Coffee maker help please!

[StaceyinLA]

I have to replace my coffee maker. If I try to brew over 4 cups, the grounds overflow out of the filter. It's just a cheapo Black & Decker my daughter gave me after I got rid of my espresso machine.

I'm looking for a good, basic drip pot. I love using a pour over, but it's just impractical when I have people over.

I thought I'd like a machine that would grind beans then drip, but I really don't want to spend a bunch of money right now.

I get great local coffee that's always freshly roasted though, and I hate having to get it all ground there at once. I CAN grind in my Blendtec, but I know it's not ideal.

I'm open to suggestions for regular drip pots that are fairly inexpensive but work well, OR drip pots with grinders that won't break the bank.

Thanks!

[Carol in Cal.]

I use pour over, and when I have a crowd over I make it 2-3X stronger than normal in advance.

Then when I'm ready to serve it, I fill cups/mugs 1/3-1/2 full of the concentrate and pour boiling water into the top.  This mixes into perfect, really good coffee.

[Lady Marmalade]

I really love my Cuisinart that I bought at Costco.  Love!  

https://www.costco.com/Cuisinart-Brew-Central-14-Cup-Programmable-Coffeemaker.product.100341380.html

It brews the coffee nice and hot- which extracts the best flavors out of ground coffee.   It make a great coffee, whether I brew up just 4 cups or fill the carafe and go for all 14.  When the coffee is brewed, the hot plate is hot enough to keep the coffee at a perfect temperature for adding cold cream without scorching the coffee. IOW, the last cup out of the carafe 2 hours later tastes just as good as the first.

I buy pre-ground coffee because I can't stand the sound of grinding beans in the morning.

Also, because it's from Costco, if something goes wrong with it I can just take it back.  I've been using this bad boy pretty much daily since January and I don't know how I ever managed without it. 

[StaceyinLA]

I've actually been looking at the Cuisenarts so that's good to know!

 

[Pawz4me]

My Keurig bit the dust a few months ago and I bought a basic 12 cup Mr. Coffee because I was overwhelmed with all the more expensive choices and trying to decide if they'd be worth the extra money or not. The Mr. Coffee was so cheap (less than $20 IIRC) I figured I'd get it, take my time deciding on something better and then I'd keep it for a back up. Fast forward to today and I'm still very happily using it and don't see a need for anything higher dollar. It's simple and works great. But I'm not a coffee snob. As long as it's hot and not too strong I'm happy.

[Jen500]

I've had a Bonavita for a few years and I'm happy with it. Nice HOT coffee. (I use a separate grinder for the beans)

[Bootsie]

We have had several drip coffee pots that grind beans and will never buy another one.  We found that the grinder part would get steamy, was difficult to clean, would get clogged, and would rust.  It was more trouble and more difficult than grinding the beans separately. 

If you are having trouble with ground overflowing the filter, you might try descaling the machine, making sure that the top that covers the basket of grounds is sitting properly, and that the filter is lining up with the basket.  

[MrsMommy]

1 hour ago, Lady Marmalade said:

I really love my Cuisinart that I bought at Costco.  Love!  

https://www.costco.com/Cuisinart-Brew-Central-14-Cup-Programmable-Coffeemaker.product.100341380.html

It brews the coffee nice and hot- which extracts the best flavors out of ground coffee.   It make a great coffee, whether I brew up just 4 cups or fill the carafe and go for all 14.  When the coffee is brewed, the hot plate is hot enough to keep the coffee at a perfect temperature for adding cold cream without scorching the coffee. IOW, the last cup out of the carafe 2 hours later tastes just as good as the first.

I buy pre-ground coffee because I can't stand the sound of grinding beans in the morning.

Also, because it's from Costco, if something goes wrong with it I can just take it back.  I've been using this bad boy pretty much daily since January and I don't know how I ever managed without it. 

 

That's the machine I just got, and I LOVE IT! I can't believe how much coffee it makes, and it's so nice and hot. My oldest two children love it, too...we go through quite a bit of coffee every morning. ?

[Lady Marmalade]

37 minutes ago, MrsMommy said:

 

That's the machine I just got, and I LOVE IT! I can't believe how much coffee it makes, and it's so nice and hot. My oldest two children love it, too...we go through quite a bit of coffee every morning. ?

