Victoria Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I love coffee. I got a wonderful Gaggia Evolution 16100 as one of my Christmas gifts. My espresso needs are met, yay. But now, I need advice on a good American-style coffeemaker, so since RWG is slow, please help me out with this non-watch related question. BTW, saw this on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...PZ&v=glance Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker, Black and Stainless Steel It's programmable, with all the bells and whistles. EDIT: That's a must for me. Only problem is, we have limited counter space in a smallish kitchen. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhydro Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Victoria- My two favorite coffeemakers are the french press, and this: bodum santos from amazon give this one a try- I think you will really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Victoria- My two favorite coffeemakers are the french press, and this: bodum santos from amazon give this one a try- I think you will really like it. Hey Drhydro! I saw you composing and decided to stick around to see what you would say. Like many "Europeans" I have a Bodum, in fact two, such as this one. Americans call it the French press, as you did. It's a cafetiere for me. I see the advantages of having an electric one (in fact, I like that, thanks for pointing that out!), since I love scalding black coffee, but I find the Bodum gives a different taste to American-style coffee -- a little more full bodied than I prefer. Not that I'm a Folgers type of girl. My favourite are Sumatra blends. That said, I will investigate it. Thanks for the tip! P.S.: Forgot to mention that my "American-type coffee" is actually a misnomer, since my morning coffee of choice is pre-ground Tim Hortons. ...I grind other coffee beans later in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc savage Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Try an Aeropress out; makes a really smooth cup and it's under $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 French Press for sure....simple and makes the best full bodied coffee sans turkish style period. Stay away from bells and whistles...more moving parts means more chances for breakdown and repair bullshite.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmith11 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 http://www.senseo.com/en/Senseous Vic, I have this one here and it works great, makes a single cup for one person and if you use 2 bags at once you can squeeze 2 cups out. Check it out, I have had it for a year now and still working awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek001 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Hi Vic! Happy Holidaze to you and family. We love our Krups coffeemaker, have the same one for 14 years (!), whereas our friends Cuisinart gave out after 3. It makes a really good, strong teutonic cup, and has a clean, Bauhaus look. I highly recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Hi Vic! Happy Holidaze to you and family. LOL! That's fantastic, Rima. I will re-use that on my Christmas cards next year. (And the same to you, and yours!) We love our Krups coffeemaker, have the same one for 14 years (!), whereas our friends Cuisinart gave out after 3. It makes a really good, strong teutonic cup, and has a clean, Bauhaus look. Thanks for that tip. I once had a Krups which didn't last too long, but IIRC, it was a "dorm-type" 4-cupper, which cost about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 BTW, I have this Bialetti Mukka currently for espresso, and sometimes use it for American...: i saw that bialetti a couple weeks ago and am thinking about giving it a go.....what are your thoughts vic? in addition to how the coffee turns out, i'm curious about build quality & ease of cleaning.... thanks in advance, deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 2nd the aeropress. I bought it on a lark and it has seriously kicked @ss over every other coffee maker I've tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 i saw that bialetti a couple weeks ago and am thinking about giving it a go.....what are your thoughts vic? in addition to how the coffee turns out, i'm curious about build quality & ease of cleaning.... I got it last Christmas from my boyfriend so I've had some experience with it. I mention this because his entire family only use Bialetti, and have used this before. It's big, bulky, DURABLE and has a capuccino mechanism, which when pressed, theoretically gives you a nice capu/latte. Theoretically, Deltatahoe, because the result is horrible, I'm afraid. For just plain espresso, not too bad. However, the smaller the brikka, the better the espresso, I've noticed. The crema is richer with those. This one has virtually none. EDIT: What I have been taught to do by a Cuban-American friend, to get a better crema with this Mukka, is to take a tiny bit of espresso in a cup, pour it on some granulated white sugar, and spoon it into a froth. Pour that on top of your espresso in the cup. Works well, but as you can see, a lot of extra work. Lastly, I find that you have to