How often to you descale it? I have a KitchenAid machine. I think I descale it 2 or 3 times a year. I also never pour water in it from the pot. I use the sprayer from my sink. That way, I know only clean water goes into the machine. With my Keurig (don't worry, I don't use Kcups, I use refillable filters... ;) ), I only use filtered water. I don't know why.... I just do. lol I also descale that machine 2 or 3 times a year. My KitchenAid is probably 7 years old and still runs really well. The Keurig I've had almost 4 years.

It's a disposable appliance. We are currently in a furnished apartment and the Cuisinart coffeemaker that came with it conked out. Since we will need one in our new house next month, we bought a $60 Krups at BB&B with a coupon. Our old Krups worked well for 5 or 6 years, but we left it with a friend when we moved across country and had to put everything in storage. But a $60 appliance that lasts 5 years is a buck a month. Get a new one, just not the same brand. I wasn't impressed with the Cuisinart when it did work for two weeks.

Bossyvossy, your Cusinart has a filter. Have you removed it, and cleaned it or better yet, replaced it. The filter is located at the bottom of the place you pour the water in. It is a charcoal filter and meant for water taste, but, if you have never replaced it, it will slow the water down, so that it takes forever to get one cup of coffee. Hope this helps.

Cheap Mr. Coffee 4-cup machine, several years old. I run vinegar through it every few months.

You are right, K-cup is the expensive way to drink coffee. Too much plastic waste too. We have one but rarely use it.

bossyvossy -- I don't understand. If you put enough water to make, say, 4 cups of coffee (filling water to the "4" line, right?), and you get only one cup of coffee, where does the rest of the water go/end up? Our Cuisinart programmable is at least 4-5 years old and doing fine -- distilled water only.

ETA: I just re-read your post. So, you'll eventually get the yield, but it just takes forever?

javiwa - I'm guessing she meant that it's taking a long time for the water to filter through.

Like socks, we use an el cheapo Mr. Coffee and replace it every few of years or when the need occurs.

Our $20.00 Mr. Coffees last us about 5 or 6 years. I run vinegar through it maybe 3 or 4 times a year. DH is the only one who drinks coffee so we downsized to a 4 cup. He only drinks coffee in the morning. Used to have one at work but gave it up. He's happy with his morning coffee. He buys premium coffees.

I wasn't clear, sorry. He means to make a full pot but after showering, etc. Only one cup has dripped. We have done the vinegar thing but I doubt it's been a routine thing. I know we've changed filters but now that you mention it, don't think we've done it with this machine.

Maybe you need to buy one of those $9 Mr. Coffee's from Target! (Just kidding!)

I have a single cup coffee maker I bought over 5 years ago for $10 when my husband died, and its still going strong. It's a Kitchen Selectives....I liked it so well, I got one for the RV.

kitchen Selectives

All the 30-40 somethings I know had Cuisinarts die young. And then they bought the second one, which also died young. Then they got smart, like their parents who would NEVER spend that much money on a coffee making machine, and bought a $20 Mr. Coffee. Our Mr.Coffee is going on 10 years. Just saying. . . .

I don't use a coffee maker. I toss some instant coffee in a microwave safe cup, add anything else I choose, then put it in the microwave. One cup of coffee is ready in 1 minute 15 sec.

We do have a 4 cup percolator that's over 30 yrs old. It got its highest use when we were first married. Its still good. I'm not sure of the brand - might be West Bend or something that Sears or Penny's sold back then. About the only part that might fail is the thermostatic switch on the bottom of the pot and that is replaceable (if you can find a part). When the pot arrives at temperature, the high wattage heater is switched off and the low wattage stays on. Therefore, if a percolator does not not have an off switch, it should never be left plugged in if empty.

I have a Black and Decker which is more than a few years old and works fine. My son told us recently he spent over $1000 on a machine that does everything. I could not believe it, and he never drank coffee till a few years ago.

Another vote for a $20 Mr. Coffee. Mine is almost 15 years old and works fine. I don't give it any special treatment. I've found that the fancier and more expensive the appliance, the less reliable it is.

Just this morning I came across and discarded the receipt for the Krups that started failing last summer. I bought it at Marshall Field's in 1995. It made good coffee, but not AS good as its replacement, a Jura Capresso CM350. This also has a thermos carafe with a tight seal, but it heats the water to a much higher temperature than the Krups ever did. The coffee stays hot in the thermos without evaporating or getting 'burned' on a hot plate. The Capresso ($75 @ Costco) was cheaper than the Krups ($100).

