New Things in Our House: Part I
We go through coffee makers like Rosie O'Donnell goes through Snickers bars. Our version of the Holy Grail will come with a #4 paper filter and have at least a 12-cup capacity. And we've yet to find one that's flawless...but we've come pretty close with our latest acquisition.
Meet the Cuisinart Coffee On Demand™ coffee maker, which has resided in our kitchen for about a week. This wonderfully industrial-looking appliance brews a passable cup of coffee. More important, it keeps the coffee almost painfully hot -- just the way we like it -- to the very last drop. (Say, that would make a good coffeeesque slogan, wouldn't it?)
See, that was main drawback to our previous maker, a stylish stainless steel carafe model, also from Cuisinart. The carafe did an admirable job of keeping the coffee hot for an hour or so, but our regular morning schedule is such that that just doesn't get the job done. Also, if we brewed less than a full carafe, the coffee cooled more quickly (not that we'd ever do that...just saying). With this new approach, we lose the convenience of having a pot we can carry all over the place, but we gain tastier coffee, and that's the bottom line.
There are a couple of additional drawbacks. You have to get the right visual perspective to see the level in your cup as you're filling it. Also, you can't fit a tall travel mug under the spigot. And, finally, the reservoir that holds the water has a pretty narrow opening, so you have to be careful when filling it.
To us, these are minor inconveniences compared to having an endless supply -- as long as "endless" is defined as 12 cups or less -- of hot coffee. It also fits under our cabinets. Plus, it's just darned cool to have a needle gauge showing how much coffee is left.
Oh, yeah...I didn't think to mention that. You use a regular #4 flat bottomed filter (or you can use the gold permanent filter that comes with the machine) and your own coffee.
Yeah, I understand those "personal coffee makers" can get pretty pricey as far as the consumables are concerned.
As far as the "one cup at a time," it doesn't dispense a predetermined amount. You just pull the handle until you have what you need...or until your cup is full, whichever comes first. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at January 2, 2007 03:40 PMThat looks awesome. I tried to look up the dimensions...to no avail.
Kind sir, would you please get out your trusty tape measure/ruler/or any like thing and give me an approximate height?
We forgot to measure our new cabinets around our Starbucks Barista machine. Duh.
Posted by: Janie at January 2, 2007 06:12 PMJanie, according to my el cheapo tape measure, the unit is 14.5" tall, 8.75" wide and 9.5" deep. It's a pretty compact little box, actually.
Posted by: Eric at January 2, 2007 06:22 PMGosh that looks nice. It would go well with the super-dooper-cool burr grinder we got for Christmas. :) Of course, we are not hard on coffee pots around here and thus, as we purchased our second pot in 12 years last year, I'm guessing we won't be in the market for a while yet.
However, our Sunday school class is needing a new pot and that looks like a viable solution.
Posted by: beth at January 3, 2007 06:56 AMWe're not hard on coffee pots...I can't remember the last time we had to replace one as a result of breaking or wearing it out. We're just always looking for one that works better.
Your SS class must either be small or comprised of mostly non-coffee-drinkers. We'd have to refill this one about three times on Sunday mornings to take care of our group.
Posted by: Eric at January 3, 2007 07:18 AMI would say our SS class fits both of those descriptions - we are hard pressed to actually use all 10 cups in our little 10 cup machine on a given Sunday.
Posted by: beth at January 3, 2007 08:00 AMThanks, Eric! You may have solved our problem!
Posted by: Janie at January 3, 2007 09:41 AMJanie, happy to help...that's why I'm here. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at January 3, 2007 01:53 PMAbout the publisher
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From the sounds of it, this doesn't use those pod things (i.e. expensive pod things) but uses regular coffee grounds and then dispenses it one cup at a time?
Posted by: Gwynne at January 2, 2007 03:30 PM