And it's soooo good!  I would have thought a coffee maker was a coffee maker, but this machine is magic.  As a rule, we don't drink decaf, but it makes such good coffee that we've been buying decaf regularly and having a cup of coffee in the evenings.  And even the decaf is fabulous.

[Angie in VA]

On 7/27/2018 at 2:00 PM, Lady Marmalade said:

I really love my Cuisinart that I bought at Costco.  Love!  

https://www.costco.com/Cuisinart-Brew-Central-14-Cup-Programmable-Coffeemaker.product.100341380.html

It brews the coffee nice and hot- which extracts the best flavors out of ground coffee.   It make a great coffee, whether I brew up just 4 cups or fill the carafe and go for all 14.  When the coffee is brewed, the hot plate is hot enough to keep the coffee at a perfect temperature for adding cold cream without scorching the coffee. IOW, the last cup out of the carafe 2 hours later tastes just as good as the first.

I buy pre-ground coffee because I can't stand the sound of grinding beans in the morning.

Also, because it's from Costco, if something goes wrong with it I can just take it back.  I've been using this bad boy pretty much daily since January and I don't know how I ever managed without it. 

 

I planned to get this as a gift for Dh b/c he uses the "use your own ground coffee" filter on our Keurig and often has three (!) cups of decaf at night. I told him about this and he liked the looks of it. We went to Costco last night and noticed it was $10 off now. Early gift. Came home, washed it, used it. Good coffee. We'll still use the Keurig, but we have this for larger pots. company, etc. I dream of making a little coffee/ tea area (aka altar to the coffee gods), and this will be a key part. ?

Thanks for the tip! Not sure when the sale ends  The sale ends 8/19 according the website. FYI to those Costco members considering getting this.

Original price: $59.99 

Sale price: $49.99

Edited August 17, 2018 by Angie in VA
Corrected end of sale & to include price info

[Ann.without.an.e]

Cuisinart is great.  I have owned one for years

 They used to make one that would grind too but I always preferred the little grinders made just for coffee.  Like this https://www.amazon.com/Mueller-HyperGrind-Precision-Electric-Grinding/dp/B076FJ92M4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1534429393&sr=8-5&keywords=coffee+grinder

I guess I like to feel in control over how it grinds each time ??

[ktgrok]

1. Unless you buy a REALLY good grinder, there is evidence that having it ground at the store, in a good grinder, gives better results than grinder fresh with a crappy grinder, as long as you use it within 2 weeks. If it lasts longer than that, then you should grind at home. The machines that grind and brew are known to have terrible grinders. 

2. How about a french press and electric kettle? How much coffee do you need to make at once? Would a larger french press work? You can even get kettles that have a timer so the water is hot when you wake up. Better coffee than any drip pot, cheaper, and cleaner. (was just reading that coffee pots harbor more germs than toilet seats and bathroom door handles!)

3. If you do get a drip pot, I find that most of the time if you are only brewing 1 or 2 cups you get crappy coffee anyway, even when it makes good coffee when doing a full pot. There just isn't enough extraction time with a small amount of coffee. The best solution seems to be the Bunn pots that preheat the water, so brew super fast. 

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Angie in VA said:

 

I planned to get this as a gift for Dh b/c he uses the "use your own ground coffee" filter on our Keurig and often has three (!) cups of decaf at night. I told him about this and he liked the looks of it. We went to Costco last night and noticed it was $10 off now. Early gift. Came home, washed it, used it. Good coffee. We'll still use the Keurig, but we have this for larger pots. company, etc. I dream of making a little coffee/ tea area (aka altar to the coffee gods), and this will be a key part. ?

Thanks for the tip! Not sure when the sale ends  The sale ends 8/19 according the website. FYI to those Costco members considering getting this. 

Two things....can you tell me the price, and if there is a minimum number of cups you need to brew? I only have one cup in the morning, and sometimes my son will have a cup, but that's really it. So far I've never found a machine that handles that small amount well. Now, they are more 8-12 oz mugs, not the 6 oz cups that some coffee machines specify, but even making 4 "cups" that the machines I had said was the minimum (so two big mugs) the coffee was lousy. Fine for a full pot, but lousy for a small amount. 

