# Damn coffee pots! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818 "2000-11-19T04:05:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/1 "2000-11-19T04:05:13Z")
I just made a pot of coffee (French roast! Yum!), and when pouring the first cup, coffee leaked out around the rim and spilled on my socks (scorching my little piggies!)… After the ritual cursing of fate and the unkind universe, and realizing that I can’t sue myself (I’m broke), and further realizing that McDonald’s would probably win if I tried to sue them; I am left with a question. Why can’t someone design a coffee carafe that doesn’t leak very easily when it is full and one tries to pour a cup of coffee? I have owned several different coffee makers in my long and pathetic existance, and every one of them would leak as you were pouring the first cup unless you were VERY careful! Why is this? Is it me? It’s not, is it? It’s them, right? ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/2 "2000-11-19T04:12:08Z")
Come on, Astroboy. You probably is a rocket scientist (although a broken one, we know; I judge from you name). Coffee pots ain’t rocket’s, design one. It may make you rich (if the lawyers won’t kill you for depriving them of potential lawsuit money) ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/3 "2000-11-19T04:30:01Z")
Oh… I love a challenge!! I’ll get right on that, after I finish my coffee. Oh, and after lunch with the fiancee (she just called, and I have to go in a minute to meet her), then we’re gonna go to Itaewon (near the US military base in Seoul) to visit the black-maerket store so’d I can stock up on some American supplies (chilli powder, etc. that I can’t get anywhere else in Seoul…), then we’re probably goona go get some dinner somewhere. Then when I come home, I have to prep for class tomorrow… So, I’ll get to it right after that! Wait… what was I gonna get to? Damn! PS: not a rocket scientist… I just play one on TV! ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/4 "2000-11-19T04:31:45Z")
wow! I shoulda previewed that last one! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/5 "2000-11-19T06:13:19Z")
I don’t remember ever having that problem. Perhaps you are trying to make more coffee than the machine is designed for? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/6 "2000-11-19T06:53:32Z")
Since you’re out that way, why don’t you score a French press? A nice two-pinter will pour much like an orange juice jug. Once you’ve tried one, it’s hard to go back. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/7 "2000-11-19T09:59:02Z")
Sofa… I have seen these “French Presses” of which you speak, but never tried one… how do they work? What I mean is, can you grind your own beans? Don’t you end up with coffee grounds floating around and sticking in your teeth and stuff? Do you make hot water and then pour it in, or what? I’m interested, as the phrase French Press is kind of sexy… ---
**Author:** ![Neenah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@Neenah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neenah)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/8 "2000-11-19T10:44:44Z")
My coffee maker is a Bunn, and the carafe pours wonderfully. It’s shorter and more oval shaped than most others, and never spills, even when you pour fast. The bestest reason to get a Bunn, though, is that it makes a pot of coffee in about three minutes. I timed mine once at two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Coffee is not something one should have to wait around for. Or spill. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/9 "2000-11-19T14:24:59Z")
A Bunn, eh? I _like_ bunns!!! Maybe I’ll look into this! But! No support here? No one else has this problem? Is it me? ---
**Author:** ![cheezit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/10 "2000-11-19T16:05:31Z")
Hey, Astroboy, I’ve been there just like you. **every** coffeepot I have purchased in the last 10 years has been a major leaker with the first cup. I guess I’ll try a Bunn with the money I’m saving from NOT smoking. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/11 "2000-11-19T16:09:35Z")
I LOVE my French press. What I do is, I put in coffee, then I heat water, and put the water in. Then I let it sit for a few minutes, and push the filter-thingy down; it pushes the grounds to the bottom of the pot. Taa-dah! Sometimes I’ll get some grounds in my cup, mostly if I’ve ground the coffee too fine. But I can accept that. They settle to the bottom anyway. And it’s waaay better than the stuff that comes out of a machine. I don’t know why, but it is. ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/12 "2000-11-19T16:23:09Z")
Astroboy, on a more serious note, keep in mind: 1. it’s easier to pour out of any container, which is not full and 2. it’s easier when a container is taller than it ia wide wide. Cf. carafe. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/13 "2000-11-20T01:20:24Z")