I use Melitta coffee filters and filtered water from our fridge. I don't use the gold filter or the water filter gizmo that came with the Capresso. (We have good water. The fridge filter is overkill.)

If you read reviews of the Capresso, be aware that some people who have always used 'hot plate' coffee makers don't understand that you pre-warm a thermos with hot tap water. Some couldn't understand how to use the screw-on lid to the thermos; no problem for me.

There's a Mr. Coffee at our condo. We put it away when we are there and use the Capresso we keep in owner storage.

After tiring of having glass carafes break after only a couple of years, I bought a Phillips coffee maker with a metal carafe that's been going strong for almost ten years. I also use a Hario glass pour-through cone for single cups.

Another vote for Hario pour-through cones, available from Amazon. We have the ceramic ones and that's all we use, with spring water heated in either an electric or stovetop tea kettle and fresh beans from the local coffee store that does its own roasting. Better drip coffee can't be made.

I had to google "hario" to see what that was. Same as the Melitta drip pots. I use one when we go camping. I may even still have one in the back of my kitchen cupboard. I also have a stove top glass percolator. I haven't used it in years, but don't have the heart to give it away.

bossy, to quote the Grail Knight in The Indiana Jones and the the Last Crusade movie, "You have chosen wisely."

I agree. This one is at least 20 years old.

I've had a Sears Counter Craft drip coffee maker (makes 1-4 cups) since 1979, and I use it four or five times a year for visiting coffee drinkers. I only use distilled water in it, so I never have to treat it for hard water build-up. But then, we've been distilling our drinking water for decades, so that's why I always use distilled water....

Personally, I prefer a French Press. I rarely drink coffee, except when my "coffee expert" neighbors bring me a sample of their fresh-roasted beans ;-), and I heat the water in an electric kettle.

-Grainlady

I also got tired of buying new coffee makers. Expensive, cheap, didn't matter. They all died, usually on Sunday morning. I finally got an electric percolator and separate carafe ten years ago with no problems since.

Sunday morning, the WORST day for that mishap!

OT, but what is it about the old Sears appliances? I have a Kenmore w/d that is 25+ and washes better than my fancy Bosch combo. It also has great sentimental value. Some years after buying on credit, I had a financial crisis and feared the w/d would be repossed. The Sears credit people treated me with a dignity I hadnt experienced with other creditors and let me pay something like $10 mo (don't really remember) til pd in full. I was so proud and I regained my confidence and resolve to work myself out of this bottleneck rather than thinking it a hopeless situation. This happened b4 creditors were doing refinancing--Sears was ahead of their time in this respect. I love my Sears w/d!

My cuisinart lasted a good ten years. It finally died last fall when I was out with the broken ankle. A friend took me to get a Mr Coffee. Too early to say if it's good. I also have a French press, but it's packed for moving.

I usually get the $10 (or less) Proctor Silex and they last 20+ years. I now went back to percolator when I brew coffee but it's still here. Why I don't toss it, IDK. Can't give it away. So many have been sucked into the pet rock coffeemaker (aka Keurig). It just ran through my mind (since there's not much resistance) that maybe part of my success is that when the coffee is brewed, I put it into a vacuum bottle (aka "Thermos bottle") to keep it hot and fresh and not evaporate. You wouldn't know it from fresh brewed even a couple hours afterward since it's not being cooked anymore. I started it back when expenses had to be minimized and turning off an appliance seemed a simple cost saving measure. Then I discovered the benefits of it. Plus I can keep it next to me wherever I am and have a refill available without running to the pot, probably in another room and not have to clean the machine, put in a new k-cup and brew another cup with the Keurig disadvantage. Percolators. A great example of how parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc were doing things a better way. Although the drip version is ok, I don't see drip makers as progress.

"Percolators. A great example of how parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc were doing things a better way. "

Many of our ancestors didn't know good coffee from bad, because most all that was available (outside of the old urban Italian neighborhoods) was pretty lousy. They often used coffee of poor quality that was canned and (because of the practice of buying a large volume when on sale) often stale to the point of being so old that the oils had started to turn rancid. Percolators give the coffee an unpleasant boiled taste.

