Which Coffee Maker Is Better? (1 Viewer)

[MichaelBA]

Which of the following is superior?

The Cuinsinart Grind & Brew... or ...the Philips Senseo?

 

[JeremyErwin]

Senseos are the ink-jet printers of the coffee industry. The cartridges/pods are overpriced. Allegedly it produces horrid coffee, too.

here are some reviews from coffeegeek.com

Cuisinart Grind and Brew

Philips Senseo


The secret to getting good coffee is to use a good quality grinder (hint: conical burrs. Blade grinders and flat burrs result an an inconsistent grind.)
I use a Peugeot hand grinder myself, but a less fanatical individual may balk at the high price and labor involved.

 

[Micah Cohen]

Hey, fuck you for bringing this up just to rope me into a conversation about your coffee maker.

I am in love with my new Senseo (pronounced sen-SAY-oh). I buy pods online and they don't cost that much. And the Senseo makes a kick-ass, smooth, thick cup of joe in about a minute. She's like an espresso machine, all pressure firing water thru the coffee and really waking my ass up, especially these "Kenya Dark" pods. It's the best FAST cup of coffee I've ever had.

Sure, I could grind and brew and all that, and I would. I love coffee that much. But, I don't want to. I want good joe fast. Senseo rocks! Pods rock!

I am happy and awake.

So there.

MC

 

[MichaelBA]

No "rope," brother!

I'm starting to see a lot of positive press about the Senseo, and it's making me wonder....

 

[Micah Cohen]

I meant "fuck you" in the nicest possible way, by the way.

Seriously, tho, I actually look forward to waking up and having coffee with this Senseo thing.

Not horrid at all. (I think that gourmet pods make all the diff, tho. Senseo-brand pods are pretty bad, to be honest.)

MC

 

[Robbie R]

Is the Senseo the coffee machine they were plugging on Survivor a couple seasons ago?

 

[Paul Padilla]

Just to add something that wasn't in your two choices...I've had a Melitta Mill & Brew for a couple of years now and I'm really happy with it.

The problem that I've seen with the Cuisinart is that the grinding chamber is fixed in proximity to the water. It requires more cleaning because of the steam/coffee grounds combination. The basket in the Melitta pivots over and locks in place while it's grinding, then swings over the pot to begin brewing.

 

[Micah Cohen]

I'm still laughing at this:

That's really funny! (Seriously.)

MC

 

[Kirk Gunn]

We've got the Stainless version of the Cuisinart - makes a decent cup of Starbucks (we buy the large bag-o-beans from Sam's).

The great thing about the stainless model is the carafe stays hot for hours and doesn't lose flavor. My wife typically wakes up 1-2 hours after me, so it's nice for her to have a cup o' joe that hasn't been nuked.

I'll admit it is a bit more time to cleanup the grinder, but we run the dishwasher at least every other day, and on the off-day I just give a good rinse.

 

[MichaelBA]

I have the stainless steel Cuisinart too. I'm extremely happy with the quality of the coffee, but that depends on using great beans.

But I despise the clean up!

I guess that's why I was wondering about the Senseo. That and some of the good word about it.

Anybody ever try GREEN coffee beans, i.e., unroasted?

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

I also have the Cuisinart, and the cleanup kind of sucks. The coffee tastes great, though. If you must use a conical Burr grinder, you can always disable the grinder and buy the coordinating Cuisinart Automatic Burr Mill (http://www.cuisinart.com/cgi-bin/ind...?item_id=DBM-8), or you could just get a non-grinding coffee maker with the separate grinder. I would imagine the cleanup is easier that way, as the grinder does not get moisture in it from the steam.

 

[Micah Cohen]

I pop the pod in the garbage.

That's my cleanup.



MC

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm partial to the Keurig myself.

 

[Dave Hahn]

America's Test Kitchen recently did a comparison of different coffee makers. It makes interesting reading and can be found here:

http://americastestkitchen.com/testi...id=5&iSeason=5

For myself, I use the KitchenAid Retro Burr Coffee Grinder and brew with boiling water and a manual Melitta Cup Filter like this:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/kitchend...oma10cupw.html

It makes perfect coffee every time. I've found that no matter what kind of brewing system you use, its best to experiment with the ratio of coffee to water to come up with a pleasing final result. Through the years I've come to realize that I prefer using a course grind for the beans and a ratio of about 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every four ounces of water. This is somewhat wasteful but cuts down on bitterness considerably.

Alton Brown did a show on coffee, (surprise!) and one of the things I remember from the show is that he stated that coffee had to be brewed at the proper ratio in order to bring out its complex flavors. He went on to say that if you preferred your coffee in the mid-to-weak range of strength, you should brew it using the "correct ratio" and then add hot water to your liking.

Quick edit: here's a link to AB's advice on coffee: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._14468,00.html


The latest in news for the home coffee connoisseur is the home coffee roaster:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/FRESH...ER_P522C91.cfm

With this gadget, you roast green coffee beans to your liking; ie light, medium or dark roast. You then grind them to whatever grind you prefer and brew the best possible cup of coffee. I haven't got this far yet but someday . . .

 

[Micah Cohen]

1. I wish I had the time to grow my own coffee, roast it perfect, grind it fresh and brew a cup or two of it every morning perfect. But, I don't. That sounds full time. I need a quick cup of GOOD coffee with no clean up and out the door! Senseo goes the extra distance for me, and brews a totally respectable cup of joe for $70.

2. Dave, your sig file unexpectedly brought tears to my eyes. Now I know what I'm watching tonight!

MC

 

[JeremyErwin]

The cuisinart automatic burr mill uses flat burrs, not conical. If you're not very careful. you end up with a lot of dust. I had this for a while. and then the timing function broke.

Finally, I got a Peugeot Bresil mill. It produces a very even grind, doesn't jam, and there's no motor to burn out, generate static electricity, or heat up the grinds. A word of warning-- this type of hand mill has produced many imitators-- but the cheap copies lack the precision of the burrs, and jam easily. Zassenhaus also produces similar mills, but they have a good rep.

I make french press coffee, and it's good. BTW, I get the foam that the Senseo is "known" for-- this is probably due to the evenness of the ground. It isn't automatic, but hey, I don't mind ritual.

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

I did not realize that. Are there any automatic conical burr grinders that you would recommend? What is the difference between the conical and flat?

 

[Ray Chuang]

What's interesting is that while everyone is arguing about using drip machines, complex expresso machines and Senseo-like machines to make coffee, the two best methods to make coffee are:

1. Press Pot (sometimes known as French Press).

2. Vacuum pot.

Both of these methods usually keep the flavor and aroma of the coffee as originally intended by producer of the coffee.

I'm thinking of getting myself a vacuum pot for Christmas but they're not exactly easy to find. :frowning:

 

[JeremyErwin]

On burrs:

I've heard, though not confirmed, that these grinders are half decent:

Starbucks Barista

Bodum Antigua

 

[MichaelBA]

What's a "vacuum pot" coffee-maker?