Cozy home - How to choose a drip coffee maker

Among automatic coffee makers, the drip coffee maker seems to be the simplest option. Drip coffee makers can be quite budget-friendly, require almost no special skills, and brew quickly. How to choose a drip coffee maker and whether it is so simple in its device — we understand.

The coffee industry in Russia is experiencing a real boom: if we are already accustomed to the abundance of coffee houses, then the growing volumes of specialty coffee roasting are a trend of recent years. The thing is that the “Third wave of black coffee”, which began in the West in the 2000s, has reached Russia and covered the masses.

The new trend implies a change in attitude towards coffee: it is no longer just a consumer product, but an object of study and enjoyment. This approach is very eloquently reflected in the slogan of the new wave — «Attitude to coffee as to wine.»

With the advent of the trend, the so-called “filter coffee”, which is prepared in a drip coffee maker, sparkled with new colors. Mass market coffee producers make the most versatile product by producing dark roasted coffee. This coffee is ideal for preparing rich, tart, syrupy espresso, which then forms the basis of favorite milk drinks such as cappuccino or rafa with syrup.

However, in drip coffee makers, due to the long extraction time, the bean of this roast gave a bitter and flat taste. Local «specialty» roasters of the new wave began to experiment, producing coffee with a lighter roast. Such roasting in combination with the filter method of coffee preparation more fully reveals the flavoring properties of the grain.

By the way, this drink got its name from the method of preparation: hot water passes through ground coffee beans and then is filtered. The result is a drink without coffee grounds, with a light body (consistency) and a bright taste. With the right approach to the preparation and selection of grains, such a drink is very self-sufficient: no need to add milk or cream to soften the taste, and you can also do without sugar and syrups. Because filter coffee is a high-volume «black» coffee, it is often erroneously referred to as «americano». To be precise, an Americano is espresso diluted with a lot of water.

One way to make filter coffee is to use an electric drip coffee maker. On the one hand, this cooking method is quite simple and saves time. On the other hand, it guarantees a stable result due to the same brewing temperature and water supply intensity.

Drip coffee maker device

The drip coffee maker is arranged quite simply: water from the tank enters the heating element and, after heating under the pressure of the resulting steam, rises up the tube, spraying drops through the “shower” onto the ground coffee poured into the filter. Under the action of gravity, the drops pass through the coffee particles, extracting from it various substances that form the taste and aromatic characteristics of the drink: oils, acids, caffeine and others. Then the liquid is filtered from solid particles and enters the vessel with the finished drink. To maintain the temperature of the coffee, the vessel is placed on a heated plate.

More advanced models are distinguished by the presence of additional functionality, a display, up to the ability to control from a smartphone. Such functions make the cooking process simpler and more convenient, but at the same time lead to an increase in the cost of the device.

Characteristics of drip coffee makers

Volume

The first thing you need to decide when choosing a coffee maker is how many servings you expect to cook. Depending on the desired volume of finished coffee, the volume of the water tank, the size of the filter funnel, as well as the capacity for the finished drink will differ — from a pair of cups of 150 ml. to a large thermos of 1.5 liters. As a rule, the characteristics indicate the volume of the water tank, but there may be exceptions.

If the device is too small, then for a large company you will have to cook several times. It is also not worth taking a device with a reserve volume: the water supply rate is designed for uniform irrigation of a certain volume of dry coffee. If you put too little coffee (for one serving) and the water pressure is too strong, then the coffee will not have time to brew, and the drink will be too watery.

It is also worth considering that ground grain and a paper filter, if you use it, will absorb some of the water. So with the desired volume of the finished drink of 400 ml, it is worth taking a closer look at devices with a water tank from 600 ml.

Autoheating plate

If you decide on a large-capacity coffee maker, you may find it useful to keep the temperature of the finished drink. The auto-warming plate will maintain the temperature of the vessel even after the coffee has been brewed. As a rule, the stove is heated by the same element that prepares the water for making coffee, so it starts to heat up immediately when the appliance is turned on and remains hot for a while after it is turned off.

However, leaving coffee on such a platform for several hours owls are not recommended: at elevated temperatures, even the smallest particles of coffee continue to actively brew, giving off various substances, which will make the taste of the drink more bitter and flat.

Professional models can be equipped with a thermos instead of an auto-heating plate. In it, the drink remains hot, but the brewing process slows down. If the model is equipped with an auto-off, the stove heating will turn off automatically after a while (usually within an hour after the end of cooking). If there is no auto-off, the stove will remain hot all the time while the coffee maker is turned on.

Used coffee

Most drip coffee makers use ground coffee, making them more affordable than automatic coffee machines that have a built-in grinder. However, there are also drip coffee makers on the market with a built-in coffee grinder, for which you can use coffee beans. The aroma of freshly ground coffee is much brighter, but you will have to pay extra for this configuration. The anti-drip system is a valve that closes when the vessel with ready-made coffee is removed from the heating plate.

