My coffee maker is on the fritz again. I can’t seem to get more than a few years out of even the most expensive model. Clearly I must be doing something wrong. Not everyone buys a new coffee maker every three years or less. I’ve
had the no-frills version (lasted the longest – five years before the burner broke), a fancy version that brewed into a thermal carafe (it could be counted on to overflow at an inconvenient time), expensive models with timers and all sorts of bells and whistles.
And then I have this cup-top brewer. I think I paid a couple of bucks for it. I know it was less than three, anyway. It works Every. Single. Time. There’s nothing to break. If I want to make a cup of coffee for a friend who doesn’t prefer that her coffee be strong enough in which to stand a spoon, why, I can make her a cup her way. It doesn’t take any longer to make a cup of coffee than a cup of tea, it’s fresh each time you make it and you’re not mindlessly drinking too much coffee because there’s a full pot around. (Goddess of Java, I may be, but I have a human liver that shouldn’t be asked to absorb too many drugs too often).
I am so disgusted with coffee makers, I swear I think I am going to buy the ten cup version (which is still cheaper than almost any automatic coffee maker on the market) for those rare occasions when I need ten cups of coffee all at once. For parties, I can pour it in my thermal pump pot and be done with it.
Oh, you aren’t the only one who bought a new coffee maker every few years. I did, too. And I did the exact same thing you did. Melitta single cup brewer (I have the bigger one as well). I’ve had them both for at least 10 years. Mine is white, so it’s a little stained from the coffee, but in perfect condition.
By the way, Alton Brown and Cook’s Illustrated say this is the best way to brew coffee.