Coffee makers did not include “The best part of waking up is coffee in your cup!” as the jingle is known.  And for many people it is true.  That is why the quest for the best coffee makers out there is so important to coffee drinkers.  Sorry, but here’s the bad news:  There is no one single ‘best coffee maker.’

When shopping for any of the  home coffee makers the “which one is best” question has the frustratingly elusive answer, “It depends.”   But regardless of which coffee maker you decide upon, there are two considerations that are important to a consistently great cup of coffee:

• A CLEAN coffee maker
• Quality, fresh coffee

That being said, there are three things we will examine in the rest of this article, and they are:

• how to choose the best coffee maker for your household
• how to clean a coffee maker
• how to have the highest quality coffee without being a coffee snob

Coffee Makers And What You Need

As we first begin to examine coffee makers, let’s just clarify from the beginning that we cannot cover the vast array of coffee makers out there.  And then if you add iced coffee to the repertoire we could cover the entire world wide web with information about coffee and iced tea brewers.

Coffee Makers

Coffee brewing, is it an art or a science?  To quote a famous movie, “a little bit of both, I guess.”  If brewing coffee were entirely science, everyone could have a good cup of coffee all the time simply by following the formulas.  But artistically speaking, coffee brewing is quite a subjective matter.  Coffee maker selection is as subjective as coffee brewing, so the best thing to do is to shop carefully.  There is a ton of home coffee maker equipment out there, as well as many commercial coffee makers available to the public.  There are two things necessary to make coffee: water and coffee.  Water is poured over coffee to extract flavor and caffeine. That’s it!  So why so many different methods and different makers and equipment?

The key is to define what your needs are.  Do you need your cup ready when you get up in the morning? Then choose a programmable coffee maker.  Do you have many coffee drinkers in the household?  Then you will need at least a 12 cup programmable coffee maker.  Do you like it strong and sweet? Consider the espresso machine with a milk-foamer attachment. Do you want your coffee fresh every time? Single cup coffee makers are your best friend.

All coffee makers have common characteristics.   They provide a way to saturate coffee with water, extracting the desired flavor, stimulants and compounds without extracting the bitter and unwanted compounds in the coffee. Below is a very short list of types of coffee makers characterized by their brewing methods:

French Press

Starting with the low tech French-press, coffee cannot get any easier.   Coffee is placed in a glass container, hot water is poured over, and the coffee is steeped. A French press allows you to have control over the temperature of the water as well as the time the coffee is steeped.  Because a paper filter is not used, some of the desirable oils are not trapped in the filter, nor is there flavor contamination from the paper.

French press is also the most inexpensive coffee maker available.  For those who love the convenience of a French press, it is not uncommon to have 2 or three on hand: One used to brew unflavored coffee, one to brew flavored coffee, and one for brewing tea.

To make a basic cup of coffee in a French press, boil the desired amount of water.  The general rule of thumb is to use 2 tablespoons freshly ground coffee for each 6 ounces of water. While the water is boiling, place coarsely ground coffee in the bottom of the glass.  Pour the boiled water over the coffee just until barely covered.  Stir the coffee and water together until all the grounds are completely saturated.  Fill the container up with more hot water and adjust the plunger, then press just about 1/3 of the way down.  Steep the coffee for 4 to 5 minutes then slowly press the plunger the rest of the way.  Slow and steady pressure keeps the coffee grounds under the screen and out of your cup of coffee.

French press coffee makers come in a variety of sizes.  There is even a very small one that is a perfect one cup coffee maker.

Vacuum Coffee Makers

Vacuum coffee makers have been around since 1840.  Like the French press, they do not use a paper filter, and it coffee is highly aromatic during the brewing process. It consists of two glass bulbs, and as the name implies uses vacuum and heat to draw the water through the coffee.

To brew, place the water in the bottom bulb, attach the incorporated filter /vacuum attachment and then fit the upper bulb over the lower bulb.  Place the whole contraption on the stove and begin to heat the water.  Add the coffee grounds to the top bulb when the water begins to boil.  Leave on the stove for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat and place on a hot pad.  Before too long, the lower pot will begin to cool to form a vacuum that will pull the brewed coffee back into the lower bulb. This type of coffee maker is also available in an electric model which controls the time and heat.

Automatic Drip Coffee Makers

Perhaps the most common as well as most convenient coffee makers are the automatic drip coffee makers.  To brew coffee, simply load the required amount of ground coffee into the paper lined basket, pour water into the reservoir and switch it on.   The coffee maker will heat the water, then pump it up and over the coffee in the basket and the resulting liquid extraction will drip down into a carafe.  If your coffee maker has a hot plate, turn the heat off so that the coffee does not burn.