At the same time, the output of coffee stops, and if the preparation is still in progress, then the finished drink begins to accumulate in the funnel inside the coffee maker. When the container is put back, the valve opens and the accumulated coffee falls into the container. The option is convenient because it allows you to pour a cup of coffee without waiting for the end of the brewing cycle and the last drops to flow out.

But during the operation of the coffee maker, this option should be used with caution — if the vessel is not put back in time, too much liquid will accumulate above the valve, which can lead to malfunctioning of the coffee maker and even to its breakdown.

Some of the drip coffee makers even come with a cappuccino maker, a milk frother used in some coffee drinks like cappuccino or latte. The timer allows you to program coffee preparation at a specific time — for example, early in the morning. Then, by the time you wake up, a cup of hot coffee will be waiting for you (of course, if you don’t forget to add ground coffee and water in the evening).

Coffee makers with a timer, as a rule, are equipped with a display for greater convenience. In addition to showing the settings of the coffee maker, the display can show the current time.
And if you have a control function from your smartphone, you can even control the coffee maker remotely. Some models are even combined into a “smart home” system, however, this may additionally require a special gateway transmitter.

Adjusting the amount of hot water allows you to set the amount of coffee that the coffee maker will prepare in one cycle. Most simple coffee makers prepare a drink from the entire volume of the tank, which is not always convenient.

If at different times you need a different number of cups (for example, in the morning you drink coffee alone, and in the evening with the whole family), then you need to either pour a different amount of water into the tank each time, or immediately choose a coffee maker with adjustable portions of hot water. Automatic decalcification makes it easier to clean the coffee maker from scale.

If the water is hard, you should not forget about decalcification — scale impairs heat transfer between water and the heating element, which can lead to both water undercooling and failure of the heating element. The general principle of decalcification is the same for coffee makers with automatic descaling and for coffee makers without it: the water path is filled with a special acid that reacts with salt deposits, destroys them and washes them out of the appliance.

In coffee makers with automatic decalcification, it will be enough to put some recommended cleaning agent into the tank and start the program. At the same time, in simpler coffee makers, decalcification will have to be carried out independently — usually it consists of several starts of the coffee maker with the cleaning agent in the tank, and then without the agent.

The material of the vessel, as a rule, is combined: a glass tank with a plastic handle and a lid. There are also vessels made of steel and other metals, they perform the function of a thermos. And if you want to buy a coffee maker with cups, then you should look for ceramics.

Graduation of the flask will allow you to more clearly assess the number of prepared servings of coffee. In addition, you can use a flask to measure cold water before cooking, and a flask with serifs is more convenient to navigate. Don’t forget to add water with a small margin.

The type and material of manufacture of the filter is also of no small importance. Most coffee makers are equipped with reusable nylon or metal filters. Although they cope with the filtering of large particles, they can pass fine dust, which will give the drink a more “rough” consistency. In addition, they must be washed regularly with high quality, otherwise a poorly cleaned filter will slow down the rate of water flow, which again will affect the taste of coffee.

The best option is to purchase additional paper filters. They filter coffee grounds perfectly and are convenient to use because they are disposable: you can simply throw away the filter with extracted coffee without the need to rinse. Paper filters differ in size (#2 / 4 / 6 indicate the number of servings, respectively), and are also bleached or unbleached. The second option may give a slight papery aftertaste, but is more environmentally friendly, since bleaching agents are not used in its production.

The power of the coffee maker determines its performance and is more of a technical characteristic of the device than a functional one. As a rule, coffee makers th volume have more power and consume more electricity.

The type of heater also refers to the internal structure of the coffee maker. There are two main types. The boiler is a metal vessel of a certain volume with a heating element located inside. In the thermoblock, the water heats up while passing through its heat exchanger, thus heating up in small portions. The thermoblock can be compared to a flow heater. As a rule, the boiler is more thermally stable, and the thermoblock is faster heating. Considering that water is supplied in very small portions (drops) in a drip coffee maker, the thermoblock also demonstrates decent thermal stability due to the slow passage of water through it.

Selection Tips

If you want to be able to make filter coffee at the minimum price at the touch of a button, choose among simple drip coffee makers without unnecessary “bells and whistles”. Looking for a coffee maker for a large company? Then choose among models with volumetric tanks.

If you want to drink coffee from freshly ground beans, but do not want to bother with grinding, choose among coffee makers with a built-in coffee grinder. To keep coffee hot for a long time, choose among models with an auto-warming plate. If you add to this also the auto-off option, then you can not worry about the forgotten turned on electrical appliance. A coffee maker with a timer will allow you to schedule the start of preparation at a certain time.

For more information, choose devices with a display or with a smartphone control function. And we offer professionals and connoisseurs of quality to take a closer look at the flagships of the industry.