I use a french press most of the time but when I have time, I use a Bodum Santos (sold at amazon) which has the two bulbs that you put on the stove where the water gets sucked up from the bottom through a tube and makes the coffee that way. Those are the two best ways, IMHO, to make coffee.
Tibs.
A third (or 4th) vote for the french press.
My parents still use the old Mr Coffee basic model they bought when they were married back in 1984. And it still works, too.
We have a Bunn, and mostly because I am almost always in a rush. There’s already heated water in it, and the water that is added is sent to the holding tank to be heated for the next pot, just like in a lot of restaurants. I also like the speediness of it when unexpected guests drop by. Surprisingly, the coffee tastes just as good (read: strong) as any other coffee maker I’ve had experience with, though I wouldn’t say better. I wish the carafe was a bit bigger, it’s not quite standard size, but no other complaints.
I’ve had a Melitta for several years that was priced at around $20 but sold to me at a $10 discount. It works fine. I’m waiting for it so spring a leak as did its Krupps predecessor so that I can but a coffee maker with built in timer and grinder but so far no luck.
On coffee makers with built in grinders: I’ve read reviews of the Krupps and Melitta units. Most are negative. The Krupps evidently falls apart and the Melitta is too hard to maintain. I’ve seen a Capresso that looked like a toy. The only one I’ve seen that seems to be worthwhile is a unit some Swiss freinds have. They mentioned that it cost >$1000.
If anyone knows of a reliable, easy to use timer/grinder/coffee maker unit, preferably one that can take a paper filter, I’d like to hear about it.
See, that’s thebeauty of a manual drip pot. You just boil the water in a kettle and pour it through the filter. French press or Vietnamese coffee maker? Boil the water in a kettle and pour it in. Espresso? Put water in the bottom, coffee in the basket, and put it on the stove. I haven’t used my Krupps espresso machine or my automatic drip maker for years.
“But what if there’s an earthquake and they turn off the gas?” No problem. I have a Svea 123 stove that runs on Coleman fuel and an MSR stove that runs on anything. 
[sub]And for total anarchy situations, I can always build a fire![/sub]
YAK! I don’t even drink the stuff! But here’s the story of how I got my Pot.
The Procter-Silex in my Kitchen has what we have come to callPottus Interruptus . Presumably so one can remove a cup before the pot has finished brewing without a mess on the burner
A small ball is put in the basket on a piviot. When the pot, with lid (Must have lid) is placed on the burner, the ball piviots and lets out the hot liquid. If the pot is placed under the basket without the lid it will cause a build up of the liquid in the basket and a grainey mess ensuses.
Apparently my Brother can’t remember to put the lid on the pot and cleaned up one too many messes. So he gave the pot to me (a non coffee drinker:smack: )Luckily it works just as well with lose tea.
Well, we were cleaning out an apartment for the landlord when we ran across another P.S. sans the special basket. We’ve replaced the unit before but never the basket. It will live on to cause havok in my kitchen…(I think there still might be some old grounds in the cracks of the microwave)
Not a problem. Little know fact is that you can change your shipping frequency. I currently have mine set to every 10 weeks but you can have it set from anywhere between every 4 weeks and something like 16 weeks. They are more than happy to change and don’t give you any fuss at all. I call every 8 weeks or so to change my selections (that way we keep a constantly changing variety) and if pounds of coffee starts stacking up around the house I change the delivery frequency until I am able to drink some of it. The coffee is GREAT!
GAAHHHH! Gevalia is the only coffee I don’t drink.
My coffee maker is Carnie and he also brings me breakfast in bed. 
OK, no, seriously, we have a Krups that has no other special functions.
My morning brew comes from a manual (I guess that’s what you call it) Mr. Coffee. It’s four pieces, all made out of tough brown and white plastic - with no moving parts, it’ll never break. A friend gave it to me when she got married and no longer needed it. That was in 1981.
My kettle goes back to college days; I just examined it and there’s no name apparent. In the morning I rinse it and fill the receiver with the appropriate amount of HOH, which I then transfer to the kettle with my other coffee accessory, a plastic funnel. With filter and coffee in (accomplished in sync with rinsing and filling), I turn on the gas and head off to shave.
After shaving I head back to the kitchen while brushing my teeth, and I usually arrive just as the water hits boiling. Pour it in Mr. Coffee and put on the lid, then finish with the teeth.
By the time I get back to the Kitchen, my French Market with chicory is waiting for me.
I vote for the French press and a frother. (although, the good old-fashioned percolator makes a good cup but is hell to clean!)
-pinky
I vote for the French press and the frother. (although, the good old-fashioned perculator makes a good cup but is hell to clean!)
-pinky
I vote for the French press and a frother. (although, the good old-fashioned perculator makes a good cup but is hell to clean!)
-pinky
You being from Sweden may have something to do with this but why? I’ve had tons of gourmet coffees from a variety of places and it seems just as good and for me, way more convenient.
I don’t think I was clear, Opengrave. I don’t want to receive Gevalia coffee at any weekly frequency. I was forced to drink it when I stayed with my aforementioned aunt-in-law. I thought it was awful!
Someone else mentioned the bad reviews my coffee maker received. I searched and found them and was very surprised. Maybe mine’s still chugging along because I only use it on the weekends and not even every weekend.
The only kind of coffee maker to have is a haunted one
Opengrave: Why call Gevalia gourmet coffee? Sold in any store, same price as any other, but comes with an unusually bitter tast. Is it called gourmet coffee in any other country then the US? Löfbergs Lila is a far better swedish coffee.
Coffee maker Bosch of some king or another.
Not king, KIND!
Not that I have seen in any stores here in the US. I’m not saying it is not sold in stores somewhere in the US but I have never seen it.
Same price as any other gourmet coffee available in coffee shops, not the same price as ‘grocery store’ coffee. Cheapest Gevalia runs about US$7 / pound (about 142 Swedish Kronas per Kilo if I did all the math correctly). ‘Grocery store’ coffee around here runs about $3.50 per pound on sale.
I haven’t noticed this but to be fair I like a sort of bitter taste so this may explain why it appeals to me.
Don’t know
I’ll try to check it out. I’m not saying Gevalia is the best, just a better coffee to price ratio than most of the other stuff I have had.
NP: Borknagar - Quintessence