What Coffeemakers are Right for You?

This is a guest post by Jordan Mendys. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

I am a coffee fanatic. That is about how simply I can put it, but my love for coffee is something that has grown throughout the years. I was always fortunate to have parents that were also coffee nuts, so I was always exposed to quality. Through the years, I have also kept up with the new technologies that have come out to make coffee consumption easier, and I have to admit that some of these can be really cool. I personally own a coffee pot, a french press, and a Keurig coffee maker. While this may seem ridiculous to some people, I really see the value in each, and I have learned the utility of each. I do, however, realize that not everyone is as overly caffeinated and coffee dependent as myself, so below is a guide to finding what’s right for your home.

On Demand Coffee Makers

This is something that I think a lot of coffee lovers are skeptical about, and not without good reason. There has been a slew of on-demand coffee makers that have come out, and some aren’t up to their hype. Some of the ones out there are designed to try to make “coffeehouse drinks,” and while they do that in a sub-par fashion, they really fall short in the brands of coffee they can offer. But as I said, I have the Keurig coffee maker, and I really enjoy the brands they offer, but they also offer an option to load up your own coffee into the single cup maker so you can save some money and have more control over what you make. The advantages to these types of machines is that you can get fairly enjoyable coffee when you’re in a hurry or don’t feel the need to make a large amount of coffee. Personally, I do a lot of work on the internet, and it is nice to take a short break to grab a cup of coffee, and get back to work, now with a nice boost in hand.

The biggest drawback I see from this, other than the reliance on prepackaged pods, is that it is hard to entertain. I like to have people over, and have the ability to make coffee for every after dinner, or just because. With these machines, it just takes too long to reload everything and refill the water reservoirs to be convenient. But other than that, these machines, mainly the Keurig, can be a very convenient and enjoyable machine to have.

Coffee Makers

There typically is not too much of a shortcoming to coffee makers. Most now a days are extremely easy to use, and you don’t have any restrictions on coffee being used like with the pod coffee makers, and you have more control over the strength. I really enjoy using the coffeemaker at my house when my wife and I entertain guests and there is a need to make multiple cups of coffee. Also, for the most part, coffeemakers work really well, and you can really make some good coffee.

My biggest drawback with any coffeemaker though, and not too many have a remedy for this to my knowledge, is that some coffeemakers can be inaccurate with measuring out the amount you want to make. For instance, you want 6 cups, you might get 4.5. While this is not a big issue when entertaining guests and making a lot of coffee, it is the reason I don’t use my coffeemaker in the morning on my way out the door. I don’t like thinking that I will make a good cup to go, and then end up with half as much as I wanted. It’s not a huge setback, and can sometimes be compensated for, but when I need coffee, I am not usually too tired to calculate out compensations for my machine.

French Press

This is hands down the best way for anyone to enjoy coffee. I don’t find too many coffee lovers that don’t prefer the taste of french press coffee over any other method. For me it’s the simplicity of just adding water to coffee, and not needing a machine intervention for my coffee. This is great for the start to any weekend morning when you have the time to sit back and relax with a book or newspaper. I prefer the french press when I have time because I correlate to slower pace of making the coffee with relaxing in the morning, and not the hectic rush of my everyday work life. Most french presses are extremely easy to use as well, but given the restriction of size of the press pot, it’s normally perfect for my wife and I, but not to bring out on occasions where people are over. The time factor is truly the biggest drawback of having the french press as your main source of making yourself coffee, especially when you account for cleaning it over throwing filter away. But if you have the time, the quality is definitely noticeable, and the best way for coffee lovers to enjoy their favorite beans.

I hope that this quick break down can help coffee drinkers of all tastes with any of their purchases. There truly is an advantage to just about any coffeemaker on the market today, but only if it provides values to you. There may not be any value to sacrificing quality for convenience, or you might not have time in your morning for other methods. Hopefully you can use the above information to help you find what’s right for you.

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Jordan Mendys is a media professional from North Carolina. In his free time he enjoys reading and writing, as well as hiking with his wife. Visit him at JordanMendys.com.

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