I'm one of those who cannot make a good pot of coffee, because hubby and I are not coffee drinkers. If we have guests who want coffee, I usually have someone else make it or pull out a VERY old perculator which many of our friends and relatives seem to prefer. We have some good coffee stores and that is where I buy coffee. You can grind it then or buy the beans and grind at home. We have a keurig at work and there are two who especially seem to like it and use many different flavors. However most seem to prefer the old drip maker or the espresso machine. I do get the comment about a "good" cup of coffee. Occasionally, in a restaurant I might order a cup with dessert and there is one restaurant especially who has really good coffee. tina

Annie since it looks like you're taking the plunge (so to speak) here are a couple hints toward success: 1. The grind needs to be finer than drip but not as fine as espresso. Too coarse, the water will drip right through before the few seconds required to steep, too fine and you'll have trouble pushing the plunger. 2. I've found best results with two scoops of coffee and water to the "2" line. One scoop and water to the "1" doesn't steep as well. 3. For the first month of use, I rinsed and reused the filters 2 or three times but I've since decided that I like the speed and efficiency of simply popping it into the trash and getting back to life. I've yet to need a replacement supply of those tiny filters but there are deals out there for when I do. Enjoy. Everyone I know that has tried it love the coffee; strong as you like without bitterness, yum. michaelp

I am addicted to coffee....No.. Maybe its even worse than that because the only liquid I drink is black coffee from the moment I get out of bed in the morning to my last cup on the nightstand when I turn in. As a consequence all my friends and family feel some sort of compulsion to keep me supplied with all the latest bells & whistles in the coffee pot market. Last xmas I got three coffee makers and on my birthday in April I got two more, and what do you suppose I got for Fathers day? You guessed it, another da#@ coffee maker. This has been going on or about 6 or 8 years so you can imagine how many coffee makers I have piled up around here, and these are not cheapies either, one of those machines has a retail price of over $900. Would I pay that? Not even if I won a million in the lottery. As if that was not bad enough, every time ppl come to my house the drag in a bag of the latest gourmet blend or some off the wall blend that even common sense should tell you not to buy, by example, have you ever tried French Garlic Blend? As a courtesy, while the guests are still here I generally set up the new machine and make a pot of their super blend just to try it, but alas, I am like Glenda, when all is said and done, I always go back to my Mr.Coffee, which I bought at the dollar store for the whopping sum of $12. Now in regards to coffee grounds. Out of curiosity I just checked in my pantry. I presently have 29 bags of Gourmet blends, Light roast, med roast, dark roast, French Vanilla, Irish cream, Austrian Mocha, Turkish, Egytian, Cherry blend, peach blend, apple blend, Southern Comfort blend, Cajun blend (boy that one is an acquired taste) French Garlic blend........ Garlic blend? What were they smoking when they invented that one? Japanese blend, German Breakfast coffee, and the list goes on and on and on....... As my brother would say, I like my coffee like my women, Hot, Black & Strong! Don't even think about putting cream, milk, non dairy creamer, sugar or artificial sweetners in my cup. A good tasting cup of coffee will stand for itself and doesn't need all that help. I like a fresh brewed cup of coffee that has a rich full bodied coffee flavor, but is not harsh or bitter and God forbid I should be stuck with that ink black, acidic mess that some folks call coffee. The only thing worse than that is when ppl leave a couple cups in the pot overnight, then nuke it in the microwave in the morning, but then they usually add so much milk & sugar they end up with a mocha shake instead of a cup of coffee. My absolute first choice of coffee grounds is 8 o'clock coffee that comes as roasted beans in the bag and you grind it fresh at the store, or even better, at home if you have a coffee grinder. My second choice, although it is nearly impossible to get where I live now is "Community Coffee" which is made in Mobile, Ala. (It should be noted that Community Coffee rated #1 on a blind taste test of 100 brands of coffee by consumer reports) Then its; Folgers-original roast Maxwell House-original blend. Occassionally I like to drag out my tiny Espresso Maker and make a cup of Espresso using Folgers which I have ground down to espresso powder. NOW A WORD OF CAUTION FOR ANYONE PLANNING A TRIP TO NEW ENGLAND....... The first time I went into a local coffee shop in New England I ordered a cup of coffee. Waitress says "regular coffee?" When she said regular coffee I was imagining all the nasty gourmet blends that are out there and I said, "Yes, regular coffee" A minute later she returned with a cup of coffee with cream and sugar in it. I said, "What the he## is this, I didn't order a milkshake" She laughed and said, "Your not from around here are you? In New England "Regular coffee" has cream & sugar, "Light coffee" is cream only, "Sweet coffee" is black with sugar, and "Black Coffee" is Black coffee, although nobody drinks that...LOL)

I use a cheap Mr Coffee espresso machine that I received as a wedding gift twenty years ago this month. It has never done a great job steaming the milk, and unless the coffee is fine enough, the coffee ends up too weak. I tried switching to a Krups pump-type espresso machine, which steamed the milk a little better, but the coffee wasn't any better and it had a plastic-y flavor. Plus the machine was noisy, and hard to clean. When it finally blew a gasket, literally, I went back to using the old Mr Coffee machine, and have found that if I use Cafe Pilon pre-ground espresso the results are much better than if I buy whole beans and use my burr grinder. I have one two-espresso-shot latte every morning, occasionally I'll have another after lunch. The only thing I know about percolators is that at the home-based coffee shop near my father-in-law's place in Maine, there's a sign that says "No percolators" and if you ask the shop owner about the sign he will explain (at length) about how a percolator does everything wrong if what you want is good coffee.