More coffee maker musings

In my search for a good coffee maker, I thought I'd ask you guys.  Amazon and google are failing me.

I'm thinking about going back to a single-serve coffee maker, but I don't like the wasteful and expensive plastic pods.  I can use the filter basket, but it doesn't make very good coffee and it's also not very good coffee that way.  It is also a lot of time investment to get the beans, grind a single-serving portion, then clean the basket for one cup of coffee.

I always marvel at the automatic espresso machines at places like Starbucks where you load beans in the top.  Then all they have to do is press a button; it grinds, packs, brews, and disposes of the grounds automatically.  I don't need a $20k machine that does all of that, but I wondered if there was a coffee maker that stores beans and grinds and brews a small amount of coffee.  Budget is under $200.

I have seen the grinder-in-basket brewers, but it still requires a fair amount of prep.  That is only one step less than grinding it in a separate grinder and using a traditional drip brewer.  I want to put water and beans in a machine, press a button and get 10-14 oz of coffee, then empty the basket and repeat the next day.  Does it exist?

purchase nespresso.

enjoy.

That still uses disposable cups though.  Convenient, but not eco friendly.

Is this in the too much work category?  https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Coffeemaker-Automatic-Removable-Included/dp/B00W1V7KSQ/ref=sr_1_29?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540222180&sr=1-29&keywords=coffee+maker+with+grinder

I think this is why Starbucks exists.  Coffee snobs, er connoisseurs, want good coffee without the hassle --> Starbucks

I went the opposite direction: an Aeropress is totally manual but totally great. Takes a couple minutes but nowhere near as long as a regular coffee maker. Grind beans, put filter in aeropress, beans in aeropress, pour in hot water, stir, wait 30 seconds, and press. Rinse it all out and you're done. The coffee is 1000x better than Starbucks swill.

Also, very cheap:

https://www.amazon.com/AeroPress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK

$30. Add in a nice tea kettle for heating the water and you're still only around $50.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Stainless-Steel-Electric-Kettle/dp/B072DWYBL7

szeis4cookie said:

Is this in the too much work category?  https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Coffeemaker-Automatic-Removable-Included/dp/B00W1V7KSQ/ref=sr_1_29?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540222180&sr=1-29&keywords=coffee+maker+with+grinder

Not really.  that's the closest thing I've found.  Thanks

Handful of coffee beans, cup of boiling water. Chew up the beans, drink the hot water. Good enough for great-grandma, good it enough for you.

Single serve coffee is pretty much ruled by pods now. All the auto-grind makers I've ever seen end up being a PITA eventually as things break.

French press maybe, but that still requires you to grind the coffee and run it through the wash each time.

We have had a Cuisinart DGB 900 for a couple years and love it. Dump beans in top, pour water in, set your preference, then drink the coffee. Minimal maintenance and brews from 2 to 12 cups. Ours has an insulated carafe. A similar model has a heater to keep the coffee warm.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB-900BC-Thermal-Automatic-Coffeemaker/dp/B000T9XPHC?pldnSite=1

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-12-Cup-Coffeemaker-CM5000B/dp/B00LU2I46E/ref=sr_1_11?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1540223369&sr=1-11&keywords=coffee%2Bmaker%2Bwith%2Bgrinder&th=1

You can make a single cup of coffee with the one I suggested last time. I do it all the time. It says the minimum grind is for 4 cups but it's more like 16 oz or so. Perfect for a travel mug. And the clean up portion is I rinse the grounds off of the three plastic parts (the wire filter, the little bucket the filter sits in, and the cover the contains the grounds in the filter basket. Takes 30 seconds to rinse off and to rinse the carafe.

In reply to Curtis :

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/accessories/original/recycling

They are recyclable for free.  It's what I do.

Bunn VPR.

AAZCD said:

We have had a Cuisinart DGB 900 for a couple years and love it. Dump beans in top, pour water in, set your preference, then drink the coffee. Minimal maintenance and brews from 2 to 12 cups. Ours has an insulated carafe. A similar model has a heater to keep the coffee warm.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB-900BC-Thermal-Automatic-Coffeemaker/dp/B000T9XPHC?pldnSite=1

We have this one as well.  I was originally kinda pissed that "we" bought a coffee maker this expensive, but it has actually saved us money.  I had mornings where I wouldn't wake up in time to make coffee before I left for work, but there was a Starbucks on the way.  Starbucks ain't cheap.  Obviously, discipline and self-control would have been cheaper, but that wasn't going to happen.  I set this up at night, and it makes pretty decent coffee.

Curtis said:

That still uses disposable cups though.  Convenient, but not eco friendly.

They are aluminum, and can be sent back to Nespresso for recycling.  That's what we do with the pods.

Some friends have one of these:

Nope, it's not cheap... but it makes incredible coffee/espresso.

There are two excellent and extremely inexpensive options depending on if you want espresso(ish) or coffee.

A moka pot or a french press. 

Zero consumables. I compost the beans. As eco friendly as you can heat the water. The taste is better than anything.

In reply to tuna55 :

A third to add to that is an aeropress.  Although, you have a paper disk to throw away.  But it decomposes with the coffee nicely.

Glass cold brew pot, heat coffee if desired.  No machines

Ill add another vote for nespresso. Not exactly cheap, but good coffee.

thanks for all the pointers.  You narrowed it down nicely to 20 options from 2000 :)

For the aeropress users amongst us, you can get a reusable mesh filter if you don't like the throwaway paper ones. 

My brother likes that hateful drink.  I watch him plug in the kettle, grind whatever quantity of beans is right, and use a tapered paper filter in a cone over a large mug to get all the beany ickiness.  He can brew it thick enough that he adds water to the tar like substance to thin it out.

As you may be able to tell, I can't give any input as to flavour, other than my personal assumption that it's horrifyingly bad.  He seems happy, though.

In reply to Curtis :

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/accessories/original/recycling-bag

free!  small hassle to order.

The coffee is way better than Keurig AND you can empty the machine of water when you want.  Combine this with a french press and you should be good to go.

Couple of things....

There are a few companies that make fill your own nespresso capsules, as well as some that sell the foil so that you can reuse the nespresso aluminum capsules, as well.

Also, there's a device called the ROK espresso machine, which is a hand run espresso maker.  Not just a press like the areopress, but one where the mechanical advantage is high enough to be closer to real espresso.  Check that out, too.

I'm more concerned about the making of a single cup at a time. I make a 10 cup pot a day...for myself...even on my days off.