Coffee Makers - Every Day An Easy Start

coffee makers

Do we need coffee makers? Let's see. One of the simplest ways to make coffee is to boil water in a saucepan, add ground coffee, boil it until it is aromatic, and pour it into a mug.

However, the first modern method to make coffee was drip brewing. It started as a two-level pot, where the top pot holds the coffee and water is poured into it and drips through holes into the coffee pot at the bottom.

Then, the French developed the "pumping percolator", where boiling water in the pot at the bottom forces itself up through a tube and percolates through the ground coffee at the top, back into the coffee pot.

How They Work

The two basic coffee makers are the vacuum brewer and percolator. Although they may seem similar, they work differently.

In a vacuum brewer, water is heated in a lower compartment. The heat will force the water through a narrow tube into an upper compartment that contains ground coffee. When the lower pot is empty and the time for brewing has passed, the heat is removed and the vacuum caused by the heat will allow the brewed coffee back through the strainer into the pot.

On the other hand, in a percolator, the water from a reservoir goes into the decanter, where it is boiled and steam bubbles from the boiling will force the liquid through a tube, over a spreader plate and onto the coffee grounds. Then, the coffee will pass through a strainer and drips down into the decanter. A one-way valve in the tube stops water from back flowing into the reservoir.

Basic Types

There are many different types of coffee machines, such as the Turkish Briki, espresso machine, French press plunger, automatic drip and percolator.

Powdered coffee is used in the Briki and it takes 7 to 11 minutes to make a cup.

Espresso machines use very fine ground coffee. It takes 12 to 17 minutes to make 5 cups of espresso.

The French press plunger does not use any filter, so the coffee produced is muddy. It takes 5 to 8 minutes to make 4 cups of coffee using this machine and it uses regular or coarse ground coffee.

The automatic drip coffee machine or dripolator is not as hot as coffee made using other machines. It takes 6 to 10 minutes to make 6 cups of coffee.

An electric percolator takes between 13 and 18 minutes to brew 6 cups of coffee and it uses regular grind coffee.

Different coffee machines produce different taste of coffee, even though using the same coffee beans. This is because the different extraction of coffee affects the taste, flavor and aroma.

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How To Choose A Good One

To purchase a coffee machine, you should choose according to your needs. Capacity can vary. The cheapest and most basic one is the automatic drip coffee machine. It typically comes with safety features, such as automatic off, pause and serve functions.

For those who want to enjoy different variety types of coffee, they should get coffee machines with more features such as espresso and coffee combo machines. These combination machines are more expensive, since they have functions to make lattes, espresso and so forth. The important features of a combo machine are the coffee grinder, milk frothing function, bean hopper and pump.

The brand and manufacturer should be taken into consideration, as established brands should have products that are reliable.

Read more about coffee makers on the following pages:

Senseo Coffee

Vacuum Coffee Machine

One Cup Coffee Machine

Bunn Coffee Machine

Braun Coffee Machine

Cuisinart Coffee Machine

Mr. Coffee Machine

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