So deep is my passion for coffee that I'm excited each night to wake up to it each morning. I love the ritual of grinding beans, pouring filtered water and brewing, because it results in a product that looks, smells and tastes divine.
Recently, my darling drip machine died. I'd always been forgiving of its temperamental nature because it delivered such a satisfying cup. One of its faults was that it had to be spotlessly clean and lined up just so or it would overflow onto the counter and floor. I sought a quick store replacement, because the thought of going a day without home-brewed coffee was just too much to bear.I found a cutie of a coffee maker, better looking than my last one, with its black plastic and stainless steel. This new model was white everywhere, except for a glass carafe. Like an iPhone, it featured the stylish simplicity of just one button. And the price was right at a little more than $30.But it wasn't the same. At all. It left a burned aftertaste and produced a muddy cup. And although I mourned my old maker, I knew in my heart I could do better than that one, too. So I went looking for Mr. Goodpot.I'm not alone in my search. Coffee makers are a popular home-related gift, according to the International Housewares Association, especially one-cup machines like Keurig that allow you to brew French roast, French vanilla or whatever strikes your fancy that day directly into your mug.And then there are manual methods like the French press and pour-overs that are becoming popular at coffee shops. Percolators are even making a nostalgic hipster return. And I wondered if more expensive drip machines were worth the price tag.In my quest, I sought scientific knowledge in the way of Ben Helt of Benetti's Coffee Experience in Raytown, Mo.; Marty and Tooti Roe, who clean coffee machines at coffee shops and fast-food chains; and Danny O'Neill, owner of the Roasterie in Kansas City, Mo.We tested seven sets of equipment, both machine and manual, in five categories of brew methods using filtered water, clean equipment and the same bag of whole beans from Costa Rica. The beans were ground just before brewing.French pressBest for: Lovers of bold coffee.The equipment: Stainless-steel with a Pyrex glass liner. (Bodum Chambord, 32-ounce; $39.95 at crateandbarrel.com.)Pros:Extracts oils from the coffee.The least-expensive method.Not much babying.Cons:Hard to clean (it contains no filter).Leaves a trace of grounds in your cup.This isn't the maker for more nuanced coffees.Tasting notes: The coffee looks like it has an oil slick on top, a characteristic of a French press extraction. The flavor was divinely rich. My favorite!VacuumBest for: Show-off entertainers and mad scientists.The equipment: Laboratory-like glass chambers heated by a flame at the bottom -- butane burners work best. (Yama Siphon Vacpot 3-cup brewer; about $52 on Amazon.com.)Here's how it works: Pour water into the bottom glass and insert the top chamber. Heat the burner, adjusting it for a slow boil. Water will rise into the upper glass and saturate the waiting grounds. Wait about 2 minutes for flavor to be extracted from the grounds, remove the flame, and the condensation in the bottom bowl will create a vacuum and will draw the coffee down through the tube and filter into the lower glass.Pros:Looks super-cool.Produces a clean brew.Con:Pricey (burners need to be purchased separately).Tasting notes: This coffee reminded me of the brew from the Chemex (see "Pour over"). Both contain a noticeably clean taste.Pour-overBest for: Baristas and foodies.The equipment: The Hario V60 ceramic funnel ($23 at williams-sonoma.com). It's a manual brewing method, allowing you to brew coffee right into your cup.Pros:Rich flavor.Allows control of brewing time and temperature so the coffee is just the way you like it.You can get intimate with your coffee, watching it bloom and brew.Cons:You have to baby your coffee, watching the kettle for the right temperature and wetting the filter before adding coffee.Although it's manual, it requires equipment, including an electronic gram scale (about $30) to weigh ground coffee and water and a kettle. Models with an electronic reading are best because 200 degrees is the magic number, rather than the boiling point of 212. Those will set you back $60.One way to save money is to buy a plastic funnel instead of a Hario V60. Coffee geeks like the Clever, which is about half the price.Makes one cup at a time.Tasting notes: Coffee from the V60 was my second-favorite overall. I tasted the full body of the coffee first, not the water.The equipment: Chemex drip-coffee carafe (8-cup; $39.95 at williams-sonoma.com). Grounds should be placed in the cone-shaped filter at the top and hot water poured over them. The wood collar