Brewing a pot of coffee through many years was considered quite simple. This was accomplished by taking ground roasted coffee beans, adding them to a pan of hot water. Boiling the water and sometimes going by the smell to guess when it had cooked long enough. Then a cup of coffee could be enjoyed. Campground style pot of coffee is similar to this method.

Several inventors tried there hand at creating automatic coffee brewing appliances. This was in the latter part of the 20th century. The very first automatic drip brew coffeemaker for home use became popular in 1972. Since that time many changes have been made, in the design and the materials used. Glass instead of metal came into use for the carafe or bottom pot holding the brewed coffee. The need for more decorative type appliances in the home became in demand by the homemaker. The manufactures aimed to please the public. In doing so decorative home colors in materials made from plastic were used. The area where water was poured into and the brewing basket became a part of the home decor.

The electric drip coffeemaker contains a few simple mechanisms. The operation performance is guided by a flexible hose at the base of the reservior that the water is poured into. This hose goes to a metal tube, which has the job of heating the water. The tube is usually made of aluminum. The element for heating the water surrounds the metal tube. The method of moving the heated water is called “thermosiphon principal” This creates a heated pressure along with a siphoning effect. A thermostat controls the temperature of the water. The water then passes through a special insulated hose.

A spray of water goes onto the basket of ground coffee. A filter placed below the coffee grounds in the basket prevents them from entering the brewed coffee liquid. A heating element is located under the carafe. The finished product was created by a drip coffee maker.

Drip coffee makers offer many features such as a warming plate, water reservoir, filter holder, and heat-retaining, vacuum insulated, brushed, stainless steel carafe or carafe stand. You can brew coffee directly into a thermal carafe, coffee pot or into travel mugs. Other features include:

• Single cup, 2 cup, 4 cup, 6 cup, 8 cup, 10 cup, 12 cup and even 14 cup
• 24-hour programmable clock/timer
• 1-4 cup setting
• Automatic cleaning cycle
• Advanced water filtration that eliminates chlorine and bacteria
• Audible tone to signal completion of the brew cycle
• Brew-pause feature
• Built-in coffee grinder
• Aroma button
• Removable cone filter basket
• Adjust the strength of the brew
• Front access door for pouring water or adding coffee grounds
• Removable drip tray
• Removable water reservoir
• Pressure safety valve
• Built-in espresso maker / cappuccino maker

Some popular manufacturers are:

• DeLonghi
• Hamilton Beach
• Cuisinart
• Toastmaster
• Mr. Coffee
• Sunbeam
• Black & Decker
• Braun
• Keurig
• Farberware
• Capresso
• Bunn
• Zojirushi
• Melitta
• Bodum
• Chemex

You should decide what size of drip coffee maker you need. We know that 6 cup automatic drip coffee makers are popular for people who just want to make a few cups of coffee in the morning but other people like the 14 cup size if it’s being used by several people and if it’s being used more frequently.

You will want to find a drip coffee maker that’s easy to clean. Some brands (like Mr. Coffee for instance) need to be cleaned fairly often, which can be a chore. Other brands will need to be cleaned less often. To clean a coffee maker, run a light mixture of vinegar and water through a brewing cycle and then run a cycle of water before you run a regular coffee brewing cycle.

Another important feature is the programming. You want one that’s easy to program (use a timer) without a lot of complicated menus or one that will give you confusing error messages or require you to leave it alone for 5 minutes before you can try changing a setting again. Yes, this happened to my mom with a Krups coffee maker and she took it back.

Drip coffee makers are probably the most inexpensive of all coffee makers and they are the single most popular small kitchen appliance in the US. Find the best prices in our Drip Coffee Makers Store.

When the coffee you’re brewing doesn’t taste right or if it’s coming out slowly (taking forever to brew a pot of coffee), then it may be time not to just clean your coffee pot but clean your drip coffee maker. A drip coffee maker should be cleaned once a month. Cleaning your drip coffee maker removes hard water mineral deposits, oils from previously brewed pots and other impurities.

Don’t ever use any type of soap to clean the inside of your coffee maker. Soap will create suds when going through the cycle, causing a big mess. Ssoaps and detergents will also leave a residue behind that can damage your automatic drip coffee maker and really make your coffee taste terrible. Yuck.

Below, well explain how to clean a drip coffee maker with vinegar and also give you some other alternatives to vingar as well. We’ll even explain how to clean your coffee pot, so that your coffee can be the best it can be.

How to Clean a Coffee Maker with Vinegar

Remove your used coffee filter. Create a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water – filling the whole pot. So for a 12 cup pot, you’d fill the pot with vinegar to the 4 cup line and then fill the rest of the pot with water. Here’s a hand reference guide, so that you don’t have to think about it:

Pour the vinegar and water solution it in your water reservoir and turn the coffee maker on. Let this mixture run through a brew cycle then let your drip coffee maker cool for about 20 minutes. If your coffee maker hasn’t been cleaned in a while, then do this again by creating a new mixture of vinegar and water and run it through again.

Fill the water reservoir with a pot of clean water and run that through a brewing cycle. Once that has run through, run another pot of clean water through one more time – just to make sure all of the vinegar has been run through completely. Let the drip coffee maker cool for 20 minutes.

