Coffee Makers: Their Types And Factors In Selecting

Coffee makers come in different types. Each machine has its own method of preparation and has unique traits that produce coffee in different tastes to suit various kinds of lifestyle. If you love coffee, you might want to know the different types of coffee machines available for preparing coffee.

The manual drip – is the type that uses paper filter cone which is just like that automatic drip uses. Water is boiled separately in this kind of drip. The coffee is poured with a small amount of water to allow it to release its flavor by opening up.

The automatic drip – is the brewer that has lesser work than the manual drip. There is no heating of water separately, instead there is a reservoir to heat the liquid and then it pulses through to the ground coffee beans that are waiting in a filter. There are models that allow water pulsing to be slower so a rich brew can be produced.

The coffee filters – which have paper filters to strain the grounds of beans out of brew. These are efficient when it comes to retaining the strong flavor and producing good tasting cups of coffee. There are different filters available but no matter which one you are using, expect some tiny particles of the ground beans surfacing up on your coffee.

The plunger pots – or more commonly known as the French press. This kind of coffeemaker is becoming the most picked one because of some advantages it has over the others. The design of the plunger pots allow coffee and water to be in maximum contact thereby producing richer coffee flavors. French press coffee makers are preferred especially in offices and more so at formal coffee tasting.

The percolator – is probably the type that everyone is most familiar of. This type is most ideal if you are a fan of mild coffee. To produce the rich aroma cup of coffee, the coffee grounds are being filtered repeatedly with boiling water. There is one disadvantage however with percolator – when prolonged over boiling is allowed, it can result to a bitter coffee.

If you are just obtaining your first coffee maker, you are probably in confusion as to which type would suit your needs and lifestyle. In that essence, you need to know the factors that will help you in picking the right one. The first one is whether you want a small or large sized brewer. If a number of people is going to use it, the large sized is recommended.

Another factor is the technology used. As there are many kinds of coffee makers in different brands, you might want to check on the features that would answer to your needs or match the kind of lifestyle you have.

You also need to consider the warranty policy offered, unless you are willing to buy a replacement immediately after a problem arises with the machine you bought. But the thing is a machine is a machine. Meaning, it can malfunction or its carafe might leak anytime. Defective machines are possible even if they are new. So check out how long the warranty lasts.

Of course, the budget is a perfect factor to be considered. Coffee makers come in different prices ranging from 20 to 400 + dollars. Reading reviews about each of the brands will give you the idea on what is best-priced and what is not.

Why Get A Single Cup Coffee Maker?

So you’re a regular coffee drinker and you want it brewing hot when served? Then a single hot coffee maker would make a good addition for your home or office. This is one of the latest trends in the market these days that provides users with convenient option for brewing. With this in your home, you won’t waste your precious coffee because it only brews exactly the amount you drink. Single cup coffee makers aren’t just easy to use; they are also easy to clean.

Types of Single Cup Coffee Maker

• Conventional coffee machine

This type uses standard ground coffee through a normal filter system. It brews a single cup of coffee at a time. Units included in this type are pretty much standard and there’s really nothing jaw-dropping about them.

• Single serve pod system

This coffee maker is used by most offices these days since it doesn’t make much of a mess. It requires less cleaning and less maintenance and it lets you play around with different flavors and blends them easily.

Aside from being so versatile, this coffee maker usually comes with a sophisticated design. All you need here is to take your pod and stick it in the machine and press a button. Most units present choices like the amount of coffee you need and the flavors you want.

Because of the convenience they provide, coffee pod system usually come more expensive than traditional coffee makers.

Advantages of a Single Cup Coffee Maker

1. It preserves the taste of the coffee.

You must not forget the fact that coffee is vulnerable. You can only achieve the taste that you want if all the necessary factors are in place. The coffee gets stale easily when it is left in a pot or container for quite some time before you drink it. And this is exactly what happens to the coffee made using large-capacity coffee makers.

2. You can drink freshly brewed coffee any time.

Such machine lets you brew your coffee right before you drink. It also prepares your coffee using a pre-measured recipe you sure can have a good-tasting brew. Also, it prepares your drink quite fast.

3. No coffee will go to waste.

Single cup coffee maker brews by the cup so you’ll be able to save a lot. Unlike standard coffee makers, you can avoid brewing coffee that you won’t consume.

4. It is easy to use.

This coffee machine is very much easy to operate. In just a mere push of a button, you can get a perfect cup of coffee without the need to measure all the ingredients.

5. It is very portable.

Because of its portability, you can have your favorite cup of coffee anywhere you go. While some single serve coffee makers are made to stay in your kitchen, most are really compact so you can take it to your room or office. This means you no longer need to go out of your way just to have a dose of your aromatic, great-tasting coffee.

How Clover Coffee Makers Work?

