Coffee

[extropalopakettle]

So, the glass pot on my ancient Mr. Coffee coffee make broke, and I decided why not get a new coffee maker. First I bought a Cuisinart, and the coffee is insipid. Packed it up, it's going back to the store. I bought another Mr. Coffee, a different model (they don't make my old one any more), and the coffee is insipid. Packed it up, it's going back to the store. Meanwhile, I've ordered a used replacement glass pot for my old machine, which looks ugly with coffee stains, but it makes good coffee. I'm getting concerned though. How does one know what coffee maker to buy, other than by first tasting the coffee? The ones I bought and am returning have decent reviews on Amazon, but I think a lot of people don't know what good coffee is. I'd pay decent money for the right machine.

[Quailman]

Maybe it's like the hot dog vendors in NYC. The best ones never actually clean their boilers. They just replenish the water when it gets low. It could be that your coffee maker makes better coffee because its seasoned.

We have an old (10+ years) Bunn coffee maker. It has a reservoir that keeps a pot of water warm so it brews really fast. I've replaced the pot once . About eight years ago the switch gave out, so I bought a new one at Radio Shack. I had to cut a larger hole in the side to fit it, but, like you, we didn't want to part with our beloved coffee maker. Last fall it started leaking when you poured the water in. I opened the top to find that the plastic tub at the top had gotten brittle around the washer and nut where it had been subjected to heat for all that time. So far the kitchen caulk is holding.

[The Potter]

That was my thought as well. The plastic on your machine has become infused with coffee. The new machines are still leaching various polymer chains into the scalding water. An entirely stainless steel machine might not have as much of an issue.
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[The Ragin' South Asian]

I don't drink coffee myself, but around these parts it seems to be all French presses and percolators and such.

[Zag]

I'm not buying that dirty machines make better coffee. When you say that the coffee was insipid, what do you mean, exactly? I mean, an automatic drip coffee maker is an automatic drip coffee maker -- they all work the same way. The only way that the coffee is going to taste different is if one or the other is adding something to it. Either your old one added something you like, or the new one added something you don't.

My first step would be to clean the bejeezus out of it, with hot soapy water, then white vinegar, then hot soapy water again, then rinse it really well. If you still don't like the coffee, then it was something your old one added that you are now missing, but I doubt it. (I'm willing to be convinced, however.)

Personally, I hate Mr. Coffee pots because they seem not to be able to make a pot that doesn't dribble when you pour. Seriously, how hard is it to design a pot with a spout that doesn't dribble? Obviously, too hard for the engineers at the Mr. Coffee company.

I bought Black and Decker last fall, and I'm quite happy with it. But I did clean it really well before my first use. In fact, both my wife and daughter go on and on about how good the coffee is that I make with it. (I just use Dunkin' Donuts, pre-ground coffee. I used to buy beans and grind my own, but a blade grinder actually makes the wrong sort of grinds for an automatic drip machine, so as long as you use pre-ground quickly, it makes a better coffee, IMHO.)

[extropalopakettle]

The coffee from the two newer coffee makers that I'm returning is just weak on flavor, and not from not using enough coffee.

From what I've been reading, and I have a hunch it's true, a lot has to do with the water temperature, with a constant slow drip of 200 degree Fahrenheit water, plus or minus 5, being ideal.

I didn't measure the temp on the Cuisinart before cleaning it up and packing it back in the box for return, but the newer Mr. Coffee I measured with an infrared thermometer, and the temperature ranged from 130 to 180 degrees, but seldom over 170. The newer Mr. Coffee had an adjustment for "regular" versus "stronger", but stronger was still weak.

I'll have to check the temp on the old one to see if that's likely the reason.

[MNOWAX]

Who knew there was all this science in brewing the perfect cup? *Sips Mountain Dew*
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[jadesmar]

I hate the glass pots that sit on a heating element until the coffee is grey and nasty. Also, paper filters suck all the nice oils out of the coffee.

I would suggest a Bodum press and a tea-kettle.

[Dented Ford]

[jadesmar]

[extropalopakettle]

[Buzzsaw]

A press-type of coffee maker is hard to beat if you like it strong.