Which one/s do you use regularly or most often? Why (good-tasting coffee, ease/difficulty* of use, cheapness of supplies, etc.)? Or do you randomly rotate among them, depending on your mood, as I do.
I have a regular programmable drip pot, a Keurig, an Aeropress, a drip pot combined with a milk foamer, a glass stovetop percolater that I got at a garage sale, but have never used. My mother had one and I like looking at it. I have a stovetop Bialetti Moka pot that I use occasionally. Actually, I have two in different sizes. I have a French press I got as a gift and don’t use. I had a Senseo when they came out, but it’s in the pile for a garage sale. Likewise an electric espresso machine.
I like coffee gadgets.
*I’m thinking some people might like a given method because it is difficult.
I like coffee gadgets too, but I don’t have quite the collection you do. I have my everyday coffeepot, a French press (had two but I just gave one to a coffee gadget-less friend, poor thing), a Keurig that I took to work, and a big jar I use for cold brewed coffee. I also have maybe three or four more coffee makers in the garage, and I may still have a moka pot tucked away.
I might indulge and get…something, I don’t know what, soon. Sometimes a girl just needs a new coffee thingy.
I’ve got two. Well, one. Well, one that works and one that just died that I hope to resuscitate.
I got a Keurig a couple of years ago, and I quite liked it. Now, I pour water in, but no water comes back out. I’m not even really sure where it goes, but it’s not in my cup that’s for sure.
So I broke out my old full pot coffee maker that’s semi-kick-ass. It’s got a wire mesh filter dealie with a mill so you can pour in whole beans and grind and brew them with one touch of a button. But sucking down full pots of coffee on a weekend morning can’t be good for my nervous system. Besides, it’s quite prone to floaties … but I have to admit, I’m beginning to enjoy the wholesome crunchiness of them.
For daily use I make coffee by the cup – I’m the only coffee drinker in my house, and I’m alone most of the time. I use a one cup gold filter, this one. I have a Mr. Coffee drip maker but only get it out for gatherings and guests.
We have at least four or five coffee makers in the basement gathering dust. The only thing that is used to make coffee is a Cuisinart Grind and Brew. It is awesome. Fill the hopper with beans, add water for however many cups you want and set the dial to the same number, then hit the on button (or the program button.) It grinds the right amount of beans then brews.
I have a Keurig at the office because the office coffee is the suckiest I’ve ever tasted.
I am like you - the only coffee drinker in my home, and only 3-4 times a week, one cup at a time. I will have to check out the Frieling.
I have a one-cup cone filter in the house, another one in the camper, and a french press for when the mood suits me. I also have a mill for grinding the beans, if that counts as another gadget.
Hm. I have a 14-cup coffee maker and an old Senseo that I use frequently, plus a moka pot, a cold-brew coffee setup, and a Vietnamese-style coffee maker. These are used infrequently, mostly due to laziness.
However, I do collect vintage percolators (and interesting looking moka pots) - I currently have 8 out on display, and probably somewhere between 15 and 20 in storage. (I cycle through the collection, rotating as I get bored of looking at the ones currently out.) All of them are useable, although some of them I don’t think have been used. Sizes range from 1-2 cups up to one that looks like it’s about 15, most are aluminum but one is glass. (One of the moka pots has a ceramic bottom.)
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<< Deja Brew: The feeling that you’ve had this coffee before.>>
I have a couple of cheapo 4-cup Mr. Coffees, one at home and one at work. II also have a couple of moka pots, which is my preferred method on the weekend or when I’m camping.
One French press, one Keurig machine, four electric percolators, two stovetop percolators, two “vacuum” brewers a Moka, and a church basement style 50 cup monster percolator.
The Keurig and three of the percolators see regular use. Most of the rest are decorative collectibles.
I had been using a big drip pot for most of my life, but a recent Bialetti moka pot acquisition has changed everything. I’ve never been so enchanted with a device before in my life – the way you take it apart and put it back together, the delicious coffee it makes…but mostly I like the little man on the side.
I went through two Keurig brand brewers and both malfunctioned. If you read the amazon reviews on the Keurig brand, there are lots of negatives. So I finally got a Mr. Coffee brand Keurig style brewer and it’s working fine. It’s the kind where you pour in one cup of water and get one cup of coffee, not the kind where a reservoir of water stands there all day.
Oooo, I would so love to see a family portrait of your coffeemaker collection including the ones not currently on display. Can you post some pics on Photobucket or something and give us a link. You are My People.
I had to look up ibrik. I have made coffee using that method, but I didn’t have the proper utensil and used a regular small saucepan. Still came out okay, loved the coffee. I’m like Garfield: I want my coffee to be so strong that the spoon stands upright in it without falling over.
Describe the method you use for the ibrik, and also what brand of coffee. How did you come to use this method?
We have a KitchenAid brand 12 cup coffee maker and a French press. We use the coffee maker everyday. I use the French press when I want coffee other times during the day.
We have a large Keurig, an old-school camping percolator, an Aeropress, and a Bialetti (stovetop) moka pot.
We used the moka pot once, so I’m giving it away. The Keurig is for “oh my god I need caffeine now.” The percolator is my husband’s favorite, and I love the Aeropress.
I spent a spell in the former Yugoslavia, in Croatia near the Bosnian border, and the type of coffee served there was Turkish style, made in an ibrik.
I use Turkish coffee, which is milled very finely, finer than an espresso. I usually get it at the Polish grocery store, where it comes in a white can with blue lettering on it, or at the Turkish store where it comes loose and you bag it yourself. I honestly don’t know what kind of coffee it is.
Ah, here is the one I find at the Polish store. Anyhow, that’s the one I usually use, but I also just grind whatever beans I have at the finest setting on my burr grinder and that usually works.
As for how to make it. Well, it seems there are many ways to do it, with proponent of each method insisting there’s is the right way. I was taught the three boil method. Mix equal parts of sugar and coffee (and a seed or two of green cardamom, if you wish) with water in your ibrik. Bring to a boil. (Incidentally, this is the only coffee I drink with sugar, and the only one I ever boil.) As it’s about to boil over, take it off the heat and let the foam settle down. Take some of this foam and spoon it or gentle pour it with a shaking motion into your serving cups. Bring back the coffee to the fire. Let it boil up again. Remove from heat. Let settle. Boil a third time. Serve.
Now, why the three boils? I really have no clue. I do it as part of the ritual. It does help the grounds settle a bit, so there’s that, but I find they settle fine with a single boil, too, you may just have to wait a little longer. If I’m in a hurry, I just do a single boil, and the coffee doesn’t seem to suffer for it.
