NOw it's the turn of test victim number six, the one-cup Brookstone Tools Automatic Drip Coffeemaker. Another one of those simple little electric brewers, this one brews its output by pumping water through a heating element and up a pipe located in the middle of the water tank, over the top and out a single spout into a permanent filter made in the design of the No.
1 size, Melitta style modified cone. The brew drips into a double-walled, flat-bottom straight-sided 12-ounce mug which is shaped like the coffee mugs you get in many American diner-type restaurants.This unit is made of sturdier-feeling plastic than that used in the Black and Decker one-cup Brew 'N Go, and it has more metal in its construction. It also costs more, 30 dollars or so plus shipping from Brookstone Tools, as compared to the $14.95 to $19.95 you're likely to pay for the B and D. Both machines use that no. 1 filter cone size, not the larger no. 2 as I mentioned in the test report on the B. and D.
I think this filter cone size is too small for these machines, since unless you grind the coffee very coarsely to allow a fast drip-through, you can't put enough ground coffee in the basket to get a decently strong cup l' Joe, at least not by my standards.
This time, I ran water through the Brookstone to get it good and warm. The cup was thus warmed up, and the water tank and filter cone and basket were warm when I loaded it up for the test. In this machine, the conbination of the shape of the cover and the dimmensions of the filter basket meant that in order for the stiff steel barrel of the probe to go into the filter basket, there would be an opening about half an inch or more high around the lid, which will result in an undershoot on real-world actual temp readings of this machine. This was true of most of the other test subjects, but on all the others, including the B. and D. model, I could close the lid down more with a smaller gap between filter basket and cover than I got with this Brookstone unit.
Air temperature at beginning of test, 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold tap water goes into warm water tank, and wait a minute or two: water temperature, 88 degrees.
Insert thermometer probe into ground coffee, 90.5 degrees.
Start the watch:
5 seconds, start the coffeemaker 10 seconds, 90.8 degrees 13 seconds, water begins pumping 20 seconds, 140.6 degrees 30 seconds, 175.4 degrees Water pours into cup 40 seconds, 187.3 degrees 50 seconds, 191.3 degrees 1 minute, 195.2 degrees 1 minute 5 seconds, 196.5 degrees 1 minute 12 seconds, "one hundred and ninet..." and the talker wimped out 1 minute 21 seconds, 198.2 degrees 1 minute 28 seconds, 198.7 degrees 1 minute 38 seconds, 199.5 degrees 1 minute 44 seconds, 199.3 degrees 2 minutes, 199.6 degrees 2 minutes 5 seconds, reading not voiced 2 minutes 13 seconds, reading not voiced 2 minutes 19 seconds, faster pumping, reading not voiced 2 minutes 30 seconds, faster pumping, no voiced readout 2 minutes 38 seconds, 208 degrees 2 minutes 43 seconds, silent squawker 3 minutes, heavy gurgling, heavy steam, slower water output 3 minutes 12 seconds, slowing pumping, sighing, hot steam 3 minutes 19 seconds, switch clicks in brewer, still no voice output 3 minutes 39 seconds, 2100.8 degrees 3 minutes 46 seconds, 200.6 degrees 3 minutes 52 seconds, 200.1 degrees 4 minutes, 199 degrees 4 minutes 4 seconds, probe still in filter, most brew dripped out, 199.3 degrees 4 minutes 7 seconds, 197.3 degrees 4 minutes 13 seconds, 194, (voice wimps out).MOve probe from filter basket into the coffee cup; heavy sigh from coffeemaker
4 minutes 37 seconds, 178.9 degrees 5 minutes 39 seconds, 176.3 degrees Fahrenheit.It's a sink drink, just too weak. PLain old hot water would taste almost as good.
I actually found that if I used pre-ground store-bought coffee, like pre-ground Eight O'clock, or something like pre-ground Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee, I got a more acceptible brew from these one-cup jobs that take only the no. 1 size filter.
If I want a single-cup type machine, maybe I should really check out that Starbucks "Solo Grande" which does have a no. 2 size filter, and brews into one of their tall 16-ounce travel mugs.
Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA USA Email: snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth.net Phone: 1-404-814-0768