The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I've been an instant coffee guy,since I started drinking coffee again.I have very erratic coffee drinking habits.some days I'll drink one,sometimes two,bad days three...Sometimes None depending on my day....

Any suggestions on a coffee maker? I prefer no special coffee pouchs, filters etc...

A coffee maker is a coffee maker.  The $250 ones drip hot water onto coffee grinds, just like the $8 ones. 

Last coffee maker I bought was a no name brand at Walmart about 5 years ago.  Works great. 

Same here.  We have a Proctor-Silex that is probably 8-10 years old. 

I'm not a fan of the "Coffee pot" My ex went through a few of those breaking them.

When I took my Mom shopping this afternoon,she mentioned she almost bought me one the other day,but knew I didn't like the "Pot"...

My friend stayed over last night, and read me the riot act,called me every name in the book for having instant coffee.....

I'm looking at a Hamilton Beach brew master.Like $35...No pot,small,but alot of the negative reviews seem to talk about either hard to fill,sometimes a plastic taste,luke warm coffee....Anyone use one of those?

Damn! I would let my "friend" stay somewhere else in the future.  Is there not a McDonald's or a QT or somewhere they can get coffee?  Really ungrateful.

Depends on the friend. 

If female and good in bed, get a coffee maker, pronto.  Otherwise, I agree with StL. 

 :D you two are making me laugh...

First off I plead the 5th,and it started out as friendly ribbing when I cooked bacon,eggs, hash browns and biscuits and gravy for breakfast...yet only had instant coffee...and escalated through out the day...(I got a couple of calls,few text messages,and a couple of emails)...It's not that bad  :-[

they can be a bit on the expensive side but the Keurig machines are great.  They use "special" little cups but they are available everywhere (Target, Kohl's, Bed-Bath, Walmart, etc) and you make 1 cup at a time.  the cups come in a bajillion flavors, including teas and hot cocoa.  Or they sell a filter cup that you can put your own ground coffee in it to avoid buying the special cups.

We have one in my office and it has me considering getting one for home.

While I am not a fanatical environmentalist, I do try to avoid the most obvious waste of our natural resources.  And filling our land fills with little plastic cups (as opposed to biodegradable paper filters) in my opinion is not responsible.  Plus you are paying 3 or 4 times more for coffee that way as opposed to the intensive labor of making it the normal way. 

We have a Keurig. Its great- my wife likes dark coffee, I like a more mild coffee. So we each get what we want without wasting a pot of coffee. Plus we drink coffee at different points in the day (she drinks hers at like 6am, I drink my first cup around 9ish, and then a second cup around 1). The box of K-cups usually costs about $9, and has 18-24 cups (some flavors are only packed 18, some are packed 24). And the little plastic cups go in my recycle bin, so mine aren't ending up in a landfill.

Thanks guys,I just looked a Keurig on my quick shopping trip to see them in person....I appreciate the extra info too...

Last time I drank instant coffee, I was shitting my brains out all day long...that stuff if evil.

After the Staff meeting I walked out to my truck,and in the passenger side near the fender well was a box for a Hamilton beach 12 cup Brew station....I walked over to the other side of my truck,checked it for a note....Nope..just a new coffee maker....I called my friend and got voice mail..(and I just missed who put it there,because the box was pretty warm on this cold day)..

I then realized I have no filters and coffee,so I ran to Kmart,and got a brass permanent one and some paper ones just in case,and a can of coffee to brew....I'm running the Vinegar cleaning cycle...It looks like I wont be able to have cup today.....

I wanted to say considering It's what I mentioned in this thread (and not the exact model I was looking at,I was shopping/reviewing until Friday to make sure I had the cash)

Someone read this thread and played secret Santa.....

I want to publicly say...Thank you... I'm definitely surprised....

Now with that said, I'd like to submit my request for.......an Intelligent single woman,35 years old and up,5'10" and up,athletic built tomboy (I'm not into those girlie girls fashionistas) Preferably with an English,Australian,or Irish accent....Thank you  ;)

Around Friday I'll start Crank calling State Farm insurance,Sing their jingle and repeat the said request  :D

Well I'm not 5'10" and I don't have an accent so that rules me out! :D

^^^I think Mr. Stl,also disqualifies you.... ;) :D

LOL that too!

There is a pretty big difference in types of coffe machines and how your coffee ends up.

3 major kinds:

Drip
Percolater
French Press


Drip:  Sucks.  Brews the worst of these 3, but is the easiest.  Nowadays you don't even need filters, they use special mesh.  Pros:  Easy to use, keeps cawfee warm in pot.  Cons:  Buying filters (unless you have the mesh), and you can't clean the inside of the machine, it gets buildup inside.

Percolater:  My personal fave.  Brews FAR better cup of cawfee than drip.  No additional equipment required.  Pros:  Ease of use, easy to clean, no additional materials needed.  Cons:  Can't leave sitting warm all day (will start to repercolate), but will stay warm enough in percolater for hour or 2.

French Press:  For the fancypants coffee snob.  Tricky for some people to master, but makes the best tasting cup.  Cons:  Easy, cheap, no extras required.  Cons:  Small servings, no sit and stay warm like a drip.

The Brewmaster is a combo platter of a percolator,and drip...You put the water in the bottom,and it has a plate warmer in the upper chamber,then it dispenses like a soda machine....

These coffee discs are getting popular, where it's these single serving packages that are flavored.  I had one at the bank the other day.

Espresso...

Seriously... It's just better coffee.

The "real" machines can be pretty expensive, but a high pressure is required to get the full flavor. I doubt there's any real difference in flavor between any reasonably competent machine, so what you're paying for is brand, style, and "features" (multiple cups, milk steamer, built-in grinder, etc).

If you don't feel like going full-bore, a macchinetta (aka moka pot, aka stove top espresso maker) produces a very good cup of coffee as well, although there's some argument as to whether the coffee produced actually constitutes espresso or not. Who cares... it's all about the flavor.

Macchinettas are easy to use and extremely cheap. Most common mistakes include packing the grinds and boiling the crap out of it. Basically, you want the steam / water to pass through the grinds at a reasonable rate and either of these make that more difficult.

French Press is also easy (and cheap), but does require some experience (and a sense of smell) to get right. The most common mistake is to leave it for too long before "pressing".

All that said:

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE COFFEE

Seriously, try out some different roasts / beans. There's a huge difference. If you can get the whole beans at a reasonable price, try grinding it to different degrees. Espresso should be relatively fine, French Press relatively coarse.

It's the one thing I'm excited about the coffee maker is trying different coffee beans, roasts,etc,etc....