coffee machines | Imamother

Imma2+2

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 2:45 pm

I'm thinking of getting some sort of coffee maker machine.
I see so many different types advertised, from the brand-name pod machines (Kuerrig, Tassimmo etc) to the cheap jug kind.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the pod machines over a conventional countertop coffee maker?
I have to admit to not finishing cups of coffee - I get interrupted by the kids and by the time I get back it's cold. Apart from regular coffee, I love coffee made with instant coffee, nesquik powder and rice or soy milk. Otherwise, I just drink it plain, black, no sugar. I like iced mocha coffee in the summer.

DH is a tea drinker, and likes different types, and dd likes herbal teas (as do I) and that's as far as our hot drink consumption goes!

What kind would you recommend for someone who drinks decaf, can't do dairy or soy, and isn't much of a maven when it comes to coffee?

spring13

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 3:07 pm

if you only ever make a cup or so at a time, then a Keurig or other pod machine could make sense for you it'll make just one cup for you on the occasion that you feel like having one. The thing is, they're usually more expensive than other types, and you have to buy special cups/pods, which are more expensive than a bag of grounds or beans. There are refillable K-cups though. In my experience, Keurig coffee can taste kind of weak, so if you like it strong stick to dark roast K-cups.

My DH and I each drink a large cup a day (like in a travel mug on the way to work), and often brew large pots when family comes over, so we have a Cuisinart 12-cup regular machine that works beautifully, which we got for a really good deal on Amazon. It's programmable, so we fill it at night and it goes on automatically in the morning. 12 cups is big though, you can get much smaller ones if you don't need that much.

Gevalia often has deals where if you buy 4 packages of coffee, you get a free nice coffeemaker (the large-ish drip pot kind). It signs you up for a monthly subscription but that's easy to cancel once you get the machine. Kosher On a Budget always posts about it when they have those deals, if you want to wait around and see what's what.

The other cheap option is a french press, which makes really delicious coffee with water from a kettle. Small, convenient, maybe a smidge more trouble to wash after. But the best tasting coffee for sure!

Last edited by spring13 on Mon, Dec 24 2012, 3:19 pm; edited 1 time in total

miami85

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 3:17 pm

Maybe try a mini Mr. Coffee 4c. coffee maker
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffe.....R15SS
--it's great for a quick cup--even faster than a keurig They even have a programmable model! We have a keurig (won it in a chinese auction), but the k-cups are expensive and we had this anyway (which is why we don't have a a do-it-yourself-k-cup) from before I was married. Keurig et al are great if you like a variety of flavors, like to experiment with bold flavors, or you and DH like diff flavors as you can each get what YOU want or don't want to mess with filters. If the filters don't bother you, then a regular machine will be fine.

As for why people like brewed? I grew up with instant in my house, once I tried brewed I couldn't go back to instant. Brewed tastes much smoother especially since its easier to get the right proportion of coffee to water. To me instant is always bitter.

Imma2+2

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 3:22 pm

I've thought about using travel mugs in the house, not just for carpool, but the coffee tastes better in a proper mug! I find that my travel mugs keep the coffee too hot to drink for quite a while, although they are more convenient when looking after little kids. That's why I've been looking at models like the Hamilton Beach ones, where you can dispense directly into travel mugs.
For a pod or capsule machine, do you only use the ready-filled capsules, or do you fill the my-cup
(or equivalent) with your own coffee? Is that cheaper?
Another question - what's the cleanup like? Do you have to clean the inside after each cup
(for your prefferred machine) and if not, how often do you need to clean it? I stopped using my bodum coffee press because it was such a messy job to clean it.

spicytunaroll

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 3:25 pm

I have the cup where u can put your own coffee in but ive never used it..in terms of the machine, every here and there u wipe down the inside, but its basically clean..I use filtered water in it, and I think ther is some sort of filter in the machine I am supposed to change, but I never have..woops...I descale it using vinager whenever the machine sais its time..

shnitzel

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 4:45 pm

We have a french press (which is also great for loose tea), espresso machine, and pour over coffee maker. Keurigs make very weak coffee and the beans are quite stale. Both the pour over and french press are quite cheap and really easy, you just boil water and pour it in and your coffee is done and they make much better coffee than an electric coffee pot. My DH has a french press travel mug that is stainless steel and it keeps the coffee hot for hours. He makes coffee in the mug and then drinks it from the mug and sometimes it is still hot when it is time to wash it.

Imma2+2

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 4:53 pm

shnitzel wrote:

Shnitzel- I have a french press (I actually have a few sizes) and it's so messy to wash! Plus, it's hard to find the correct grind size in the supermarket, which makes it messier. I also have the filters that sit on top of the coffee mug, which less messy. I don't seem to get through the can of coffee fast enough to use it before it goes stale. And it's harder to make flavoured and iced coffee from filtered coffee.
But, on principle, I like the lower-cost, lower waste concept (and less to store on the countertop).

spring13

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 5:03 pm

Buy whole beans, its easy to get the coarse grind for a french press when you do it yourself. A decent coffee grinder doesn't cost much. I use a magic bullet for the purpose, and do enough for a week at a time to store in a container in the freezer. Beans don't lose flavor as quickly as grounds either.

chavamom

Mon, Dec 24 2012, 5:14 pm

I own a number of coffee makers. For convenience and variety, you can't beat a Keurig. My husband likes a bolder variety, gets up earlier than me. This way we both get what we want, fresh and piping hot without comitting to a pot. I have a decent quality espresso machine that I use to make lattes (better than a Mr. Coffee cheapy but not a thousand dollar version). It makes great coffee, but it's not an "I'm running late for work and want to grab a cup on my way out the door" experience. For that and the drip coffee maker (which we use if we are brewing for a crowd) we grind our own beans. Dh got me hooked on Peet's coffee. It is totally worth the trouble of ordering beans and grinding them.

Imma2+2

Tue, Dec 25 2012, 1:24 pm

chavamom - thanks for chiming in with your experience!
spring - I end up giving up on the ground coffee because of the mess of cleaning up.

So, if I'm going for convenience, making a quick cup, using a travel mug, and easy clean-up, sounds like I'm best off with a single-serve machine like a Keurig.
Will using a reusable pod like a my k-cup defeat the purpose of easy clean-up? I'm guessing I'll still have to dispose of the grounds and wash the filter, no?

For single-serve machines, which is the best kind? I know there's a lot of love for Keurig, but does anyone want to recommend another one?