Category: Coffee Recipes

Coffee Makers in the Workplace

Many people have a coffee maker at work. This is a great idea because it lets employees and managers alike have something in common and lets everyone have a short break from work while they refresh their coffee mugs. Coffee makers are used in office buildings, manufacturing plants, and almost every type of business there is from fast food to convenience stores. The office coffee maker is a place everyone can go and chit chat for a few minutes similar to a water cooler.

The usual office coffee maker is of the automatic drip variety and makes about 12 cups at a time. The funny thing is, 12 cups from a coffee maker means about 5 ounces per cup. Nobody drinks that little so you might as well assume one pot will serve 6 people. For a busy workplace you may need a larger coffee maker to accommodate everyone and might even decide to use a coffee vending machine. If this is owned and operated by the company, they may lower the prices so they don’t make much profit. This will be made up with employee morale and productivity so it evens out.

Many people feel better and more alert after drinking coffee so naturally, a coffee maker in the workplace helps everyone. The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant and should help them feel that way. If your employee is alert, there is less chance of incomplete work and injuries as they should be paying more attention to the job at hand.

The type of coffee maker for the workplace will need to be discussed among all the coffee drinkers and if a fancy one is needed, everyone should help pay for it. A normal coffee maker costs between 10 to 40 dollars but fancy ones can be 60-90 dollars depending on the features. These higher priced coffee makers usually come with a foamer, grinder, or some other special feature that would cause the price to be so high. You may want to just get two cheaper ones as there is always someone who wants decaffeinated coffee and doesn’t like to mix the two types of coffee in one pot.

If you work in a large manufacturing plant or industrial building, chances are you will have to walk a long way to get a cup of coffee. Many of these workplaces use strategically placed break rooms that will have an assortment of vending machines. One of those may be a coffee vending machine or there might be a coffee maker on the counter for employees in your area to use. Make sure you have someone clean it before you clock out or management may take it away. I have seen this happen before.

With espresso and cappuccino becoming very popular, you might have one of these machines in your workplace. They cater to certain people usually but many come with a normal coffee pot on one side. This can help balance out two distinct tastes and make more employees happy.

Coffee Makers for Camping

Camping is a great hobby and a fun pastime for many people. It can be very relaxing to get in touch with nature and spend a few days in the desert or woods enjoying nature. You can swim, fish, or just enjoy doing absolutely nothing. Just because you are in the wilderness doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good cup of coffee though. There are many different ways you can brew a cup or a pot of coffee while camping.

There is a large variety of coffee makers that are designed especially for camping. There are small ones that will make just one cup or large ones that will make many cups at once. It all depends on how much you want to pack in with you and how many people are going that will want coffee. The most common coffee makers for camping are of the manual drip variety as all you do is pour boiling water over your coffee while it sits in a filter. The filter sits in a holder and you just set the holder over your cup or mug. Other varieties might need to be set on a portable stove or set on ashes to boil the water. There are even some automatic drip coffee makers that have been designed for the camper who really wants that added convenience. These models are quite large and are not for the camper who is going to hike 10 miles for the perfect spot. They also require a camp stove.

Your best method for making coffee while camping would be a manual drip coffee maker that is specifically designed for camping. These come in a large assortment of shapes and sizes but are made to withstand uneven campfire heat. The best ones are made out of stainless steel or another fire resistant metal and have everything built in. They usually look like one coffee pot set upside down on another. You put your ground coffee in a filter in the middle of the unit and water in the bottom. You set it on the fire until you see steam and then you flip it over and set it somewhere cool. The flipping process lets the water slowly drain through the coffee grounds resulting in freshly brewed coffee for everyone.

The filter holder method works well also. You take a filter holder, put in a filter and add your coffee. Set it over your pot or cup and pour in boiling water. This is a great method if you don’t need to brew a lot of coffee and don’t want to pack around heavy equipment.

If you ask an experienced camper or visit a specialized camping store, you will be able to find out which type of coffee maker might be the best for your next camping trip. There are many to choose from so you can decide on what will be the best for you. Retail stores usually have a camping aisle so you can browse around next time you are doing some shopping there.

Coffee Makers Are Big Business In the U.S.

The average American drinks at least 3 cups of coffee daily. The United States is a leading coffee consumer with Americans drinking an overall 400 million cups of coffee each year. It’s no wonder that coffee makers are one of the most sold products. The Cowboy Coffee Pot of the 1800’s has evolved into modern, sleek machines that cater to the appetites of eager coffee drinkers.

Coffee is big business. Some reports state that coffee sales are increasing 20 percent every year. Specialty coffee (cappuccino, latte, etc) accounts for at least 8 percent of all coffee sales.

Who’s Using Coffee Makers These Days?

The average American is said to drink an average of three cups of coffee daily. The average number of sales in a drive through coffee shop each day is 200 to 300 cups. More than 50,000 coffee shops are expected to be open by 2010.
52 percent of American adults drink coffee. This translates to more than 100 million people drinking coffee every day. That’s a lot of coffee makers. Women tend to drink coffee to relax while men tend to drink coffee when they’re trying to get something done.

When are the most coffee makers in use? 65% of adults drink coffee with breakfast. 30 percent of Americans drink coffee between meals and about 5% drink coffee with meals. 35 percent of coffee drinkers prefer their coffee black. 65% add sugar and/or cream to customize their coffee experience.

