Quote:
Originally Posted by luger.parabellum
... three different ways of making coffee...
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(Sergio, I took the liberty of correcting the typo.) This looks like a handy appliance to be had. I'd not mentioned the espresso pot method of brewing, and this little machine appears to perform that, as well.
If one has more extra space than money, it's less expensive to own a filter cone, a French press, and an Italian espresso pot separately. One should also be able to find a decent percolator at a yard sale, and there's a very simple, effective, and economical little apparatus for getting steam by attaching it to the snout of a tea kettle. The benefits of economy class with the flavor of first class, whichever method you're into at the moment!
On a final note, the biggest enemy of the flavor of coffee is oxygen, which immediately degrades it in a major way. I recommend that whichever method(s) one prefers, it is always best to brew and serve in apparatus that closes things off to the air. The carafes with internal bladders do an excellent job of maintaining peak flavor for extended periods. A filter cone should have, at least, a lid while brewing The other methods limit air by their nature, except percolators--which cycle the liquid through the grounds repeatedly, and "cowboy coffee" prepared in a saucepan and then filtered or left to settle. Then again, I suppose one could put a lid over the pan while the coffee steeps. I was able to correct a server once, who, in an effort to be flamboyant, barista style, dispensed the coffee from the urn in about a 30" stream to the cup, held very low. I explained about air degradation and asked him to keep the cup up by the spout when he dispensed the refill, and it was remarkably different in how much more flavor it presented!