If I buy a coffee maker, will I really use it?
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Hi Mike - I'd recommend getting a french press. You don't have to plug it in, no filters needed, and it's easy to rinse clean. It's also good for small batches and I just put some cocoa or cinnamon right in with pre-ground coffee to flavor it. I'm not into gadgets and I use mine a couple times per week - relatively cheap and does not take up much space either.
I bought my husband a Jura Capresso Impressa z5 for his 50th birthday almost two years ago. It's VERY pricey (about $3000 then, at Williams Sonoma - more on that below) but it was a BIG birthday so I splurged. The espresso it makes is amazing - much better than Starbucks, and you make everything with the push of a button - the beans in the hopper are ground, espresso made, perfect foamed (or steamed) milk from an insulated jug that you can fill with milk once a day and keep in the fridge and just hook on when you need it. Very little muss/fuss. We absolutely love it and it has (amazingly enough) been cost-and labor- effective for us. But I realize that we're not necessarily typical... My husband is English and loves to finish each meal with an espresso, European style. I used to spend lots of $$ on a daily cappucino and our teenaged daughter loves a weak latte in the morning and often a steamed milk or hot chocolate at the push of a button (calcium!) in the evening. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that you can make that mocha in seconds - put some choc syrup in with the milk and then push the button. You can also totally control the strength and the volume of each shot. As you can tell, I'm a fan. For us, I figure we spent at least $10/day paying for coffee that we now make for about $2-3 of coffee/milk - so at about 500 days of say $7 a day savings, we've paid for it already.Oh yes, W-S - I bought from them rather than online even though it was about a hundred dollars more. It paid off - when our first unit started leaking about 4 months after purchase, we called Capresso and were totally jerked around and told to send it back at our own cost for repair they would potentially charge us for, etc. I called W-S and they profusely apologized - took back the unit with no box or anything else other than the receipt, gave us a brand new one, and thanked us for giving them feedback on Capresso so they could watch whether there were other quality and service issues. I noticed the other day that they were still selling them and asked about complaints - according to the the Stanford store, apparently ours was a rare lemon, for what that's worth. Sorry to go on so long - hope you find the right solution for you!
Hey marta, It sounds like I need to find a way to get my coffee from your place :)Super thanks for the detail. I'm not quite ready to spend that much cash on something I might not use. However, rest assured that If I become that serious, your comments will be at the top of my mind.
A french press? Hmm. I'd forgotten that was a possibility. I've used them in the past but forgot about that option.I think I'm going to go look these up now. Thanks Karen.
i have a plain good old coffee maker that is my BFF. it all depends on whether you want to change your morning routine or not. i find that french press makes good coffee, but there is more clean-up than a regular coffee maker.
If you do get one, by or freshly grind the beans at the store so you don't hgave to do that at home. A week or two is not going to make a significant idfference, and it is much easier not to have to grind each time. Store your ground coffee in an air-tight container, though.Also, buy a metal -- gold? - filter instead of the paper. They work fine, and you don't have to consume so many trees. Rinsing the filter and the pot is easy, and just through them in the dishwasher overy now and then. Finally, most coffee makers come iwth an automatic feature, so you can get in the habit of setting up the coffee machine the night before, and time it so your hot coffee is ready right when you want it to be -- without even having to wake up enough to load it up. Key.
Thanks for the continued input.Grind the beans at the store. got it. Now I just need to know if a tiny, tiny bit of chocolate can be added to my home coffee maker. Marta can do it. If I go the cheaper route, can I?
Mike, we have had good luck with our Cuisinart DCC-1200.
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