More than 18 billion dollars are on coffee each year in the United States. McDonalds is reported to take in $51 million each day just in coffee sales.

Americans are drinking more and more specialty coffees. Many are purchasing coffee makers that allow them to brew specialty coffees at home. Coffee maker manufacturers have risen to the occasion, creating increasingly sleek styled machines that brew great coffee quickly and easily. Pod coffee makers are used frequently by coffee lovers who want to indulge at home instead of driving to the coffee shop.

Pod Single Cup Coffee Maker

For coffee lovers who prefer a fresh cup of coffee each and every time, a single serving coffee maker is ideal. Basic single serving coffee makers can be purchased for less than a hundred dollars. High end single serving machines can cost hundreds.

Pod coffee makers use premeasured coffee pods to make 8 ounces or less of coffee in less than one minute. There is no hassle. Users simply fill the reservoir with water, drop a pod into the pod spot and push a button.
Some pod coffee makers feature adjustable spouts so that different sized mugs can be used with the machine. Larger water reservoirs are also an added feature on some machines.

Pod Coffee Makers quickly and easily brew a cup of coffee in less than a minute. Prefilled pods make cleanup a breeze. Removable parts are often dishwasher safe and limited warranties are provided by most manufacturers.

Coffee is an American tradition. Those who love the beverage take their coffee drinking seriously. The availability of coffee makers that allow users to make specialty coffee at home has tremendously increased the coffee drinking population.

Coffee Maker Style Guide

According to some statistics, 52 percent of Americans are coffee drinkers. This translates to more than 100 million people who drink coffee daily. Americans are a diverse population and far from unanimously agreeing on what makes a good cup of coffee. Fortunately, there are several different styles of coffee makers available today.

Coffee lovers can choose the brewing machine that fits their preferences. Common coffee maker styles include Automatic Drip, Automatic Espresso, French Press, Percolator, Stovetop Espresso, and Vacuum style. Each has its own pros and cons and gives the user varying control over the end result.

Automatic Drip Coffee Maker

Automatic drip coffee makers are probably the most popular choice for Americans. They are easy to use and are inexpensive to purchase. Most operate on the same principle. Inside the coffee pot is a filter basket where a paper filter holds the coffee grounds. Cold water is poured into the reservoir where it is heated before being poured over the grounds. The resulting coffee flows into a carafe. The brewed coffee is kept warm by the hot surface beneath the carafe.

Those who don’t like to use automatic drip coffee makers complain that they do not make a good cup of coffee. Keeping the coffee maker and carafe clean, using quality coffee and disposable paper filters will help ensure a better result.

Automatic Espresso Coffee Maker

Automatic espresso coffee makers come in semi-automatic, fully automatic and super automatic versions. Semi-automatic models tamp the coffee grounds, brew the coffee, fill the cup and eject grounds. Fully automatic models also grind the coffee. Super models offer a wide variety of features, including built in water filters.

French Press Coffee Maker

French Press coffee makers are also known as press pots or plunger pots. The pot is a glass or porcelain cylinder which contains a stainless, mesh plunger that works as a filter.

The user measures coffee grounds into the pot and adds nearly boiling water. The plunger is put in place but not pushed until the coffee has steeped a few minutes. After steeping, the plunger is pushed and the coffee is ready.

There is no hot surface to maintain coffee temperature so the coffee must be served immediately or placed into a thermal carafe of some sort.

Percolator Coffee Maker

Percolator coffee makers are available in stove top styles and in electric styles. Most modern ones are both electric and can be programmed. Some models make only one cup of coffee, others can make 12 cups at a time. The large coffee urns used by many organizations work on the percolation principle but brew more than 100 cups of coffee at a time.

Percolator coffee makers are not used as often as they used to be. These machines continuously run the water over the grounds and the water is boiled. Many coffee lovers claim that both actions violate the laws of making good coffee.

Coffee made via percolator tends to be stronger and often bitter tasting than coffee made with other brewing methods.

Stovetop Espresso Coffee Maker

Stovetop espresso coffee makers are simple to use and can be made anywhere there is heat, whether on a stove or over a campfire. Water is put inside the bottom boiler. The funnel filter is then placed in the boiler and filled with coffee. The top is screwed on lightly and the unit is placed over the heat source.

Once the top of the boiler is filled with brewed coffee, the coffee maker is removed from the heat source and the coffee is served.

Vacuum Coffee Maker

Vacuum coffee makers look more like chemistry lab equipment than coffee machines. This type consists of two overlapped containers that are connected by a syphon tube. There is a filter in the bottom of the upper container.

The user places water in the lower container and coffee grounds in the upper container. The machine is then put on top of the stove where the heated water vaporizes and passes through the syphon tube into the upper container.

A brewing cycle lasts approximately three minutes. When the unit is removed from heat, the vapor turns back to water and is forced through the filter and back into the lower container. Farberware created the first automatic vacuum coffee maker model while Sunbeam made the first truly automatic modern one.

There are few companies making vacuum coffee makers these days. Antique stores and auction sites such as eBay carry the traditional Silex and Sunbeam machines.

Coffee lovers can choose from a wide variety of coffee makers. From inexpensive stove top coffee pots to high end super automated coffee makers, there’s a coffee maker for every preference as well as every budget.