Monday, May 31, 2010

Get your 12 cup of cofee in style

Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker


A few weeks ago, I needed a new coffee maker. The Krups Aroma Control maker is in all the stores and catalogs, so I bought one in the local mall BEFORE reading the Amazon reviews. BIG MISTAKE. Lesson learned - read the reviews - many negative comments. I used it for 3 days, and readily understood the description (...) of "eye candy" (looks nice, but seems like cheap plastic) and weak coffee (what they describe as a feature - allowing the coffee to steep - is really a euphemism for a poorly designed system that is guaranteed to give you a weak cup of coffee). One redeeming feature - the carafe is very nice.
Within 2 days of having the Krups, i was on Amazon looking for a replacement coffee maker (a good cup of coffee is critical in the morning!). I went out on the risk curve and ordered the new Cuisinart - no reviews yet. The Cuisinart has a more classic brewing system (water goes through grinds via gravity), yields a delicious cup of HOT coffee, has a variable temperature hot place, and looks and feels solid. We happen to have stainless steel appliances (refrigerator, freezer, stove), and it matches beautifully. Best news - excellent coffee!. I would highly recommend the Cuisinart.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Enjoying your Coffee in the morning the better mate to have

If you're reading this review, you're most likely doing research and trying to decide between the Keurig line (B40,B50,B60), the Tassimo, or the Senseo. Out of those three, the Keurig is the best looking, the most durable, has the best heating and pumping mechanism, and has the largest variety of coffees and teas available. The Tassimo's versatility is tempting, but variety of coffees is lacking, the machine is a first-run model that does not feel as quality as the Keurig (I could barely find a piece of metal in the entire thing), and it cannot be set to warm itself up like the Keurig. The Senseo isn't bad and I may even consider getting it as a second machine, but it is kind of lame how you need two pods to brew an 8 oz cup of coffee. Considering the price of pods that I was looking at, it would outprice both the Keurig and the Tassimo for daily usage.

Between the Keurig models (B40,B50,B60), I spent a lot of time trying to decide and eventually went with the B60, mainly because the B60 is the only model that brews 3 different sizes of coffee--5.25, 7.25, and 9.25oz. The B50, a favorite amongst shoppers, does not offer the 9.25oz size. This large size allows my Oxo travel mug to almost completely fill after using one Extra Bold K-cup. As an added benefit of the B60, you get beautiful blue LEDs behind the display and the water tank, as well as a polished chrome handle and polished chrome outer-ring to the display. It looks very modern and very classy in my otherwise boring kitchen. Highly recommended.

Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinders Coffee Lovers

  Krups 203-42 Fast Touch Coffee Grinder, Black 

Best product for your money

There are two things I take very seriously in this life: one is books, the other is coffee (not surprisingly, the often go together). While the bulk of my reviews are children's books, I felt it necessary to go against type and review this coffee grinder. Most coffee experts as well as everyday, casual drinkers agree that the best tasting coffee is brewed with freshly ground beans. Once beans are ground, they begin to oxidize, much like an opened bottle of wine. Old preground coffee has a tendency to taste bitter, and with the proliferation of inexpensive grinders, more and more people are buying whole bean coffee to grind right before they brew. Of course, finding the RIGHT grinder for the price is the tough part. Grinders exist in every form and size and expense bracket. Quite a lot of round, domed grinders I've used have unsharpened blades on a mount that is too high to really grind beans fine enough for specialty coffee like espresso or Turkish. The Krups has a few advantages over other grinders, namely these: ** The blades are sharp and mounted low in the housing. Maybe other manufactures are saving a few pennies by putting flat tongues of metal in their grinders, but they don't have the edge to pulverize beans like the Krups can. ** The machine has a higher RPM than other machines. This makes it easier to reduce grind times and with additional speed, can reduce whole beans to powder in less than a minute (I've had a Black n' Decker that couldn't grind beans for Turkish coffee if you held the button for half an hour). ** the housing is oval and the lid is flat. I'm not an engineer or physicist, but I think the flat lid and oval shape allow the beans to fall back towards the blades for further grinding (again, my Black n' Decker allowed the beans to spin around the lid in a whirlpool pattern that was pretty to look at, but pointless for actually reducing the grounds to the small particles I wanted). ** it has a large capacity. Do you like strong coffee?? Use more grounds, then!! The box says that you can grind up to 20 cups of java at a time. I don't know about the sorts of demitasses they must be using to gauge the volume of a "cup", but I do know that this machine can grind up enough beans for a number of very stiff MUGS of coffee. In the disadvantages column, the only one I could site is that the housing cup is slanted down, I'm assuming for decorative purposes. Hence, I'm forever spilling beans out of the lower side. My new secret is to measure the beans out in the LID, first, then turn the whole thing upside down and put the housing into the lid. Since I only use it to grind coffee (and while I drink my fair share, I don't have the thing running nonstop day and night), I can't speak with any aplomb about how sturdy a machine is or how long it lasts. I once dropped one after a year and broke it, but it seemed nowhere near quitting, so I can't vouch for how long it would work under normal, non-butterfingered conditions. My assumption is that anything with such a high RPM rate isn't intended to be kept running for long periods of time-- creates too much heat and friction-- so if you plan to grind coffee night and day, it's probably best that you spend the money on a professional model intended for cafes. All in all, a fine piece of workmanship and definitely worth the extra few dollars over many of the other, cheaper, more poorly-designed grinders on the market today.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Coffee lover

I am a coffee lover and I am not afraid to admit that, coffee hot or cold that just my drink morning noon or night coffee will make my day bright. But the fun part of coffee is roasting it yourself Home roasting coffee beans provides a simple way to enjoy the aromas and tastes of freshly roasted coffees. Roasted coffee stales very quickly and is dramatically diminished in days so home roasting ensures your coffee is always fresh. It's fun and easy and takes only about 20 to 30 minutes from roasting to brewing and about half the cost of store.

For a reasonably priced Roaster and other coffee making equipment please visit : www.moonbuckscoffee.com