RELIGIOUSLY clean this Mukka more than other types, because calcium and mould forms if not. All in all, I would say buy this version only for the visual (it looks chic on one's countertop, I'll give it that; it's a party conversation piece). I would really stick to the basic one: http://www.bialettishop.com/BrikkaMain.htm instead of the Moocow. HTH, D! @Subzero1: Thanks! It's so affordable, that I believe I could buy that and an electric one. Darn the Scandinavian styling of the Bodum Santos though... @UB7: LOL. Happy cooking! BTW, another member raved about the Nespresso in PM. Very nice. But as mentioned, I got a Gaggia Evolution so I'm just looking for an American-style coffeemaker. Not Mr. Coffee though. EDIT: Wow, UB7 that's beautiful. I saw your component setup in another thread, so I can see you are into high-quality goods. What brand is that coffeemaker? I can't quite make it out. @Subzero1 followup: SOLD! That "heart" reference did it -- so evocative. I'm off to Fleecebay to find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UB7 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I just got this thing as a present...Pretty nice actually - those little colored things are all different flavors...Brews 1 cup of espreso at at time, i'm not a big espresso drinker I enjoy my cofee tho ..Forgive me for being so brief but i'm in the middle of cooking a bunch of stuff for my new years party Heres it is on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Nespresso-Essenza-Si...o/dp/B000FCRLLE heres my regular coffee maker ive been quite pleased with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 @vic, thanks for the reply on the mukka....you confirmed my suspicions re: cleaning & the fact that it is asking a bit much of a single machine/device to make a good cappucino with the push of a button....it sounded suspect; you know what they say about things that appear to be too good to be true except of course AAA swiss top-notch quality replica watches!!! looks like i should give the aeropress a shot though deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 The cool thing about the aeropress is that it only makes the "heart" of the coffee. In other words, you make a very small, concentrated amount in the press, put it in a cup, and add more hot water to dilute it to american strength. Plus it cleans up 'very' easily. You can play around with the variables a bit and really home-in on the perfect cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I love coffee. I got a wonderful Gaggia Evolution 16100 as one of my Christmas gifts. My espresso needs are met, yay. But now, I need advice on a good American-style coffeemaker, so since RWG is slow, please help me out with this non-watch related question. BTW, saw this on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...PZ&v=glance Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker, Black and Stainless Steel It's programmable, with all the bells and whistles. EDIT: That's a must for me. Only problem is, we have limited counter space in a smallish kitchen. TIA! Funny Vic, that's the exact maker I have at home -love it! It's a great value (the wife and I are hard on coffee makers), even has a tiny filter in the water tank and a pressure sensative button on the heating base that shuts off the maker when there's little or no coffee left in the pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 The cool thing about the aeropress is that it only makes the "heart" of the coffee. In other words, you make a very small, concentrated amount in the press, put it in a cup, and add more hot water to dilute it to american strength. Plus it cleans up 'very' easily. You can play around with the variables a bit and really home-in on the perfect cup. As mentioned above, your "heart" reference sold this. That's a writer's description right-there. I bought it at Scamazon instead of Fleabay: Delivery estimate: January 4, 2008 - January 9, 2008 * 1 of: Aeropress Espresso Maker Sold by: Liquid Planet Online (seller profile) * 1 of: Aeropress Filters 350 Pack Sold by: Liquid Planet Online (seller profile) Grand Total: $35.93 Sheesh. I buy straps daily for 5x that price. Thanks, SZ! @TMG: Cool! I'm still in the market for an electric one, because it's easier for my father (that's always a consideration in my home, since he's not as spry as he used to be...). The Aeropress will be for me. @Doc Savage: I must thank you first and foremost for the tip! ...got the filters too, and they say they're washable/reusable, so this is a highly practical implement. Love it. @DS Followup: Oh yes. Like all Brits, we have an electric kettle. No worries there! What with the 3-5 cups of tea, and 2-3 cups of coffee, now you understand why I am wired up at 4 AM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc savage Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 (edited) Cool! If you don't already have an adjustable hot water dispenser you'll want one now. I tweaked the water cooler at work to the perfect temperature for Aeropress coffee; makes grabbing that second cup a lot faster. I don't know about reusing the filters; they are just paper (Mr. Coffee style). Edited December 