fresh cup at a time...

another thread mentioned using the hot air popper to roast beans...this works great, the whole house smells of fresh coffee, guest love it!

 

[sudsmaster]

I have wondered about the Brew Station. It seems very practical - no carafe to juggle, spill, or break. But I wonder about how well the plastic tank holds up to long term use, and does the coffee ever get that overheated burnt taste after a few hours?

I also like to take a thermos of coffee to work on cold mornings - and I don't see any way to fill a thermos or even a commuter mug directly from the Brew Station. Or am I missing something?

Actually in my attempt to lower blood pressure I've given up regular coffee for a while... feeling less jumpy etc... but do miss the java jive. And the last batch of decaf beans I bought was a real disappointment - dry and tasteless they are.

 

[yogitunes]

to fill a thermos you would have to use something like a measuring cup with a pouring spout, just to avoid spills

once a month you will have to really scrub the container out, especially around the seal, this is where leaks start, but they give you a spare one in the box, and it's only an o-ring you can find at lowes

actually for me, without one cup a day of regular coffee, I get jittery, for a little fun at work, I used to bring my boss coffee 50/50 mix or reg and decaf, he swore if he found out, that he would chase me, yeah, like he could run....lol, I used to tease him about drinking out of his cup, but I assured him after mistaken his cup, I put it back, then to see the look on his face, great to have a boss you can have fun with!

 

[drhardee]

I've owned the "Deluxe" version of this coffeemaker for more than a year, and it's held up commendably well. It features a large, round blue backlit clock/timer, and a coffee strength button which really does affect the coffee taste from mild to wonderful. The blind husbear has dropped the plastic coffee "tank" a few times when rinsing, and a small piece chipped off the rim..unsightly is all. The tank has never leaked yet (now Karma will get me for sure), but I am pretty anal about keeping the seal clean. I use a product called "Squeaknclean", (link below) which is marketed to coffee supply vendors. It's a blue citric acid solution (I think) which does a great job of cleaning the smutchz and "film" out of the Bunn carafes at work. The coffee supply vendor sells it to me for $2.50 a bottle, and it lasts quite awhile.

All in all, I bought the coffeemaker primarily for it's dispensing ability and plastic tank. A replacement coffee tank is $25.00, and the lid is $3.00, with $10.00 shipping.

I think it's a great coffeemaker, though I'm not a coffee snob or "gourmet" coffee person like my older brother. He uses the $250.00 Technivorm "Moccamaster", which makes a damned fine cuppa joe, but is too fiddly and has a glass carafe.

Squeak'n Clean

www.squeaknclean.com

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm intrigued by all things in coffee maker world, but to tell the truth I really shouldn't be allowed to brew more than a cup at a time. Otherwise I wind up sipping it all day and getting rather twitchy - and then my doc wants to put me on some sort of medication which I'm sure has bad side effects (like causing potassium deficiency and cramps).

 

[yogitunes]

theres also machines that brew one cup at a time, on demand, and you don't need to buy their special packets, you can get the insert for a small cost to put in what you want...all available at walmart.....

it's called a Black and Decker Home Cafe....and you can make reg coffee, decaf, hot choc, and cappucino in a variety of flavors....just a thought!

 

[sudsmaster]

I've seen those... but the drawback is that they don't take commuter mugs (I think).

I do have a Melitta "Two to Go"that makes a max of about four cups. It can fill a commuter mug (actually two), but, alas, is not tall enough for my vintage stainless Thermos (which can keep coffee hot ALL DAY!). I even got a Swissgold permanent filter for it, but currently I'm using it just for tea. I fill a Zojirushi stainless vacuum carafe, and it will keep stuff hot for about four hours. Then I use that to fill the Thermos or whatever.

I used to be into making espresso, with steamed milk, like a low foam latte, but got tired of all the prep involved. But I did have a technique down where I steamed the milk first (possible with a pump brewer), and then layered the espresso on top of that. It would sink to the bottom and make a very nice looking cup of coffee if brewed into a glass beaker. Sort of like a coffee rainbow. Almost hated to stir it, lol.

 

[yogitunes]

You probably do.....

but pre-heat your thermal cafes and thermos' with hot water before adding the coffee, keeps hot longer!

 

[hydralique]

Sudsmaster . . .

If you don't like the decaf you've been drinking, try ordering some from Village Coffee Roaster. I've been drinking their Ethiopian decaf for years. Anything they have is excellent; Louis, the owner, buys really fine beans and then roasts them right in the shop on a regualar basis so they're always fresh. Most shops buy pre-roasted beans in bulk and they just don't compare.

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www.villagecoffeeroaster.com

 

[sudsmaster]

Oh yes, I always add the hottest possible tap water to the thermal receptacles prior to the coffee.

I'll look for a different brand of decaf. The SF Bay brand of coffee (made in my home town) is generally good (I like their Columbian), but their "water based" decaf is really lousy.