Electric Coffee Makers Guide
Electric coffee makers are found in just about every home. Even people who do not drink coffee use them to make a quick pot of tea. They can be very cheap costing only $20 at the low end working their way up to much more expensive. They come with many options to make lives easier and to allow delicious gourmet coffee to be enjoyed at home.
The coffee machine has improved the taste of coffee and simplified the clean up process. The water is poured into the back of the machine and is heated to just the right temperature before it is sprayed over the coffee grounds in a filter in the top of the machine. As the water seeps through the coffee, delicious aromatic liquid is collected in a pot below. The pot sets on a hot plate that keeps the coffee warm until consumption.
There are a number of different electric coffee makers available. The cheaper ones do not usually last very long, are noisy and have no extra features. The best electric coffee makers cost hundreds of dollars but they are much better quality and last for many years.
A very handy feature is the coffee machine with the delay brew option. It is so nice to crawl out of bed at 5 am and have the coffee ready. It really helps to get the day going. Another feature that should be included in all coffee makers is the automatic shut-off. There is nothing like getting to work and remembering that the coffee maker is still on. It will have to stay on all day and there will be a mess to clean up later.
One of the best small electric coffee makers currently is the Keurig single cup machine. It uses patented technology to make one cup of perfect coffee at a time. A small sealed canister called a K-Cup is inserted into the pot and just enough water is heated and passed through the canister to make one cup. Clean up is as simple as throwing away the canister. There are no filters and messy used coffee grounds to worry about.
Electric coffee pots come in single serve versions like the Keurig model or also in four-cup versions. These look just like the larger models that make twelve cups but are much smaller. They hold less water, have a smaller basket and filter, and make only four cups of coffee at a time but they come with all the features of larger models.
Accessories for electric coffee makers are limited. One of the neatest accessories is the reusable coffee filter. It is available for all machine models including the Keurig so you need never run out of filters again. Simply wash the filter and re-use. The Keurig also has special holders for the K-cups it uses.
Electric coffee makers are convenient and affordable. They use very little electricity so it is tempting to have a pot of coffee ready at all times. Coffee that sits on the burner too long evaporates and just does not taste as good as a fresh pot. So consider how much coffee will be consumed at one time when purchasing a new coffee maker. It may be better to spend a little more and get a Keurig.