28, 2007 by doc savage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfreeman420 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 I am a little late chiming in on this subject, but I was in the commercial espresso machine business for 4 years. I own a Mr. Coffee from Wal-mart. It is the top of the line MR. Coffee, has a stainless steel pot and accents along with a digital analog clock which is round reminding me of the clock in the infiniti J30. It wakes me up every morning with the fresh aroma of don francisco. At $50 it makes a grreat cup of joe and is the most expensive coffee maker I have ever owned (besides my $2,000 Delonghi ). Drip coffee makers all do the same thing. No need to spend hundreds on a coffee maker, however when it comes to espresso the equipment is of the utmost importance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek001 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 j, my in-laws have a cheap Mr. Coffee, and their coffee tastes like brown water. They grind right before brewing, I think they use enough coffee, how come it tastes like s**t? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 are they using a blade grinder? IMO, a burr grinder is just as, if not more, important than the coffee machine. Invest in a good burr grinder and freshly roasted quality beans and it's almost impossible to make a bad cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronology1066 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hi All Im with JF on this one, with the filter/drip coffee the important factors are the temperature of the water, the method of keeping it warm and above all of course the quailty of the coffee (though these are personal taste, myself I like a gentle mid roast kenya peaberry or a solid triple A roast columbian) The only advantage to the increase in price should be the quality of the kit. Example - Sexy but expensive Cheap but nice at half the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raijor Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 I like making a fresh cup every time I want one rather than making several cups in one pot. Even when I make coffee for guests I make individual cups, this way I can tailor strength to their preference. This is my maker of choice. I have 4 of them and can make up to four cups at a time with each a different type of coffee and a different strength. I use an old fashioned steam kettle to boil water. Coffee maker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 P.S.: Forgot to mention that my "American-type coffee" is actually a misnomer, since my morning coffee of choice is pre-ground Tim Hortons. ...I grind other coffee beans later in the day. HAH HAH HAH...Tim Horton's??? Who's your supplier? Get rid of the Gaggia...get the Rancilio Silva...the only machine for WIS as they can be modded too...kind of like an MBW except GREAT out of the box...or a Faema (their shop is close to me so I go in to peruse every now and then). I use a Bodum too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 HAH HAH HAH...Tim Horton's??? Who's your supplier? My boyfriend. He sends me "care packages" from Canada, frequently, full of the things I miss from Canada (remember, I used to live there when younger). Get rid of the Gaggia... I literally JUST got it! It arrived on Saturday. My first pull was what you can expect from a total newbie. Awful. 3rd was ambrosia -- what a crema. get the Rancilio Silva...the only machine for WIS as they can be modded too...kind of like an MBW except GREAT out of the box...or a Faema (their shop is close to me so I go in to peruse every now and then). Yes, I see that the Rancilios are more favoured in the site Tech directed me to, but I'm going from a Bialetti cooker version to a high-end Gaggia. That's not bad, I think. It's like going from a Paul HBB, to an HBB Lite from Angus. The full ceramic from Josh can be in the future. (Oh, to pre-empt a possible followup, Toady: I have a Gaggia MDF burr grinder, which is getting old. The Rocky is better, yes, but it'll do!) I use a Bodum too... Nice. Score another for Bodum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTone Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Many factors go into a Great cup of coffee... It all starts with the Grind... And for me, ends with the Froth... Grinder Cuisinart - Has awesome flexibility in the Grind... I for one go for a fine grind for a much stronger flavor... Coffee Maker Went with the Krups because I like Stainless instead of Glass... Hold the heat longer and allows you to turn the warmer off as to not burn the Coffee... It has all the programmable features, but I don't use them... Won't pre-grind the evening before, no way no how... Kills the flavor of the Bean everytime... Espresso Maker Went with Breville... Small footprint, and is a work-horse... Family Shot My idea of a great cup of Joe is... Two Shots of Espresso... One 1 oz. Shot of Torani Vanilla... 5-7 oz. of Coffee... And a quarter cup steamed half & half... Might be boring, but tis the way I start off every day... Double T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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