Drip Coffee Makers - super simple, super cheap

[@TechnologyConnections]

Don't hold back on those coffee opinions! It boosts engagement :)

[@Lamiishere]

Cringe af’

[@nite97m]

Crying at that first blade grinder.... it hurts to see even mediocre coffee destroyed in such ways...

[@BikingWIthPanda]

Americans just love acting like they're the centre of the universe, which is why they're always so surprised to find out that Canadian culture is... actually very different

[@keco185]

Can’t wait for your videos on the espresso machine, Aeropress, etc.

[@howwitty]

The stock footage at 3:26 made the talk about beans more tolerable somehow.

[@Nikiaf]

I feel like you’ve opened the door to explore espresso machines now. It would make for a good video anyway, there’s a lot of mechanical goodness happening inside.

[@Ancyker]

Especially in the fully automatic ones. They are basically witchcraft.

[@dspiffy]

Would definitely watch this. The only two YT channels I watch are this one and James Hoffman.

Most of the electromechanical stuff on this channel are pure gold to watch so yeah, I'm also voting for this.

[@Leo9ine]

Yeah! I wanna know how mine works

[@orbitingancient]

Lucky whores~

[@hrsuiter5605]

I am an Old Geezer and I remember the invention of the Mr. Coffee drip coffeemaker. One thing you did not mention is the prevalence of instant coffee during the time before Mr Coffee. Between the years of the late 1950's and the early 1970's in office break rooms, the ubiquitous instant coffee and an electric percolator used to keep hot water warm was the de facto standard. There wasn't any time to use anything else during the week. It is no wonder that people loved perked coffee during the weekend, in spite of it easily scorching if not carefully watched. Even perked was so much better than the instant garbage they usually drank. When Mr. Coffee machines were introduced, coffee lovers saw light from heaven. They could make a pot fast at the office, and it didn't taste like bilgewater. Another thing you did not mention on the later versions is the handy little spring that allows you to take a quick cup even though the coffeemaker is not done.

[@melmoomlem7321]

Nah forget the auto stop mechanism, shove the mug directly under the stream of fresh coffee and simultaneously try to pour from the pot at the same time. 😁

[@edwinsalisbury83]

@@melmoomlem7321 too messy

[@natewalker4666]

I was also waiting for the auto drip stop feature to be mentioned

[@korkee1111]

My Great Uncle invested in the Mr. Coffee and swore to the 200 degree thing his whole life. He was rich as hell and I remember him having a faucet in his house that put out exactly 200 degree water which was amazing in the mid 90s.

[@lucasrem]

hr suiter Melita you like? That is not Coffee, some other drink u got used to drink.

[@captainevenslower4400]

As a central European: we have both an electric kettle AND a coffe maker. Since we can't decide which hot brown we want at any given day.

[@KainYusanagi]

Canadian here: We just use the drip coffee maker's boiling function if we only have that, for large volumes; toss the teabags into the carafe and let it run. If it's loose leaf, treat it like coffee grounds.

[@termitreter6545]

Yeah, electric kettles are so useful. Sometimes for instant coffee if Im too lazy for the coffee maker, or tea, or preheat water for some dish, maybe cooking noodles, etc.

[@forton615]

@@termitreter6545 Instant coffee? Oh dear... 🙂

[@captainevenslower4400]

@@whocares281 not to speak of the frankly AWFUL environmental aspect of those aluminum capsules.

[@termitreter6545]

@@forton615 Hey, sometimes theres emergencies, or worse, laziness :D But yeah coffee from the machine is way better, even cheap coffee.

[@Johnsonicv]

The look of that original Mr. Coffee machine is phenomenal.

[@oliviersavard8676]

gotta love the 70s

[@k80_]

Since it’s just a plastic shell, I bet one could strip out the guts from the old one and insert a newer mechanism inside…. That might take wiring a new control panel into the side or something though.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

Agreed.

[@leonthayne]

@@k80_Frankly, you could probably 3D print a coffee maker shell out of food-grade ABS. Would be really spiffy.

[@k80_]

@leothayne you’re right, it looks like one color of cheap molded plastic and the woodgrain is just a decal.

[@chocococolatte3303]

This man could make a whole 2 hour documentary on anything, and I would watch all of it.

just speed run thru his serie playlist, yeah, i did lol.

[@chocococolatte3303]

@ ikr even tho he talks about the most common things it is super entertaining

[@massimocole9689]

I went backup to check if the video was 2 hours or not cause he has such a knack for making long videos feel shorter I honestly wasn't sure.

[@blurglide]

I can’t wait for the deep dive into shower curtains!

[@stephenoconnor6180]

His series on video disks is about that long

[@DawnBriarDev]

"Big tubs because some families will absolutely get through it in a month." I have been promoted to the status of "a family." I don't feel lonely anymore.

[@jerelull9629]

According to Stouffers, I'm a "family of four".

[@DawnBriarDev]

@@jerelull9629 And 1 member of your family is that lovely beard.

[@jerelull9629]

@@DawnBriarDev Thx, but I got tired of that unruly bush and trimmed it down quite a bit; My wife says I look better this way, without the wild man of Borneo look. I should change my avi to match reality.

[@DawnBriarDev]

@@TheDredConspiracy I go through about 2 a month. Wife hardly drinks any coffee. If we ever divorce, I'm just going to tell everyone that was why.

[@mhammer3186]

Apparently I’m 2 families because I go through 2 of those a month😂😂

[@andljoy]

That bi-metal strip to control the water inlet is just genius. I love how limitations bring innovation.

[@H1tman47]

ehh, at a high level the idea is pretty similar to the car thermostat which was invented in 1934 according to Google.

[@sjdpfisvrj]

Bimetallic strips were the rage in those days actually, they were in toasters, fuses, hairdryers, you name it. It would have been surprising had they NOT used a bimetallic strip for it.

[@Najolve]

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from a video game. "All scientific advancement due to intelligence overcoming, compensating, for limitations. Can't carry a load, so invent wheel. Can't catch food, so invent spear. Limitations. No limitations, no advancement. No advancement, culture stagnates." -Professor Mordin Solus (Mass Effect 2)

[@andljoy]

@@jkeelsnc the attitude to crease a device (and software) should be that if you remove one feature it won't work for its intended purpose, if you add a feature that's not required for the intended function then it is bloat and complexity and should be removed

[@compzac]

@@H1tman47 yes at the very high level, the thermostat in your car uses a puck of wax and a spring and it doesnt so much limit the flow as start and stop it to allow the coolant in the radiator more time to get air blown over it, basically creating a temperature bias between the engine and the radiator, it also is the only thing that causes the temp gauge to get to a certain point then stop, when you take the thermostat out then drive without it, you see the gauge will float and fall all over the place since the regulation is just gone

[@HunterJE]

For years I was a daily full pourover snob, until earlier this year I happened to housesit a week for someone with an old school Mr. Coffee and was reminded how perfectly acceptable a daily cup that makes with so much less direct input. Now I drink automatic drip most days and only get out the chemex if serving coffee to a crowd (my daily is a small-carafe machine for limited counter space reasons) or if I feel like taking my time to do it "just right" on a weekend. Also so nice being able to set it on a timer and have it ready when I wake up on days when I know I'll have an extra busy or early morning. Never looking back. (Also the far bigger difference is the grind, I do feel a little silly using my hundreds-of-dollars burr grinder with my thirty buck coffee maker but really the former makes so much more of a difference than the latter)

[@justinhogue9861]

I've moved to using French press when I'm lazy.

[@zach2954]

Try moccamaster

[@moolate127]

​@@justinhogue9861 I've just been using a French press in general lately. My drip coffee maker sits sad and unused since I got it.

[@sunla]

Some months back, I watched your video "why don't Americans use electric kettles" and I remembered someone had gifted my husband and I one years back. I thought maybe I was misremembering, so I took a look, and I found it - still in the box and all. To be honest, I didn't really think about it before. My goodness, I've gotten literally daily use out of it since. It's so quick and easy to use. Thanks for the information and for enlightening me to these nifty things. I just came by this video, and remembered you, so I had to tell you!

[@GuardianTiger]

Nice 👍

[@blakksheep736]

Good to hear.

[@newagain9964]

Besides tea what else do you use the electric kettle for?

[@sunla]

@@newagain9964 glad you asked! I use it for a lot of different things, so I'll name a few. -to heat up boiling water to clean/sterilize surfaces -to sterilize and kill weeds and their seeds -to rapid boil water, and put it into a stovetop pot and crank up the heat to get a fast boil going for things like pasta -to put the boiled water into a tall stovetop deep-fryer pot (with metal basket), load up the basket with my chickens' eggs, then dip them and time it to pasteurize a dozen at a time -to make oatmeal easily, especially if the microwave is already in-use. Same for Ramen. Those are just a few great benefits to having an easy button-press kettle. It boils a decent amount of water in just a couple of minutes. You may need to sterilize water, or even have other uses. Hot water heat packs, etc etc the list goes on. I still use it every day, and I wrote that comment 4 months ago.

[@matasa7463]

@@newagain9964 In addition to the other answers, mine is: - using hot water in cooking process, where a bit of hot water added can help things. - straight up cooking stuff, like onsen eggs - instant noodles and various other instant foods - filling hot water bladders meant for stomach aches and muscle pains - I can use some hot water, mix it with cold water, and get a nice warm foot bath Those are some of the more common uses. I have also used them to do things like cleaning oils (extremely hot water helps to dissolve the oil more easily), melt butter and chocolate (put them into a container, and use the hot water as a bath), and sometimes even using a bit of hot water to heat up metal lids so the thermal expansion helps me open cans/jars easier. I use one of those hot water dispensers though, since my household drinks a lot of tea and other hot drinks.

[@MowLawner]

Drip coffee machines are the dishwashers of coffee makers. They're consistent, reliable, and effective AS LONG AS YOU USE THEM PROPERLY. If you weigh your coffee and use the same mass of coffee each time, the other variables will make a much bigger difference (bean freshness, how recent the beans were ground, whether you're using an insulated carafe). Plus, guess what I'm not doing while my drip machine is making coffee! Yep, you guessed it! Making coffee! Great vid, Alec.

[@johndododoe1411]

Would using a consistent volume of ground coffee substitute well for weighing a particular mass?

