Prime Cuts

Brewing coffee is as much of an art as it is a science. One of the widely used methods is the auto drip machine. Since Mr. Coffee came on the scene we’ve been addicted to convenience and good coffee. But there is more to an auto drip machine than you might think. There are many things to consider when buying an auto drip machine.

One of the most important aspects to a great auto drip machine is the temperature that the machine brews your coffee at, it should brew somewhere around 195-205°F. This is very crucial, many machines will brew your coffee at a lower temperature and then heat the coffee on the warmer.  When this happens you’ll experience less flavor and usually an abnormal bitter tone to it. One of the reasons many machines will brew at a lower temperature is due to the amount of wattage that the machine has. Remember, larger wattage, hotter coffee.

Another aspect of your auto drip machine that needs to be considered is the shower head, no, I’m not talking about your bathroom. The shower head is the part of the machine that drips the water onto the grounds. Some machines just have a singular point of entry for the water to hit your grounds. This method doesn’t fully soak your grounds effectively which usually leads to weak, under-brewed coffee. But if you have a coffee maker that is like a shower head that can soak the grounds evenly you’ll experience great, fully brewed coffee.

When brewing coffee through an auto drip machine you have to consider the container or carafe that the coffee will reside in once fully brewed. There are two main kinds of carafes: glass and thermal. Obviously, glass is the most common and easily most misunderstood, this is why you should go to a store to at least check out a coffee maker before buying. There are many companies that will give you a fancy, full featured machine but then go cheap on some really thin glass. If you’re an avid coffee drinker consider getting a machine with good, thick glass because you’ll be using it for purpose not looks. This part, in my opinion, is similar to buying drinking glasses. You want something good looking, light but not cheap, you know what cheap glass feels like. If you don’t, go to Walmart and pick up a set of drinking glasses that are a starter/college set and then go to Macy’s or Crate & Barrel and pick up some nice drinking glasses for people who want to have them for a period longer than a Bachelors degree.

Thermal is the other type of carafe. I recommend a vacuumed thermal carafe. There are many varieties of thermal so do your homework. Since your coffee should be enjoyed immediately after brewing I hardly see a point in having a thermal carafe, at least that’s the way I see it because your warmer should keep your coffee hot while you enjoy your first cup.

Filtration is important when brewing coffee regardless of brewing method. Most coffeehouses will triple filter their water. The best I recommend is to use a Brita filter carafe and then ensure that your coffee maker has a water filter on it, as most do now. This will provide you with at least double filtered water. Great water is just as important as good, fresh coffee. Many will argue this aspect but I will tell you from many years of searching for great coffee that water is absolutely key and is worth the extra steps. You can get away with having a cheap machine and make better coffee by using filtered water. Similarly, you can have a very expensive machine and if you’re pouring in tap water I can guarantee you that your coffee will taste off or just plain bad. Many people who don’t like coffee never realize that what they really didn’t like was the taste of tap water that barely tastes like coffee. Cardinal rule with coffee: use filtered water, no exceptions!

Coffee filters are a thing of debate for most coffee drinkers, I’m not even going to attempt to explain or begin a debate here but let me lay it out for you. There are paper and metal; one is disposable and the other is reusable. Paper; you have new and recycled, bleached and natural. Metal; you have cheap metal mesh (claiming it’s gold) and then you have a real gold mesh filter (this will run you around $50). I buy bleached paper. Brands matter, why, because many will debate tasting the filter in the coffee, the right brand can eliminate that taste.

There are many choices when considering buying an auto drip machine but in the end if you really want to have a good cup of coffee and you drink coffee semi-regularly you should be spending at least $50. If you’re the person who drinks daily and multiple times throughout the day then you should consider getting a maker that is $100. If you’re the person who goes through a coffee maker every year like my parents then you should consider buying a really nice coffee machine that can withstand the abuse of coffee addicts. Those machines are somewhere around $199. As the price increases you’ll find many companies will try to amuse you by having crazy features telling you that it will make your coffee better, those companies are just ripping you off. Remember, coffee has three parts; the coffee itself, the water, the brewing method. There is no need for crazy features, some of the better machines that are expensive are very simple and at first makes you wonder why it is so expensive. That is because the quality is much higher, remember, more metal, less plastic is always a good thing.

Let me break it down quickly for you as I know you’re wondering what should you buy, so here’s my recommendations:

• Saving money: buy what fits your budget and use filtered water and good coffee and good filters.
• Willing to spend a little bit more: buy something like a DeLonghi around $80, it’s good, not great, watch out for how the carafe sets on the warmer, if it’s not just right it will spill all over your counter.
• Want great coffee and willing to put some money down: get a KitchenAid ProLine Series, this retails for $199 but you can find them on eBay for around $140.

What do I use? KitchenAid ProLine Series. Yes, it was expensive but it the best machine I’ve ever used, I brew coffee from 1-4 times a day.

Not to further mess with your possible confusion, remember, convenience is the key with an auto drip machine. A good $20 french press can make equal or sometimes better coffee than an auto drip machine if the right techniques are used but it makes less coffee and requires more attention than an auto drip machine.

Tell me what you use and why you decided to buy what you did.

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Photo by: Neubie