[bigmike787]

Wow, that sucks. I thought they had brought them back. I have a couple of buddies who use Bunn home machines and they're very happy with the resulting brew. They run about $100. If you can't afford a Technivorm, which I can't justify the cost of either, then lean toward a Bunn. You want something with a good shower sprayer/nozzle, so that the grounds get fully saturated.

[Stryker777]

Thank you I will look into the Bunn. I will post back when I finally get to get one lol.

[rico567]

Doesn't Bunn have a model out now that dispenses with keeping the tank of hot water on 24/7? If it weren't for that, it'd be a top choice with us. Meantime, we'll stick with the Zojirushi.

As far as some of the discussion of water goes, since we moved into our present house (21 YA) we use nothing but RO water from the grocery store for drinking / cooking / coffee, and I also use it to homebrew. There is far too much dissolved iron and calcium in our well water for these purposes, although it's readily dealt with otherwise.
I have read several things online about RO water being "flat," and I even read one that said it was a thread to health because those minerals were necessary nutrients. I find all this opinion amazing, and wonder where it comes from. Then I remember I'm on the Internet.
We don't only drink coffee at home, and have drunk it in numerous cafés, chain stores like Caribou, Seattle's Best, Starbucks, Dutour, both here and abroad. Frankly, I think our home-brewed coffee (we prefer Papanicholas French Roast for our main brew) stands up very, very well.
As far as the lack of minerals in water being a threat to health, anyone who depends on minerals in drinking water for necessary nutrients is in deep, deep trouble. As I mentioned earlier, the main minerals in our well water are iron and calcium, and neither are in a form that can be absorbed by the human body , which means that even if we drank it (it would be perfectly safe to do so), it could neither help nor hurt.

[bigmike787]

I also use R/O water for coffee and drinking. My family doesn't like the taste of the city water, so we go this route instead. Everything I've read about lack of minerals in water is not that it's a threat because they're not there, it's that some of the mineral content makes the water taste better. Of course the down side to this is lime scale buildup in your coffee machine. I have softened water on my whole house and there has been some concern with the extra salt in the water and it's adverse effects on health. There are many articles about this out on the net and I think it's a wash at the end of the day. My palate just isn't sensitive enough to know what this flatness is in a cup of coffee made with R/O water, versus full mineral water. Taste is subjective, so if it tastes good to YOU, then don't let someone else tell you it doesn't taste good.

[t2000kw]

Originally Posted by Coffeeguy

I've been reading around and it seems that most drip machines get the water to hot, or not hot enough. Before I go buy another $30 machine that will break in a few months, does anyone have one that's lasted through heavy use for more than six months? I know our water is hard and that kills the machines, but there has to be something on the market that last longer than what I'm going through. I seriously have a graveyard of broken drip machines.

I own a Technivorm. I love it, but it is a bit on the expensive side for most people, even myself, even though I got a refurbished model from Boyd's Coffee for about $100 less than the regular price.

It's built to last. I've had ours a year, but they've been tested for enough brew cycles to be equivalent to 100 years of service with only the switch needing to be replaced once (cost is about $5 and it doesn't look like it would be difficult to do yourself).

I figured it was worth it based on the reviews I read and the fact that testing showed that it would likely outlast me, even if I lived another 100 years (except for the switch, perhaps).

Mine has a scale warning light. When it comes on, or when you notice a bit of scale forming on the clear vertical tube inside the water reservoir, you run a de-scaling solution through it (like white vinegar or a commercial product made for the purpose).

We have hard water, possibly not as hard as yours, but it's been in use for over a year without enough scale build-up to notice. The light has not come on.

You are right about the temperature. Plenty of coffeemakers do not reach the magic 195-205 deg. F range for optimal brewing. Cooks Illustrated tested several makes of drip coffee makers and only two brewed in the optimum temperature range. One was the Newco and the other was a Technivorm.

There ARE other drip coffee makers that brew in that temperature range. They didn't test all coffee makers, of course.