Some auto drip coffee makers have an insulated carafe to keep the brew hot. A single cup coffee maker is convenient and makes a fresh cup every time you want.  Others have timers so that they can be set ahead of time to come on when you are ready for a fresh cup.  Bunn coffee makers are generally drip type coffee makers that can be installed and connected to a constant supply of water.  This type of plumbing is simple in the same way as hook king up a refrigerator’s ice maker or water dispenser.

Espresso Coffee Makers

Espresso as a coffee drink is a bit different than regular coffee, so by default, the espresso maker is different.  Rather than simply running water through ground coffee, an espresso machine forces the water through the coffee using pressure or steam.  This causes the drink to have more a more concentrated stronger taste. The steam created by the process also produces a crema or lightly foamy surface.  Follow the directions that come with the machine for amount of water and coffee.

For espresso made in the average home, a steam espresso machine is much more affordable than the pump type; however, the best espresso is made with a pump-driven machine.  A fine and entirely satisfactory cup of espresso is possible by using a stove top espresso maker. Fill the bottom reservoir with water up to but not over the relief valve. Fill the coffee basket with coffee and lightly tamp down.  Set the pot on the stove and listen for the coffee to begin to steam. As the water boils, steam and water are forced through the coffee, and the espresso is deposited into a top chamber.  Drink immediately to enjoy the brew while the crema is fresh and the coffee is not bitter.

 

Type	Use if you want:	Advantage	Disadvantage
French Press	fresh coffee without paper filter	Easy, controllable	Prep and cleanup is time consuming ,quickly loses heat
Vacuum coffee pot	Very clear crisp coffeeGood for iced coffee	No paper filter and no sediment	Time consuming, a bit of a learning curve, some say the coffee is weak
Auto drip coffee maker	Convenient coffee in a hurry	Convenient, simple, consistent	No control over water temp. Sometimes the water flows through the grounds unevenly
Espresso coffee makers	Very strong dark coffeeCoffee for lattes and cappuccinos	Coffee is delicious and strong.  Measuring amounts of coffee and  water is intuitive- just fill the chambers	Automatic machines can be complicated and expensive. Gasket in stove top makers can wear out quickly

How to Clean Coffee Makers

Regardless of what coffee maker you have, the number one key to great coffee is a clean coffee maker.  If you don’t know how to clean a coffee maker, your best pot of coffee will be the first one you make after bringing it home from the store.  Thorough cleaning is important because the same volatile oils that give coffee its rich aroma and deep flavor can leave a film on the equipment that quickly oxidizes and goes rancid. These old oils will dissolve into the hot water each time coffee is brewed and taint the flavor of the current brew.

Clean the basket and carafe with hot soapy water each and every time the coffee maker is used.  A glass carafe is much easier to clean than a metal one.  After washing and rinsing thoroughly, give the equipment a rinse with hot salt water.  The salt dissipates any remaining oils.  When it has been washed and rinsed, give it a quick ‘sniff.’  If you can smell even the smallest trace of coffee, wash and rinse again until there is no aroma left.

Periodically run a solution of half water half vinegar through the coffee maker.  Fill the pot as if you were making a full pot of coffee, except do not use coffee, and use the vinegar/water solution.  Do this a couple of times to dissolve any water deposits that may be in the pump and cause a mineral buildup.  To avoid mineral deposits, use filtered or spring water in all coffee makers.

Coffee Makers With Consistently Great Coffee

Besides cleaning, the other determining factor for a great cup is fresh coffee.  While there are many different gourmet brands of coffee that can be quite expensive, you don’t have to be a total coffee snob to have delicious coffee.  Be sure you buy the freshest coffee available.  Make sure the coffee you buy is vacuum packed.  Do not buy large quantities of coffee at a time.  As soon as the vacuum seal on a pack of coffee is broken, the quality begins to deteriorate.  It is much better to buy small quantities of coffee more often to assure freshness. Make sure your coffee maker brews only the amount of coffee you can drink quickly too.

Invest in a coffee grinder and buy whole beans.  Storing coffee whole keeps the oils from being exposed to the air too long before being brewed.  Remember, you can smell coffee because of volatile oils. You should smell it as it brews, and not long before.  Use all the coffee that has been ground, don’t pre-grind because it goes stale very quickly.

Store coffee beans in a dark airtight container.  Light, moisture and air are the enemies of fresh coffee.  If you do not use ground coffee within one week, the quality has probably deteriorated.  If you feel that throwing this coffee out is wasteful, then put it in a compost heap or around your geraniums or azaleas.

Perhaps this guide will help you to determine which type of coffee maker is best for you.  Fresh coffee and a clean pot can produce an excellent cup of coffee with even the most inexpensive coffee makers.