Thanks, cheezit! I was starting to get paranoid… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/14 "2025-01-08T13:11:00Z")
I wasn’t sure if I ought to resurrect this zombie or post anew. I searched to see if this question had been discussed at length, but did not turn up any discussion longer or more recent. I was surprised not to find greater discussion of this terribly important topic. Thanks, but I’m not interested in methods of brewing other than drip. And I am not about to buy a new drip system until my current maker craps out. As w/ the OP - it seems as though every drip coffee maker I have had has tended to spill when pouring the first cup. My half-assed work-around is that, since I’m generally pouring for my wife and me at the same time, I place the cups next to each other (in a row?) such that when I pour one cup the coffee (mostly) drips off the carafe into the other. But generally some coffee ends up on the counter to be sponged up. And then I sponge the bottoms of th ecus so they do not make rings. I do not overfill my carafe, and I make sure the lid is properly aligned. I appreciate that Bunn may make a superior carafe, but I’ve experienced this with Braun, Mr. Coffee, and - currently - Moccamaster. I would assume this is a phenomenon coffeemaker makers are aware of and do not try to avoid. So why don’t they? Or what am I doing wrong? Any developments in this critical matter over the past quarter century? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/15 "2025-01-08T13:35:57Z")
I have problems pouring out of a container that is short and wide; the avalanche of liquid when the container is full is hard to control. Usually I make that first pour over the sink, just in case. At one point, I started using a French press container to make tea (because a “normal” teapot is more squat and spilly). ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/16 "2025-01-08T21:10:45Z")
I have two traditional globular teapots but still a similar problem - the lip of the spout still drips after you finish pouring. My wife’s grandmother knitted (crocheted?) a cover for teapots, and it inevitably gets drip stains from tea running down the spout to the area where the spout sticks out. I’ve seen some pots with a little short clear plastic sleeve that extends the spout to pimit this condition. But for glass carafes, the problem seems to also be the same as my teapot - the lip of the pour spout is round and smooth, and as you finish pouring that last little drop or three will run down the outside. As for why a carafe spills while pouring, the spout/outdent is not made wide and deep enough for a decent volume pour, so similar problem - tilt too far but not far enough, you are also pouring from the rounded rim, and surface tension pulls some of the pour back toward the carafe and so wildly misdirected unless you tilt far and pour forcefully - like when serving in a restaurant and want to fill the cup in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/17 "2025-01-08T21:32:06Z")
You know there’s a hinge on the top of the pot, near the handle. Put your thumb there and the lid lifts up. Stops all these problems. No extra areas to divert the pour stream into a splash party. Pour slowly. Don’t overfill the cup. Place carafe back on the heat thingy on your machine. Yeah. Someone already thought about this. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/18 "2025-01-09T14:31:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You know there’s a hinge on the top of the pot, near the handle. > Put your thumb there and the lid lifts up. Stops all these problems. I used to have a maker with the hinged lid. Braun IIRC. And I recall your method working. My current one - and many others I’ve used - has a removable plastic insert/lid that is placed in the top of the glass carafe. This morning I realized that, when I poured the water into the maker WITHOUT the plastic insert - no spill! But after I inserted the plastic lid, brewed the coffee, and poured it into cups - big spill. I’m not sure exactly what the function of the plastic lid is. I presume it limits spills/sprays during brewing, and may keep the brewed coffee warm. Mine has a weird “tube” going down from the hole in the op which I imagine might “mix” the brewing coffee. It would be somewhat cumbersome to remove the lid before pouring coffee. I find it curious that coffeemaker makers would not engineer around this. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-coffee-pots/41818/19 "2025-02-11T18:32:50Z")
All right - I seem to have figured this out. When I hold the pot down near the cup and try to pour lowly and carefully, it spills. But when I lift the pot up above the cup and pour more quickly, it doesn’t. Not sure why it functions differently, but seems to work for us. I remember periodically wondering why waitstaff seemed to pour coffee holding the pot so high. I figured you were all dying to know how this turned out for me! 😉