I can't tell you how well they do with scale build-up from hard water, but I've seen a couple of Bunn drip coffee makers in the $100 or so range state that they keep the coffee in the optimum temperature range, and I think they even mention the temperature it's set to brew at. One of these would be a rather inexpensive alternative when compared to the price of the Technivorm about $270 for most of their models, $70 or so less than that for refurbished models when they are available.

I wouldn't expect many units under $50 to do a great job, but there may be a few. There are some expensive units that do a poor job, too, so watch out!!!

If you buy from a retail store, make sure you can take the unit back unconditionally. If it doesn't perform as desired, take it back and try something else.

Donald

[islandcoffee4u]

We had our Black&Decker for about 2 years now with no problem. Because we are trying out our Keurig for now we have it on the side. We never have any problem with this brewer.

[t2000kw]

I haven't tried coffee from the Keurig, but I know a few people who say they like the coffee it makes. It's also not cheap, but if it does a good job for the $100 or so it costs, it's a good deal.

You can't beat the French Press, except for convenience. You can match it with a good drip coffee maker, but for many of us, it's the gold standard for making coffee. And you can occasionally find them in thrift shops for $5 to $10.

[Sleepy_Sentry]

I don't know about other coffee makers on the market, but I bought a Cuisinart DCC-1200 for my parents last year and it's work out very well. It uses a gold filter and showers hot water instead of blasting it, plus it has a charcoal water filter.

I've also heard good things about Zojirushi drip machines.

[t2000kw]

Originally Posted by Sleepy_Sentry

I don't know about other coffee makers on the market, but I bought a Cuisinart DCC-1200 for my parents last year and it's work out very well. It uses a gold filter and showers hot water instead of blasting it, plus it has a charcoal water filter.

I've also heard good things about Zojirushi drip machines.

I don't remember why, but the Boyd's Coffee people did not recommend the gold plated filter for the Technivorm. Maybe it didn't fit perfectly. Not sure, but with paper filters, cleanup is nil.

The Technivorm sort of showers the water over the coffee grounds. I think that's part of the temperature regulating scheme to let more of it hit the air so it drops from boiling to about 205 deg F before it hits the coffee.

I don't know much about the Japanese brand you mentioned, but they are considered "high end" on the quality and price scale. As for their breadmakers and rice cookers, I didn't see as good customer ratings on Amazon for their products compared to a less expensive Panasonic model. I have looked at both of those types of products, ended up buying a rice cooker with "fuzzy logic" in it, and it was a Panasonic. Great product. I like how you can set the time when you want the rice or oats (or whatever) to be done and it will figure out when to start cooking based on what type of food you set the control on.

One good feature on your parents' Cuisinart coffee maker is the variable warming plate. The Technivorm has a 2-setting switch for that, which is just fine. Most coffee makers don't seem to have one, and that leads to boiling off some of the essential oils and water, making what's left behind rather nasty after a while. The variable (or switchable) setting allows you to avoid that.

That feature probably adds a few dollars to the cost of the product since it means you either have to have two heaters in the product or some sort of switch to go from full heat to variable heat (or a lower setting on the Technivorm) after the brewing is finished. But I think the additional cost (probably less then $10) is worth it.

Better yet, perhaps, is a model with an insulated carafe. I cold have bought the Technivorm with the insulated carafe, but I prefer the simpler type with the glass carafe and the hotplate under it.

It would be great if we could have a thread with temperature probe results of various drip coffee makers plotted over the entire brewing time, with readings taken every 30 seconds. It would be a lot of trouble, but you would get an idea if the various brands hit the mark for the best temperature range or if it missed the mark. Then we could buy the less expensive ones which performed well and kept the brewing water between 195 to 205 deg F.

I would have bought a cheaper coffee maker if I had some assurance that it would do that. It was only a year or so after buying the expensive Technivorm that I saw Bunn advertising on two of their household coffee makers that they maintained a temperature of xxx deg F (I think it was 200 or 204, but I don't remember for sure). I would have bought one of those instead. But I like what I bought, and I think it will outlast the Bunn by a longshot, so it's probably worth the extra cost in the long run.

Donald