Hot coffee fanatics will get the most bang for their buck with a Melitta manual brewer
Positive Product Points
-Simple -All parts dishwasher safe -Carafe glass is SCHOTT (German) branded - seems thick and durable -#4 cone filters readily available
Negative Product Points
- Carafe heat plug was a bit stiff when inserting / taking it out the first few times - Not an appliance you leave on a countertop sitting besides a Capresso Infinity grinder
Detailed Commentary
I like both my food and my coffee extremely hot, almost to the point where my mouth gets burned. So with that in mind, I have been through several attempts at getting an automatic drip machine which both brews at near ideal temperatures without messing up on extracting times.
Chalk up both a Krups FMF4 and a Melitta Fastbrew to the junk heap. I own both machines and both have different problems.
After reading several posts here about manual devices I figured that I might order one online and give it a try. While grocery shopping, I noticed some big(ger) Melitta box(s) in the coffee aisle. Sure enough, it was a Melitta manual brew kit (6 cup). For a whopping $12, it seemed as if the investment risk was low in case it turned out badly.
Once home and after a quick wash of the parts, I decided to give it a test drive. I loaded some supermarlet variety decaf into my grinder, set on the first (least) 'fine' setting. After discovering i didn't have a kettle, I boiled up some premeasured water in a small saucepan. I ground up the beans just as the water began to steadily boil.
I followed the often described sequence / steps of: - "Bloom" the grounds by wetting with water just off the boil - Let the water level fall and then slowly pour in more hot water keeping the level just above the coffee.
The end result was pretty amazing. Even with coffee ground fine (almost too fine), there was no bitterness in the brew. The coffee had good flavor, much better than what ever came out of my Krups auto drip. Lastly and most importantly (to me), the coffee itself was burning hot (wonderful!)
Buying Experience
Easy and a no brainer at the local grocery store. No internet or amazon required on this attempt for better coffee at home.