[@DasGanon]

@@johndododoe1411 Yes, but that puts the onus on the roaster/packager and the density and everything could vary based on import time, transit, farm of origin, etc. It's probably really close but it's like gasoline from crude oil. You may think it's all the same, but it's actually all because of lots of processing and treating that it behaves (and tastes) identically. Same with Beers, Wines and chocolates. And really this is because the base of all of these is plants, and no two individuals are alike (unless cloned or grafted). But yeah it's a way deeper "does it actually vary" than you'd think

[@davidfuller581]

@@johndododoe1411 No, not really. Different roast levels have different densities - lighter roasts expand less and offgas less during roasting.

[@MowLawner]

@@johndododoe1411 Yes and no- weighing it on a food scale is your absolute best bet, because it accounts for the total mass, whereas the volume can be affected by how tightly packed the measuring spoon is, how much air is in it, etc, but it is still gonna be more consistent than eyeballing it.

[@KevinJDildonik]

If you grind your own beans, you can boil water while you grind, and then Aeropress or French Press are zero extra investment of time or resources. If you don't grind, then sure, the math changes. The only thing drip coffee makers are best at is making A LOT of coffee with store bought grounds. If you have a family of people who all drink 2+ mugs a day, yeah, drip coffee makers make sense. And yes, they can utilize store bought grounds. But like, even just moving to a local roaster who will grind to your specifications... So much better. You do you. But most coffee snobs, more than anything, like the ritual. My fiancee now looks forward to the part of the trip when she wakes up and I'm hand grinding beans, and by the time she can sit up and clear her head, I have a perfect couple of mugs of Aeropress for us to share, maybe with a pastry I stole from the hotel breakfast. It's a whole thing. Maybe you don't want that whole thing. I get it. But it's a great part of my life, and I'd never go back to drip machines.

[@trep53]

Another great video! As a 71 yo male that started drinking coffee 63 years ago I have tried most variations of coffee brewing in the USA. What shaped my coffee tastes was a 15 cent vending machine cup of black (no sugar) coffee served in a paper cup with a poker hand printed on it. The claim was “High pressure, steam brewed”. It wasn’t too good. Then Mr. Coffee where developed and the vending machines disappeared.

[@bladactania]

The best thing about your videos is that they fly by. Most other videos that are this long tend to drag on, but yours seem so much shorter than their actual length. This is because you're so engaging and entertaining all while educating! Love your work, sir!

[@rodolforibas]

I know right? Its been half an hour already?

[@marcusdamberger]

He also works hard on writing an interesting script. A lot of it's about the prep, and he certainly does that as exampled by him looking at 50 year old patents to figure out how the original Mr. Coffee worked. Who does this? Alec does!

[@snorman1911]

It's because it's all interesting information delivered on a great way, while other channels pad their content with crap, repeat themselves, and take forever to get to the point to reach a certain video length.

[@lucasrem]

Way too long! he needs to tell the basics first, 20 sec 20 ml golden rules! then tell how crappy US people drink coffee! Mr Coffee and other crap is not they way! 5 minutes max, the bi metal machine, 5 for the Italian machines! that was enough.

[@AlleyKatt]

I agree. His videos may be long by KZbin standards but he still manages to leave me wanting more.

[@mattmorgan2525]

As a non-American who has only seen these things in movies, you have no idea how grateful I am that this video exists! Thank you for thoroughly sating my curiosity. :)

[@michaelcalvin42]

Until this video, I had no idea this was a uniquely American thing. These are an extremely common household appliance in this country.

[@Enkelados1]

@@michaelcalvin42 they are not. Literally every household in Germany has one.

[@Dargonhuman]

@@michaelcalvin42 So much so that most hotels in the US feature some sort of coffee brewing apparatus as part of the standard room amenities alongside minifridges, microwaves and towels. Even lower end hotels and motels that don't have things like room service or wetbars (like the one I work at) still have some sort of single-cup coffee option in the rooms.

[@michaelcalvin42]

@@Enkelados1 Thanks for the extra data point! It would be interesting to see a graph of countries broken down by kettle/coffee machine adoption.

[@amvin234]

These are absolutely ubiquitous in the US. Practically every home I visited growing up had one. And while they don't seem to be uniquely American (it seems a lot of German commenters say they're common over there too), it seems that they're not generally common in other countries, which is definitely a bit of a shock to me, but I guess not all that surprising the more I think of it. My guess is that, within Europe at least, they're probably not very common in the Romance-language countries where espresso-based drinks are more popular, and not common in the UK or Ireland (because, tea). As for countries outside of the US, Canada, and Europe, it seems either coffee is not a big part of the culture or instant coffee is the cheap go-to. For example, I know instant coffee is wildly more popular in Mexico than in the United States for your daily cup, probably because instant can be so much more affordable.

[@maol2038]

12:42 "And what are strips of metal sometimes? Bi" I knew I was watching this channel for a good reason

[@chriscarlson3567]

''I add cream and sugar, yes cream and sugar because I love myself..'' What a fascinating, detailed overview of the physical components and functions of the original Mr Coffee drip coffee maker, simply enthralling... Thank you.

[@1C3CR34M]

It’s called making a joke

[@cabinetboy242]

@@1C3CR34M listen here mr " ICE CREAM * let him be enthralled...

[@thefudgems]

@@1C3CR34Mbro doesn’t know what a bot is

[@KevinBerstene]

When I first discovered your channel it took me a while to figure out what it was about your videos that was so fascinating and eventually realized it was the same itch that The Engineer Guy used to scratch. You're doing an excellent job carrying on Bill's legacy, Alec.

[@610jrod]

This comment made me think engineer guy had died. He's still alive

[@faselblaDer3te]

@@610jrod RIP big man. Gone but not forgotten.

[@KevinBerstene]

@@610jrod Sorry about that! I couldn't find a good way to say it without it sounding like he died :-|

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

What's happened to Bill Hammack? Is he unwell? Is he doing academic work? Has he just retired?

[@tomsko863]

@@iAmTheSquidThing I miss him too. He published a book and talked about his new kid in one of his last videos. I wish him the best.

[@sk4lman]

The Engineer Guy is one of the earliest facts-based educational channels I found. I still watch his various clips, especially the marvelous aluminium can episode :)

[@rambi1072]

That video was so incredible, I must have watched it nearly a dozen times since I first saw it

[@salted6422]

Haven't heard of him for years, yet I recognized him immediately when "aluminium" was mentioned.

[@jonfreilich]

I remember watching his videos before KZbin. Wish he would make more.

[@61rampy65]

@@salted6422 Wow! I watched that episode years ago! I couldn't believe someone could make an aluminum can so interesting!

[@Bloodbain88]

Man that episode about the aluminum cans is just beautiful.

[@angelabury1349]

I have a strong urge to mention this while I watch your fantastic video. My grandparents loved the original Mr. Coffee maker so very much, they purchased 2 for when one would inevitably break...it never did. When I moved into my first apartment (in the mid '90's) my grandparents were loving enough to give me the second Mr. Coffee they purchased which they had never used and still was in the box. It only seemed fair as my grandfather urged on my coffee addiction at a very young age with his pockets always being filled with Coffee Nip candy. Anyhoo, I used my beloved Mr. Coffee maker daily (multiple times a day) for over 20 years before it could no longer function. It was the most reliable product I've ever had.

[@outsider344]

It could even still be easily fixable. The guts of the thing look robust and interchangeable

[@ktburger659]

That’s really sweet :)

[@jc.1191]

I recognized it as the coffeemaker in our house as a kid from the video.

[@Oddman1980]

@@outsider344 I agree, it looks like anyone with a soldering iron and a shred of sobriety could repair it.

[@hawkticus_history_corner]

That is a crazy durable kitchen gadget.

[@itsROMPERS...]

A decade or so ago i was in the market for a new coffee maker, and knowing about the problem of a hot plate burning and ruining coffee, i found a great solution for keeping my coffee warm: I got one with a thermal carafe. It works great.

[@BlueBerry2283]

My grandparents use a giant thermal carafe when they have guests over. It's so convenient

[@ArchLars]

I had the same issue with burnt coffee! My old machine would turn every pot into bitter sludge after an hour on the hot plate. Finally got a coffee maker with a thermal carafe last year and it made such a difference. The coffee actually stays drinkable all morning without that awful scorched taste. Wish I'd made the switch sooner instead of suffering through so many ruined pots.

[@B4reDown]

I like burnt coffee. I typically left my pot on the plate for 30/45 minutes before my second cup

[@johnvandegraaf1487]

The coffee flavor degrades if heated more than a 30 minutes after brewing, so it's best to not use the warming function too long, as James suggests. When I pour my first cup of coffee, I turn off the coffee maker and pour the rest of the coffee into an insulated carafe, which keeps the coffee nice and hot for hours. This is simple and beats having to microwave later cups of coffee.

[@CeeTeeUSA]

Correct!! I do the same thing..

[@samanthab3292]

Just like a professional coffee shop!

[@tannenfreund87]

Thankfully there are coffeemakers that have a thermos-carafe. No need to pour the coffee into a different carafe after brewing.

[@jerelull9629]

Nuking coffee is another way to ruin it IMO. I prefer to drink it cooled down.

[@Jaymac720]

Who’s James?

[@g0thique]

I always love how your videos are a mix of How It's Made, BBC, TED talk, and elecronic dissection videos. It's really refreshing and informative at the same time. I never get tired of listening to your voice or listening to all the things you decide to talk about or explain to us. So many things I never knew I wanted/needed to learn about!

[@camtron0]

Ditto

[@heyheyitsbrent]

Plus, the awesome theme song!

[@coolbluelights]

plus a little bit of Project Farm

[@MuckingMunt]

Asking as a non American, do you guys have the decade or so of Joe DiMaggio product endorsements to thank for your expression 'a cup of Joe'?

[@coolbluelights]

@@MuckingMunt I just asked my mom, she said yeah. I never knew that either.

[@jbomb7867]

never thought I'd hit a point in my life where I'm excitedly clicking on a half hour long video about drip coffee makers but here I am.

[@acardenasjr1340]

Meh, it happens. I'm stuck at home, bored and browsing random videos and posting to internet anons.

[@abluefroggy]

And then scrolling down in the comments section for said video... yeah, I get it.

