Coffee is a beverage here, a morning get-up and go type, or an evening beverage with some spirits or some other warming concoction. We are not 'into' coffee, but do like Kirkland's Columbian and Starbuck's Winter Blend for beans.

My sister and her husband are coffee freaks and create a five star production out of each cup of joe.

They swear by the french press. And, they are willing to pay high prices, and spend gads of time and energy finding the perfect roasted beans from the best mountains in the world kind of coffee makers. And, they like their coffee scalding too, and it has to be just "so-so".

I never make my sister and her husband's coffee, as I wouldn't dare ruin their day!

But, she is a french press person to the max and she has to have her frother to add steamed frothed skim milk to her coffee. I accidently dropped the frother once and it broke in shatters. She got TEARS IN HER EYES !

But, a tea kettle to heat the water to just boiling, but not boiled, for coffee and a french press, and a frother for those mellow moments of steamed milk mantras seem to rock their world.

I got a new coffeemaker for Christmas and I really like it. My coffee is really good and I am fussy! Link is below... Coffee has to be made at the correct temp and many pots just don't cut it. The water you use is also important. I'm lucky to have spring water coming out my faucets rather than some reclaimed city water that has had all kinds of things added..... ; )

I also have a French Press. I find I'll use that more for a special coffee after dinner.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Cuisinart Auto Burr Grind and Brew Thermal

Not talking flavor but temp, the hottest coffee, I've found, comes from a percolator. I love the Farberware. but I make a really lousy coffee cup of coffee. According to most people who have had my coffee! Renee's coffee was always good, but Larry was the one making it :) I screw up a pod, a drip, even instant for whatever reason. I have a French Press, it's strong than drip or brewed, no? or is it just my lack of talent again? yes, that is hot, too, or depends how hot the water you use.

Nancy, I love that one, Larry was eyeing it, but I'm afraid with my lack of talent :) It brews hot?

A plain old Melita filter cone makes very good coffee.

I only drink one cup of coffee a day, first thing in the morning, and am very particular about it.

First of all, I must start with whole beans, a dark roast of some kind.

Then I grind it in my electric grinder until it is a powder, not granular.

I measure 3 generous tablespoons into a filter placed in one of those plastic drippers that sit on top of a coffee cup and pour rapidly boiling water slowly into the coffee while it drains into the cup, maintaining the level so that all the coffee is steeping the whole time rather than having much of it stay on the sides of the filter, not steeping, until I pour more water in.

I switch the dripper thingy back and forth between two good sized mugs, one for me and one for my husband.

The resulting cups of coffee are very dark, very rich, and very hot.

My husband, who is not nearly as fussy as I about coffee often pours a second cup through the leftover coffee sludge in the filter, but I wouldn't touch it.

Taste is soooooooo subjective... I like French Press.

If you want a grand finale to a special meal, then a vacuum pot is IT! A Bodum Santos Vacuum Pot is a good example (see link below), but it's not convenient to use or to clean up. The glass globes break sooner or later, as well. The Melitta, mentioned by velodoug, is good too. -Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Bodum Santos Vacuum Pot

I also use a filter cone in a plastic holder. I balance mine on a Thermos and pour boiling, filtered water from my electric kettle. The secret to good coffee is good quality, freshly ground beans and good quality near-boiling water. The apparatus for combining the two doesn't matter. A lot of drip coffee makers don't get the water hot enough. You can read reviews on the Coffee Geek website.

When this question comes up, people always recommend Bunn coffemakers. They do get the water hot, but they keep it hot 24 hours per day which is fine if you run a diner, but awfully wasteful, IMHO, when you just make coffee in the morning. I know there are much better solutions out there.

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on the subject. I've studied it closely for close to 30 years, owned a gourmet coffee house for 10 years, taught espresso classes at a community college, spent thousands on equipment and beans.

All my years of wisdom can be summed up with this. "Whatever you like is good". I have served, in my opinion, the perfect coffee to someone and received a shrug. I have watched people drink scorched brown stuff from the office break room and rave.

For me the joy is mostly in the pursuit and the ritual of making the cup of coffee. If it is drip coffee, I spend time paying attention to the size of the grind and the time it takes to brew. Same with French Press: the grind and the brew time. If it comes out so-so, I adjust things and shoot for better. To me, that's a huge part of the whole romance of the bean.

If it's hot coffee that you crave and the brewer just doesn't get 'er done, I recommend Technivorm Moccamaster. This expensive but simple to use coffee pot gets the water hot enough to do the job well and maintains that high heat, about 202 degrees, throughout the entire brew cycle. That is virtually unheard of with ALL other coffee makers. Is it worth almost 200 hundred bucks? To me, absolutely, I can appreciate the best brewed coffee I've ever had, but others simply shrug.

