Best drip coffee maker?

[Scarpozzi]

I have a Bunn coffee maker. It brews a pot in 3 minutes or less. It has a holding tank of hot water, so it's almost always ready to brew and because the water has already reached optimal temp, it extracts more oil/flavor from the coffee than the other coffee pots on the market.

They run about $100 and requires Bunn branded coffee filters. They are taller than others and a specific thickness. If you use a shorter or thicker filter, the flow of water will cause the grinds to rise up in the basket and overflow into your pot. The speed of the flow caused me to increase the amount of coffee I brew with to get the same strength I was used to with my Black & Decker coffee pot. I also had to increase the amount of water to get the strength right. I used to make 6 cups of coffee and this coffee pot requires about 8 cups minimum for my likeness due to the water flow speed.

Having said all that, after making the adjustments and getting everything the way I like it, I prefer my Bunn to the Black & Decker (Which I still use at our lake house on weekends).

FWIW, I use ground Eight O'clock Columbian. I probably use about 8-10 tablespoons of ground coffee per 8-10 cups of water and drink my coffee black these days (just cut sugar cream out a month ago for marathon training )


I can taste the Kcups plastic from my Keurig and the water temp is too low to extract the flavor from the coffee. Luckily, I only paid $20 for my B30. I only used it a handful of times because my employer put in a Starbucks franchise one building over and only charges $0.46 to put coffee in my plastic mug (cheaper than most Kcups).

 

[nageov3t]

funny necro.... I was just researching this yesterday. our old Zojirushi has gone pretty downhill lately, with leaks/overflows practically every other day.

this is probably the list of the best drip coffee makers -- http://www.thecoffeeconcierge.net/reviews/scaa-certified-coffee-maker-reviews/

not wanting to spend the money on a Mocamaster, I ended up going with the Brazen Plus. I've tried to convert myself to a french press, but I just don't feel like the slightly better taste is worth the effort versus a drip machine I can program and have ready for me when I wake up hungover on a Sunday morning.

 

[cyclistca]

Have a Cuisinart Brew Central Coffeemaker. Makes great coffee. Will admit I'm intrigued by some of the brands that have come up. Love my coffee. When this one dies maybe I look at one of the super fancy ones.

 

[herrjimbo]

I have a Bunn coffee maker similar to the one in the pic below. It brews a pot of coffee quickly and with excellent flavor (more dependant on the bean/roast IMO than the coffee maker).

I buy roased whole beans and grind them right before making my coffee each morning. I only make a 1/2 pot because my wife doesn't drink coffee and I usually end up throwing half of that away after drinking a cup to a cup and a half. I generally don't drink coffee after 9AM.

I also have this coffee maker and it makes wonderful coffee. The nice thing is, you can put as much or as little in the way you like. Plus, pods are extremely expensive compared to buying 48 oz of folgers (my preference).

 

[BurnItDwn]

I also have this coffee maker and it makes wonderful coffee. The nice thing is, you can put as much or as little in the way you like. Plus, pods are extremely expensive compared to buying 48 oz of folgers (my preference).

I picked up a thermal carafe bunn at some point between the OP and today (like a year or so ago maybe), essentially same thing, just with thermal carrafe instead of the plate heater and glass pitcher.

Its wonderful, much better than my old Mr Coffee that I retired after like 18 or so years of service.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's a necro, but what I do:

Electric kettle for hot water

Pint thermal mug, porcelain cone on top of it, paper #4 cone filter, and 5 level spoons of Starbucks Caffe Verona. Pour in the water, wait a couple of minutes, I have a pint of coffee.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm not a huge fan of my Bunn. It wastes energy, and the coffee isn't any better than the average autodrip. It is fast though. I've been using an electric perc for almost 20 years, and don't forsee changing for my easy/mass quantity method. When I want quality above all else, I like my French press.

 

[stargazr]

I've been using Cuisinart for several years. They last really long, and I'm surprised because we have a lot of lime in the water here.

 

[lxskllr]

Well, it's a good topic, so I'll update my status... I gave up on electropercs. i was getting them from the thrift shop, and even though they heated during testing, they didn't heat well enough in use. Not sure what the problem is. I'll have to open one up some time, and see what I can do to fix them. In the meantime, I'm back to using my bunn. If that dies, I picked up a 10cup pourover from goodwill, and I'll use that. I doubt I'll ever buy another electric coffee maker.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Drinking coffee right now....mmmmm.....coffee.

 

[Crono]

I have this Cuisinart.

Not crazy expensive or feature-rich, but it does its job. Most of the time I use French press (and I just picked up a moka pot a few weeks ago, now once in a while I'll roast and brew espresso), anyway. I love coffee enough that I could spend way too much on fancier model, but it's not worth it for drip, in my opinion. I suspect as with most things you get 90% of the value with the midrange at 10% of the price of the most expensive models. Diminishing returns and all that.

 

[thebestMAX]

If you buy a dripper, I don't know which to recommend, but get one with a triangular rather than circular filter. You use twice as much coffee in the circular filter ones to get the same strength as the triangular filter, in my experience. I like strong coffee.

Amen. Been telling people this for years. Cant stand the taste of
circular filtered coffee like Mr Coffee either.

Have a Hamilton Beach BrewStation now.

If you use tapwater I highly recommend you get a pot with a built in charcoal water filter. Around here they douse our tapwater with high amounts of chlorine for 1 month a year to clean the system. Filter really helps with that.

 

[Captante]

I have a keurig too. I know a lot of people love them. But in my opinion, it makes horrificaly bland and weak coffee.

Depends on the k-cup/pod you use but I agree most are quite weak and even the best (Peet's house-blend IMO) pale compared to a good brewed-cup.