[@MichaelButlerC]

what's next, electric toothbrushes maybe? Hair dryers?

[@yonigle8553]

let go of expectation and life unfolds itself

[@AlexKidd4Fun]

I've always liked documentaries even since I was a teen. Learn stuff. 👍

[@stickinthemud23]

“Yanking gingerly.” The bane of takers-aparters everywhere.

[@autumrnk]

I'm yanking gingerly if u know what I mean ahahaha follow for more

[@jordanalexander1592]

@@autumrnk BAZOINGA!! OBBIDY OBBIDDY OBBIDY . AWOOOOGA!

[@xqiuvmah]

I don't know how you do it, but you consistently get me to watch long form informative videos on topics I care very little about. Your videos are always good for killing 20-30 minutes and increasing the amount of useless knowledge I posses in an unexplainably entertaining way. Keep up the good work telling me more about things I don't care about, but still find fascinating when you present them.

[@JimmyMon666]

I don't even drink coffee anymore yet I watched this whole video. And even when I did drink coffee, I never made it at home, I only drank it at work.

[@dwirandypradhika6752]

I'm dreaming of a collab of you and James Hoffmann, a man of coffee makers, electric kettles, scientific method, and good old british sass.

[@Andrew-wp1bz]

Yeah I can’t see that going well.

[@BIDP-]

This would be extremely interesting if nothing else!

[@SpencerDonahue]

He'd have to go through a proper class on cupping coffee and he'd need to have a whole host of concepts explained to him in order for those two to have a functional interaction. James values good coffee in ways that this guy isn't even aware of, so I don't know what would be gained from a collaboration.

[@xmarteo]

@@SpencerDonahue James Hoffmann gave a crash course to Tom Scott that went quite well, so if Alec Watson is able to stomach James' insufferable coffee-nerdiness, this could work. I'm especially curious as to the actual differences in taste between those machines.

[@SpencerDonahue]

@@xmarteo True, but he'd have to fly to England for that. He could get the exact same level of professional education from a roaster in his local area. There is definitely someone near him roasting small batch, direct trade light roasted coffee and they'd probably be happy to bring him in for a coffee tasting. It would likely be as revelatory as it was for Tom.

[@gabrielpowers766]

My Mom who grew up on a farm with an outhouse and no electricity until she was a teenager used a percolator and even kept a spare in her cupboard in case one broke. That happened once and she wasn't ever letting happen again. Anyway when these came out I bought her one. She put it in the closet next to the spare percolator in the box and there it sat until she passed away many years later. I took it back then and opened it up and used it. Worked great for years. Don't really remember what happened to it. Probably just lost it in a move or something.

[@deadlysporks]

I never cease to be amazed at how you can hold my attention for so long talking about something so mundane as a drip coffee maker. It's a nonstop unloading of information that's presented in a way that is compelling and entertaining. Great video as always! As a side note I appreciated seeing the Pentax cameras behind you. I've always been a fan of them despite other companies overshadowing them.

[@Grandwigg]

I feel like it's a very good thing he didn't decide to become a cult leader or pyramid schemer. I feel like he would excel in both. (That said, some of those schemes are pretty culty)

[@jasongodwin1319]

If every teacher learned how to do that we would have a world full of geniuses.

[@johnglad5]

I made it to 3.00. Grace

[@Kataxu]

Unfortunately so far, there is nobody in the world who can hold my attention for air conditioning.

[@AttilaTheDev]

I have to say, I always find your “documentaries” fascinating and have learned more from you than many other KZbinrs. Topics seemingly boring and mundane come to life. And the funny thing is it’s not even done with fancy video effects and production tricks. A dude in a chair talking about shtuff. Keep up the good work!

[@cpg100]

This is probably the reason I keep coming back to his videos. You put it very clearly. Dude is a master of subtle jokes.

[@evanthieme8349]

I constantly think about how terrible indoor ac units are. He has placed information in my brain that I will take to the grave

[@5Andysalive]

He has this cool lava lamp effect in the background though....

[@simon4043]

@@evanthieme8349 Why? Death from hypothermia?

[@adarkerstormishere]

"I'm not willing to become a coffee enthusiast!" *proceeds to name and model approximately a dozen different coffee brewing devices* "And I also weigh my coffee." ... Mate, you're an enthusiast. Perhaps not an afficionato, but definitely an enthusiast.

[@BaltimoreAndOhioRR]

☕😁

[@Orzorn]

"Weird coffee person", as James Hoffman puts it

[@bearcubdaycare]

To be fair, this seems to be the level of effort that he puts into many tasks that he talks about, like Christmas lights.

[@Rattus375]

@@bearcubdaycare I would also consider him a Christmas Light enthusiast though

[@StormWarningMom]

I'm of the type where I'll put in grounds till I reach "good enough" then go about my merry way. It's not worth the effort of measuring in my world, so i don't.

[@ThatKaseyDoggo]

Wow! I never knew a humble metallic strip and I could have so much in common. Crazy world!

[@joshua.harazin]

23:50 This is why the cone filters are better. No matter how much you're making, the grounds are always forced to the middle of the filter. Also, cone filters don't collapse and cause a mess like the basket filters sometimes do.

[@b.schurman]

I disagree about the collasping. I do have a 12-cup Melitta pour over with No. 4 filters. One of the reasons I am not a fan of it is they collapse sometimes when pouring the boiling water. And of course they are impossible to unfold once that happens, because boiling water. I did have an idea after watching this that may make it function better, but won't help the collapsing filter.

[@johndododoe1411]

Cone filters can collapse sideways, causing quite a mess as most of the water bypass the coffee and the soggy paper disintegrates to leak wet grinds everywhere. Checking this hasn't happened becomes a habit of experience.

[@joshua.harazin]

@@johndododoe1411 Weird, never had that happen. Typically the coffee holds it open.

[@mikep490]

@@joshua.harazin Agreed. Pour the water slowly in the center, pause a second for the grounds to wet the filter, and no collapse.

[@primus711]

Many use screen filters now i still use paper filters with them less cleaning

[@thoraudio2848]

"There are only so many things I'm willing to become an enthusiast for..." said the man sitting behind 3 coffee makers during his 2nd coffee maker episode.

[@mamadeb1963]

Who grinds and weighs his coffee and can taste the difference between freshly opened and three day old beans.

[@BashoftheMonth]

His enthusiasm is actually for hording 10-20 different variations of everything.

[@scaper8]

All from the channel that has at least two catchphrases (he's an enthusiast for those too!), one of which being "Through the magic of buying two."

[@dgpsf]

With respect sir, you HAVEN'T gone on enough. Please keep doing what you do. Watching one of your videos is always the highlight of my week/month/whatever. I absolutely loved that this one was 36 solid minutes of details and explanations. It's exactly what I'm here for. So glad I'm a patron too! I hope you love making this stuff as much as I love watching it.

[@Elise10000]

Loving your channel. I’m saving up a comment about your dishwasher tutorial until I try everything you said :) Thanks for pulling us in thru your awesome curiosity. You never ‘splain down to us, you’re just figuring things out and taking us along. I have had an electric kettle for years (not even sure how I thought of buying, they aren’t common in US) and use it every morning for French Press coffee. It’s perfect. As cute as tea kettles are on a stove, I’m not comfortable heating items on a stove unattended. This way I can fill w water, plug in, go about my morning business in other room for few minutes, hear it gurgling and the satisfying clack when it shuts off. Never been aware of any great time delay haha. I love French Press coffee as to me it has a much richer taste/more contact with grounds and I like a healthy amount of half & half, a little sweetener, dash of cinnamon and…some of a Swiss Miss hot cocoa pouch. I’m very highbrow 😬 I nuke the first cup a bit (due to the cream) and refills. To me it’s the perfect cup and better than the big chain (and why do people wait in line for their first cup of morning coffee, after prepping and commute, I don’t get it). I guess I’m posting this on wrong video. I haven’t even watched the electric kettle one yet… I DO recall this model of Mr. Coffee. In 80s, CAREful looking in water reservoir of the office drip coffee maker. It can get kind of gross :)

[@ChrisPkmn]

The biggest game changer for these: get a double walled insulated carafe and dump your pot of coffee in it. Coffee is kinda like French fries where heating it up after its cooled too much is a bad time. A good sniff test for a quality coffee machine is if it includes a double walled coffee pot already

[@anon_y_mousse]

Yes, this! I've got one of each and the insulated maker brews a hotter pot and using the insulated carafe keeps it warmer for longer. The insulated maker doesn't use a vacuum or do any kind of inert gas back filling, so it won't stay hot, but it does lead to a hotter pot right off the bat because it doesn't leak the heat out of the container so easily.

Unfortunately they are opaque, which means I often forget that they're half full of coffee, leaving them on the table for days and then being left with a stinky carafe 😅

[@anon_y_mousse]

@ You don't drink the entire carafe in one day? I usually have to brew two pots and I always wash it out between days.

[@FrankMonday]

Best advice on the video.

[@devjon123]

We have a Miele drip coffee maker with a double wall insulated carafe, it makes great coffee. When it gets too cool a quick boost in the microwave heats an individual cup up to taste ( my wife likes it scalding, I like mine just about hot ) We live in a hard water area and the time it takes to brew a pot gradually increases. There's " Calc " button that tells you it needs descaling. We mix citric acid with water and put it in the reservoir, it then starts a timed 30 minute process of heating a small amounts and pumping it through the system. It's noticeably faster once it's been descaled.

[@jonathanthompson4624]

This guy effortlessly combines the delightful comedic notes of an in-stride Contrapoints with a hefty dose of "How It's Made" serenity. Perfect.

[@satoshiwasareptiloid3777]

Contrapoints comedic? What are you smoking. Contrapoints is the most cringe corporate "comedy" available on youtube.

[@caixiuying8901]

@@satoshiwasareptiloid3777 while I don't find Contrapoints ever funny, I think it's mostly this dude's cadence in the way they speak that's reminiscent of Contrapoints

[@LatencyProblem]

@@satoshiwasareptiloid3777 literal reptile brain take lmfao

[@blakksheep736]

Hey, I loved How It's Made! It was my favourite show on TV, after I think Mythbusters.

[@frankcastlefan]

@@satoshiwasareptiloid3777 I don't hear applause.

