I can't say how the flavor compares with that of a percolator because by the time I started drinking coffee everyone I know was using drip, but our favorite coffee maker is the Toddy cold brew system. DH and I even prefer it to French press and Chemex (our other favorites), and it's a lot easier. We used to buy only premium coffees but now we can get a decent cup even from mass market brands (although in that case we generally stick to Colombian). With respect to appearance, it is a simple lightweight plastic cylinder with a well for its filter and a rubber stopper. Ours lives in the back of a cabinet for the many days between batches. Plus whatever container/pitcher you like to hold the concentrate (their system comes with one, but you don't have to use it). Extraction is a time-temperature trade-off, with different components extracting at different rates. Instead of subjecting the coffee to hot water for a few minutes, you extract it (a half to a whole pound at a time) in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. This makes a concentrate that you keep in the fridge and mix as needed with hot water. Cold extraction is better at holding onto the volatile flavor components (after all, we mostly "taste" with our noses). The heated-just-before-drinking coffee actually tastes as good as good as freshly-ground beans smell. Cold extraction also seems to be a lot slower at extracting the bitter flavors. And using the shorter period supposedly reduces the acid for those that are bothered (I'm not, so I can't say from actual experience). I like my coffee rather hot, and my instant hot is hot enough to make a good cup with the refrigerated concentrate.

I agree, "get a good scale". Heck, get a cheap scale - just get a scale and eliminate the conversion math quiz. You'll soon be sorry you didn't get a scale a long time ago. There are all kinds of things a scale makes easier in the kitchen. -Divide bread dough into equal amounts so the loaves, rolls, buns, etc. are all the same size and will bake evenly. -When you make layer cakes you can scale the batter in the pans to equal weights so the layers are the same size. -It's a lot easier weighing sticky things than scooping them into cups (although you'd have a hard time getting my Wonder Cup from me ;-). -Accuracy...as already mentioned. If you have 3 people measure 1-cup of flour, they will all be a different weight because of how they fill them. They may be as little as 3.75 oz. to as much as 5 or 6 oz. BTW - There are not any "standards" for how much a cup of flour weighs. Even the "experts" can't decide this one. -Dry measuring cups and spoons sold in the U.S. are not manufactured to a standardized volume, so each set you have may be slightly different in volume. Measuring cups/spoons in the U.K. and Australia are larger than the ones from the U.S. About the only reason measuring cups work at all is because most recipes are based on a ration of ingredients. For instance, a plain cake has, by measure, one-third as much fat as sugar; two-thirds as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid. So you can use measuring cups, grandma's coffee or tea cup, canning jars, or buckets for measuring, as long as you maintain the ration of ingredients. The exact measurement isn't as critical as the ratio of one ingredient to another. -With a scale, when you need 4 oz. of shredded cheese you can weigh it and not try to figure out how many cups that will be, and whether the cup is loose-packed or tightly-packed. It's 4-oz. by weight and you don't have to worry if you've over-stuffed the cup or not put enough in it. -However, accuracy of measurement goes out the window when it comes to flour for bread making - also already mentioned.... Due to the amount of moisture in flour (more in humid weather and less in the dry winter months), if will alter the weight of the flour. You have to go by the "feel" of the dough rather than an exact measurement. Each bag of flour will also vary in protein/gluten content, as well as moisture. The higher the protein level in the flour, the more hydration it will absorb. Protein content of flour can't be weighed with a scale. -Grainlady

I use Kcups, pudding cups, solo cups margarine containers etc. I use whatever size is right for the plant I need to deal with. Are the containers "pretty"? Nope. I am more interested in functional. But it works for me. Recycle anything you want to. They all work! Good luck! Rosie

Of course so much depends on what you use your office for. You'll have different needs if you're running a mail order business out of your garage than if you're trying to keep your household finances organized. I struggled with office organization and clutter for a long time. I tried many configurations but none of them worked well for long because they were too much trouble to maintain. Finally I got serious. I went through all of my stuff and, of course, realized I didn't need half of it -- almost everything is available online. I donated my printer/copier/scanner because I seldom used the copy/scan function and was spending a small fortune on ink. I got a compact laser printer which takes up little space, needs no ink cartridges, and honestly I rarely use that either. Everything is electronic. I bought a beautiful glass desk with two shallow drawers. The only things on the desk are a lamp, a cup for pens/pencils, a small box for paper clips and my laptop. The drawers hold frequently needed supplies -- note cards, notepads, envelopes, a tiny stapler and a pencil sharpener. All other files and supplies are stored off the desk. I bought and painted a low bookcase (two drawer lateral file cabinets would be a good alternative) for the wall next to the desk. The printer sits on top -- you could put other office machines there too. Office supplies are in baskets and decorative boxes on the first shelf. Binders and reference materials sit on the bottom shelf. All of my files are stored in a file cabinet in the closet of an adjacent bedroom. A small fire-proof safe with important documents, sits on top of the file cabinet. I try to clean out the cabinet annually after taxes and find I'm STILL keeping too much paper. The trick, I think, is to let go of those binders, files, office machines and books from long-finished classes and projects. Almost all information can be retrieved elsewhere, and supplies easily procured, so think twice about allocating precious space to them. Keep your desk for your computer, a good lamp, and a cup of coffee. Find a home for everything else.