Fantastic coffee from a quality machine at an excellent price!
Positive Product Points
- This machine makes fantastic tasting, aromatic, flavorful, strong coffee at a very good price. With all the advice from this forum and others, we had no problems figuring out what went where and how to make the coffee, just needed to find the right grind and proportions for our taste.
- I love to see the crema during brewing. The aroma is fantastic with this machine
- I like the 8 cup size as we tend to waste less coffee. If I don't want to make a whole pot, I make 5 cups without any problems whatsoever.
- So easy to use and clean.
- Can use inexpensive percolator filters and keep the center hole intact instead of Krups filters.
Negative Product Points
- I would like an auto off switch, just in case I forget to turn it off. - Krups filters are just too expensive.
Detailed Commentary
We just love the coffee that comes from this machine! It is just what we were looking for and couldn't get with a drip coffeemaker.
I started home roasting coffee around 10 months ago. At the same time, our Krups Pro Aroma was getting old and I wanted a fresh start. We bought a Zojirushi Fresh Brew because we wanted a carafe. It is a good machine, but I just couldn't get the coffee as strong as I wanted. If I ground too fine, the basket overflowed. So I researched, found this forum and others and decided this was the poor woman's espresso machine. I have never used anything but home roasted coffee in this machine.
The first pot I made took 30 minutes because I ground the coffee too fine and tamped down too hard. This was easily solved and others reassured me it might take a few pots to find the right combo of grind and tamping. We now use the second to lowest fine setting on our Capresso Infinity grinder. We tamp down very lightly just to level out the grounds. We use 60 grams of beans for an 8 cup pot.
Making great coffee just can't get any easier than this. Everyone who has tasted coffee from this machine loves it. Since it has been discontinued, I actually feel like keeping this machine a secret, so they don't become unavailable, but I feel safe for now with 2 spares and a machine at most of my relatives' homes. And if they don't have one, it's easy to bring a spare!
Buying Experience
I found my first, fourth and fifth machine at JR.com. The first cost $79.99 and the fourth and fifth cost $49.99 each. They did not have it in stock, but took only a few days to come in. The second and third ones I got through Amazon.com for $54.95 each. The last two I bought through SmartBargains.com for $49.99 each. Amazing value for the price!
Three Month Followup
I love this machine! Three family members now own this machine for it's intense flavor, ease of use and lack of bitterness. I also take this machine traveling. The Moka Brew is compact and light. The box has room for beans and filters and has a handle. This machine has been discontinued, so I purchased 2 extras just in case a carafe breaks. I gave away four of them as gifts. The price is now down to $49.99 at http://www.smartbargains.com. I can't imagine using another brewer.
One Year Followup
Actually, this is really a 4 1/2 year followup. We are still using our Krups Moka Brew on a daily basis. The only time we don't is if we want a single cup of coffee at night and use an AeroPress. We get Melitta Disc Coffee Filters from Winco for about $1 for 100 ct. and they work great. You can get them online, too. My sis-in-law and daughter still use theirs, too. And I still have an extra one for traveling. We have two other machines with switch problems, but can probably be fixed once we have the time. But, the machines are again widely available, albeit more expensive than when they were discontinued. About twice a year, we don't properly place the lid to the water reservoir and the water leaks out when brewing, but otherwise not a single problem. I use 60 grams of beans ground on Fine on my Capresso Infinity grinder, but it still makes great coffee when using my sis-in-laws blade grinder. I'm still roasting my own coffee beans purchased from Sweet Maria's and this machine does those beans justice. My rating stays the same after all these years! The Krups Moka Brew makes great coffee!
