<p>This summer, we will have houseguests who are coffee drinkers, and I need to buy a coffee maker. Neither H nor I drink coffee, and so when our coffee maker died after Christmas, we did not replace it. It was very old - I can’t even remember how we acquired it.</p>
<p>So, my question is, what do I need to know about buying a coffee maker? I don’t want to spend a lot of money because it is not something H and I will use on a daily basis, but on the other hand I want our guests to have decent coffee.</p>
<p>haha - I have the same issue, I drink tea never coffee. I suggest going to Bed Bath & Beyond or google search on best coffee machines and how to use. Go to really nice grocery store and ask what to buy maybe someone at your party will know what to do</p>
<p>1) Mr. Coffee 6-8 cup maker. S/B around $30.
2)Coffee filters, unbleached, the brown kind, although the bleached white kind are more popular. That’s a whole different conversation.
3)Coffee-Gourmet if you like your guests, Folgers if they are ordinary relatives.
4)Coffee mugs and saucers. A matching set is always nice.
5)If you really want to get Fancy, then a silver (or silver plated serving pot with equally fancy cups and saucers) GL</p>
<p>I like coffee made from percolator, the coffee is stronger. It’s from $20-50. Coffee made from regular coffee maker tastes like water to me. H gets his freshly grounded coffee from Whole Foods.</p>
<p>You could buy one of these (or two – one for husband, one for wife), a box of filters, and Peet’s or whatever their favorite brand of ground coffee is.</p>
<p>If they like it strong, they’ll put in more coffee.</p>
<p>There is actually a coffee shop/cafe that has just opened in my daughter’s town where their specialty is slow pour over coffee. Made with a cone filter straight into the mug. She is not a coffee drinker but they make awesome grilled cheese sandwiches which she does like. I went with her and tried the coffee - it was surprisingly good made that way.</p>
<p>A good ol’ Mr. Coffee works great… find out what kind of coffee they like, have it ready, and let them make it themselves. You will likely make it much weaker than they would prefer…</p>
<p>That’s the trouble with the press. They are messy because they don’t use filters, so you have to clean everything out before you can make more.<br>
If you buy a large one- at least 8 cups- that would cut down on the prep time. </p>
<p>The reason I like the Chemex is you get the pour over quality with the ease of the filter.</p>
<p>We have commercial coffee-makers at the office and vacuum-press coffee dispensers. Put a filter in, put in the coffee grounds (either from a package or from the bean-grinder), put the basket in the machine, push a button and a big container has hot coffee in about six minutes. The coffee stays hot in the container for about 10 hours. I’d guess that it holds about 10 cups. I don’t know what the equipment costs but it sure is a way to make coffee efficiently. If your house-guests are going to go through 20 cups a day, this may be more efficient than something that makes a cup at a time. The nice thing in a household is that it might be enough so that someone just has to make it in the morning and then it’s available to anyone without having to brew.</p>
<p>I only drink coffee at the office or when I’m driving and really need some. There’s a Dunkin Donuts about 1/3rd mile from where we live (part of the area where I ran last week) so I can always just go out for coffee in a pinch. It’s not efficient if someone will be staying with us for a few months though.</p>
<p>“good Mr. Coffee” sounds like an oxymoron to me! I’ve never had a good Mr. Coffee. The last one I bought, I actually threw in the trash. Cuisinart makes a good coffee maker, so does Krups. </p>
<p>You could go pricey and get a Keurig. That way you could get a variety of coffees, teas, hot chocolate, chais, etc…and everyone could have what they want freshly made.</p>
<p>Try this for a much cheaper version of the Chemex idea that’s bigger than the 1-cup version poster earlier. I make coffee this way every morning. </p>
<p>I just learned how to make coffee with a french press. Surprisingly cheap, easy. Takes up very little space. All you need is some ground coffee beans (local coffee shop sells and grinds the beans for the french press, and you can get any amount there, so you don’t need to get the one lb. bag) and hot water.</p>
<p>I would vote for a French press too. You can pour the water in all at once, no waiting and dosing it out in little dribs and drabs. It’s a messy clean up but not that bad. Dump most of it in the trash (or to a very happy compost pile) and the little bits can go down the drain. Your family can easily make it as strong or as mild as they like. </p>
<p>My stepmother only has instant decaf that she “cooks” in the microwave. Does she hate me? I wonder if the nespresso comes out as soon as we leave…</p>