The first qualification for me to like a coffee mug is that its sides should gently round down into the bottom and it should not be too heavy. Such mugs are not necessarily very easy to find in this country, and my favorite few (that are left) are from Japan. I hate the thick-sided generic type of mug that looks like a cut-off cylinder with a round disc of a bottom stuck on it. But even when I find one of an acceptable shape and weight, I like it best if it has pretty colors or pictures of animals on it. I have two with pale vegetables on them, one with pigs, and one with pink and white stripes.

Hi, Well, I can guarantee one thing for sure....it will not survive in the ground here!!! If I had a GH I would be in heaven.....I had mine in a pot last year in a few inches of water.....they grow in ponds in Thailand in case you didn't know. I assumed they were all dead this spring so I tossed it in the ground and was shocked to see a tiny 1 inch leaf earlier this year....I nursed it along and now it looks wonderful....the purple petiole and leaf veins with the great green in the leaf is fantastic....along with the obvious "cup".......Does anyone in zone 5 or 6 have one of these and not keep it in a GH.....I'd love any extra thoughts that I can get :o) Dan

The info is all over the place because coffee varies, peoples' tastes vary, even the pots vary! Is there someone around who used them before who might know what they've used in the past? Otherwise, get the make and model and go online and see about an instruction book for a suggestion, which will vary a lot too. Or, try making the test pot but I'd do about 1/4 of it and see how it comes out so you don't waste as much if you don't like it or don't need it. Most people don't really know the difference in it and can handle it at various strengths anyway, short of it being a slightly off color water! And there's those who pollute coffee with "cream" and sugar too so they can't tell the difference between good and bad coffee. (I usually suggest they stick to hot chocolate!) One other suggestion: Perhaps run some vinegar/water through there to clean the pot before using. That can help make much better coffee! FWIW the "cost club" size can of Folgers claims (up to) 380 cups from 3# of coffee. Interestingly the previous size of 3# 4oz size would make (up to) 360 cups of coffee, both in 6 oz cup measurements. If the company who makes coffee can't make up their mind, I have no hope for a universal standard! LOL

A follow-up to my previous post that was a response to the question quoted in same response ... Yesterday's load of clothing had no suds in the final rinses. Ran a Sanitize (not "clean machine") cycle right after that, with no detergent or bleach, for routine cleaning. ~Today, I washed a small load of clothes, in our Miele W4842 FL washer, that consisted of: my husband's microfiber travel blazer size Large or XL (it has been washed a few times previously, in our old top-load); three pairs of nylon soccer shorts; one size Med. cotton tee shirt; one pair wicking fiber athletic socks, two medium tote bags made of nylon woven with either a plastic or vinyl laminated to fabric. I mostly tossed in the other items with the blazer in order to give it a fuller load. I did not think washing *just* a blazer would be a good idea, but what do I know....I'm still on the FL learning curve. I used the cold water setting and one Tablespoon (15ml) of Persil Color Gel (liquid) on the Wrinkle-Free setting. Our water is moderately hard (right in the middle of the hard/soft water scale) and moderate in pH. Package directions suggest 40ml for soft water, so I went with approx. one-third (1/3) of that due to the smaller size load. Suds; almost two inches of suds in and around the laundry and on the door. Suds in all the rinses. When the cycle finished, there were still suds in the gasket fold and on the gasket. Next, I ran the entire load thru a Delicate/Cold cycle and NO detergent. Still had suds in the water, including all three rinses in that cycle, so I next ran it all thru the Rinse/Spin cycle twice. Either that blazer was retaining a lot of detergent from its two or three previous washes in either Charlies Soap or All F&C, or one Tablespoon was too much for the size load and synthetic type fibers. Or maybe both theories are right? Now that I've had this machine for a few months, I am able to use more than 1/4 of the suggested dose of any brand. If there was indeed detergent build-up/residue from the old TL washer, it is finally all gone by now. It would appear that way, since now I can use more detergent. Possibly the synthetic fabrics don't absorb the water/detergent mix, and I needed less than 1 Tbsp. for today's load? Truth is stranger than fiction.