with leather tie serves as an insulated handle.Pros:Makes more than one cup.Allows control of brewing time and temperature so the coffee is just the way you like it.Allows you to get up close and personal with your coffee, watching the brewing process.Cons:Requires its own kind of paper filter that you can't always find at the grocery store.You have to baby your coffee, watching the kettle for the right temperature and wetting the filter before adding coffee.Although it's manual, it requires more equipment, including a scale and kettle.Tasting notes: I tasted the water first, coffee second. Although it had a clean-water taste, that's what I didn't like about it.DripOne-cupBest for: Divided households -- he likes flavored coffee, she prefers plainer stuff -- and for those who don't want it strong.The equipment: A cup of premeasured grounds is inserted into your single-serving machine. (Keurig Platinum Plus Brewing System; $189.99 at www.keurig.com.)Pros:You can have hot cider one day, coffee the next, hot chocolate another.No mess from grounds when using prepackaged cups.It's fast.Cons:Uses wasteful disposable cups.Expensive (roughly 60 cents per cup versus 15 cents if you grind your own).Flavor is watery because extraction time is so short (1 minute).Coffee can be stale in the prepackaged cups.Tasting notes: We replaced the Keurig K-Cup with an Ekobrew reusable filter ($14.95, www.ekobrew.com) and freshly ground beans. Although the cup was filled to the max, the result was still a watery, weak cup of coffee. Almost a tie with my least-favorite cup.MulticupBest for: Those in a multitasking household with working parents and young kids.The equipment: A machine that can brew 10 cups of coffee at the magic-number temperature of 200 degrees.(Technivorm Moccamaster; $299 on Amazon.com.)Pros:Brews a lot.Cone-shape filter for proper extraction.Cons:Expensive (Bonavita makes an 8-cup machine that coffee geeks like for about $150).Tasting notes: This was my third-favorite cup of coffee, following the French press and V60. I could taste the coffee first, water second.PercolatorBest for: Those who want their home to smell just like Grandma and Grandpa's.The equipment: A 12-cup percolator (Hamilton Beach; $49 on walmart.com). A pot with a small chamber at the bottom close to the heat source. A vertical tube leads from this chamber to the top of the percolator. Just below the upper end of this tube is a perforated chamber for course coffee grounds.Pros:Incredible aroma, like coffee potpourri.The price is right.Con:A harsh-tasting cup of coffee, because the water has gotten too hot (boiling point) and circulates through the grounds, causing overextraction.Tasting notes: Compared with coffees brewed in the other makers, this one tasted burned -- and this was just after it brewed. My least-favorite cup. There's a reason these fell out of favor in the early 1970s.Shopping lessonsHonestly, my $30 coffee maker doesn't have much going for it except that it's cute and cheap. "It's only got one button, which is good," says Helt of Benetti's Coffee Experience.Here's what he advises:Look for the absence of unnecessary features. You don't need preset buttons for coffee that brews before you get up in the morning, since you should grind just before brewing for a fresh, flavorful cup.The wattage should be higher than 1,000. My cheap machine is 900 watts, so it doesn't get hot enough. It seems to spit and splutter coffee.Thermal carafes are good. They keep your coffee warm. My former maker kept it warm for hours. My new one, with a glass carafe, stays only hot (burned-tasting) or cold.Check out the filter. You want one that requires paper filters. The permanent filters get stained with old coffee, which affects flavor. Conical ones are best. Mine is flat-bottomed, which means I need coarsely ground beans.Invest in a burr grinder. This slices rather than smashes whole beans. I have a blade grinder, which creates a powdery residue that's hard to remove, muddying up each new batch of coffee I make. Burr grinders start at about $50.Keep it clean. One suggestion is to use 1 tablespoon of citric acid (from stores such as Whole Foods) to 1 gallon of water to clean your machine a few times a month, as vinegar can affect the taste of your coffee and citric acid does not.Clean the pot and filter basket daily. For manual equipment, clean with liquid dishwashing detergent and rinse well. To remove coffee oils (the brown staining that is rancid coffee, not "seasoning"), Puro cleaner (www.purobrand.com) is recommended.One last tipRecommended ratio for that perfect cup: 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) freshly ground coffee for every 3/4 cup (6 ounces) filtered waterHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
