Coffeemaker just steams- the fix

[DerbyDad03]

My previous "space maker" was probably just like yours with a square tank. I forget why I replaced it, but it was old and something went bad on it that I couldn't fix. The replacement was the style I recently tossed and at first I thought the resulting extra space under the tank would be nice. Unfortunately, with all the dripping, the only thing we kept underneath it was a cloth placemat to absorb the water.

I like the Gevalia with the thermal carafe that we're using now (we got it free many years ago with a order of coffee) but it only does 8 cups. It makes good coffee and the thermal carafe keeps it fresh, but it doesn't have a timer. I also want to keep it as a spare and as a "travel pot" when we go cabin camping, etc.

[DerbyDad03]

One permutation you didn't mention was filter style. Some say (and I agree) that cone filters are better than decanter (flat bottom) filters. With the grounds concentrated at the bottom of the cone, more flavor is extracted.

Then there's paper vs. metal, white vs. natural, bleached white vs. natural white, etc.

Here's a pretty good write-up on filter choices:

[Vic Smith]

Yeah, I've tried all I've heard of. Used cone and decanter, bleached, unbleached. They all made good coffee - to me. A lot is just psychology. If you think natural is better than a white, it will be if you know about it. The fact will be in your head when you take the first sip. Only thing I'm sure about is a paper filter absorbs something that I don't care for in my coffee. Because my dad uses a gold filter and I've tried them myself, and there's a bitterness or acidity in the brewed coffee that I don't care for. Personal taste. Coke, no Pepsi. Vernors Ginger Ale, not Canada Dry. etc.

[DerbyDad03]

I'm not sure if you read the section on paper vs. permanent filters at that site, but everything you say about paper being the better filter is true.

Finer grounds can be used, therefore more flavor. Bitter sediments are filtered out. Cholesterol raising oils are filtered out.

Not to mention how much of a PITA it is to clean the metal filters. We rented a house in the Outer Banks this summer. The coffee maker had a metal filter and the house was on septic. How the heck do you clean the metal filter without letting some grounds go down the drain?

When we went to the store I picked up paper filters to use for the week.

[Doug]

This almost sounds like the old Perculator method of making coffee.

[DerbyDad03]

quoted text -

Actually, Jon's method is closer to the French Press method than percolated (not perc-u-lated) coffee.

Percolated coffee still uses a basket and strainer, sort of like a drip coffee maker, but the difference is that a drip maker drips plain water through the grounds while a percolator drips (recycles?) coffee through the grounds as it boils up through the stem.

A French Press forces water through the grounds with no filter used. See here:

Both Jon's method and the French Press method is known as "steeped" coffee. Jon filters his grounds out, while a French Press simply pushes them to the bottom of the pot.

See here for more ways to make coffee:

[Doug]

I tried this tonite and while it did taste a little smoother, I probably won't do it again. But it was interesting because it taught me that should my coffee maker go kaput, I can still enjoy my coffee doing it this way and not go into coffee withdrawals. Thanks for this info.

[Wes Groleau]

When I was in San Diego, I brought into the office a can of coffee I had bought in Mexico. Coworkers kept telling me how bad it tasted.

I found an empty Folgers can, dumped it all into that and a miracle happened. It became great coffee.

[john.turnbull]

Thanks for posting this! Just fixed my coffee maker. I was ready to go buy a new one this morning. No need now.

[Fred McKenzie]

John-

What kind of coffee maker? What was the problem, and how did you fix it?

Fred

[hubops]

Maybe related to this 2012 thread in google groups ? .. or maybe not - who knows ... ?

John T.

[TimR]

He found a meat thermometer with a battery problem in the drawer.

[Fred McKenzie]

I found the same Google posting. It started 11/7/12 and ends with our postings here. I wonder if Jim Elbrecht is still around?

Fred

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On Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:11:51 -0400, Fred McKenzie posted for all of us to digest...

Haven't seen him here in a long time.