Myrgthe Junior Member Joined: 5 Mar 2013 Posts: 2 Location: Northern Sweden
Espresso: Ms Silvia Grinder: Baratza Preciso Roaster: Generic air popper
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 3:39am Subject: Drip machine with built in grinder
Greetings coffee geeks! After lurking here for several years, I decided to post since my question is so specific and see if I get any ideas.
I'm currently in the United States visiting my father. The coffee at the house is beyond dreadful. In order to survive, I have a Hario mini mill and Handpresso for shots and use his (*shiver*) blade grinder plus my Aeropress for a morning cup. He's starting to taste that the ashy, dishwater he calls coffee has a lot of room for improvement, but unless the coffee falls out of the sky into his lap - he won't put any more effort into the process than he is now. (Commercially roasted coffee, blade grinder, Mr. Coffee drip machine)
I maybe searching for an impossible animal, but here is my wish list:
In summary - Decent drip machine with built in burr grinder
Feature wish list
Hottest brew temperature, but still within the range of a decent brew (My dad wants to scald his tongue.....)
Single cup brewing (Mom drinks tea)
If single cup is not possible, thermal carafe
Reasonable price
An "obvious" answer would just be to buy him a capsule machine. The problem is the old man will start obsessing on the per-cup price and end up reverting back to his current method.
My brother and I would like to chip in together and get him set up properly, but obviously don't want to break the bank.
Something like Cuisinart DGB-625BC for $95 sounds too good to be true, but does anyone have any experience with these types of machines?
CMIN Senior Member Joined: 14 Jun 2012 Posts: 500 Location: South FL Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Baratza Preciso
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 6:34am Subject: Re: Drip machine with built in grinder
Only one I've seen with a built in grinder actually getting solid reviews from both users and pros, was the Breville Youbrew but I think its around $250. Neighbor actually has one, works great for drip.
Myrgthe Junior Member Joined: 5 Mar 2013 Posts: 2 Location: Northern Sweden
Espresso: Ms Silvia Grinder: Baratza Preciso Roaster: Generic air popper
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 12:55pm Subject: Re: Drip machine with built in grinder
Thanks for the tips. I've checked them both out and they make me want one for that occasional simple cup of coffee!
I've confused myself even more because his coffee machine "sounds" nice and maybe the horrible quality in the coffee is really everything else besides the machine. Mr. Coffee
Before buying anything I'm going to try with some better coffee (He's using Starbucks extra-burned super-dark bitter special.. that's the actual name, right?) and tweak the coffee vs water ratio, increase the cups brewed, and maybe clean everything out really well too.
My brother's and my first idea was to just buy him a new grinder, maybe I should stay in that direction. One of the problems there is that my mom is pretty OCD about clean countertops, and I don't think she'll approve of another big machine up on the counter.
My final idea is pretty sneaky. Just buy him a capsule machine and tell him it came with those 300 or so capsules :-p Then every once in a while just buy him a few cases more. They don't have money problems but they get very price tag fixated :D
CMIN Senior Member Joined: 14 Jun 2012 Posts: 500 Location: South FL Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Baratza Preciso
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 2:10pm Subject: Re: Drip machine with built in grinder
Blade grinders suck even for drip or anything coarse. Heck try your Hario with fresh beans and you'll see a big difference, don't know much about that MrCoffee but I know my neighbors Breville Youbrew is temp stable and some nifty features, and I'm sure the Capresso posted above is decent as well. If you want to just keep that machine, you could get a Baratza Encore which rocks for coarse needs. Fresh roasted beans though are a must. Fiances fam thinks Charbucks beans are the greatest thing ever (even storing them in the fridge in those huge costco bags ughhh). Found a roaster by them and bought some beans, they couldn't believe the difference.
kschendel Senior Member Joined: 7 Nov 2008 Posts: 267 Location: Pittsburgh Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Maestro Roaster: Freshroast
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 2:38pm Subject: Re: Drip machine with built in grinder
We owned the previous version of the Capresso grind-and-brew for years. It's not a bad machine. The grind path to the basket was a bit too long, so that the first brew of the day would have a fraction of stale grounds in it, but until you start putting good beans through it you'd never notice. I think the latest design might be slightly better in that regard.
I agree that the best first step might be to clue him in to decent, fresh, non-burned-out beans. Otherwise you're just bringing out the ashy taste (ugh).
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 