What kind of coffee maker should I buy

Coffee, elixir of the Gods. There are many ways to drink your coffee, black, with cream, with sugar, with cream and sugar, flavored creams which contain sugar, espresso, latte, frappe`, Iced, decaffeinated, and about a zillion other names for that lovely drink that we use to give us that morning perk. Some of us even drink it all day long just because it tastes good.

The next question you may ask is what kind coffee pot should I use? For generations the basic coffee pot was a percolator pot.  The kind where you put your grounds in a basket, water heated and went up a tube then hot water pops up and over the grounds to drip back into your cold water and continue to repeat the cycle for about half an hour. The result? Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was mud. The older your pot got, the longer it took to cook and that’s about what you got, cooked coffee. By the time you finished your pot you considered yourself lucky if it wasn’t full of grounds.

Those that truly love coffee were blessed with the invention of the drip coffee maker. Those that weren’t too fond of it soon became converts, the taste had improved tremendously and the grounds were no longer in the bottom of the cup.

From my years experience of drinking coffee along with purchasing pots, I have compiled a list of 3 of my favorite kinds of pots. As with anything purchased, you should read the manufacturers instructions that come with your coffee maker.

1.)  Mr. Coffee - Probably the oldest of the drip makers, this pot works very well.  It has options of timers along with clocks to have your coffee ready and waiting for you when you wake up.  You can have your choice when purchasing this type of pot with or without the timers.  Keep in mind that coffee has a tendency to get and taste burned if left cooking in a pot for more than 2 hours.  The price of this type of coffee maker is relatively low and affordable even if you choose the timer options.  The maintenance of this pot, along with most drip makers is relatively simple.  Running a cycle of vinegar once per month will keep your pot happy and healthy for a long life, and keep your coffee tasting like it should.  This has a glass carafe, that over time will wear down and possibly break, but they have made replacement pots available to purchase at most discount stores.

2.) Bunn coffee maker - Most people have seen these types of pots in restaurants and coffee houses. Do to demand Bunn made one available for home use. The price of this type of pot is on the higher end, which can make it rather costly, depending on the model. There is a reservoir in the back of the pot that keeps water hot at all times, by adding a pot of water it forces the hot water out to your pot. This too is a drip maker. There is no timer on this pot, since the water is hot all you have to do is pour the water in and in just 5 minutes your coffee is ready. This pot is great for those who do a lot of entertaining, coffee is ready in just minutes and while the first cup is being enjoyed, the second pot is almost ready to go. The cleaning of this pot is done by purchasing a powdered cleaner that when added to water makes a solution that is put in the reservoir and run through several times. This too has a glass pot that can be replaced if broken.

3.) The Hamilton Beach Brew Station - This has been on the market for only a few years and has seen some improvement since it’s inception. It can be purchased with or without the clock and wake up timer, but it has it’s own built in shut off timer. The older models shut off after 2 hours, the newer models give you the option of setting 1 - 4 hours for your auto shut off. This coffee maker has a flashing ‘clean’ that tells you when it’s time to clean. Running a cycle of vinegar through it and it’s ready for that perfect pot of coffee. The difference between this particular type of pot and the other two is there is no carafe. So there is never any need to buy a replacement pot. The pot consists of 3 parts, the pot itself, the bucket and the coffee/filter holder. The bucket is used to measure your cold water, once poured into the pot it nestles back on it’s place and that is where the coffee is brewed into. In just a few minutes when your coffee is done, you hold your cup to the release bar an push gently, fresh coffee flows into your cup. This pot is priced comparably to other pots.

To make the absolute best pot of coffee you should start with cold water and the coffee of your choice.  There are many coffee’s to choose from.  If your in search of the absolute freshest coffee, start with whole beans and purchase a bean grinder.  Grind your beans only as you intend to use them.   With your grinder you can select how long to grind, making it almost powered to get the most flavor out of your beans.   Use a good filter, one that isn’t bent or folded, if this happens you could end up with grounds in your pot, ruining all of your efforts. 

If you happen to live in an area with ‘hard’ water you may have to clean your pot more often to keep it tasting as fresh as possible and also to prolong the life of your coffee maker.

Take a look at this Hub - She drinks the K-cups regularly and has become quite the expert!  Have a look see if you'd like to try something new!!