This weekend, my parents and two of their friends were visiting me in San Diego, California. I love having people over, and I especially love having coffee lovers over. It gives me a chance to show off my gear, and raise awareness of coffee beyond their Keurig machine.On the first morning, I broke out my Chemex, the one that makes two cups at a time. See where I'm going with this? It took me two cycles just to make a cup for each of my guests, and I still didn't have my own in hand. That night, I thought ahead to the next morning and wondered if I even still owned a drip brewer. I've been using my French Press and Chemex for so long, I couldn't remember the last time I even used a drip brewer. A quick search of the cupboards uncovered my trusty Black and Decker drip brewer.
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The whole thing reminded me of my golden rule of kitchen appliances. Here it is, in all of its unscientificness...
If you want the best, buy Cuisinart. If you're on a budget and want the best that's adequate, buy Black and Decker.
Before learning about brewing methods like the French Press and Chemex, I had a Cuisinart drip brewer for years. It made a great cup of coffee, and had additional features that made sense, such as heating the water more for smaller amounts of coffee, since the water wouldn't otherwise have time to get as hot as needed.When we assembled the MakeGoodCoffee.com Coffee Maker Report Card, the Cuisinart found its way close to the top of the list, but an interesting fifth place went to Black and Decker. It was the only one priced under $40 that still met our report card criteria, and quickly became the machine I recommended to those that didn't have $70-100 to invest in a higher-end drip brewer.My golden rule of kitchen appliances is based on my own experience. Learn about both drip brewers at Cooking.com
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