In March 2008, Howard D. Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks announced that as part of their effort to sell better tasting coffee, the corporation had purchased the Seattle-based Coffee Equipment Company to have all future clover coffee makers appear only in Starbucks. This business decision had stunned the coffee industry and many coffee connoisseurs. What can a Clover do that your standard home brewer can't? How does this glamorous machine able to whip up better-tasting gourmet coffee? Here's how:

The $11,000 machine brews each cup of coffee one at a time with freshly ground beans. It has a system called proportional integral derivative (PID) controller where you can choose the amount of water, brewing time, and temperature of the water. The essential system, as Starbucks and Coffee Equipment Company claims, is responsible for bringing out the best in the coffee ground of your choice. A Clover coffee maker uses the French Presses and vacuum Pots methods, patented now as VacuumPress Technology.

Despite its easy-to-learn button, making a cup of coffee with this machine still needs the guide of a barista. Let's say you are a customer, when you order for a cup of clover coffee, the barista will ask you to pick some coffee beans for your preferred cup size. After that, he will measure the coffee beans and grinds them. The ground coffee is poured into a brew cylinder; behind it is the water boiler. The barista mixes the coffee grounds, ensuring that the mixture is completely moistened.

Then he will plug in the right cup size, tinker three buttons which are the amount of water, temperature of water and brewing time. The brewing of this sleek-looking machine happens in a steel brew cylinder that sits above a piston that is rising and falling. During the brewing time it moves up and down as the coffee grounds are pushed up and coffee is being sent out through the drain valve. Brewing with clover coffee makers take only 30 - 40 seconds.

According to coffee connoisseurs, Starbucks uses dark roast coffee beans commonly called French and Italian roast. Dark roasting actually destroys coffee beans’ flavor. In a coffee taste test done on the same month when Starbucks launched their Coffee Equipment Company acquisition, it was founded that dark roasts Aged Sumatra, Arabian Mocha Sanani, Kenya Nyeri Mathira, Kona, and Shakisso all had bitter taste. This implies that Clover Coffee brewer doesn’t really make a bad coffee good. If you want to drink better tasting clover coffee, medium to light roast are better choices. Colombian Narino Supremo and Guatemalan Antigua are popular epicurean preferences. The quality of coffee brewed in a clover coffee maker using these two coffee beans tastes like brewed using French press. The only difference is that French press brewing method takes 10 minutes while brewing with clover coffee maker takes less than a minute.

Before Starbucks bought the clover coffee makers company, several hundred machines were sold to independent cafes. Funding the machine is expensive but the clover company claims that cafes that charged more for coffees brewed with their coffee makers were all successful because customers liked the freshness and the flavor of their products.

Choosing the Best Coffee Maker to Suit Your Needs

Finding the best coffee maker for you is not really an easy thing. There are lots of things that should be considered, including your lifestyle and your budget. It gets more difficult once you see the wide range of coffee makers you can choose from.

The drip coffee makers and programmable brewers are the latest choice of many coffee lovers, while the stove-top percolators and vacuum style coffee makers are already set aside in many kitchens. With the many styles and features these new coffee makers have to offer, there is always that perfect one to suit your needs and budget.

Existence of different coffee machines only proves how different the preferences of people are when it comes to the coffee they drink. Knowing this, one has to consider his needs and preferences before rushing to buy a coffee maker.

Today, the most famous among the coffee machines is the automatic drip coffee maker. This type of coffee maker is very convenient to use. It works effectively to those who want their cups of coffee fresh and fast. In just a few minutes after putting in ground coffee and water, one can already enjoy sipping a hot drink. A drip coffee maker is an ideal option for home and office use. In fact, this type makes the most famous coffee drunk every day.

For those who prefer having different types of coffee to drink, the espresso machine is the ideal choice. It is great for espresso, latte, cappuccino and other specialty coffees. It is a good selection for home use if one prefers to taste different kinds of coffee or if the household members have different preferences in their coffees.

There are also the traditional types of coffee makers which other people still love and enjoy. The vacuum coffee makers and the stove-top Percolators and the French press are just some of those you can choose from if you fancy the manual coffee machines.

After knowing what you need and want in a coffee maker, it's time to check the capacity and quality of the item. Every coffee maker has its own brewing and content capacity. There are one-cup coffee machines and there are those which can contain four, five and even up to twelve cups of coffee. Single-cup coffee machines is a convenient choice for busy people who can carry their cups right after brewing.

A fresh cup of coffee requires freshly ground coffee beans. This is basically the reason why many high-end coffee machine manufacturers developed and incorporated grinders with their products. There are also coffee machines with programmable timer and flavor selection system features. Of course, these types cost a lot compared to the traditional coffee makers.

There are also different ways to shop for your coffee maker. You have the option to do it online or through the conventional way. Whichever way you choose, you will definitely have different brands and models. Price range will also vary. Expect single-cup coffee machines to be the inexpensive ones and those top of the line coffee machines with unique and new features to cost a lot. Prepare to pay more if you choose the high end machines with features like water filter, built-in grinder, and double thermal carafes. Checking out coffee maker reviews will help a lot if you opt to use the latest types.

Coffee has always been a popular beverage and choosing the best coffee maker has been a great deal for many people. Everyone prefers to drink the type of coffee they really love and so they have to take coffee maker selection very seriously.