Coffee Makers Review, Something in-between, and Christmas Lights with RTT

Coffee Makers Review! You read it right ‘makers’ as in plural. I’m going to give you the inside scoop on what I liked and didn’t like about three automatic coffee makers, I used over the last three to four weeks.

My initial criteria for selecting a machine was simple. It must:

• use the cone-shaped filters.
• be a 4 or 5 cup machine.

In theory, the cone-shaped filter is regarded as the best step to make sure a better cup of coffee, especially when brewing for manual drip process (see my, RTT September 2011 post for video). This is why the cone-shaped coffee makers are appealing to so many.  Also, the water shouldn’t spend anymore than 4 minutes drizzling over the coffee. What happens is if too much time is spent, then you get an over-extracted cup of coffee. Every coffee maker we’ve ever seen definitely takes longer than 4-minutes to brew coffee. Our thoughts were, if we got a unit designed to make a smaller number of cups then maybe the time factor wouldn’t be an issue. Now, you know what was going on inside our minds.

The first coffee maker under the microscope is the Zojirushi EC-DAC50, which I ordered from Amazon for slightly over $66.  I liked that the unit was small. I had no trouble placing it on my already tight counter top space. It also had a removable water chamber, which made filling the machine easier. I simply pulled it out and added filtered water directly from my faucet. The cone filter sits inside the carafe, which didn’t score points with me one way or the other. However, the carafe lid did not latch well, which could be a problem if you didn’t know to watch for it. This model isn’t programmable and doesn’t auto-shut off, which didn’t make any difference to me since I had no plans to use those features. It also has a built-in water filter. This is something I didn’t care about since we already use filtered water, but I thought maybe it would make for a better cup of coffee with the added filtration.

Next up is the Krups KM4055, which I actually bought from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in town on sale for less than $40. Unfortunately, this unit isn’t on their online site. You may be hard press to find it in your local store, too. This was on the only one in the store. Although there was no signs of clearing this item out, it rang up 50% off. I suspect this is an older model which replaces the KM4065, which looks a lot like it.  This machine is a 12-cup coffee maker, but it has an ‘Aroma’ button feature for times when you have fewer than 6-cups of coffee to brew or for those who prefer strong coffee. The water chamber had to be filled by bringing the water to the machine and its size made counter space tight. However, that’s something I could live with, if it resulted in sensational coffee. This unit has a large drip pattern kinda like a shower head which seemed to be a good idea for more evenly distributed water over the coffee grounds. This coffee machine had more bells and whistles. It was programmable, auto shut-off, and a removable water filter – all nice features, if you’re looking for that sort of thing

The last machine I bought is from Amazon. A Mr. Coffee TF6, which I paid about $23. Funny, I found it in our local Wal-Mart for $10 less. Ouch, right?  This little machine is light weight and cheap. It’s uses the basket type filters NOT the cone style, but I decided why not give it a try. The unit is small…even smaller than the Zojirushi. It was an easy fit. There are NO special features or filters with this unit. Wait, it does come with a nylon type basket filter, if you prefer that over paper. I decided to go with the paper filters. You fill the water chamber (not removable), add the coffee, and press your on button. It’s that simple. It’s that basic. No bells and whistles, which was fine by me.

I know what you’re thinking, “Hey, you haven’t told us what you thought about the end product, your cup of Joe!” I did this on purpose, my friend. I have a method to my madness.  Despite the cost and our initial criteria, we found the Mr. Coffee made a clearer tasting cup of coffee. It came closer to our manual drip process than the more expensive Zojirushi and Krups units.  These fancier, more costly coffee makers made an odd tasting cup of coffee, which may be caused by the machine’s water filters. All three machines spent more than 4-minutes brewing 5-cups of coffee. I timed the process from the second I saw the water drip through to the pot. We wound up returning the Zojirushi and Krups and kept the Mr. Coffee.

Something in-between…

What do you think of that nifty picture at the top? I snapped it on Friday just south of Mt. Mitchell, our first destination for the day.  It looks cold, doesn’t it? Well, it was cold…22 degrees and strong winds. Brrr, the gusts really shook me at times. That makes for tricky photographing.

From there, we drove south to Cherokee, North Carolina. In the picture on your left, we saw these Elk grazing in a large field near the visitors center in Cherokee.  That was an awesome experience!

We caught a beautiful East Tennessee sunset from Clingman’s

We descended the curvy, steep terrain bound for home. The entire foothills community (Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, & Gatlinburg) are currently in the midst of their Winter Fest. Every thing was beautifully decorated with colorful lights and greenery.

The detoxify method has yielded some positive results. Slowly, but surely the natural rhythm of my digestive tract is restoring. Trust me, I still have a long way to go. However, the fact I’m seeing good signs after only two-weeks makes me hopeful.  My rash is 99% cleared up. Hooray! What I’m thrilled about is I’ve lost 3.5 pounds during this time. I’ve gone from 120.5 to 117. You gotta remember ladies, I’m very petite (5’2″) and this is seriously too much extra baggage for me. My goal is to be 110 before the end of the year. Once upon a time (2005) I was 102 pounds. That’s where I want to be again.

I’m sure the cleansing process is benefiting me with jump starting my metabolism, but I am an avid exerciser, too. Last week, I rode my stationary bike for 40 plus miles, as well did an extra 45-60 minutes with the Turbo Jam or the Zumba fitness teams. The reason I know the detox is giving me an extra one up is because I’ve exercised regularly for the past…forever and this has given me a boost. I’ll keep you in the loop on this process to see if I continue to have success.

I need your opinion, please. Do you buy used books? If so, how much do you spend on paperback copies? The reason, I ask is I’m a wee bit perplexed. Last Thursday, I wrote Books! Books For Sale!!! trying to unload some wholesome fiction books for girls ages 8-13, which belonged to our daughters and are in excellent condition. Is $2 per/book plus shipping reasonable? What can I do to grab some one’s interest? I have other books I’d like to sell, as well if I can find a home for these. I don’t want to put much time into this, if I can’t find any takers. Advice! Advice! I need your advice on how to move these two sets I posted about!

Christmas lights…yes, let’s talk about Christmas lights. Yesterday, I put up our tree. If you’ve read my posts then you may recall, I like to get an early start on my Christmas decorating because I love the atmosphere it adds to our Thanksgiving festivities. Every year when we go to put on our standard, mini multi-color lights, we discover strands that either don’t work at all or only half-light up. What’s puzzling is, we make sure before storing away the lights that they are working. Are you plagued with faulty Christmas lights, too?  This brings me to LED Christmas lights. We are entertaining the idea of replacing them with LEDs. Do you have experience with LED Christmas lights? If so, do you run into problems with them after one season of use? I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks Stacy for keeping the randomness alive while Keely @ UnMom is taking a break! Go ahead, slip into the ranting mood with the rest of us. I know, you’ll feel right at home. You won’t run into any odd ball looks here because anything goes. C’mon on, join the weekly fun with this cool meme and tell Stacy, “Cathy sent ya!”

What’s the tape for, have I rambled too much?  What’s on your my mind today?

This has been a personal product review based on my opinion. I was not compensated to write about any of the above products.