As for drip-coffee makers I've had he best luck with Braun or Krups models.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Depends on the k-cup/pod you use but I agree most are quite weak and even the best (Peet's house-blend IMO) pale compared to a good brewed-cup.

As for drip-coffee makers I've had he best luck with Braun or Krups models.

I am sorry but I have to disagree. It doesn’t depend on the k-cup you use. They are all horribly weak. You can’t make strong coffee from an insufficient amount of coffee grounds.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Also - I should say that I ended up purchasing a expobar office lever and a baratzo vario grinder. It cost me $1600, but has already paid for itself. I make an americano everyday for myself and a latte for my wife. We enjoy it and learning to make espresso drinks has been really fun.

 

[FlatbushTroy]

Over the years, I have developed a serious caffeine addiction. And by serious, I mean SERIOUS. It is to the point where I literally experience a physical response with the first sip of my morning coffee (no, not that type of physical response). Sad, I know. But unfortunately it is not a habit I will be breaking anytime soon.

My coffee habit has also turned expensive. I can't stand the brown water my wife's keurig makes, and the local coffee shops are charging 2-5 bucks for a good strong cup. So, I typically spend anywhere from 3-5 bucks a day at the coffee shop. Not horrible (especially balanced against the fact that I bring lunch every day), but still expensive. Heck, that is roughly $1200 a year, just for coffee! Yipes!

While I can easliy afford that expense, I am not stupid and I don't enjoy throwing money away. So, I am on a mission to buy a drip coffee maker. Given the $1200/year I'm presently spending on the black stuff, money is really no object. I just want a drip machine that can reliably make ~2-3 super "strong" (as in flavor, not caffeine) cups in the morning with a minimum of fuss.

So, ATOT'ers, what in your opinion is the best drip coffee maker? And please, no suggestions that I should go with a French press or something like that. Sure, they make good coffee. But I really don't want to hassle with boiling water and straining grounds in the morning. I can barely see when I first wake up, much less pour boiling liquid into a dainty thing like that.

Over the years, I have developed a serious caffeine addiction. And by serious, I mean SERIOUS. It is to the point where I literally experience a physical response with the first sip of my morning coffee (no, not that type of physical response). Sad, I know. But unfortunately it is not a habit I will be breaking anytime soon.

My coffee habit has also turned expensive. I can't stand the brown water my wife's keurig makes, and the local coffee shops are charging 2-5 bucks for a good strong cup. So, I typically spend anywhere from 3-5 bucks a day at the coffee shop. Not horrible (especially balanced against the fact that I bring lunch every day), but still expensive. Heck, that is roughly $1200 a year, just for coffee! Yipes!

While I can easliy afford that expense, I am not stupid and I don't enjoy throwing money away. So, I am on a mission to buy a drip coffee maker. Given the $1200/year I'm presently spending on the black stuff, money is really no object. I just want a drip machine that can reliably make ~2-3 super "strong" (as in flavor, not caffeine) cups in the morning with a minimum of fuss.

So, ATOT'ers, what in your opinion is the best drip coffee maker? And please, no suggestions that I should go with a French press or something like that. Sure, they make good coffee. But I really don't want to hassle with boiling water and straining grounds in the morning. I can barely see when I first wake up, much less pour boiling liquid into a dainty thing like that.

For your days off when you are not rushed for time, a good old percolator pot is still the best. And the smell!

 

[Captante]

I am sorry but I have to disagree. It doesn’t depend on the k-cup you use. They are all horribly weak. You can’t make strong coffee from an insufficient amount of coffee grounds.

Could have sworn I said that?

Yes all are weak compared to other brewing methods but if you think they are all the same my guess is you have not tried many. Most are not good but some are tolerable.

So yes some k-cups are better then others but Kuerig is about convenience not great coffee and even the best ones don't begin to compare to a french-press (my preferred method) or even a good drip-brewer. On the other hand if you compare decent k-cups to instant-coffee which is really what they compete with they are clearly better.

 

[OutHouse]

a good old percolator pot is still the best. And the smell!

i agree. nothing puts out "THAT" coffee smell like a percolator.

 

[lxskllr]

Don't feel like hunting down the new years resolution thread, so I'll post here...

Just came up with a new years resolution. Instead of buying boutique soda once or twice a month, I'll get some nice coffee from a localish roaster...

http://www.cbrccoffee.com/shop/

My every day coffee is Wegmans brand "traditional" preground. It's a good solid coffee, but not especially interesting. I'm bored with soda, and want to start getting into whole bean coffee again.

 

[bruceb]

Keurig is fast, but the coffee is a bit weak and cools off quick. Also the K-Cups coffee for it is costly. Used to have a Bunn a few years back and it died. Now have a Mister Coffee, very basic but does a reasonable job at low cost. It did the the Thermal Switch fail, but I was able to get a new one and change it. Most people would have chucked it out. If it had come to that I was looking at Cuisinart Coffee Makers .. They seem to have good reviews, but they will run around $100 or so.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'm not sure what it is about Keurig but I find the coffee does not taste as good as with a drip machine even when using a reusable kcup and the same grounds.

I have a basic Proctor Silex drip machine, and also a burr grinder. So I grind my own and pretty happy with the coffee that makes. I find when I'm at work and have to use the keurig it's like "meh" quality coffee. It gets me through my night shifts.

 

[Captante]

I'm not sure what it is about Keurig but I find the coffee does not taste as good as with a drip machine even when using a reusable kcup and the same grounds.

Main thing about Keurig is simply not enough ground coffee in one of those little cups to really make a potent cup. Also it brews too quickly for full flavor.

I have a Keurig and use it several times a week but only when in a hurry.