[@Corleone1891]

As a coffee shop owner, I appreciate and can confirm everything in this video. I love your channel, I hope you never stop.

[@ZentaBon]

love coffee flavor, good coffee is a hidden joy on earth

[@deafponi]

"Phosisticated".... I love this guy...

[@vincentlevarrick6557]

I thought it was faux-sisticated 😉 Mind you, I didn't check the captions so now I wonder...?

[@daviga1]

In archaeology, I can't tell you how many times the answer we have is 'no one reorded that because it was so common and everyone knew about it'. as I watch a video explaining how to brew coffee, I can't help but wish someone would etch this onto some clay tablets so future archaeologists dont decide all those weird objects in the landfill are 'ritual totems'

[@johngalt97]

See: 'Motel Of The Mysteries' By David Macaulay

[@Arrzarrina]

Are you saying that the morning caffeine of billions of people around the globe doesn't make coffee makers 'ritual totems'?

[@daviga1]

@@Arrzarrina Touché - based on the responses of coffee drinkers I know, it's not only a ritual, but probably THE most important ritual. But still, they may as well know what went on instad of throwing it into the "religious artifact" bin out of pure ignorance

[@daviga1]

@@johngalt97 same author as "City" and "Pyramid"?

[@louiserocks1]

Hey I'm 30 and drink coffee every day, and even worked a couple years making coffee at a restaurant/cafe but I never knew anything about these home coffee machines. I didn't even know they existed. It was all completely new info to me lol

[@nettles89]

My wife and I never bothered with coffee until we bought a Keurig to accommodate guests. We were hooked, and it became a daily indulgence. Then we moved, had to put things in storage for a while, yada yada yada, ended up with a cheap Mr Coffee as a “good enough” substitute for a few months and were BLOWN AWAY by how much better the coffee was. We eventually went the French press route and settled into a slightly hoity-toity routine we like. Amazingly, my wife put the old Mr Coffee up on facebook marketplace and someone actually bought it-I had the pleasure of instructing an astonishingly muscular immigrant with a delicious accent in the coffee brewing process, in a sandwich shop parking lot. He was obviously new to the US, and had no idea how to make coffee, but knew he needed it in his life and approached his new learning with a sense of awe and wonder. The good word keeps spreading!

[@macmurfy2jka]

I prefer French press as well. What brought you to the French press? For me it was camping. The Stanley company makes this ingenious French press that uses a separate piston container with the screen membrane at the bottom that pushes down into the brew pot. Firstly the water heating container is now the steeping container simplifying the process and reducing the amount of items taken camping. It’s also nice as the design becomes useful on any stove top or hot plate making it very versatile for travel, as well. Now, I can have almost the exact same coffee anywhere as the household method is the same as the travel! No need to relearn the process for other situations. Secondly, it is impossible for grounds to slip past the filter as they would just bypass the piston container seal and enter a void between the piston container and brew pot. Because this actually introduces a bit of pressure to the system, the system is more akin to aero press in process, though I cannot produce any creme this way. Lastly the top fits on both the brew pot and the piston container, meaning the brew pot can also double as a kettle, though I prefer a real kettle for that. Back to the coffee; I liked the darker and earthier flavor produced from this coffee. I even did a back to back comparison with the same coffee in the safe amounts and found that I really liked the flavor of the French press method, regardless of the other variables. I suspect it’s the introduction of the fines from the ground coffee that causes this as I now prefer them in all my coffee and have switched to metal mesh filter even on the MrCoffie style makers.

[@nettles89]

@@macmurfy2jka That's interesting, if I ever get back into camping I'll have to seek out such a product-when I was a kid, our camp coffee solution was a percolator, with which my dad had a brief affair before realizing it could do nothing but burn the coffee. Anywho, that does sound like kind of a cross between french and aero. I've enjoyed aero press coffee prepared by others, but haven't really put much thought into it myself. For us, the french press was just the right compromise between ease of use, economy, versatility, cost, and waste. It helped that we'd already acquired an electric kettle, so now between a cheap hand-cranked burr grinder and an electric blade type grinder we already had, we can adjust the fineness of the grounds, the temperature of the water, the bloom, and the brewing time to not only dial in to a coffee we both really like, but to make a crude espresso when the situation calls for it as well. It's certainly more finicky than most people would be willing to tolerate-for example my wife's grandma and aunt raved about how good our coffee was, took notes on the process, went home and ordered all of the equipment, and still had to wait until we visited and could teach them how to use it all 😆. But in practice, for us it's no big deal. We're already making breakfast for ourselves and five kids, and it's pretty easy to integrate all of the steps into that routine. I'm a tinkerer, and I actually kind of like the slight variations in the final product that come from minor differences in the process. The one thing I still haven't figured out to my liking, is the "bloom" step. Every explanation I find seems to be nonsense at some level, and I can't work out the chemistry in a way that satisfies my curiosity and skepticism, but I can't argue with the results-it seems to be responsible for the most drastic difference in the final product, resulting in a far less sour taste. It feels like voodoo to me, but the coffee is just sooo much better with a roughly 30-second bloom before adding the rest of the water. I'm usually happy with plain Jane drip coffee if someone serves it to me, but for daily use I can't imagine switching to a process that didn't allow for a bloom.

[@bladactania]

I'm no coffee snob (my preferred coffee is actually McCafe or Dunkin' Donuts and I have a basic drip brewer), but Keurig coffee is awful stuff. If I'm at someone else's house and they offer coffee, I always accept, until I find it's a Keurig, then I quickly decline. The only good thing about those machines is their ability to make several cups of different beverages in quick succession when you have a group of people with varied tastes (assuming none of them are actual coffee tastes!). You can make a hot chocolate, a "cappuccino", and a chai tea one after the other... can't do that with any other machine!

[@boethjelle8769]

Creepy comment that others people of color

[@nettles89]

@@boethjelle8769 Only one person here has brought skin tone into the conversation.

[@eric9822]

Man, that's really hilarious to me. I started watching this, thinking "didn't he do a great video already on the bubble valve and the simplicity of the coffee pot"? I absolutely forgot it was the engineering guy. I miss him, but I also am thankful that you exist. Thanks so much for this style of video. This long-format edutainment really is wonderful. :) Edit: to be clear, please cover ALL of the topics no matter who else covered them.

[@stupidfanboyph]

Did Bill die or he is just inactive?

[@CyanLightning]

@@stupidfanboyph Hammack haven't post any video for over 3 years now, yeah he is currently inactive

[@loadsuperawesome]

i had the unique displeasure of living in the UK for a year because of work. man i never knew that coffee could get that bad. in my whole time staying there one random cheap hotel had a filter coffee machine and i was so happy to get a little taste of home.

[@imaytag]

The Engineer Guy's video about the drinking bird toy is one of my favorite videos of all time. He was a master of communication and I miss him too. Your videos definitely scratch the same itch, though nothing will ever compare to Bill's efficient, concise and clear presentations. And that soothing voice/atmosphere!

[@skonky]

what happened to him?

[@exMuteKid]

Wait what happened to the the Engineer Guy? ????

[@AlRoderick]

As far as I know he's still a professor at U of I, he's only 61 and he's still alive. I think he just stepped back a bit from the KZbin videos because newborn child plus actual teaching career and then the proliferation of other KZbin channels that teach the same subject was probably just a recipe for slowing down.

[@dcviper985]

@@AlRoderick Newborn grandchild, IIRC

[@JuDGe3690]

Apparently he's releasing a book (and companion video series) in March 2023, according to his website.

[@jaysmith1408]

I was eagerly awaiting a “through the magic of brewing two of them” At a former job, I was a security guard at a large office building. We used the Bunn-O-Matic’s scattered around the building for our own consumption. Ditching the provided food service coffee, and using my personal stash (since I had to drink it too), gaining mass approval from the morning shift, it was still hotter and more acidic than my home brewer. I cannot logically explain it, but though a change in coffee was a great improvement, those food service machines just cannot make a good cup of coffee.

[@oxybrightdark8765]

How far from your work do you live? I wonder if water hardness has any effect.

[@lizcademy4809]

@@oxybrightdark8765 It was probably the boiler's temperature. James Hoffman (who has almost certainly been mentioned several times in the comments) has suggestions on the proper water temperature for different roast levels of coffee. Too hot or too cold, even by 5°F, and it affects the flavor.

[@warp.routine]

It's by design. Brew-siht-quik tech cares little for the consumer's experience (short of going full barista with a machine that costs as much as a car). On that note, starschmucks coffee isn't expensive just to make you feel important. They do have to pony up for some eye-wateringly expensive equipment. And they do neutralize the water supply to the stores so it's nearly distilled when it reaches the machine... *"the more you know" theme music plays*

[@jaysmith1408]

@@oxybrightdark8765 several miles, but same water department.

[@StormWarningMom]

@@warp.routine I call that stuff Starburnt. Bleah!

[@ihavetwofaces]

I’m not a coffee guy at all, but I watched every second of this video with rapt attention. I love this channel so much. The combination of historical deep dives with inspired engineering and gleefully corny humour is genius. Great work as always.

[@paulableman2663]

You've given me a new word, and I'm very thankful. "Rapt" will make a fine addition to my lexicon!

[@outsider344]

Check out James Hoffman s channel. I hardly ever drink coffee and am happy with whatever I get, but I have happily watched hours of his coffee centric videos.

[@graymondgreaves8]

@@outsider344 yep...jh is another gift to a troubled world. Nice hair too!! 🙂

[@Kevin_the_Caveman]

I don't really drink coffee but this video made me want to get a cup haha

[@movement2contact]

I wish I too could watch it rapt... 😓

[@theCodyReeder]

I, someone who doesn't drink coffee, have watched this video twice now.

[@TimeBucks]

This is awesome!

[@KALBHAT]

Hi

[@KALBHAT]

Hi

[@osmelimontilla6302]

cool

[@bertilhatt]

I can’t imagine a more effective way to invoke @James Hoffmann to appear in your studio. This is a noble endeavour. I salute your efforts.

[@rlin]

i second this!

[@drbleed]

Get James Hoffmann in the video asap!

[@dazeller82]

I doubt James Hoffman will be up for it, maybe try Hames Joffman

[@NigelDraycott]

Wait what? You can invoke James Hoffmann

[@bertilhatt]

@@NigelDraycott I don’t know, but if Alec doesn’t succeed with that video, I think we can conclude, then it is not possible.

