Coffee Makers

[InspiredCook]

Hi Everyone. I am new to this message board but have been an avid Cooking Light reader for 5 years now. My question is about coffee makers. I am interested in purchasing one and wanted to know if anyone had recommendations. I have been looking at the Cuisinart Grind and Brew and the Cuisinart Brew Central models. Any input would be great. Thanks!

[Jazzmatazz49]

This came from Cooks' Illustrated, although it is a couple of years old.

Written: 11/2003

For related information, see Coffee Makers - Auto Drip, Coffee Grinders, Coffee Toddy.

In our experience, automatic-drip coffee machines make coffee easily, but rarely well. In fact, only one model in our November/December 1998 tests received a passable rating. Recently, appliance makers have introduced machines with improved technologies aimed at brewing better tasting coffee. We selected seven of these for this new round of tests. Three combine a coffee grinder with an automatic-drip machine; two are electric vacuum machines; and two are pump-driven, single-cup brewers that function rather like espresso machines but produce regular filtered coffee. Prices range from a low of $60 to a high of $250.

According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the quality of a cup of coffee is affected by 10 primary variables, from the chemistry of the beans to the composition of the water and the method used to hold the finished beverage. Automatic brewers, whether drip or another type, should control at least four of the 10 variables. Those are brewing time (four to six minutes for a full pot using medium-grind coffee, optimally), temperature (195 to 205 degrees for brewing and 155 to 175 degrees for serving, optimally), delivery of water and resulting agitation of the grounds (large filter basket to provide room for grounds to swell without compacting), and holding conditions (assuming that you brew a partial or entire pot, as opposed to a single cup).

Grind and Brew
Grind-and-brew coffee machines are automatic-drip machines with an integrated grinder that grinds the beans immediately before brewing. Theoretically, this feature enhances flavor by limiting the dissipation of compounds that contribute to both flavor and aroma. The loss of these volatile compounds is said to begin as soon as beans are ground and to continue over time.

To test this notion, we conducted an informal tasting of coffee brewed from fresh- and pre-ground beans, and our tasters easily recognized and preferred the former. That was good news for the grind-and-brews. Unfortunately, all three models mitigated their advantage with 10- to 12-minute brewing times, much longer than the four to six minutes experts consider ideal for a full pot. (Longer brewing times over extract flavor compounds from the ground beans, often leading to a bitter cup of coffee.) Even so, tasters rated coffee from both the Cuisinart and the Capresso as pretty good (the Melitta produced bitter coffee), yet neither machine was perfect. The Cuisinart required painstaking cleaning of four intricate parts after each use. The Capresso, despite offering a burr grinder (which many coffee experts prefer over the blade grinders found in the other two) and considerable adjustability, lacked a thermal carafe (which is essential for preserving the temperature and flavor of brewed coffee). This machine also costs a hefty $200.

The Vacuum Method
Vacuum brewing is, in fact, not new at all; it dates from the mid-1800s. A vacuum brewer consists of two bowls, one sitting directly on top of the other. The bottom bowl--the carafe--contains water, the top bowl ground coffee. When the water boils, steam forces it into the top bowl, where it mixes with the grounds. When the air in the carafe cools and contracts, it forms a vacuum that draws the liquid, now coffee, through a filter that keeps the grounds aloft.

What's new about these machines? Until recent years, vacuum brewers were rather fragile glass chambers that, if they didn't come with their own weak spirit lamp, required a heat source such as a burner. They looked like (and often were) accidents waiting to happen. The Bodum and Black & Decker electric models improve matters considerably, with shock-resistant plastic chambers, strong seals between the top and bottom bowls, and built-in electric heating elements. How was the coffee? Tasters liked the coffee from these units but consistently described it as strong and robust. In short, vacuum brewers make a very distinct style of coffee that will appeal to many (but not all) coffee drinkers. That said, both vacuum brewers made exceptionally hot coffee and had brew cycles nearly within the ideal four- to six-minute range. Without thermal carafes, however, coffee from neither unit fared well as it aged. We felt the Black & Decker had a slight advantage over the Bodum because it was both less expensive and easier to clean.

Espresso-Method Single-Cup Brewers
The most interesting innovation in coffee--brewing methods is the single-cup, pump-action brewer. Each time you want a cup of coffee, you brew just that--a single cup--in less than one minute. In theory and function, they are closer to espresso machines than to automatic-drip brewers. Like espresso machines, these units use pumps--two air pumps for the Keurig and a steam pump for the Melitta--to force hot, pressurized water through packaged coffee grounds (they come in small sealed plastic cups or filters) to extract flavor in seconds.

Like the vacuum brewers, which produced coffee with robust flavor, these machines produced a distinct style of coffee. It was mild, with a light body and not much nuance. It was, in short, what we think of as classic American coffee. We should note, however, that in testing these models, we could not use the same coffee that we used in the other brewers. The Keurig and the Melitta One:One operate only with the coffee cups, or pods, designed for them by their respective manufacturers, so we were limited to the samples they provided.

And therein lies the rub with the single-cup brewers. You'll have no choice but to buy packaged coffee from the machine's manufacturer. Keurig has partnered with well-known coffee roasters to offer almost 80 varieties, so, theoretically, you should be able to find a strong or mild flavor profile that suits you. The selection from Melitta is narrower; there are just six types, of which we sampled four and really liked only one--the light roast. Also keep in mind that you may pay considerably more for your coffee this way.

