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We're getting a coffee machine (technically an auxiliary -- we have one of those "injection machines" in the conference room, which takes those little cups of concetrate and punctures them to run water through and make coffee... back when it was Van Houtte was passable, but we've switched suppliers and now it's all Timothy's, which makes me gag.
So... we're getting a "back-up" machine for mornings when the conference room is in use, which is a good chance to muscle in for some quality coffee. I've volunteered to roast & bring in fresh beans, as well as my old blade grinder, but that's better than nothing.
I need to get a word in on a machine QUICKLY, though, before the boss just runs out and buys a $30 white plastic drip thing at Wal-Mart or something.
To have good coffee at the office, and be Office Hero to all, I'm even willing to plunk down hard-earned dollars on a machine. I think there are lots of people here who'd pitch in for green beans and maybe (dare to dream) a lower-end burr grinder once they got a taste for the good stuff.
Which begs the question:
Good coffee machines under $150, mail-order, Eastern Canada?
The simplest thing would be to hit Sears (Click Here (www6.sears.ca)) if they have anything decent, but it's hard to tell... there are a few reviews on this site, but not a lot for what they carry.
There's also a Centre du Rasoir (Closer Edge, in English) at the local mall... Click Here (www.cdrem.com) ... but annoyingly, they don't put prices on their Web site.
Rrrrrrrrecommendations?
IMPORTANT NOTE: The coffee gear will be in a converted storage room, but FAR from the only bathroom (and running water) on the floor. So cleaning will involve carrying the carafe to the bathroom at least once a day, possibly more often. Meaning that a 10- or 12-cup machine is a good idea; also that something messy or awkward to clean is RIGHT OUT.
I must strike while the iron is hot, and with luck, the coffee will soon be hot too!
Seriously. I've never used a Chemex myself, but as a pourover freak (though lately converted to single-mug brews with an AeroPress, unless there's a crowd) I can't resist recommending it.
There are a lot of kettles like the one above; it's just the one I happen to use with satisfaction. If you happen to have bottled water in the building, depending on the configuration of the dispenser I can recommend this kettle for another reason -- it works with dispensers like this: http://snipurl.com/nfmm You can run both faucets at once into the kettle to speed things up a bit.
That still leaves a grinder to buy. Personally, I think the grinder will be the "messiest" element of this suite; cleanup of the Chemex is a no-brainer; the kettle needs no cleaning. Indeed, the kettle can stay in the room; the Chemex can be used to ferry water back for the next pot after it's taken to the water area for cleaning. It's a match made in heaven, sir. ;-)
Eschewing automatic brewers encourages other coffee lovers to be more "intimate" with the variables of coffee brewing. An autodrip lets people forget the variables; a pourover reminds them of them and also urges the notion that making coffee can be a relaxing break from everything else. I mean, let's face it -- we do business while drinking our coffee nowadays, right? Let's admit it -- there's no such thing as a coffee "break." You might find that people end up coveting their turn to make the coffee. ;-)
Shepherd Senior Member Joined: 6 Feb 2006 Posts: 74 Location: Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sat Mar 11, 2006, 12:29am Subject: Re: Office machine hunt. Difficulty: budget, Quebec
I'm pretty sure I WILL get a Bunn, but I was hoping that somebody might say "oh, the (x) machine from Sears is actually really good." There's a lot of machines out there, and a paucity of reviews; also, I like to buy local when I can. Not that Sears is SUPER local, but at least I'm helping keep somebody in my neighborhood off the dole.
In the absence of a glowing recommendation for a Sears machine, I'm probably going to go with the Bunn.
"Go With the Bunn" sounds like a mid-season action-comedy starring Reginald VelJohnson as a cop with a passion for justice... and danishes.
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