[@sarahwatts7152]

A collab with James Hoffman could be really fun for this water/coffee series! (Plus he could do a video to see if he can figure out the difference in taste between machines)

[@parnikkapore]

"A very tumultuous double-blind ABX coffee machine test"

[@sirspate]

I look forward to the look of dawning horror on James Hoffman's face as he realizes he's about to drink coffee made in not one, but two separate Mr Coffee machines.

[@KeithOlson]

*THIS!*

[@bertilhatt]

@@sirspate You are underestimating the probably an error in communication makes James believe for a second he’s about to drink ::shivers:: Folgler’s. ::visible distress::

[@TheBilgepumper]

@@sirspate Eh. He's done some reviews of drip machines, including very cheap ones like this. He doesn't prefer them, but I wouldn't describe his reaction as "horror," especially when he's using his own choice of coffee and grind. Now, when he reviews sealed bags of coffee that have been in someone's attic for decades..... See also, his reviews of "coffee flavored" food and drink for some choice reactions.

[@BK-uw2uk]

Another great video. I watched this episode like a classic mystery thriller. Well done. As the son of an engineer, all your videos have resonated with me more than I’d like to admit. Keep them coming !

[@morgank6268]

Since the electric kettle video I've started using mine to boil water for pasta, not just tea and it's made my life so much better!

[@m1t2a1]

How do you keep noodles from sticking to the element?

[@JonasKFriedChicken]

@@m1t2a1 You pour the boiling water into the pot you cook your pasta in.

[@morgank6268]

@@JonasKFriedChicken @m1t2a1 what Jonas said lol

[@svHannibal]

I too miss The Engineer Guy. I just recommended his videos to my 17 year old. But I really appreciate all your effort and humour and knowledge. Well done!

[@psirvent8]

Is he dead ?

[@Kaze919]

It’s crazy to think some of his earliest videos are from 11 years ago.

[@purplegill10]

Good news! He's coming back in march 2023 to do a series of videos about his latest book.

[@svHannibal]

By the way, don't miss his videos on the university channel, for example this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn20kqedqqeaers

[@tomsko863]

Another book? He published a book and talked about his new kid in one of his last videos. I wish him the best.

[@domsusefulstuff]

You really got me with that "We miss you Bill". I was thinking of his video the whole time, it's such an amazing insight into one of the world's most common appliances. I'm glad we have channels like yours to spread technology history and comprehension. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@justtime6736]

Professor Julius Sumner Miller

[@domsusefulstuff]

@@justtime6736 I am pretty certain TC was referencing Bill Hammack, who made a youtube video about drip coffee makers (kzbin.info/www/bejne/apuXgpKPd7d9e6s) and many others about the way technology influences our lives and vice-versa.

[@crash.override]

Still alive from what I can tell, just not making videos these days.

[@domsusefulstuff]

@@crash.override Yes! Didn’t mean to make it sound like he wasn’t, thank you!😃

[@crash.override]

@@domsusefulstuff Actually my concern was prompted by the "we miss you" in the video. Feared I'd missed an obituary or something.

[@bakonfreek]

"...and coffee ain't one of 'em!" *Too Many Small Kitchen Appliances has a chuckle*

[@rolfs2165]

One thing I've noticed become more common in middle- to high-end machines is that they ditch the hot plate (or make it a separate switch again) in favour of dripping the coffee into an insulated pot. Very likely to improve the taste because the coffee doesn't get burnt while keeping it hot. Also, cone-shaped filters are the default for German home machines (probably thanks to Melitta, who are _the_ name brand for filters), I've only seen flat-bottomed filters on large commercial machines.

[@Undaglibenglaubengloben]

You can always transfer the coffee to a thermos bottle after the brew. Way better than re-heating in the microwave

[@deed5811]

I started doing that because I hated the taste of over heated coffee. The thermos serves me well, it can keep my morning coffee stash hot for hours.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

@@deed5811 I rarely drink coffee, but the last time I made some a few months ago, I put it in a metal thermos and was also blow away by how long it stayed hot. I shouldn't have been...the darn thing advertises itself as doing such, (keeps cold things cold and hot things hot). I've seen that when loaded with ice cubes, it can keep them there for hours without the cup ever going in the freezer. But as I rarely drink hot drinks, I had yet to test it with a hot beverage. From now on, I'm definitely putting my hot beverages in this cup as well.

[@deed5811]

I took a larger thermos of ice water to a concert in august in Texas. Had to be there at 4:30pm (I did a rare VIP). Left after 1:30 am. Thermos was still cold and had ice even after sitting in an uncovered parking lot all that time.

[@CerinAmroth]

Melitta is the most used brand both for filters but for coffee too in Brazil. At some point I even though Melitta was a Brazilian brand, as it's everywhere 😂

[@mikebeartx]

I can't believe I sat through a whole video on coffee makers. But, it was actually very interesting! I had no idea they were so basic. I didn't think they were very complicated, but hey, I was impressed! Thank you!

[@amg863]

Same. I never thought I'd watch the whole 40min. I thought I'd skim through it but the thing with him is he edits out all the useless bits like watching water boil so there's nothing to skip

[@The_Glasses_Character]

You should watch his video on dishwashers and dishwasher detergent, I have learned a ton from this channel

[@Emulleator]

I don't even drink coffee

[@BusterBeachside]

You've become one of us, welcome to the cult of viewers who watch every video despite not having any particular thoughts, opinions, or interest in the topic going into it!

[@ekatss2620]

For some reason, I'd like to see a collab between Technology Connections and James Hoffmann. I'd enjoy the combination of both the history review and the arguments over which brewing method makes better coffee. 🤔

[@hausofjulian]

YES

[@CRADDSTER]

I came to the comments to suggest the same!

[@nejaahalcyon]

Yes, I'm sure their personalities will marry wonderfully in a collab

[@zelderan]

I would LOVE this

[@pricklesthecactus6183]

I was just thinking that!

[@EmptyGlass99]

I'm in the UK - I have one of those coffee drip machines and it could not be simpler. Makes great coffee and I throw the used grounds and filter papers on to the compost heap - zero waste!

[@M4nusky]

A note on instant coffee: it's often "burnt" by dumping the freshly boiling water in the mug. I've seen a noticeable improvement even with cheap instant coffee when using 85-90C water instead.

[@Trisnice]

I actually use instant coffee only for my shakes, just blend it up with ice and water and you got yourself an ice cap

[@petesmith13]

You're right my parents both have tea and coffee so when making one for both of them I boil the kettle and pour the water straight away into the tea pot, but wait till the tea is half way brewed before I pour the water into the coffee cups

[@TheWoblinGoblin]

Just put it in the microwave man

[@Hathur]

As a general rule of thumb, whether making instant coffee or pour-over coffee, the water should not be hotter than about 93C (200F). Coffee grounds / beans begin to burn / scald over that temperature, resulting in a burnt flavor. When I boil water for my pour-over (or instant), I wait about 40 seconds after I turn off the kettle before I pour the water - that's enough time to get the water down to a temp that won't burn the coffee grind. Only really ideal if you're making just a single serving of coffee though, if you're tyring to make a large amount of coffee (i.e. a full pot), you'd have to keep reheating the water as you work.

[@Bob_Adkins]

@@TheWoblinGoblin Yecch! I hate the sour taste of microwave ions! J/K, that's what I do! (on rare occasions when I drink instant)

[@nothanks9174]

I just wanted to say thank you for having subtitles that are always accurate and grammatically correct and perfectly punctuated. I’m not deaf, I just prefer subtitles and I hate when they deviate from what is being said so much.

[@littlejackalo5326]

Keep telling yourself you're not deaf. LOL. Nobody _wants_ to read subtitles.

[@toshibasony9222]

It's interesting to see this channel transition from obscure and peculiar pieces of last-century tech to the most common of household appliances.

[@smcdonald1677]

I dont know where or how I came across this wonderful channel, but I am hooked on this riveting content!!

[@Psychlist1972]

I always loved the word "percolated" I was born in '72. I remember seeing percolators on TV, and even at home when I was little. Those glass bulbs on the top made an impression on me as a kid.

[@edwinsalisbury83]

Even though calling it a percolator is a bit of misnomer

[@josephgaviota]

Agreeing with @Pete ... as a kid I was _fascinated_ by the brown bubbling up of the percolated coffee into the glass head of my parents coffee percolator.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Got broke from the bottle on percolated coffee... "Big boys can drink coffee with a cup, and little boys had to have juice or milk from a sippy-cup or bottle like a baby." ~My mom... I still have a dubious preference for percolated coffee... AND there's a hot urn about half full sitting in the kitchen as I type new... haha... BUT at the groggy beginning of the day, "It's a cup of d*** coffee, not a friggin' arts project!" ~Me... many times... ;o)

[@itsROMPERS...]

Coffee specialists like Hoffman these days still use the word "percolated" for immersion techniques like French press.

[@DGCastell]

27:10 I recently completely disassembled my coffe brewer, and for the computer geeks out there: there is actual thermal paste used between the plate and the heating element. it was hilarious, never in my life i'd imagined changing the thermal paste on my coffee maker!

[@Kruton1122]

Thermal paste, pads, and grease are quite common in many products, all the paste/grease/pads do is create an even surface of high thermally conducive goop to allow optimal thermal transfer, thermal glue is quite common too!

[@dchawk81]

So how much RAM did you upgrade it with?

[@veggiet2009]

I wonder if the older machine would've hit closer to exactly 200⁰ f when it was new, and if regular use would soften the bi-metal and cause the temperature to fluctuate more now than it would at first

[@tissuepaper9962]

Wouldn't the bimetallic strip get stiffer over time due to work hardening?

[@Infrared73]

I wondered the same. There is that calibration screw. I wonder if it could be tweaked to bring it back in line.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Given that he mentioned that the thermostats on the newer ones seem to drift with time, that’s a possibility.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

@@tissuepaper9962 I would expect it to change due to the fact that different metals will react differently to long term exposure to both heat and thermal cycling. Work hardening could *maybe* come into play too, depending on the metal. Not all metals work harden.

