KDKA.com Consumer Web Extras
Feb 4, 2009 5:55 pm US/Eastern
Consumer Reports Rates Best Coffeemakers
(KDKA)
Every coffeemaker promises a pleasing cup of joe, but not every machine delivers.
And Consumer Reports figures that by brewing coffee at home instead of buying it to go you can save nearly $350 a year.
The experts with Consumer Reports devised tests to measure brewing temperature. And to get a good cup of coffee, researchers say brewing temperature should be between 195 and 205 degrees.
Bob Karpel, the lead tester at Consumer Reports, found that not all coffeemakers get hot enough to extract the best from the beans and avoid a weak or bitter brew.
"We found, during our new brewing tests, that many coffee makers - even some costing more than $100 - didn't perform nearly as well in these brew tests as others costing half that price," said Karpel.
In all, Consumer Reports tested 34 coffeemakers and found one of the most convenient models that reaches an excellent brew temperature is the programmable Michael Graves 12-Cup Coffeemaker. It's rated a Consumer Reports Best Buy and is available at Target for $40.
"The programmable feature is a really nice feature," says Karpel. "It allows the coffeemaker to start up in the morning before you wake up, so that you have coffee when you get up."
Also, testers say single-serving pod machines let you simply drop in a sealed packet of coffee with no grinding, no scooping and no mess.
However, Consumer Reports found the coffee to be pricey at 25 to 50 cents per pod, that's four times as much per cup as drip-coffee using supermarket brands.
Instead, they say to look at the Melitta Take2, which costs just $25 and brewed a superb cup of coffee quickly.
Consumer Reports also says consider trading the usual paper filter for a permanent metal one, which typically costs between $5 and $10 and can pay for itself in as little as a year.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Does It Really Do That? (Recent Reports)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments