Coffeemaker Recommendations?

[IrishMeg]

I couldn't find a thread on this. If there is one, I apologize!

FH would like a coffeemaker and his birthday is next week, so I was thinking about getting him one. The problem is, I don't drink coffee nor make coffee so I have no idea what I should look for. I don't even know how much a coffeemaker should cost. :o Any recommendations for one? Or any one that I should stay away from? TIA!

In case it matters, I am pretty sure he would use his it everyday and he drinks about 2-3 cups a day.

[kmmommy]

I'm not a coffee drinker either but everyone in my family swears by the Bunn coffeemaker. It runs about $90-100 but seems to last forever.

[Janey]

We have This Cuisinart One (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005IBX9/qid=1146876751/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9045125-4006437?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=284507) and we looooooooove it. Costco sells a less expensive version of it (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11022855&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1) that has a few less features. I bet I'd never miss the features that the Costco one doesn't have. My folks have the Costco one at their Poulsbo house and they love it.

My dad is a big fan of the Bunn as well. The one he has at the Alaska house has a tank that holds hot water so when he presses "Go" the water starts shooting through the grounds.

Hope that helps!

[ks_piper]

The Keurig B60:

http://www.keurig.com/images/b60_detail_intro.gif

Totally awesome single cup coffee brewer. If you get the B-60 model it comes with an adaptor for using your own coffee grounds plus you can use their pre-packaged K-cups (tons of awesome coffee roasters and tea folks make them).

We have one and love it! You can make coffee, tea, even iced tea and it only takes seconds to brew and seconds to clean-up.

It is $199.95, but worth every penny!

You can find out more at www.keurig.com

[IrishMeg]

Thank you!! I am going to check out all of these now! :)

[mrstim]

Just for the record - Bunn does a full carafe of coffee or tea in a whopping 3 minutes from start to finish. :D I LOVE my Bunn - we use it for sweet tea every other day, coffee every day! :D

[KarenS]

I love coffee .. I'm a bit of a coffee snob, in fact. Grind my own beans every morning, etc. :) And really I don't want or need a fancy, expensive coffee maker. If it gets the water hot enough, that's the only really important thing to make good coffee. What I looked for in a coffee maker were two things: proper water temperature and a thermal carafe so the coffee didn't cook on the burner after it was brewed.

I wound up buying a Mr. Coffee with a timer and a carafe for about $60.

Karen

[endymion411]

we have the cuisinart grind & brew---we love it! grinds the beans right before making the coffee.

[twainny]

we received a really nice coffee maker for our wedding (was around $200). I HATE it. I totally wish I would have gone with a) something smaller and b) something with a timer. I just don't have time to get up in the morning and make coffee (and wait for it) If I had a timer, I could set it for 6:45 and it would be ready when I got downstairs.

And, if you have family over often (even not so often) I would say to go with a 12 cup maker, as opposed to the single. When my family comes we go through like 2 pots day. And some of the single serving ones you have to buy special pods, and if you don't like that coffee too bad.

Good Luck

[Janey]

And, if you have family over often (even not so often) I would say to go with a 12 cup maker, as opposed to the single. When my family comes we go through like 2 pots day.

Agreed. Before I had the Cuisinart, I had a little 4-cup black-n-decker. It was perfect for me, because I only ever drink 16 oz coffee/day... but it sure sucked when we had company over! I couldn't make the coffee fast enough. We had family over to our house for Christmas this year, and we went through at least 2 full pots on the new machine, and probably more like 4.

[seattleguamgirl]

We are coffee snobs too and found that a basic French Press coffee maker makes the BEST coffee. We have a Cuisinart from our wedding but decided to ditch it for the french press.

French presses use a special grind, so we ask the barista at Starbucks, Peet's or Tully's to grind a bag for us specifically for the french press. We were told countless times that a regular coffee grinder won't do the job.

[ks_piper]

I posted about the Keurig earlier...we went with it for a number of reasons:

* perfect for households with differing tastes in coffee (DH likes a very dark roast, I prefer lighter roasts and do decaff half the time).

* Each cup has that great freshly brewed first cup taste.

* We can grind our own coffee, use pre-ground coffee, or the K-Cups which are completely sealed until you brew your coffee or tea.

* Great for parties since it takes less than 30 seconds to brew a cup and the machine is ready to brew the next cup very quickly. Plus you can put out a whole assortment of K-cups for your guests.

* Auto on and off, ability to change the temp of the water (we like a very hot water brew), and if you leave it on all the time you can have coffee in less than 30 seconds!

* pretty compact easy to maintain machine.

* great companies make the K-cups: Green Mountain, Timothy's, Van Houtte, Gloria Jean's, Timothy's Teas, Diedrich Coffees, Coffee People, Tullys, Twinings Tea, Gloria Jean's Teas, Celestial Seasoning and Bigelow. A huge awesome selection.

We're in love with our coffee maker - it fits our lifestyle perfectly!

[KRK]

seattleguamgirl I've never used a French Press coffee maker. Where can you purchase them? Is it similar to those stainless steel Vietnamese coffee things? I love rich coffee that's almost like espresso.

[mkvh]

What I looked for in a coffee maker were two things: proper water temperature and a thermal carafe so the coffee didn't cook on the burner after it was brewed.


DITTO!!! We got the Cuisinart Grind and Brew with the thermal carafe. Unbelievable the difference the thermal carafe makes!

[Leilynne]

I have this one, the Black and Decker Home Cafe.

http://www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/dyn/prod/full/220/HCC100R.jpg

It's really great! You can use the pods or whatever coffee grounds you prefer. It's faster to use the pods when having company because you don't have to clean the filter between cups. It takes one minute or less per cup.

[seattleguamgirl]

seattleguamgirl I've never used a French Press coffee maker. Where can you purchase them? Is it similar to those stainless steel Vietnamese coffee things? I love rich coffee that's almost like espresso.

KRK, you can purchase a French Press at Bed Bath and Beyond, Williams Sonoma (I think?), and I even saw it at Cost Plus World Market. It's relatively inexpensive too, like $30? It makes the best cup of coffee--rich, frothy, and full of flavor.

It is generally not stainless steel--you may be thinking of the stovetop espresso makers? They sell those at Crate and Barrel. The French Press uses pre-boiled water (so I have an electric kettle for that).

[KRK]

C, is it easy to clean? I'm looking for something really easy to use at my house (aka contruction site). I hate instant coffee, but don't want to have a big coffee maker there either.

Karen

[seattleguamgirl]

Karen, it is so easy to clean. Let me put it this way--DH has one at work and brews coffee with it every day at his desk. If he thinks it's easy to use and clean, anybody can do it. :P

[kindermom]

Karen - Depending on the amount you drink, they also make single serving sizes. I loved my French Press. The coffee you make is so much better than coffee makers. For the really lazy, I just rinsed mine out after using it and scrubbed it out (read used a sponge :o ) maybe once every few weeks. It was seasoned, right?!?