Journal

May 5, 2015

The Best Home Coffee Brewers

Our addiction to caffeine is only exceeded by our dependence on coffee makers. For many of us we started our fickle habit with the simple percolator and soon moved on to the hour-glass shaped Chemex, then to French presses, eventually graduating to the age-of-convenience Keurig or the Nepresso. Now there’s a new brew of high-end, low-maintenance professional coffee makers available for residential use where you can make a cup of Joe almost as fast as you can say barista.

But first, let’s start with the basics: Water.  Whether you have well water or highly chlorinated city water, it’s important to address a filter, which can easily be installed. One can install a charcoal filtration system which removes impurities of different levels (Keeping in mind the filters will need to be changed periodically). Another type of filtration is the reverse osmosis system, a process in which dissolved inorganic solids (such as salts) are removed from the water. This allows only the water to pass, not the impurities or contaminates, which are flushed down the drain. The unit you select should be designed so the water once filtered, is plumbed directly to the coffee maker.

miele coffeemaker
photo credit: Miele

Miele has a streamlined, built-in unit that keeps countertops clutter free. This unit is typically mounted in a tall cabinet and stores caffeinated or decaffeinated beans with programmable and adjustable cup size units for coffee, espresso, Cappuccino, café latte, latte macchiato, lungo coffee, steamed milk, milk foam, and even your basic hot water. Essentials like a system lock and water protection system are provided. Oh, and it also has an automatic cleaning cycle.

To read further about Miele coffee makers, here is the link: MIELE USA

There are also many wonderful free standing units, among the best is Jura, which I have recommended to my clients.  For more: Jura Impressa

As you can see in the featured image below, my client has two Jura coffeemakers in her kitchen, one for decaf and one for regular.

open cabinet and coffee area detail 33r

Last, but not least, for those of us whose iPhones are never beyond arm’s length there is the “Top Brewer” by Scanomat. This long awaited, sophisticated, built-in coffee maker is mounted in a base cabinet and all that is visible is the stylish spout, modern and sexy. The bad news is that it only holds either decaf or regular. There is, however, a platinum lining:  it’s controlled by an app on your iPhone or iPad. So 21st century! If only it could bring coffee to you in bed….

scanomat coffee
photo credit: Scanomat

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave a message using the forum below, or send me an email at info@sarahblankdesignstudio.com

Best,

Sarah