Thursday, January 8, 2009

Coffee Makers And Coffee Grinders

By Nick Frykas

From the regular drip coffee maker to the old fashioned coffee perker, and even the gourmet espresso machine, coffee makers and grinders are a common kitchen gadget. Many people around the world love a fresh cup of home brewed coffee, and they like to have it on hand for guests or in the morning to go with breakfast. There are many ways to brew a fresh coffee, some requiring more work than others.

In automatic drip coffee makers, pre-ground coffee is placed in a paper or metal filter, which is over top a glass coffee pot. Cold water is heated and runs down through the coffee grounds, to produce freshly brewed coffee. These coffee makers are pretty easy to find in any department store, and have a 4 to 10 cup capacity. The coffee grounds are very economical to buy at the grocery store.

Single serving coffee makers are now available, which take a small packet of coffee grounds like a tea bag. The main advantage to these are that a single cup of joe can be made quickly, and there are many flavors and varieties available. Houses needing several cups at once won't find these machines as useful or economical.

Another popular tool for making small amounts of coffee is the coffee plunger, or French press. You place the coffee and hot water together, leaving it to brew for a few minutes, then push the plunger to the bottom to separate the grounds from the coffee. Since French presses don't use paper filters that would remove the oils and sediment with the grounds, French pressed coffee can be stronger and thicker than drip-brewed coffee.

Purists might tell you that the only 'real' coffee is an espresso or cappuccino. These stronger coffees are made with coffee grounds that are finer and contain more sediment, which gives the stronger flavor. A special espresso machine is required, which may also have a milk steamer built into it. The espresso machine works by forcing hot water under high pressure through the grounds.

You need a way to grind fresh coffee beans at home if you want the full flavour and aroma from your coffee beans. Of the coffee grinders on the market, most of the cheaper ones have steel blades. A better choice might be a burr grinder, which is a step up from the steel bladed variety.

I purchased a wonderful coffee machine with a built in coffee grinder. It also has a timer, so I put all the ingredients in the night before. About 10 minutes before I get up, the grinder kicks in. By the time I get out of bed, my coffee is ready for me. Doesn't that beat making it in the morning?

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