# 1st World coffee maker problems **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 14, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129 "2023-11-14T16:23:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/1 "2023-11-14T16:23:33Z")
TIL that the little tube that pierces the capsule can get clogged with grounds. I almost panicked when I followed the steps, and no coffee came out. It was like the universe was momentarily unbalanced. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/2 "2023-11-14T17:17:53Z")
I’ve had that happen but one that was even worse was when the bottom tube that also pierces the capsule got plugged. It sprayed coffee and coffee grounds out the top. I had no idea what happened. After I cleaned up the mess I tried to brew another cup and the same thing happened. This time I was able to figure out what was going on and ran a straightened paper clip up the tube to clear the blockage. Then I got to clean up the mess a second time. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/3 "2023-11-14T17:25:09Z")
That’s the tube that clogged for me. It didn’t spray or leak the first attempt, but leaked some on the 3rd try. It must be a weak syphon or however the water is brought to the cup, I mean, it just sat there like it was broken. The first time I thought maybe I forgot to add water, but the reservoir was full of hot water. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/4 "2023-11-14T18:27:28Z")
Yet another reason those cup or pod-based single cup brewing machines are evil. Too complex for something we use in a blind stupor promptly after getting up. Although as the proud owner of a generic drip coffeemaker I have entertained the Dope on several occasions with my many novel ways to make not-coffee. So sad; so disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/5 "2023-11-14T18:30:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yet another reason those cup or pod-based single cup brewing machines are evil. I’ve had my Keurig for 12 years without a single problem. Apparently, I have tamed the beast. 💞 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/6 "2023-11-14T18:41:55Z")
I was so delirious that I even long-held the on button, like this cheap little pos had any kind of computer in it. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/7 "2023-11-14T22:30:47Z")
I was amused, sort of, some years ago when I found a Keurig repair hack online that wasn’t much more than “flip upside down and beat the hell out of it”. Because, I had basically independently discovered the same “technique”; aka percussive maintenance. Sometimes a cuppa must not be denied! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/8 "2023-11-16T02:33:21Z")
I pour boiling water through a Melitta filter filled with finely ground coffee. Works every time. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/9 "2023-11-16T02:54:56Z")
French press here. It makes the process more of a ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/10 "2023-11-16T02:58:03Z")
I had problems with my coffee maker (drip style) overflowing one time and it turned out to be a defective too fine of grind on my coffee. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/11 "2023-11-16T03:03:58Z")
I make it a point with my K-cup to run it with an empty at least once a week. I find it helps keep everything clean. Of course, I use re-usable, self fillable third party cups, after going from default cups, to low-plastic fiber based single uses, to reusable plastic options. But… the default commercial K-cups generally make better coffee, since I don’t by default use micro ground coffee + freeze-dried coffee crystals the way most premade cups use. So it’s strictly for ease of coffee-making when blasted with fatigue or when I just want a fast cup. We’re generally a French Press house for daily drinking. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/12 "2023-11-16T03:17:05Z")
The last thing I want to do when I’m barely awake is to participate in a ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/13 "2023-11-16T04:19:24Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > … the default commercial K-cups generally make better coffee, since I don’t by default use micro ground coffee + freeze-dried coffee crystals the way most premade cups use. Huh?? If I’m reading this right - I’ve never seen a K-cup that had freeze-dried coffee crystals in it. And all the pods I’ve looked inside had non-micro-ground coffee; they use the same grind as I use with my Melitta pour-over. Maybe I’m buying better quality pods? (I only use commercial pods at work; at home I use refillable pods.) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/14 "2023-11-16T09:08:07Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > The last thing I want to do when I’m barely awake is to participate in a ceremony. Which is why I mentioned it – to warn off folks. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/15 "2023-11-16T10:55:16Z")
lemme guess: no PJs either, right? … ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/16 "2023-11-16T16:52:41Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I pour boiling water through a Melitta filter filled with finely ground coffee. Works every time. I have no doubt I could find a way to screw that up. I’m not groggy in the morning, just utterly pre-occupied with the rest of my day so the coffee tends to be made by autopilot. Let’s see … Forget to heat the water, forget to put the paper filter in, forget to put the coffee grounds in, forget to put the whole assembly over the pot or cup. Let me count the ways … ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/17 "2023-11-16T18:15:04Z")
I love that you refer to Melitta. I actually call this style of coffee “Melitta” unlike the rest of the world, who now call it “pour-over.” Regardless of name, I’m convinced this is simultaneously the easiest and best-tasting method. Like many, I suspect, I discovered this during a big power outage, improvising with a camp Melitta and propane-heated water, and promptly afterwards put away the big expensive coffeemaker forever. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/18 "2023-11-16T18:27:09Z")
Some of the cheaper ones do, or at least did - to punch up the flavor a touch. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not COMMON and even in the ones that used crystals, it was a very minor element, and is increasingly out of favor. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1st-world-coffee-maker-problems/993129/19 "2023-11-16T18:33:13Z")
No one reads the censored manual any more? I know the coffee-addicted members of my household read theirs and do maintenance from time to time.