Second, if it DOES make a small amount well - how much was it? I can't find my Costco card to log in and see the price, lol. 

[Spy Car]

[Lanny]

We have a Proctor-Silex coffee maker. I believe we have had it for at least several years, if not more. I think it is a 12 cup machine. It said on the box that it is spill proof or something and that is true.  If you can find one of those, I would suggest that you go for it.

We have had several Black & Decker  small appliances in the Kitchen over the years.  None of them lasted, except the tiny machine that my wife uses on the rarest occasions to chop things.  I believe it was a Black & Decker Coffee Maker that the Switch began Smoking. Fortunately,  we noticed that and took it out of service and there was no fire.   My belief from various small Black & Decker kitchen appliances is that they are of very poor quality. 

[Selkie]

On 7/27/2018 at 1:09 PM, Pawz4me said:

My Keurig bit the dust a few months ago and I bought a basic 12 cup Mr. Coffee because I was overwhelmed with all the more expensive choices and trying to decide if they'd be worth the extra money or not. The Mr. Coffee was so cheap (less than $20 IIRC) I figured I'd get it, take my time deciding on something better and then I'd keep it for a back up. Fast forward to today and I'm still very happily using it and don't see a need for anything higher dollar. It's simple and works great. But I'm not a coffee snob. As long as it's hot and not too strong I'm happy.

We have the same Mr. Coffee! $22 on Amazon, I think. We make at least two pots a day and ours is still going strong after a year and a half.

[Lady Marmalade]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

Two things....can you tell me the price, and if there is a minimum number of cups you need to brew? I only have one cup in the morning, and sometimes my son will have a cup, but that's really it. So far I've never found a machine that handles that small amount well. Now, they are more 8-12 oz mugs, not the 6 oz cups that some coffee machines specify, but even making 4 "cups" that the machines I had said was the minimum (so two big mugs) the coffee was lousy. Fine for a full pot, but lousy for a small amount. 

Second, if it DOES make a small amount well - how much was it? I can't find my Costco card to log in and see the price, lol. 

The least amount of coffee I've made in our pot has been six cups at once- I use roughly 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 2 cups brewed, and the six cup pot tasted just as good as our usual 12 cup pot. 

It's usually $59.99 and is on sale for $49.99.

[Angie in VA]

5 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Two things....can you tell me the price, and if there is a minimum number of cups you need to brew? I only have one cup in the morning, and sometimes my son will have a cup, but that's really it. So far I've never found a machine that handles that small amount well. Now, they are more 8-12 oz mugs, not the 6 oz cups that some coffee machines specify, but even making 4 "cups" that the machines I had said was the minimum (so two big mugs) the coffee was lousy. Fine for a full pot, but lousy for a small amount. 

Second, if it DOES make a small amount well - how much was it? I can't find my Costco card to log in and see the price, lol. 

 

3 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

The least amount of coffee I've made in our pot has been six cups at once- I use roughly 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 2 cups brewed, and the six cup pot tasted just as good as our usual 12 cup pot. 

It's usually $59.99 and is on sale for $49.99.

 

Thank you. Sorry, Katie, I just saw this. Lady Marmalade is your expert, so I'm glad she responded. I don't know how many cups DH made last night, but it wasn't much b/c it was just him drinking it. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by Angie in VA

[Tanaqui]

Quote

2. How about a french press and electric kettle? How much coffee do you need to make at once? Would a larger french press work? You can even get kettles that have a timer so the water is hot when you wake up. Better coffee than any drip pot, cheaper, and cleaner. (was just reading that coffee pots harbor more germs than toilet seats and bathroom door handles!)

 

To be fair, everything appears to harbor more germs than toilet seats - phones, keyboards, water fountains (!), desks, toothbrushes....

Unless you make a habit of actually pooping *on* the seat, it seems our behinds are just not all that germy.

But yes, we use a French press as well. It's a small one, but if we want to have lots of coffee (or don't want to spend too much time making coffee in an already heated kitchen) we make an extra batch and put it into a carafe, which keeps it warm for hours and hours.