[@veggiet2009]

@@tissuepaper9962 I honestly have no idea, I just imagined that the lower temperature would come from having a larger opening which could suggest a softer metal, but maybe it is harder and it just happens to be "stuck" in a more open position

[@nik4456]

I've never seen this channel before, so happy to have found it. I love stuff like this.

[@KelsomaticPDX]

I’m glad you briefly acknowledged that people who make pour over coffee have electric kettles. I was in the coffee industry and almost all my friends have electric kettles for this reason! It’s just funny to me that we don’t have many electric kettles as a country because coffee, but those that do have them because coffee 😅

[@craiglewis3103]

I used my electric kettle for French press...but I don't think I ever used it for pour over. Because I had an induction burner...and a gooseneck pour over kettle for the burner was smarter. I do suspect that there are more of both induction burners and electric kettles than the video suggests. Oh, and I actually have 2 electric kettles. One's a Japanese vacuum electric kettle...gets the water hot, then mostly shuts off, using a double wall tank so it cools (and thus needs more heat) only intermittently. NOT particularly good for coffee...or black tea, for that matter...but the water holding temp was very good for green teas. It was also nice to have hot water on demand to, say, rinse out the fines that got into the cup using a French press, or for the residue if your cup sat for a while.

[@aprisia]

That's because most people are fine with acceptable coffee. Drip coffee is good enough that it's ease vs optimal taste ratio is fine the vast majority of people. Basically, you are comparing an enthusiast group to a control group. It's like asking why most people don't do custom BIOS settings on their PCs or do custom tuning on their cars. However, I would like to say that if you are making Japanese style iced coffee, drip coffee makers are actually the way to go for the most part. Yes, there are more taste optimal methods. But since steeping time is less of a factor than rapid cooling, dripping on to ice directly is a fairly good method to achieve almost as good results as manually doing it with a chemex.

[@namAehT]

Our electric kettle is mostly used for ramen and sometimes tea. I also use it to pre-boil water when cooking since it's far faster than our glass-electric stove.

[@slackerdc]

When I first started in the 1990s in the technology industry one of the first questions to ask if a computer had problems staying on was "Do you have a Mr Coffee plugged in near it?" And it was specifically a Mr Coffee not other coffee makers, and sometimes that was indeed the problem sharing a circuit with a Mr Coffee caused enough problems with power draw it caused some computers to be unstable.

[@schr4nz]

That doesn't surprise me, electrical noise is still a problem for internet modems and power line Ethernet devices when something is plugged in the socket right next to them, or if there's a double adapter plug involved

[@compzac]

@@schr4nz he mentioned power draw, i doubt it was the inductance that was the issue, most likely it was the 1500 watts, thats around 12 or so amps at 120 volts, a computer with a chonky CRT on top will most likely top the breaker out by using at least 300 watts dragging the breaker firmly into overload territory for a 15 amp supply same idea would happen if someone happened to have a space heater plugged in nearby as well or honestly even a decent sized microwave especially when the microwave was first switched on

[@logdolinki]

My contribution to this video's engagement: I'm from Brazil. It might be a regional thing, but people around here tends to brew coffee using simply a paper filter and boiled water. Some households even utilizes fabric filters that can be reused indefinitely. Yeah, most families around here prefer dripping coffee makers for pratical reasons, but a simple stove and filter combo is how my family have been doing for generations.

[@jasonlapadot8381]

The answer for not leaving the hot plate on because it burns the coffee is insulated carafe. I have a drink coffee machine that has no hot plate. The coffee is made in the same way but the craft is not glass it is likely aluminum on the outside. Very well insulated. And the coffee stays hot for hours. The machine even has a countdown timer of 4 hours on it. During which time the coffee is guaranteed to be pretty hot. I was blown away at first I'd have a cup of coffee come back 2 hours later and it's still hot enough to scald your mouth. And the added bonus of the carafe never being hot on the outside. You can put your hand right on the side of the craft right after the coffee gets done brewing and it's still ambient temperature. And I've burned myself a few times on the side of carafe the old glass variety. So I truly appreciate this side benefit. And the coffee tastes smooth never burnt and stays hot for hours with no reheating which also obviously saves some electricity though I imagine a very minute amount.

[@benjamingeiger]

Also, one handy feature of many modern drip coffee makers is the auto-pause feature. You can remove the carafe, pour a cup of coffee, and put the carafe back without letting coffee pour onto the hot plate. It's a ridiculously simple mechanism: there's a spring-loaded cover over the dispensing hole in the grounds basket. The carafe presses the cover open, allowing coffee to pour. When the carafe is removed, the brewed coffee builds up in the grounds basket until the carafe is replaced.

[@fryloc359]

At least on mine, you have to be quick or the basket will overflow and end up all over the hotplate anyway.

[@justsayen2024]

The new mr. Coffee has them but it's a pain in the butt to fit in

[@newagain9964]

Drip coffee is nasty.

[@benmac940]

​@@newagain9964 totally agree, if it's better than instant coffee over there then you must really have shit instant coffee in America. As I'd much rather have instant

[@AlldaylongRock]

@@benmac940 Here in Portugal i checked out a few instant ones, and the best instants just match the cheapest of the cheap pre-ground stuff i can get brewed either in a moka pot or a drip brewer. As Alec, cost, taste, and fiddly factor. I can also cook or prepare breakfast while the coffee brews

[@gustavgnoettgen]

For the record, I'm german and in my experience most of the coffee that people make at home is ground coffee in 500g vacuum packs. Many use filter machines, the french press is not uncommon, and some ground their coffee themselves. Machines for espresso and other fancy stuff are common in public places and relatively seldom compared to filter coffee makers. Instant coffee is the least common, at least in homes. People mostly choose it for mobile situations or at some workplaces when only an electric kettle is available.

[@tk_2378]

I say it in English so everyone can understand it. I grind it myself and use a filter made of porcelain and paper filter. Boil water wait a second and then pull it slowly in circle movements over the coffee which I by the way always grind very fine (small grains). Do that two time or more depending how much I want and it's done. Of course boiling the water again is also a step then. milk froth I do with a machine so automatically and it's perfect I sometimes eat it pure 😂. And I use different coffee beans depending what I want and milk too sometimes more fat or not. Theoretical I could use other milk than cow milk but I never tried. Also expensive. Which is a good point also why I use the old way to make coffee like that because over time it's probably one of the cheapest.

[@leeroyjenkins1937]

Don't forget Moka Pots!! I mean, as far is my very limited information goes it's a rather italian thing, but from people starting to use it (including me) it makes perfect espresso (easily made into an americano), especially in lower quantities. As long as you don't care as much about the Créma (who even expects a good one outside restaurants or espresso machines). I had a drip machine, which was in almost all stakes more than okay. But in low quantities, got weird and clunky. I love Moka Pots for their very aquivalent size and i don't mind the 2 minutes of cleaning.

[@tk_2378]

@@leeroyjenkins1937 I know them they are very traditional and quite the same as those press variants right?

[@selalewow]

I am in Canada and in my home we have a large, ground coffee filter drip for the mornings and a French Press for the afternoon cup. We have a can of pre-ground coffee and we grind beans for the press. We also have an electric kettle.

[@fluffy_tail4365]

@@leeroyjenkins1937 there is a trick we use here in italy to get cream from a moka, as long as you have some extra time and like a bit of sugar in your coffee. You basically take a tiny bit of the first coffee it comes out and mix it with a spoon of sugar (like a teaspoon of coffee for 2-3 of sugar, just enough to wet it), and then you just whip it with (even by hand since it's such a small quantity). After a bit it will become a smooth cream that you can add it to the brewed moka to mimic cream on it

[@rabbit9464]

Seeing that old Mr. Coffee machine brought me back to when I was a kid and was allowed to make the coffee for my parents in the morning. My dad would leave for work about the same time I got up so instead of waiting for the full pot to brew, I had a system worked out where I would keep a mug under the drip spout and add the water, and when the mug was (I think) half full, shut off the brewer. The remaining coffee would fill the mug almost full, and then you had a second to switch the mug and carafe before turning the power back on and finishing the brew. It wasn't perfect as you would get a little dribble on the hot plate if you weren't quick enough, but dad got his mug and I got an extra 5 minutes of sleep. One thing I love about modern coffee makers is the ability to program them to auto-brew at a set time. Prepare the grounds and water in the evening, set the timer for a specific time, and wake up in the morning to the glorious smell of a fresh brew. Most days the smell of the coffee will wake me up before my alarm even has a chance to go off. Another great video! Looking forward to the next one, whatever that may be about!

[@Boscovius]

I'm American and last year upgraded our kitchen to an induction stovetop. It has a powerblast setting and can boil several cups of water in just a couple of minutes.

[@hibob841]

It's funny, I've also tried just about every method and come to the exact same conclusion: drip coffee is good enough, and it's excellent for the trivial effort involved. Do try the Moka pot, though; it was my preferred method until I went back to the drip. It allows the oils to come through, which gives a richer texture. The lack of oil is probably the thing I find lacking the most in drip coffee--but again, it's good enough. Also, re. the "don't use the warming plate" admonition: it's worth noting that "fancier" drip machines (which is to say, in the ~$100 range) don't have one, and instead come with an insulated carafe that will keep the coffee warm for at least a couple of hours. Alternatively, just get a nice big insulated thermos and decant the whole pot into that as soon as it's brewed.

[@Geardos1]

it's only good enough if you use 'good enough' coffee. Once you are in the 'good coffee' range of beans every method of brewing gives it's own unique results. Putting decent coffee in any drip coffee maker that's not an enthusiast level one (think 200usd +) absolutely destroys the flavor. I don't use one of those myself, I use simple and very cheap manual pour over which will give any coffee (cheap or premium) a good showing.

[@jmkhenka]

​@@Geardos1 I have probably had every kind of coffee brewer out there, except a Don Pedro - but I dont like placing large glass things on my glass stove. Anyway, all methods make diffrent kind of coffee and require diffrent kind of grinds - wich makes diffrent tasting coffee. Brewers, I currently have a Moccamaster, makes the most reliable "good" coffee out of pre-ground vacum packaged coffee. And I see the point, its easy and the coffee always taste the same. French press is also common here in northen sweden, after classic brewers its the most common, but they use a diffrent coffe grind (coarse) and makes for a diffrent kind of coffe. What one prefeers is more about what you are used to. They are perhaps split 50-50 with drip brewers, as most people have electric kettles and dont feel the they have space for a specific brewer. Some people still have perculators but they are uncommon now - 1 in 20 perhaps have one (if I base that on my circle of friends). We are so used to boiled coffee here that I feel that drip brewers are not as common as in the US. Most people (everyone?) has free coffee at work and there it often is a machine OR a large drip brewer, and I think most have consumed their 10 cups of coffee before comming home. How people make coffee is mostly about even results and ease of use, poor over manual coffee is good but its not the same and not what people commonly are used to. People appreaciate "artisan" coffee but they dont replace their brewers for it.