A Better Mousetrap?
If you are a fan of light, American-style coffee (we aren't), we suggest the single-cup brewers over the grind-and-brew machines, largely because of design idiosyncrasies among the latter. Because we like robust coffee, not to mention the spectacle of the brewing process, we prefer the electric vacuum brewers, despite their lack of thermal carafes. (If the R&D people were to produce a vacuum brewer that incorporated a thermal carafe, we'd buy it in a second. For now, we simply pour the brewed coffee into a separate thermal carafe, not an odious task.) The Black & Decker suits us better than the Bodum because it is a bit easier to clean the carafe, and it's less expensive.

Have we moved beyond the automatic-drip brewer of yesteryear? Yes, certainly. But there is still some distance to go before we reach the Valhalla of automatic coffee brewers.

[birdyone]

I've had the Cuisinart Grind & Brew for about 1 1/2 years and love it - but HATE to clean it - however, you can put the parts that require the most cleaning in the top level of the dishwasher, which is what I do.

Elaine

[blazedog]

I have had various models of the Grind n Brew for about 20 years -- my earliest was made by Toshiba. I currently have the stainless steel model with the thermal carafe.

I LOVE IT. Once you get the system, rinsing out the parts takes about 60 seconds -- I don't always use the dishwasher -- heck it's just grinds.

Any inconvenience is more than offset by the lack of mess in terms of grinding the beans (which I have also done) -- always brown stuff on the counter which inevitably drifted to the floor.

I generally fill it up at night and wake to fresh ground coffee -- it's got a programming cycle.

[gperls]

I've had both a Capressa and Cuisinart Grind and Brew. Both make excellent coffee. The Capressa doesn't require as much cleaning, but with the sprayer on the faucet, the Cuisinart can be rinsed clean in 30 seconds.

You can't go wrong with either one.

[Kingwell]

We previously owned a Melitta grind and brew and now own a Cuisinart. I think the Melitta was preferable in a few ways--it was shorter, so it fit on the counter better, and it was simpler to operate and to clean. However, it had a basket filter that, to our knowledge, they did not make replacements for, so when its screen got clogged with coffee residue, you had to scrape it with your fingernail or whatever...and then some of the screens became disconnected and we couldn't replace just that piece, which seemed very shortsighted to me.

The Cuisinart is a bit more awkward, but the basket can be replaced. According to these reviews it makes better coffee, and I think Cooks' is a good source. My husband also read a fair number of reviews before choosing this machine (this is one kitchen applicance that is much more important to my husband than to me, so he did the research). It seems to me that the Cuisinart requires more beans to make the same amount of coffee, but it's relatively new to us so I'm still getting used to its flavor, etc.

birdy and gperls--do you rinse out the contraption where you put the beans every time, or just the carafe and three-part grounds basket? I read the directions yesterday and thought they said never to get the part wet where the beans are added, but in reading the Cooks' review and your posts, I'm confused.

[lhall]

I have the new Cuisinart Grind & Brew with the Thermal Carafe. This is the first time I've had a coffee maker with a thermal carafe. I think it really does make a big difference in how the coffee tastes, even compared to our old Cuisinart grind & brew.

I don't grind beans everyday, just on the weekends. If I'm using pre-ground coffee I just shake the excess water off the internal parts & put them in the dish drainer, and I only wash the basket. If I use beans I normally wash all the parts. I usually do the breakfast dishes in the morning so they have plenty of time to air dry.

Leigh

[blazedog]

Originally posted by Kingwell


-do you rinse out the contraption where you put the beans every time, or just the carafe and three-part grounds basket? I read the directions yesterday and thought they said never to get the part wet where the beans are added, but in reading the Cooks' review and your posts, I'm confused.

All the parts are washable. The warning is so that you don't put a wet coffee bean holder in as the water could drip into the mechanism. I either rinse out in the morning or after dinner and air dry or in a pinch I wash and dry with a paper towel if I want to make successive pots of coffee -- either way it's no big deal.

[Soushi]

I have the Grind and Brew, have had it for over a year. I just rinse the basket filter and pop it back in. I take the rest of the parts out about once a week and rinse them in the sink. That's it. No problems here. I have the thermal pot and love it. Coffee stays warm for a long time and doesn't taste bitter.

[birdyone]

I put them in the d/w every day as I use beans each day. It does use quite a lot of beans - i.e. I use 10 scoops of beans and fill the container up to the top level, which is 10 cups. I really do like this machine. It is also find it a bit akward for me too as it is taller than the bottom of my cupboards as I foolishly had lighting installed under the cupboards with a frame around them, but makes great coffee!

[Soushi]

I use seven heaping scoops which is probably about the same. Yes, I grind the beans everyday but don't clean all the parts but once a week and rinse out the grounds contain each day.

[InspiredCook]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the input. I decided to go with the Grind and Brew by Cuisinart. I'll keep you posted about how it works out.

[gabbyh]

InspiredCook you didn't go wrong!

My husband bought our 1st Grind & Brew over 7 years ago, and we're on our 2nd one now...I'm hoping this one goes soon so we can get the stainless with the carafe:D

He rinses it every day, and it goes in the dishwasher 1 or 2 times a week...it's my alarm clock at 5:30AM:D

Enjoy your coffee!

~Gail