When you have a cup that makes you shiver with delight, probe a little and find out how they did it. It starts with a good bean but the method is crucial to translate that goodness into the cup.

Let us know what you discover.

michaelp

We are very fussy about our coffee so we did a lot of research and ended up with an Expobar BrewtusII. check out the Whole latte love website and talk to them they are a great resource.

Ah Michael there you are.

Renee? Your turn!

No way, Jessy. LOL! That's controversy I don't need or want. Michael is more than welcome to the title of forum coffee expert.

I'll just say that my inclination as a consumer is that if I had to replace my drip coffeemaker tomorrow, I would buy a Zojirushi. Doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles, but is a well-made, reasonably-priced good coffee brewer.

Oh no you don't! I claim no titles here. I'm simply speaking about something that I can share. I scan the forum headlines almost daily for something that I can learn from or contribute to. When I see one I get all giddy and just start writing.

Jessy, you can be such a little poopy pants. Renee, where do you live, we should go out for coffee sometime a share war stories...

michaelp (contributor)

One factor that may enter into your decision on a coffee making system is: how quickly do you drink up the pot? The reason I ask this is that many coffeemakers do a decent job of making the coffee, but then if you allow the coffee to stay on a hot plate, the heat of the hot plate eventually makes the coffee bitter. And the hotter you keep it, the more quickly the flavor degrades. (Think McDonalds. Why they keep their coffee so hot, even after that ridiculous lawsuit, is beyond me. The heat ruins the flavor, and I only drink McD's coffee if I am on the road and desperate for caffeine.)

For that reason I use a drip pot that drips into a vacuum carafe that keeps it hot but not scorching, and the temp is adequate for me--I don't like 'scald-your-tongue' coffee--and the DW and I drink it up within 15 or 20 minutes. The coffee is never burnt tasting and always pleasant. The particular brand is Cuisinart, but there are other brands out there.

When I replace it I probably will go with the Technivorm model at the link, either the KBTS or the KBT 741.

Here is a link that might be useful: technivorm coffee makers

You asked about temperature, right?

Then I agree with Dishes - a percolator will give you hot coffee!

I have a Cuisinart and a Mr. Coffee. Both good but I agree it could be hotter.

Good luck!

LOL Renee boy do I hear you loud and clear

Michael, you have no idea heh heh I've been called worse (and probably am at this moment, dontchaknow)

What are your volume preferences. Do you need to make several cups and keep them warm, or would one cup be perfect if it was also very strong, very hot, and very good?

I've had a ton of coffee makers over the years, but I no longer brew in volume. MichaelP is dead on when he says that taste is subjective and there is no universal best... but this is what I like: The entire contents from my Bialetti Brikka (not to be confused with the Moka, which looks similar, but brews very differently) is perfect.

I add a little sugar and half and half to a cup. Froth it up a little, pour the beautiful stove top espresso with crema into the frothed milk the moment it stops making that weird rocket ship noise.

Some people prefer it without the cream and sugar, in which case it's very hot and frothy. I recently served some to a brunch guest who is accustomed to normal coffee maker coffee and he liked it and confessed that it gave him a bit of a buzz. It was not surprising. The four servings that the maker makes only partially fills a normal American coffee cup... but it takes three heaping scoops of good dark roast coffee to make.

Jessy, you are so evil...but in such an endearing way.

Too late, Michael, you've been drafted. :) I can only offer condolences and to nod enthusiastically when you fight the good fight.

I'm in Northern Nevada now -- where I'm still looking for a well-roasted bean and someone who knows how to pull a proper shot.

I make my coffee every morning in an aeropress. It is a $25 maker which makes 1 cup at a time in about 30 seconds. It makes one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. However it is not scalding hot because it isn't supposed to be. It also uses a ton of coffee/cup.

Here is a link that might be useful: aeropress coffee maker

Duly sworn in as the newly ordained "Forum Coffee Expert" I want to thank the academy and thank those who have so valiantly walked this path before me. After I solve for the people the question "What is the best coffee?", I will tackle a few other topics and once and for all put to rest:
1. Which is better, Mac or PC?
2. VHS or Beta?
3. Blueray or HD?
4. Who was really on the grassy knoll that day?

Again, I thank you Jessy for nominating me and Renee for using me as your way out of office, you sneaky little thing you...

michaelp

Jessy, you really need a tshirt with that graphic on it. Really. LOL!

Michael, I just hope the office no longer comes with tickets to Disney.

Oh, and since WalMart's now going to carry ONLY Blueray and Netflix has swung to that side, I'd say Blueray for the win.