students_coffee Senior Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Fitzrovia, London Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: stovetop moka 2 and 6 cup Grinder: krups Vac Pot: no Drip: no Roaster: no
Posted Sat Jul 26, 2008, 3:11am Subject: Advice needed on basic filter coffee machine
Hi there,
I have just got funding for my PhD in London but the research room has no coffee machine and I have only used my stovetop moka to make coffee before so am considering investing in a budget filter coffee maker for the research room. Money is tight and my logic is this: surely the water is heated and dripped through and however much I spend the physics won't change so as long as I have good coffee (I found a grinder from a charity shop and Monmouth is just down the road) then I should be OK with a basic filter coffee maker. (Q.Is this correct?)
There is one in Argos for 7.99 the cookworks XQ663, next up is the haden 10608 11.99 at john Lewis, finallly the delonghi ICM2B at 14.99 from coop.
I don't expect people to comment on individual models, just wondered about any experience with cheap machines.
Regards, Rob
PS If anyone wants to donate/lend a machine to the research room, it will be well looked after and you will get a credit in my thesis!
How many people will you be making coffee for? I have no experience with cheap machines along the lines you mention. However if you want to make an excellent cup of coffee I'd be thinking along the lines of a Chemex or an Aeropress. Maybe more expensive than than you'd like but I can thoroughly recommend both (especially the Chemex). (Of course you'll need a kettle with both of these options)
My experience with cheap drip coffee makers is that no matter what you do, you can still taste the plastic. Have you thought about an electric percolator? Those can be had in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel for a price that's usually pretty good. Give your coffee a medium grind, fill it with water, plug it in and let it work. When it smells like coffee unplug it, don't overperk. Then pour it into a thermos or air pot to stop the brew process. Good luck! Otherwise a kettle and press pot, but both may cost more. I was just shopping for a new kettle and found that some of them were almost as expensive as the electric versions, zowee.
I would like to try the press pots myself, the aeropress looks like it is worth trying and the chemex ones look classy too. But though there is already a kettle in the room space is limited and there is no sink so the potential for faff was minimal, also needed something that looks self contained so have to go for the electric drip.
Electric percolator was another option but the cheapest I saw was £50 so I thought that might be something to look at in the future.
Have invested in the John Lewis one, it is plasticy and the filter will be the first thing to fail as it is as flimsy as anything. Another problem is that the jug opening is tiny so there is no potential to wash inside. Will keep you updated.
5 months in with 2 coffees a day for three people from the cheapo john lewis drip filter coffee machine
VERDICT: It is fine, I honestly can't taste the plastic and having our own grinder and using monmouth's coffee (the trip to go and sample the new coffees before our purchase is a real highlight) makes a pretty good brew.
I still can't see how I would have benefitted from buying a more expensive drip filter, other than a wider opening so I could clean the inside of the jug more easily.
One thing I have learnt though is that the amount we spend on coffee beans dwarves the cost of the aperatus (£12). The next step is an electric percolator maybe in the January sales?
Percolator electric or otherwise is generally accepted as the worst way of making coffee. Which isn't to say some people don't love them!
In a percolator the coffee is boiled and reboiled to circulate it through the coffee. Coffee should never be boiled. Your John Lewis maker doesn't boil the coffee. So make sure you like your coffee that way before buying a percolator.
I think you are right, my gran used to have a percolator and I never liked the coffee from that. Ofcourse what I really want is an espresso machine (a moka is not possible due to lack of stovetop) but its so hard to pick a level at which to enter
students_coffee Senior Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Fitzrovia, London Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: stovetop moka 2 and 6 cup Grinder: krups Vac Pot: no Drip: no Roaster: no
Posted Thu Dec 11, 2008, 3:05am Subject: Re: Advice needed on basic filter coffee machine
the electric moka is a good solution but I have a normal moka at home and it doesn't seem good to spend that much money to get round the no hob problem only to get the same quality coffee I get at home - whereas if I were to put that money towards an espresso machine...?
Posted Thu Dec 11, 2008, 2:39pm Subject: Re: Advice needed on basic filter coffee machine
Ah the espresso machine dilemma.
Is your grinder up to espresso? For me the minimum is the Iberital MC2 (doserless here).(?Nemox Lux in states). Mine was £100 plus VAT a couple of years ago. Without a good grinder even the most expesnsive espresso machine will not make a good espresso.
Realistically espresso is messy, very messy, even in a kitchen situation. The Iberiatal though a great grinder, like most doserless grinders means a lot of ground coffee about the place. Doser models might be less messy, I don't know, but really are not suited to making 1 or 2 double shots at a time-my opinon of course.
Clean up of porta filter is another consideration, assume you don't want a knock box kicking around for the grinds and unlike cafes if you are using hours apart, the porta filter needs washed/cleaned in between. The spray head on the machine also needs taken apart and cleaned regularly.
If your coffee machine heats water to a hight enough temp, it might just be the perfect solution. My main method of brewing is the Chemex and an electric kettle and I have spent a lot of money on coffee making equipment over the years. Great coffee doesn't need to mean a lot of expense or equipment.
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