[@jmiller6066]

I really like my Moka Pot. I only drink one cup a day, and it makes exactly that much. I don't need to buy paper filters, and it's nearly as easy to use as drip machines. It's also very fast as I have one that works with my induction burner. And I really like the slightly stronger flavor with the oils that you get versus drip

[@TheHuesSciTech]

It seems like having a highly insulated carafe vs a carafe that is regulated to the desired temperature of the coffee would be broadly equivalent? James Hoffman found in his experiments that it's actually better to let the coffee cool down, and then warm it back up in the microwave when you want it. It means the coffee isn't degrading at a high temperature for an extended period of time, which is what the insulated carafe would lead to.

[@czejensparrow]

most of oils during extraction are stopped by a paper filter, maybe try to look for some plastic/metal filters if you want to have more oils and harsh taste of coffee, my drip machine has plastic meshed filter and it works nice

[@Thebular.]

I'll admit I'm a coffee nerd, and I've definitely used the fussier methods you mentioned, and I roast my own coffee every week for my personal use. Once you get into the habit of brewing with something like an aeropress, you don't think about it and it's really really easy since you're just doing the same thing every morning. THAT BEING SAID... I am very firmly of the belief that the best cup of coffee is the coffee you like to drink the way you like to drink it. There's way too much snobbery in the specialty coffee world, and whether your favorite cup is a fresh roasted ethiopian yirgacheffe brewed through a v60 or a cup of folgers instant, either way you're right. Drink what you like, man.

[@ThisIsReMarkable]

I'm with you. I love my Aeropress and freshly ground single origins (like RIGHT before brewing) but if it's not worth it to the drinker, it's not worth it. I enjoy having high standards but the world is big, full of different people, and that's great!

[@snek9353]

I don't get the appeal of the aeropress at all. As much or more hassle than a French press, but plastic, filters, small batch, ehhh.

[@jongeddes09]

I think that flavor of the coffee is a somewhat smaller slice of the satisfaction "pie" than what many people might think. On days off, a cup of coffee in my favorite tractor themed mug in my backyard can't be beat. When I'm at work, pulling my insulated mug out of my cupholder and sipping warm coffee as I drive my truck down the road puts me in my happy place. It's about so much more than just flavor.

[@tikkidaddy]

Thank you!😂

[@Abel96696]

I'm also a bit of a coffee nerd and went through all the different methods, but simple drip coffee is still my favourite. I spent 200 euro on a Moccamaster though.

[@danmorgan712]

"I think I've gone on long enough." I can't disagree enough with this. The more you ramble about loosely associated things, the more I tend to enjoy your videos; that enjoyment does suffer some diminished returns, but they're still there.

[@b5geek]

Fully agree

[@unpublishable4091]

I am glad you have made a video on how to make coffee. Some people do not know how to make coffee. These people may be asleep. You did not show how to make a single cup from a single brew filter than goes into the mug with a stick holding the filter open. To save coffee from going bad on the warmer, disconnect the warmer. and put left over brewed coffee into the fridge. Drink coffee ice cold or warm in microwave as needed. Coffee can be frozen in mugs in the freezer. Then the ice coffee will stay ice cold.

[@glennac]

Coffee has always brought heartwarming memories of my Dad back. In addition to his early years as a forest ranger (USFS), he worked in Quality Control in various fields from consumer labeling, electronic displays, aviation, and law enforcement equipment. But in between all that he was a Coffee Taster for one of the companies that supplied ground coffee to hotels and restaurants nationwide. Occasionally, he would take me to the plant and tasting room. Even as a kid I thought the smell in the roasting rooms and warehouse were divine. ☕️

[@pressurebooger]

The KZbin algorithm robot randomly (and I mean RANDOMLY, I watch totally different content) delivered this video on my home page. I absolutely love your channel!!

[@aidenbattle2074]

As an Aussie and working with coffee enthusiasts for the past 10 years we’ve gone from buying it , instant, bags , 2 expresso machines at the same time, to a drip and we are in awe of it still after 2 years so little effort and a bloody good 10cups. I wasn’t sold on it from seeing old sitcoms or office based shows and all I could think was that’s been sitting there for atleast 30mins to an hour it’s going to be so burnt and stale and “what psycho would reheat that in a microwave?”. So any non believers out there that drink a lot of coffee or have a heap of colleagues smashing through instant give it a go you won’t be disappointed.

[@amb2745]

Most coffeemakers today have a shut off of the burner a few hours after a pot of coffee has been brewed. When coffee sits on a burner for several hours, the coffee gets an acidic taste to it. One way to keep the coffee from getting acidic, get an insulated carafe. I have a carafe that has glass insulation inside the carafe. My carafe will keep coffee hot/warm for up to 6 hours, and no acidic taste.

[@baenling]

Very cool video. My Mr Coffee 12 cup drip machine, my beloved, my beautiful son, has earned a forever place on my kitchen counter. I love him for all the same reasons you mentioned. Efficient, simple, effective. Awesome to see his inner workings and a bit of his history. Coffee opinion: I am ambivalent toward hot coffee. What I truly love is iced coffee. I brew a pot, stick the entire carafe in the freezer immediately after to cool it down (I have a seperate full-size freezer for frozen food and such so the coffee mostly has the top freezer part of my fridge to itself. Bougie, I know). I add as much ice into a tall tumbler glass as will fit. I mix my cooled coffee with two splenda and a bloop of lactose-free milk and enjoy it IMMENSELY. I have a sensitive tongue, apparently, and the milk + cold is really what adjusts the bitterness down to a level I can enjoy. Anyway. I really enjoyed this video! Great job, and thank you!

[@Whitbypoppers]

Coffee makers kept getting more sophisticated. We had a Cuisinart machine with a built in grinder. However, it didn't have a warming plate. It had an insulated carafe instead.

[@sirsanti8408]

If it’s insulated well it probably doesn’t need extra heat, that tends to mess with the flavor anyways

[@susannemeyer9084]

That is what I use still today. Someone discarded it years ago. I found it, cleaned it up, and voila. It remains faithful. The insulated carafe is the best feature.

[@Bandersnatch786]

I won't buy a coffee maker without a hot plate. Can't taste anything bad if you burn your taste buds.

[@jamespulver3890]

@mipmipmipmipmip Bunn has home models without the heating plate at all, just the thermos. But they're kind of expensive. And they work more like the old one here - once you close the fill door cofee comes out immediately, so you have to train yourself to not close the door till the carafe is in place. OTOH, they're a lot faster than the cheap drip coffee machines FWIW. The other downside is they do this by always having a reserve of hot water in them, so they're always drawing some power.

[@petie40]

I have that coffee maker too and it makes for better tasting coffee but I don't use the grinder feature because its too difficult to clean. I grind the coffee myself with measured ten cup capacity of grinds for the ten cup coffee maker that it is.

[@RaymondHng]

The Bunn-O-Matic works slightly different. Basically, the water that comes out is not the same water you put in. These models have a tank of water that's pre-heated. You have to put the empty carafe on the warm plate first. Then fill the provided plastic container with cold water and pour. That pushes the pre-heated water to the coffee grounds. The cold water that was just poured in is saved and heated for the next cycle.

[@simmonsjoe]

This. Needs a follow up video to explore. Bunn-O-Matic seems to make better coffee in less time.

[@lukasvondaheim]

This sounds like an very terrible idea

[@iroll]

@@lukasvondaheim Not if you're making gallons of coffee to serve a big office, or a restaurant (or a small office of grad students). That's where you usually see the Bunn-O-Matic. My research group in grad school convinced our advisor/boss to buy us one and we managed to run a completely passive device into the ground with our prodigious coffee consumption.

[@youngmug]

Bunn actually makes a home brewer that works essentially the same way, the Speed Brew. I have their Heat N' Brew, which works somewhat similar to the original Mr. Coffee.

[@RaymondHng]

@@lukasvondaheim No, it’s not. If one makes one carafe of coffee per day, one carafe of water is in the tank up to one day. If one makes one carafe of coffee two times per day, one carafe of water is in the tank up to half a day. The tank of water is kept at near boiling temperature much like hot water stored in the hot water heater in homes. It is no different from the Keurig machines that store a tank of water. Bunn-O-Matics are used in commercial settings such as in restaurants.

[@BromTeque]

Norwegian here. If I’m to believe my elders we are among the largest consumers of coffee per capita. Fancy Keurig machines are slowly taking over, but most people above 40 who drink coffee probably posesses a drip coffee machine. Moccamaster is the «household name» here for dripper. Instant coffee and french presses are also very popular and common. I’d also be so bold as to assume most of us own an electric ketle.

[@duncandorris884]

My Moccamaster is one of my prized possessions. That said, if the Bonavita had been available at the time, I would have gladly saved the considerable amount of extra money spent on the Technivorm. I must admit, this video is peaking my curiosity and is making me want to dissect mine.

[@johndododoe1411]

I'm guessing every brand name from Melitta to Mr. Coffee has by now been slapped onto every mechanism ever mass produced, making referring to any one mechanism by it's locally dominant brand name utter nonsense misunderstood by readers whose local shop has that brand name slapped onto a different kind of machine.

[@RandomlyGeneratedUsername]

It's the same here in Finland where we beat even the Norwegians in coffee consumption. Drip coffee makers are still the king with Moccamaster being the most popular. I personally use a French press which I see have gotten more common.

[@seronymus]

So if the global supply chain collapsed how would Norwegians produce coffee in the northern climate? Breed a cold-hardy strain of beans? Giant Greenhouses?

[@CoreyThompson73]

@@seronymus Sounds like something worth fighting a war over.. :-)

[@TrashwareArt]

Some people suggest using cold water for drip coffee makers and I always thought maybe that couldn't possibly affect anything, but now knowing how they work it makes sense.

