Every six months or so, I break the glass carafe that goes with my coffee maker. I've done it with a Melitta model and a Capresso. Most recently, the casualty was my Kitchenaid carafe. I was washing it in the late night/early morning, when I should have been in bed, and it slipped.
A trip to the retailer where I bought the coffee maker was futile. The clerks said they hadn't gotten a shipment from Kitchenaid in ages and gave me a number to call. When I contacted the manufacturer, I was told it is discontinuing the four-cup model. One cannot live in the Pacific Northwest without imbibing, particularly in fall and winter. (Why do you think Starbucks started here?) This was indeed a crisis.
In the process of finding a new coffee maker, I learned a thing or two about the industry. The availability of small coffee makers, hard to find to for some time, is getting worse. All three of my former choices in manufacturers have now abandoned those of us who are not seeking maximum caffeine coverage. My habit is to drink a couple cups at home and supplement them with a tall, skinny double latte at Starbucks later in the day.
The new status quo does have some good news, though. My affinity for breaking carafes may have been remedied. Newer models feature stainless steel 'pots' that can be dented at most. They come in two types. There is just plain stainless steel, which gets pretty warm on the outside and does not particularly keep the coffee hot. Alternatively, one can purchase thermal stainless steel, which is cooler to the touch and maintains the coffee's just brewed temperature.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
MD, I enjoy your tech and consumers reviews - thanks!
2 - Phillip Winn
I don't drink much coffee, but on those rare occasions that I do, I love my French press. My father, who is a serious coffee drinker, insisted that I must use a French press, and he bought me a bean grinder on one of his visits to see the grandkids.
I have to admit, the smell and taste are fantastic. It's a wonder I don't drink coffee more often.
MD, have you tried a French press or a vacuum coffee maker? I've been curious how the three styles compare.
3 - Dawn
A good friend of mine had a french press and while I was staying with her is the best cup of coffee I think I ever had.
I just haven't been about to force myself to buy one, even though they really aren't expensive.
Cool review - especially for a coffee lover like myself. I too am known for breaking the glass kind.
4 - Mark Saleski
the french press is the way to go.
most coffee makers heat water to way too low a temperature...plus the filters filter out too much of the yummy oils.
5 - Eric Olsen
I'm allergic to coffee so it's all Greek to me, but what does the French press have to do with coffee? Do they write about it a lot? Are they addicted to it? I'll have to ask Emmanuelle.
6 - Mark Saleski
allergic to coffee???
yow!!! i'd have to kill myself.
7 - Eric Olsen
Iced tea and Diet Coke is the correct path to caffeination.
8 - Dawn
Eric, you say you are allergic to anything you don't like such as: chocolate, coffee, laundry, cooking, loading the dishwasher and watching Lifetime - the channel for women.
I just don't buy it.
A press is a device just like it sounds - the coffee is ground up, placed in a filtering device that allows it to flow through piping hot water as you force the the filtering mechanism down through the glass container - all without letting the grounds into the coffee fluid. It is super yummy and I would like one for Christmas :)
9 - Phillip Winn
Dawn, I can vouch for the existence of Lifetime allergies. Your hubby's "correct path to caffeination" is obviously wrong, but I break out in hives if I'm exposed to Lifetime.
My wife was delighted at the advent of SpikeTV, hoping to rehash some of the same snide comments I'd made about it's estrogen-laced counterpart, but then she discovered The Joe Schmo Show at the same time I did, so now she's hooked on a SpikeTV show.
Ha!
10 - Any Yu
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