I love Melitta drip - growing up it was the way that my Mom always made coffee (Folgers). I have a Melitta too for when we have large gatherings and require a full 8 cups, for just my wife and me we use a 4 cup French press and get maybe 4 cups from it between us. I also have a spare Melitta in the cupboard in case the first one breaks or god forbid they stop selling them in the new reality of one-shot keurigs - bought it for $4.99 from some close out store. #4 filters are great too, but long ago I bought a gold filter that presumably leeches less of the acids or bases or something that alters the taste of the coffee oh so incrementally. I can't really tell anymore but at least there's no paper filter to throw away. As I say I prefer the sediments, something to chew on.

I am amazed at some of the coffee folks who get really excited over the best way to make a cup of joe. So much of it is context - I would crawl across hot coals for another cup of Folgers on a cold winter morning, made by my Mom. And even Starbucks Via instant at sunrise up on Mt. Stuart can't be beat. I roast my own beans in a $50 roaster and do pretty darn well if I say so myself, but even that has taught me to appreciate some of the local coffee roasts, especially Café Vita. Half art and half commerce - otherwise its just coffee.

If the penny stock portfolio ever goes way up instead of way down, I would love to mess with a Clover. Alas, a pipe dream. But there are two coffee shops within driving distance that have Clovers, so all is not lost.

But context is enormous. And ritual. I recall a place where I would camp and hike just after the big thaw. Good grounds and spring water, over a white gas stove, in my old enamel coffee pot, and the the thing would erupt all over the second I turned my back. Cue the cursing. And then it would sit and settle, and I would pour a big black cup, and ... one very special morning ... stroll up the creek, the spring melt roiling over the rocks, and sit perfectly still on a boulder, watching a harlequin duck working the eddies with perfect ease and grace. That, my friends, is magic; that is the best cup of coffee I have ever shared.

This is one of our most cherished pieces of equipment! Simple and effective.

These work well with coffee too,actually real well....muslin or cotton choices out there

http://www.amazon.com/Thai-filter-stainl...ywords=tea+sock



Thai tea filter stainless steel / muslin
by Importfood
Price: $3.32
This tea filter is made of stainless steel and muslin
The top is a circle 5 inches in diameter, and a handle 5 inches long
The mulsin filter is nice and long (8 inches) so it holds the tea well
Usually in preparation the tea is placed in the filter, then it's twisted a coupe times to keep it together

You all got me interested in those "pour-over coffee drippers".

After a bit of internet research, I found that this particular model is very highly rated for beginners at "pour-over brewing" to use (less technique is required): Bonmac #2 Filtercone. See How Ceramic Coffee Drippers Stack Up

Unfortunately, shipping costs nearly as much as the item itself, so I found a substitute at a local Starbucks: Starbucks Classic Pour-Over Brewer

The Starbucks version has the same single small hole in the bottom as the Bonmac does. And it's ceramic like the Bonmac. It is this single small hole that is said to make it easier for beginners. The large hole and multi-hole versions reportedly require some practiced user technique to get things brewed just right. The small single hole version is supposedly more forgiving of poor pouring technique.

I already have an electric kettle which takes the water up to boiling. That's going to give me the hottest coffee possible in my office at work. Internet searching turned up recommendations to pre-heat the coffee dripper, and not to fill it full, as methods to preserve heat. Pour smaller amounts of water slowly to keep the level down. Or, go ahead and fill it, but put a cover over the top to retain heat.

We'll give it a try tomorrow morning!

p.s. - I do have a Bodin coffee press, had it for years, and it makes good tasting coffee. However, what comes out is the coldest coffee of all the makers I own. The press has been demoted to car camping duty because of the lack of warmth of the brew.

Did some trials this morning with my new coffee dripper and the electric kettle.

At my altitude for 5300 feet, water boils at 202 degrees F (calculated, not measured). Right at the perfect temperature for making coffee. I did a test with the manual dripper, poured for speed - to give the hottest temperature after brewing, not necessarily the best coffee extraction. Just to see what the maximum coffee temperature I could expect would be. I also pre-heated everything with boiling water and used a cover over the dripper to retain heat during the test.

Result: 168 degrees F.

Summary (at my altitude of 5300 feet):
---

Standard drip coffeemaker (Mr. Coffee, etc.) - 158 degrees
Manual coffee dripper (best case: preheating everything, using a cover, pouring for speed) - 168 degrees
Kuerig coffee maker set to hottest temperature - 178 degrees

Even when using the hottest method, the Kuerig, I still require a microwave to get the final temp up to my liking after adding refridgerated liquid creamer. The Kuerig temp would be OK if using powdered creamer (yeuch) or pre-heated liquid creamer (preheating the creamer would require a microwave in and of itself).

Conclusion: I need to use a microwave in some capacity to reach my desired drinking temperature, no matter what the brewing method. No way around it.

I did not try my French press during this test. I already know from previous experience that the resulting coffee temperature is lowest of all other brewing methods.

Additional notes: You need to use more coffee grounds for a manual dripper than for a standard drip coffeemaker. Of all the brewing methods, the Kuerig is the most convenient, the fastest, the easiest to cleanup, and the hottest. It is also the most expensive and the most wasteful (the little K-Cups it uses are not currently biodegradeable, I don't think).

I cannot really comment much on what tastes the best. That depends on the brand/type of ground used. But ignoring that extremely important point, since I did not have the same coffee grounds in the Kuerig as in the other methods, I do prefer the coffee made by the Kuerig (given my preferred choice of "Extra Bold Dark Roasts"). Second place is the manual dripper, but it is close to the Kuerig. Last place is the standard Mr. Coffee type coffeemaker, which is far behind the others. It is valid to compare the manual dripper taste results to the Mr. Coffee taste results, because I used the same coffee for each (albeit a higher volume of coffee grounds in the manual dripper). The manual dripper tastes better. But also takes more attention and work. The Mr. Coffee type makers usually have a warming plate to keep coffee warm for a longer time, whereas the manual dripper does not, if that is important to you. I tend to drink what I brew quickly, I mostly brew only one mug at a time, so a warming plate is not something I care about.

Thanks everybody for all the suggestions!

For the Keurig, you can use a Reusable K-Cup coffee filter, your favorite coffee and get less waste, just toss the grounds and reuse.

A French press is good for work but you can look at all your available options for coffee makers at the Daily cuppa coffee store online : http://www.dailycuppacoffee.com/coffee-maker-machine-home-office-commercial. Their products are affordable and I hope you find the hottest coffee.

The Aerobie Aeropress can work very well with the right variety of coffee and some attention to detail. It's simple and affordable. Perfect if you like espresso-style. I suggest you inquire, perhaps locally, about the grind that works well with the Aeropress. Get someone who knows and cares. Don't get the average salesperson.

Keurig is a fancy toy that makes making coffee fun, easy, and hands-off. However, if you, like me, care about the taste, usually you'd want to control every step of the process.

Some people also really like Chemex. Who can blame them? It makes good coffee, and it's pretty enough to make its way into a art museum. Again, some skill is required.

I use aluminum espresso makers. They make the coffee really hot and the actual brewing is fast so the coffee is not as hard on the stomach as coffee from dripping filters or java press and it keeps the grounds reliably out of the brew.
When you like cream or milk in the coffee, I would not recommend the french press. You always have very fine grounds in the coffee. The fat drops keep the grounds afloat. Some do not like the feel of the grounds in the mouth.