Saeco here also. Spoiled me, I can't drink coffee out anymore, fresh ground tastes so much better at home.

But follow with one brew of baking soda.

We should have a thread like this every month. I love reading this stuff while drinking a fresh cup of coffee. :)

Weekdays we use a Melitta/ Mr Coffee as in post #2. Weekends are for the french press. (lol Webb!)

So, if one chooses to use a FP, what is the ideal water temp?

I've gone thru 3 makers and several brands and almost anyone can make better coffee than me. Right now I'm brewing Don Francisco Hazelnut, but I'm not impressed. And I keep the damn things clean so as to not get bitter coffee.

It still tastes like swill. Maybe I should change the water I'm using which is tap water. The thing is, out tap water is rated good and tastes exactly like Crystal Geyser.

Seriously, you can't tell the difference.

However, I hear there's some new fangled chlorine compound being used. Maybe that combines with the coffee and messes it up. I don't see anything at the Star$s other than an inline filter.

Sometimes growing up in rural CT blows. I put the whole thing in the dishwasher with the high heat pots & pans soak mode and sani-rinse option.

came out like new. :(

Per Alton Brown on food network "Just off the boil", I use a Brita filtered water, SS teapot on gas stove, bring it to a boil, turn the fire off for ten or fifteen seconds, then pour into FP

Dude, Dan Francisco!?! Get thee to a Trader Joe's and buy some whole bean Costa Rican, the stop by Target and get a coffee grinder, preferable not a spice grinder... get something you pour the beans in one end and they come out grounds the other.

Enjoy!

PS, I use tap water and paper filters at work with the fresh ground beans and it turns out ok... I also make my coffee triple strength... wife calls it "rocket fuel"... co workers love it "once you have had Scotties coffee you can't go back"... but they have to cut it with water. When I vacationed with my parents they were mortified that I drank what looked like motor oil.

-I let my water cool off a bit, until it's down to maybe 195-200 F.
-Use a very coarse grind. Coarser than drip coffee. If you only have drip grind coffee, shorten the brew time by a little bit.
-I use a heaping tablespoon of grounds per cup brewed. When in doubt, more is better, since you can dilute it later with leftover hot water.
-Pour in hot water, stir the grounds to moisten them, set the handle on top of the carafe, and let them sit for three minutes.
-Press down slowly to avoid pushing grounds past the screen.

That is what i use, and i love it. simple, clean looking, makes great coffee. and I'm a java snob.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286585191.jpg

We have a Braun filter machine, a very complicated Saeco, and a French press.

And lately we've been drinking instant. Anyone try this Davidoff stuff? I think it's brilliant.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286589071.jpg

Atomic.
Of course, the machines only last 60 years or so.......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1286604440.jpg

We have one of those Keurig brewers.
I really like it and we use our own coffee in the little strainer basket assembly that you can buy as an extra. Works well with fine ground coffee. I compact the coffee a bit before putting the cap on for brewing.
We also used one of those Jura automatics when we were staying in Grand Cayman. Makes excellent coffee. We never ventured out for a coffee while we were there.

Legitimate question: for good old plain coffee, how are these fancy machines better than my Bunn and grinder?

any paper filter (Bunn??) will absorb some of the oils and they will not show up in your cup -- can be good or bad, up to your taste buds

the grind has to be exact for the high end "whatever you're having" and cannot heat the coffee up - IIRC, the cheapest ones my coffee shop will sell is a $300 burr grinder

personally, I let the pros do it at my fav. coffee shop - they are also very cute & young (coeds) so that helps too

I used a Bunn for many many years. The Primary advantage of the Super-Automatic is that it produces a completely fresh cup of coffee on demand. It also makes espresso.

While I would say it is GOOD looking I would not say it is CLEAN looking. In fact it looks way more complicated than a normal coffe maker. More like a rocket sitting on a gantry. Techy. Cool. But not clean.

But what do I know? I still use my grandmother's old perculator. Now THAT's clean looking.;)