[@svarthofde2492]

In regards to the "coffee saver" function that may have been rendered useless by the shape of the funnel in which you put the filter. The conical shape would insure the coffee is always stacked.

[@tythanh4708]

ok

[@kohizeri_daisuki]

I remember disassembling a broken drip coffee maker when I was 13 and got really amazed by how effective yet absurdly simple the design was. Coffee makers are not really a common household appliance to have in my country since real coffee grounds are EXPENSIVE here but it's one of those mundane things that got me appreciating technology more. Great great videos by the way! I love the way how you present these topics without it getting any boring considering how long the videos are.

[@StephenGillie]

Coffee isn't cheap in the USA - around $1/oz in grocery stores around Seattle. How much does it cost there?

[@blakksheep736]

What country is that?

[@chuuni6924]

Interestingly, since the video started out about kettles being for tea, I've got a friend who has brewed his tea in a coffee machine ever since he was a kid, and I have to admit even as somewhat of a tea snob that it actually makes pretty decent tea too! It depends on what tea you put in it, for sure, but unless you get too fancy it's entirely fine, and I've never noticed a problem with burning the tea from keeping it warm either.

[@wingracer1614]

He grossly exaggerated the effects of the hot plate on coffee. I find within an hour it is perfectly fine. Over that it starts getting a little of that burnt flavor but not bad. About 1.5-2 hours it goes horribly wrong. No idea about tea. I do know some others that do it that way but I never have

[@wingracer1614]

@@sweetembrace6706 I most definitely DO mind burnt coffee. Can't stand the stuff. But every drip maker I have ever had took over an hour for that to happen, not mere minutes.

[@arcanask]

@@wingracer1614 3 hours is my soft limit for coffee left on the hotplate.

[@danandtab7463]

Before I discovered the joy of the electric kettle, I used to run plain water through the coffee maker specifically for tea. Worked pretty well.

[@stewartanderson6433]

@@wingracer1614 I mean, you could also just get a coffee maker that uses a thermos style carafe instead of a hot plate. We’ve had one for a few years now and it’s great.

[@davidonguitar]

I’m so glad you mentioned The Engineer Guy! That deserves a sub right there.

[@williesgurl2373]

when I was growing up we had a big book called the way things work by David Macauly and it was one of our (my brother and I) favorite books. watching your videos is like diving into that book. I wanted to say thank you for bringing back good memories for me as well as bits of history lessons and the appreciation of the way things were built and the process of improvement of technology (and in some cases the sacrifice of great ingenuity for varying reasons)

[@SexyTRex]

I still have my copy I got when I was a kid. What an amazing book.

[@williesgurl2373]

@@SexyTRex I believe we wore ours out and by that time we were older and quite busy. I've been considering getting another copy or all the different copies so my kids can look at them 📚😄

[@Woden325]

With the Mammoths! I loved that book

[@squirlmy]

I was off to university when that came out, but I loved his first book, "Cathedral" then "Pyramid" and "Castle", which became documentaries, and I especially like, "Underground", because it showed things that one would never see in ordinary life (even during building construction). "The Way Things Work" became a television series. Also, "The New Way Things Work" (1998) and "The Way Things Work Now" (2016) have come out.

[@rick-says-hello-world]

Let's not forget "Motel of Mysteries" -- one of Macaulay's best.

[@carolinavenger]

MEMORY UNLOCKED: my aunt had one of those old fake-wood-grain Mr. Coffee machines in her (finished) basement, where we had a great big extended family Thanksgiving every year. I hate coffee, but I still know how to make it (my dad taught me so he wouldn't have to do it himself, apparently I make excellent coffee that I can never enjoy) - so after Thanksgiving dinner someone would always ask me to make coffee in this ancient 70s monstrosity. Since I only used it once a year I always forgot how it worked and I hated it! Now she's gone and I wish I had one more chance to puzzle through it :( And yes, I miss the engineer guy too

[@volvo09]

When I was a little kid we got a new coffee maker to replace our Mr coffee that was very similar after it broke. I was all upset that we replaced it so my mom cut the cord off and gave it to me so I carried it around in my wagon with my toys for about a month... 😂

[@Ancipital_]

My kids also make the best coffee in the world. Tastes exactly like the coffee I or my wife can make, but don't tell that to the kids, it will ruin the breaking bad vibes they get when carefully determining the coffee to water ratio and the joy from seeing the result drip into the pot, and us enjoying every sip.

[@jordananderson2728]

He's making a new book! It comes out next year :)

[@Gersberms]

What happened to EngineerGuy?

[@davidherbst]

At an old job years ago, I earned a reputation for making particularly good coffee. Someone finally asked how I was doing it, since I was using the same water and coffee packets everyone else was. So, I happily shared my secret: I washed the basket and pot before I made it.

[@DerpyDaringDitzyDoo]

One thing you didn't mention, that unlike percolators or electric kettles, that since a drip coffee machine doesn't give you coffee that's quite as hot, you don't have to wait as long after brewing before you can actually drink it! My favorite part is because they're all so consistent, you can find your favorite kind of coffee and expect it will taste the same pretty much regardless of the machine you use. Even most hotel rooms have the same cheap machines, and I know a lot of people that bring some of their favorite coffee with them.

[@caradanellemcclintock8178]

One thing I will say for stove top percolators is that the water hitting the coffee isn't boiling it boils in the bottom pushing it up through the tube as steam but by the time it hits the coffe it's condensed and the temp has dropped still not the best method if you care alot about coffee but if that was the case you would have an espresso machine but it's a perfectly fine way of making coffee I will say though it doesn't feel as safe since you have to watch it the drip machine you can set and forget while you get your other things done in the morning

[@newagain9964]

@@caradanellemcclintock8178 if u care about coffee you’re not using a percolator, and certainly not a drip coffee maker (or those super nasty pod things).

[@defeqel6537]

I love that some electric kettles now come with options for water temperature, 80-90C water works better for darker coffees, especially with things like AeroPress. Still isn't as convenient as coffee machines though.

[@SmarterThanAll]

​@@newagain9964 Why are you gatekeeping coffee? Stop that's ridiculous.

[@1queijocas]

I simply use a coffee cone with paper filter by itself. No need to buy a machine to do something I can easily do it myself. I do everything directly into a large insulating mug so I can drink the same coffee for the whole morning and it will still be warm

[@jacobhence8452]

Just found you. Started at the beginning with sound engineering and now it's bubbles. Love it

[@coffeetoaster]

At a previous job I was tasked with designing a coffee blend that would still taste good after sitting on restaurant hot plates for a while (hours.) Looking for coffees that are less acidic and have more chocolatey/earthy flavors can greatly improve the experience going back for your second or third cup. Avoid coffees with flavor profiles that have acidic fruits or other things as part of the description. As coffee cools acidic flavors become more pronounced so this also helps if like me you sip your coffee past it being cold. Brew time is a big factor as well, too short and you don't get all the parts the give the coffee its full flavor. Too long and things get watered down, more acidic, and can taste off or sour. Adjusting the grind impacts the speed the water flows through and can have a huge effect on the final product. Not to get too long winded but you can use not enough coffee and still over extract it, just like you can under extract coffee while using too much. Both result in off flavors in their own way. I can't tell you how many places I would find using way too much coffee because they thought it was too weak tasting when the problem was their grind was way too course for their machine resulting in under extracted coffee. If your coffee is too bitter adjusting the grind and making sure your water/coffee portions are correct will get you very far.

[@criticalhit009]

This is really helpful, thank you!

[@2ndfloorsongs]

Yes, very helpful. I tried what you said and it works! (I won't mention how many years I've been doing it wrong.) Thank you, a little bit of my life has been made better because of your thoughtful comment.

[@vaylonkenadell]

Good advice!

[@coffeetoaster]

You are so welcome, I am delighted to hear it was helpful!

[@lingondraken]

I recently found a drip coffee maker which has, instead of a heating plate, the pot is a stainless steel thermos instead of the typical glass pot. The thermos keeps the coffee hot for hours, without the burnt taste that the heater plate otherwise causes. Really happy with it! :)

[@Needler13]

I've been using a Krueger single cup drip based system with a reusable cop. All the coffee without any of the burnt taste, down side is you need to redo the cup making process with every drink. Good for me since I usually only drink 1 or 2 cups a day.

[@jubuttib]

I'd like to see you try the Finnish trick of putting a few pennies (usually 3) on the hot plate. Almost everyone I know (including most restaurants...) does this, with the intention being to reduce the heating from the hot plate to mitigate or at least delay the ruining effect heat has on the coffee.

[@paulmoir4452]

That's brilliant: thanks!

[@2009dudeman]

I can confirm we do that here in the Midwest US. Especially in diners that still use the commercial bunn machines.

[@pev_]

Or get a good coffee maker (which usually means more expensive, yes) that has a separate heating element for the plate with a thermostat that keeps the plate at an ideal temperature :)

[@natebell4764]

I am a single guy who enjoys coffee at any temperature. To me the biggest thing that spoils coffee aside from hot plates is air exposure. A good insulated sealed carafe is must have for me. I do an electric kettle pour over straight into a carafe then seal it up and drink it down over the course of 3 or so days. I also live in the Midwest if that means anything. In the summer the cold milder flavored portion of the coffee is as welcomed as a fresh brew.

[@pev_]

@@natebell4764 There have been coffee maker models that, instead of having a hot plate, drip the coffee straight into a thermos can (i.e. a vacuum-insulated container with a sealed lid). I do not know if they are still available currently.

[@martinruszkowski9152]

Another great videograph...I agree on taking off the coffee shortly after it's done brewing so that it doesn't burn and taste like crap.. however, I immediately transfer it to a coffee thermos and enjoy it through mid-afternoon.

[@bobcarn]

I remember when we got our Mr. Coffee. It was a big deal back then. It really did revolutionize home-brewed coffee. Households almost universally used percolators, and Mr. Coffee let you make coffee that taste MUCH better but make it faster and more easily. It was one of those rare times when advertising didn't exaggerate. And if I remember correctly, Joe DiMaggio did not want to be a spokesperson and kept turning them down. They eventually persuaded him by showing him that their device really was a huge improvement. And now that I've watched this video and have a craving for a hot cup of coffee, I'm firing up my device to brew one.