How to Clean a Coffee Maker Without Vinegar

To clean it without vinegar, you have a few options:

• Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
• Drop two denture cleaning tablets in a pot of water. Make sure the tablets fully dissolve.
• Mix 1 oz oc citric acid into 4 cups of hot water, then add 4 cups cold water.
• Mix 1 part baking soda to 4 parts warm water. Mix it well.
• Use coffee maker cleaning solution that you find at the store.

Be sure to not mix baking soda and vinegar.

In addition to cleaning the inside of your coffee maker, now is a good time to wipe down the outside of it and also wash any parts that easily come off in hot, soapy water.

How to Clean a Coffee Pot

Often, a coffee pot will get coffee stains on it from baked on coffee. Here are a few ways to clean your coffee pot.

• Put about a half a cup of bleach into the coffee pot and mix it around. Be sure to rinse it well and never mix bleach and vinegar as it makes a poisonous gas.
• Mix luke warm water, some ice and table salt into the pot. Swirl it around in the pot so that the mixture moves rapidly along the inside edges of the pot. The salt will create the abrasive edge to help remove coffee stains. Some people even toss in a small green scrub pad.
• Run the carafe or pot through a wash in the dishwasher or just try some hot, soapy water and elbow grease!

Then be sure to rinse your coffee pot several times and let it dry (especially if you use bleach).

Now it’s time to brew a fresh pot of coffee and enjoy it!

You have a few options. You can get a drip coffee maker that makes many cups or a pod coffee maker that makes just one or very few cups. You get really great tasting coffee with the single cup coffee maker.

Drip coffee makers may be what you’re looking for if you prefer the usual type of brewed coffee, which is a medium grind. It’s important to first establish your standards around the type of coffee you want, how much you want at a time, and other additional features that your coffee maker needs to provide. The last thing you want is for making coffee to be a hassle.

Automatic drip coffee makers are a great choice. They consist of a power base, filter, warming plate (or carafe), timers, automatic shut off, aroma buttons, pause buttons and other great features. Other great features to look for are water filtration and built-in coffee grinders to really make that perfect cup of coffee.

The size of your drip coffee maker is also important. One cup brewing is becoming very popular but you can get coffee makers that can produce up to 14 cups of coffee. The serving size, of course, will depend on how much coffee you need or prefer to make at a time.

You should also look at the different brands of drip coffee makers. Choose a brand that has a good reputation and that has been on the market for years. Avoid newcomers. Be sure to also see how long of a warranty your new coffee maker has.

Another popular feature mentioned above is the carafe. Well insulated coffee carafes keep your coffee warm even up to 6 hours or more. The more you pay for the carafe, generally the better it is. You want to look for good stainless steel construction. Carafes keep your coffee warm and tasting great since there is no warming plate, which can often warm the coffee too much until it burns.

You can spend anywhere from $20 to $200 or more on a good drip coffee maker. Cheap coffee makers may not always be efficient. Decide what features you need and which features will make it easiest for you to make that great cup of coffee without all the hassle.

Keurig’s innovative single-cup drip coffee maker brewing system lets coffee lovers brew perfect coffee, one cup at a time, in less than a minute. Affectionately called the K-Cup system, the Keurig B50 Gourmet Single Cup Coffee Brewer is designed for simple, easy use at home. This patented single-cup brewing system lets you brew a perfect cup of gourmet coffee in less than a minute without the hassle of grinding beans, measuring coffee, handling filters or cleaning up.

Keurig takes away all the guesswork from brewing a consistently great cup of coffee and, as a lover of great coffee, you deserve it.

We’ve got one of these and they’re great. They’re so easy to use because there’s no clean up and the coffee tastes great. If you go to the coffee shop every morning, save your $4 coffee drinks and don’t sacrifice a great cup of coffee that gets you going in the morning. You’ll also enjoy more variety since it’s easy to get different flavor and varieties of coffee.

Keurig B50 Drip Coffee Maker Features:

• 1,500-watt single-cup brewing system with 2 brew-size options
• Removable 48-ounce water reservoir; removable drip tray for quick cleanup
• 24-hour digital clock; programmable turn on/off times; brew-stage indicator
• Complimentary 18 K-cup variety pack of gourmet coffee and tea included
• Measures 13 by 10 by 13-1/4 inches
• 1-year limited warranty

Unit Dimensions: 13H x 10W x 13.25D

Voltage: 120VAC 60HZ / UL and c-UL approved for Household use only

Love my coffee!

“I purchased this drip coffee maker in January of this year and love it. At fist I wondered how I’d keep up with the cost of K-cups. But, I’ve just ordered through Amazon’s K-cup subscription and this will work well for me, financially. Look into this, folks. What a wonderful way to get your coffee at a better price and with 0 shipping charge! Now I’m enjoying great coffee at a very affordable price.”

Get it, you won’t regret it

“My wife actually is the big coffee drinker in the house, and she loves this drip coffee maker. She didn’t want to get it at first, because it’s non-traditional. But it was recommended by someone who is very into gourmet foods and none of the traditional drip coffee makers had good reviews, so we went with this one. She absolutely loves it, and we have since told many other people about these machines. Get it, and you won’t regret it.”

Buy the Keurig B50 Gourmet Single-Cup Brewing System today >>