R.I.P., our coffeemaker

[yendi]

Our coffeemaker died yesterday. It was a crappy Gevalia model with a too-narrow reservoir, a pause-and-brew sensor that often failed (thus splattering coffee on the hot plate as I switched the carafe and the mug), and was generally a piece of crap. But it was free, and it serve us faithfully for four years.

One of the reasons I don't immediately spend every Amazon gift certificate I have is that emergencies do occasionally arise. Instead of buying a crappy Mr. Coffee at Target, we decided to use our remaining credit to splurge on a good thermal model (since we drink coffee all day, this has been something we've been craving for a while).

We ordered the Cuisinart DRC-975 (in black). It's not perfect -- none of the thermal coffeemakers on the market do everything we want -- but it seems to meet most of our needs, and in the past, I've had superb support from Cuisinart.

In the meantime, we're making do with our crappy pod coffeemaker, which isn't exactly good, but will at least ensure that we have caffeine in our systems.

Come tomorrow night, we'll be able to make a real cup of coffee again, though. I'm looking forward to it.

Comments

[coffeehouse.livejournal.com]

My dad has been very disappointed with the thermal carafe. He feels that the lack of a heating element on the bottom is a flaw as the coffee doesn't actually stay hot for 12 hours or even four hours as they advertise.

But I have had Cuisinart coffeemakers, the one I left with my mom is five years old and still going strong. It is just a regular cone drip and it makes fabulous coffee.

[yendi]

*nod* I've heard that mentioned about many of the thermals, but the reviews also mention ways to handle this (not using ice-cold water to start with, running hot water through the carafe, etc). And yeah, I've had nothing but luck with Cuisinarts before.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

My thermal grind and brew (http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Automatic-Thermal-10-Cup-Coffee/dp/B001R66H30/ref=sr_na_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1240322261&sr=1-1) has kept my coffee hot for an entire workday, so that, when brewed at 0600, the last three cups were still very warm when I got home at 1600.

[yendi]

Good to know! I'm not a fan of grind-and-brew -- mainly because the last one we had required a ton of cleaning -- but knowing that it'll stay warm is nice.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

As for cleaning, I just put the parts in the dishwasher at night.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

Me, I don't depend on the heating element at all. Leaving a pot on that is the fastest way to burnt coffee.... I always turn them off after brewing is done.

Maybe it's from having experienced bad coffee in enough places, I know that a pot of coffee needs to be finished in the first hour after you make it. (Coffee Connection, which was once a major coffee shop chain in the NE, used to have a 2 hour rule - dump any coffee after 2 hours and brew fresh.)

It's why I avoid coffee in most cafes, unless they are brewing it fresh, and instead order expresso drinks.

Your dad sounds like old-school 1950s-70s mindset on coffee, in an American Kind of way (Coffee comes from a can, not fresh beans).

[coffeehouse.livejournal.com]

Oh, no! He measures it the beans out in grams on a scale and grinds it fresh for each pot.
The pot is finished within 45 minutes. He just likes it scalding.

[themaskmaker.livejournal.com]

I hope you and your new coffeemaker will be very happy together.

[yendi]

As do I!

Mazel tov!

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

May you all be very happy together!

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

My wife loved the thermal one I picked up for her. It lasted quite a while, until we had her brother's girlfriend over and she made one too many consecutive pots*, and it burned the machine out. Short of that abuse, it worked fine for quite a few years.

* I think it was three or four in a row with no break between brewing cycles except to pour the coffee out and set the carafe back... and I think she was the only one home at the time, so she was drinking the coffee faster than it could be brewed...

[yendi]

Ouch! Yeah, we like our coffee, and sometimes do two pots in a day, but that's a little much.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

To be fair, it was one of the early thermals, and it only held maybe 2-3 cups. I don't think I drank coffee at all at that time, and our kids were far too young, so it was only intended for one person.

To be unfair, the brother's girlfriend probably drinks 10-20 cups a day, not counting stopping at Dunkin' Donuts two or three times a day. =)

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

It looks nice, but the price tag is daunting enough. I'm used to buying and wearing out cheaper machines, and I just don't know of any brand that makes enough quality to justify it. I burn through coffee machines probably every 2-3 years.... And that would still cost less than one like that one.

[yendi]

*nod* Like I said, we had a bunch of saved Amazon gift certificates. We went four years on our Gevalia, and it was good enough for us. But since this is (effectively) free (or at least means simply not buying all the DVDs and books we'd have gotten with the gift certificates), it was easier to justify the splurge.

[wednesday]

Bad pod? What manner of pod? (We heart our Keurig and our espresso-maker-what-does-ESE, but mentally keep track of Bad Pods.)

[yendi]

Senseo (with the senseo brand pods). I only paid $15 including shipping for it (Senseo had a deal direct on their website a couple of years ago), and it was totally worth it as a backup, but the coffee is meh.

[wednesday]

Ah, OK. Yeah, I'd heard some meh stuff about Senseo.

must. make. espresso. today.

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I've got the four cup Cuisinart and I'm pretty happy with it, although I wish I'd gotten the thermal or one with a longer auto-shutoff. It shuts off in 30 minutes, and there are times during the course of the morning that the second cup (four cups = 2 of my giant mugs) is cold before I get back to pour it. And I'm only up and home for 90 minutes in the mornings.

But its a good coffee maker otherwise, we've been happy with all of our Cuisinart appliances. I love my blender.