Why Don't They Make a Cheap Drip Coffemaker That Gets Hot Enough?

December 28, 2015 10:19 AM

So, the experts say the reason the typical Big Box drip coffeemaker makes, at least in their opinions, mediocre coffee is that they don't get the water hot enough. That's my opinion, too. You can spend $300-$400 and get a drip coffeemaker that gets the water hot enough. But, why isn't anyone selling a $50 coffeemaker that gets the water just as hot? Does it really cost a couple of hundred more dollars to bump the temp up 10 degrees? My $20 electric kettle gets all kind of hot. Is keeping the water at the right temperature after heating the tricky part?
posted by justcorbly to Shopping (7 answers total)

i don't have a complete answer, but the way that they work (as far as i know) is by boiling the water so that steam pressure forces it out of the spout. so the water is at boiling point, at least inside the machine. and you can't get hotter than that without going to higher pressure.

so my guess would be that either the better machines use higher pressure (which sounds like it would be expensive) or insulate things better (which at least needs more material) or have a higher flow rate (to reduce cooling) (which needs a better heater and so is more expensive).
posted by andrewcooke at 10:34 AM on December 28, 2015

are you sure that your argument is sound? maybe provide a link to some greater elaboration on this not-hot-enough-hypothesis.

my impression had been that ideal coffee brewing temperatures are rather slightly under a boil (195-205 F) which is why i keep my digitally programmable hot water heater set to 205 for my coffee brewing purposes.

Can you clarify whether youre referring to espresso machines or not?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:48 AM on December 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, you can spend $3-400 on a temperature stable machine, or you can just spend less than $150 on one that is also temperature stable. That bonavita gets really good marks from The Sweethome, Consumer Reports and ATK. They're good brewers, relatively cheap in the higher-end drip-brewer range, and they produce a really good cup of drip coffee if you use them correctly.

My guess is that it's a matter of the market not giving a shit; most companies making and selling $50 coffee makers don't care about heat stability, nor do their customers. But you're probably not going to get a $50 machine that is very heat stable.

I would reach out to the makers of the Ratio coffee brewer, as they built their brewer from the ground up, specifically with heat-stability in mind (and overall build quality). I don't think their price point is justifiable, but they have good insight to the manufacturing process and the market in general. They might be able to answer your question in a bit more detail.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:51 AM on December 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I'm referring to drip coffeemakers found in most American kitchens and offices, and elsewhere, that are widely criticized for failing to deposit water on the grounds at that 195-205F range.
posted by justcorbly at 10:54 AM on December 28, 2015

Response by poster: Furnace, I use a Bonavita and, yes, it's excellent.
posted by justcorbly at 10:58 AM on December 28, 2015

this article goes into some detail on how they work and confirms what i said above - water enters the heating section through a one-way valve and, as it is brought to boil, steam forces the water up and out through the spout (the wikipedia article for these things has a very vague explanation that makes little sense to me, as a physicist; this article / mechanism does make sense, and is consistent with the noises you hear during brewing).

however, it is incredibly crude. i can imagine that the water heating is nothing like uniform (so cooler water could be pushed out by hotter steam "behind"). to improve it you would likely need a higher thermal mass and some kind of control with temperature sensors. in short, as that article shows, these are really made to a price, with a single element being forced to do two jobs, and little control or feedback. it's not surprising they are so unpredictable, or that spending more money gives better results.
posted by andrewcooke at 12:39 PM on December 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

sorry, just one more comment, to directly answer your question.

your kettle does one job. heat up water.

your drip machine does three: pre-heat water, pump water, and then heat again (via the base plate, pretty much like a kettle).

to get a single heating element to do all three jobs requires a lot of compromises. that is why it is not as good as your (much simpler) kettle.
posted by andrewcooke at 12:52 PM on December 28, 2015 [2 favorites]