The drip method produces more flavorful coffee. But if a good quality coffee isn't used with a good quality coffee maker and the drinkers don't much care or know the difference, it doesn't matter.

If you use a Melitta try the Clever Coffee Dripper. It makes much better coffee because it steeps to your preferred strength before emptying into a cup. Sold on amazon.

Sorry Snidely, gotta disagree with you on this one. You're representing totally subjective terms as being absolute fact, which they're not. I totally disagree that drip is "more flavorful". There certainly is no documentation to that claim, since there's no objective way to quantify the claim. It's all subjective, it's a matter of taste. A good number of people agree with me that a percolator is a far more flavorful coffee than drip. Saying coffee was poorer in the past is again totally subjective. Today's foo-foo coffees that are so fashionable are generally favored by those who need to have it diluted with creamers, flavorings and sugar in order to drink it since they don't want a coffee taste. They need it adulterated to drink it. Hardly makes that a better coffee than the past. Different, yes, but not better. My position is the same holds true for cooking a ham. I prefer it be the meat, and appreciate the quality and taste of it rather than covering it with sugars. I don't think a steak needs to be covered with ketchup or steak sauce but some will tell you unequivocally better so buried. Today's society requires the addition of ridiculous amounts of sugar to make things "better". Sweeter isn't always better to a developed palate. To those raised on fast food, frozen food and prepared by mediocre cooks, sugar saves the day for them. Not for me.

The other point few people understand is the quality of water required. IMO, you don't make good coffee with lousy water. And all the Starbucks and foo-foo "coffees" (which calling them coffee is argumentative anyway), together with an uncleaned maker of any type, using tap water as most all of them do, is what people want to call "better" when IMO it's far from it. Many of these places might filter their water which can help but it doesn't help when they don't change the filters which is a common negligence. Many people don't know good coffee from bad because they've never used good water, never clean their maker and never drink it unadulterated. They don't really know how coffee actually tastes.

Cynic, I'm happy for you to enjoy whatever you enjoy.

I think there are some objective measures, let's compare experiences and approach. I lived in Europe for several years. I've been lucky to eat in some of the best restaurants in the US and Europe. Some may be places you may have heard of, where the name of the game is flavor, freshness, presentation, ingredients, innovation. These standards apply as much to the coffee served as anything else. A common thread in all of them - coffee is made in espresso form, with a French press, or a custom drip method. No other way.

If you want to find percolators, go to a church social hall in the Midwest where a 30 cup or larger West Bend machine produces a liquid that can sit for hours and is often flavored with Coffee Mate.

I suspect Starbucks, which generally serves pretty lousy coffee inexpertly prepared, uses filtered water, but no matter, it's a poor place to go. I live in a foodie area and buy one fresh pound of beans every week from a boutique roaster. They know what they're doing and my guests always compliment and enjoy the great taste of coffee we make.

I know the difference between good and bad coffee. You can't get good coffee out of a can or from a percolator. Put the two together and it's a nightmare.

"Go to a church social hall in the Midwest." "I know the difference between good and bad coffee." Wow Snidely. Not only do you slam the Midwest but you show incredible arrogance here. Who made you the be all and end all of taste???

I percolate when I am having company. I use my Nanna's old percolater circa 1960 and that baby still percs like nobody's business. I love it. If I am making coffee for just me, I use a Melitta pour over which I think makes a decent cup. I think using a good quality coffee and making sure that the water isn't boiling (burns the coffee) is the key to a good pour over coffee. I couldn't invest in the Keurig--it seemed cost prohibitive to me although I understand that others love their Keurigs.

Looking at Snidely's comments. My Nanna was Italian and she percolated. But again, she used a really good coffee in it that she ground herself.

anne, back in 1960 and thereabouts, espresso machines for the home weren't easily found. After a lot of looking, I found and bought a Pavoni espresso machine in 1980 for around $500. Yes, that's right, it was VERY expensive, certainly the equivalent of >$1000 today. But there were almost no coffee stores or espresso cafes around then, so it was DIY or go without.

Many homes in Italy had stovetop coffee makers like these - similar to percolators but a bit different. I have one. With enough strong coffee, it approximates the taste of espresso from a proper machine. Better than nothing. The water goes in the bottom, the coffee is in the middle, the brewed coffee winds up in the top part after a pressure build up forces the water up through the grounds. This holds a bit more than one cup of water, which at a few ounces per espresso serving, is enough for 4 or 5 people.