Thursday, August 30, 2007

Thursday Tips: Coffee Maker

Every Thursday is tip day.

If you are in the market for a new coffee maker for your RV, consider buying one with a thermal carafe. Instead of using a warmer plate under the clear glass pot to keep the coffee warm after brewing, the carafe is well insulated like a thermos and needs no additional heat.

This keeps the coffee at a drinkable temperature without electricity. The machine brews the coffee, and then shuts off. Typically, the brewing cycle is 5 to 10 minutes on any machine. If it also has a warming pad, that can run another 1 to 2 hours.

The warming pads also tend to "cook" the coffee as it sits there. While that means the coffee may be hotter longer, it may also make it taste burnt.

Thermal carafes are usually one of two styles: plastic outer shell with glass inner liner (like an old fashioned thermos) or metal inner and outer pot with a plastic handle. We had a glass one until it broke while Sean was washing it. I think the constant vibration of the bus weakened the glass. We now have a stainless steel one and it has been just fine. No funny taste to the coffee.

This may be my last post for a few days. We have just been called for a Red Cross job, and they tend to be pretty busy at the beginning.

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