Best carafe drip machine? Go Japanese
For as long as I've been involved in specialty coffee, even I "drank the Kool-Aid" on this one! :coffee1:Knowing enough coffee science, in theory, three years ago I purchased the Capresso TM500. The Capresso and Technivorm brands are $160-$200 machines that most coffeegeeks know to brew at "proper temperature." (at the "geek end", each type of coffee has it's own optimal temperature, but in general, drip brewing at 200F is accepted as best general temp.)
The Capresso's "big deal?" As alluded to above, most coffee makers are lucky to present water temperatures as high as 185 F when they reach the filter basket. The Technivorm and Capresso brand purports to maintain a supply of 200 F water to the basket. So for coffeegeeks, that's a big deal, and narrows the field quickly. But as with all coffee brewing, "The chain is only as strong as the weakest link!"
So yes, three years ago I opted for the "highly recommended" Capresso MT500. It was more stylish than the Technivorm, and boasted a thermal carafe. How could I go wrong? Problem was, and is, the Capresso just doesn't produce truly hot coffee in the carafe on its' own. Herein lies the "weak link issue." We found we had to, and still do, pre-heat the carafe with either hot tap water or boiled water if available on the stove. So where's the convenience in that? While I can't speak to the Technivorm, I was told by Capresso that "best high temp results" are achieved when you make a full carafe of coffee. I guess it gives the machine a chance to pass enough water through its' innards to achieve that 200 F mark? Second weak link? The Capresso carafe has a screw on lid that's rediculously hard to manage. You either over-tighten or under-tighten. It's not well engineered. And it's a "dribble cup" joke. It doesn't pour evenly; it dribbles rather than pours accurately.
I firmly believe you have to use each machine to really know if it's right for you. But obviously we can't easily do that.... unless you have allot of friends who collectively own a huge variety of these drip carafe machines!?? (not likely, right?) So I went looking at reviews and posts in all the forums, and just recently came to the conclusion that the latest Zojirushi drip machine may be the answer! I read a review from a fellow coffee person who used a Middle Eastern single origin coffee as his test grind. He confirmed a properly extracted brew off this machine. And to add to that, I know Zojirushi more directly from not only the many small appliances they manufacture world wide, but from meeting the sales rep's at trade shows I've done. It's a well respected company.
So...... I say check out the Zojirushi Drip Machine w/Carafe! You'll find the latest model on Amazon.com at just under $70. I also saw from the many reviews that it's available from Costco.... or maybe, was available?
The carafe kept
