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Good Question: Help Me Find This Coffee Maker!

2008_04_08-Melitta.jpg From reader Tracy: I'm looking for a very specific coffee maker and it simply looks like a ceramic mold of a coffee filter or just the part of a drip machine where you put the filter into. It's white and has grooves inside the v shape and there is a small hole at the bottom that the coffee drips through. You hold it over your mug and pour boiling water into it and it brews the coffee into your cup. I recently broke one that was purchased in Croatia and need to get a replacement here in the States. Can anyone help? Thanks!

Tracy, fortunately for us this is an easy question, and fortunately for you too, since it means that you'll be able to find a replacement easily.

It sounds like you had a Melitta porcelain cone filter holder - a very simple and traditional way of making coffee.

You can find them in various sizes at many coffeeshops and cook's resource stores, including Fante's.

Manual Drip Coffee at Fante's. Melitta cone filter holders are about $9.99.

Amazon also has a full set that includes paper filters and a coffeepot.

Melitta Porcelain Manual Coffee Maker, $54.95

This was one method we never got to look at in-depth during Coffee Week. Do you use a Melitta cone, and if so, what do you like about it?

See all our posts on brewing coffee here.

Also, check out these Melitta porcelain filters on eBay.

(Images: Fante's)

Comments (18)

What you've got there is the old Melitta ceramic drip--it's actually the upper half of the Melitta ceramic drip pot: you plunk this down on top of the (very beautiful, very classic) pot, put the filter in it, add the coffee, and pour in the boiling water, adding more slowly until you've got a full pot.

You can definitely find this (both the ceramic filter holder and the whole set) upstairs at Zabar's in NYC, which is where I bought mine.

posted by TheDailyFresser on 2008-04-09 11:03:15
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I've you know someone in japan, they have plastic ones for a dollar. And something like 50 or 100 filters for the same price... if you don't i have a couple of friends who are over there... if you are interested, i might be able to get them to ship one to you

posted by ktoth04 on 2008-04-09 12:09:03
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There are some more drip cones (ceramic and otherwise) at the bottom of this page:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.brewers.shtml

posted by catlike on 2008-04-09 12:09:23
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You might check http://www.ichibankan.com/ or any asian mart or dollar store in your area as well.

posted by ktoth04 on 2008-04-09 12:16:46
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MUJI store in NYC carries a similar ceramic version.

posted by aaron on 2008-04-09 12:25:33
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you can find vintage melitta cones on ebay, too. if you're lucky, you can find one w/ a matching pot to brew into.

posted by mascarah on 2008-04-09 13:13:42
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You can get the single cup version at The Brooklyn Kitchen in williamsburg for $4.99.

posted by oofs on 2008-04-09 13:13:54
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manual drip makes excellent coffee!

posted by mascarah on 2008-04-09 13:16:58
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Melitta also makes the same gadget out of plastic, too; I am prone to breaking, so I've been a faithful owner of the plastic cone for over 10 years now...

posted by fugitiverouge on 2008-04-09 13:44:22
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I use the plastic version every day. I got it at Pete's for $4, I think. Makes great coffee!

posted by justing on 2008-04-09 14:16:06
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We use the plastic single-cup versions, which is also what I grew up using. I never thought to look for something more attractive than the red or brown plastic ones!

I like that you make one cup at a time, fresh, so no one has stale coffee. The flavor is full and great; it's easy to make one cup stronger or weaker (or decaf) if someone wants; cleanup is incredibly simple; the whole thing is fuss-and-technology-free. And fast, too, since I use an electric kettle to boil water. I use the kettle for lots of stuff and I'm not taking up space with an appliance that only makes coffee.

posted by katef on 2008-04-09 15:46:50
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I definitely recommend the ceramic version! You don't have to worry about the chemicals that leach out of plastic, especially over time and from exposure to scrubbing and hot water. I personally think the taste of the coffee is better too, since the plastic ones start to smell and taste rancid from the oils from the beans.

As a previous poster suggested, I've bought them on ebay. (Just search using the terms "Melitta ceramic" or "ceramic coffee" or "porcelain coffee.") You can buy the whole set up (with the ceramic coffee carafe and lid) on Melitta's website for about $30 (last I checked). You can also buy a ceramic version of the filter holder (though not Melitta) from fantes.com for $10 or less (depending on the size).

posted by smarty on 2008-04-09 16:22:18
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I didn't know there was a ceramic version! I picked up my plastic version at (I think) Canadian Tire when I was still living in Toronto. They are weirdly difficult to find in the US, and even harder to find in Seattle, coffee capitol of the world. I gave my sister one of these plus a bag of excellent coffee for Christmas, and she was over the moon, because she hadn't been able to find them either.

I'd say keep your eyes peeled on the coffee aisle of fancy grocery stores. That's where they're usually stocked, next to the coffee filters, if they're stocked at all.

I've also found that they take a surprising amount of grounds (three rounded tablespoons)...but they make an excellently smooth cup of coffee!

posted by artsandletters on 2008-04-09 20:08:57
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they also have the plastic version at BB&B online for sure. I have never used one, but a guy at work swears by is 15-year-old one.

posted by ibeentired on 2008-04-11 10:37:42
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I found it at Fantes Kitchen Wares Shop in Philadelphia. They have a .com... http://www.fantes.com/coffee-manualdrip.html about 15$ before shipping!

posted by Manders22 on 2008-04-17 14:44:28
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oops wrong one... they're actually about 10$ before shipping!

posted by Manders22 on 2008-04-17 14:45:20
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Unfortunately, Fantes only ships to the US. I'm across the border in Canada. I've been using a plastic version for years and Mellita seems only to make plastic now. I'm getting off plastic so I've found a Ceramic Coffee Filter Cone Item lkst262 on http://www.legendcookshop.co.uk for about $7.50. I've just e-mailed them to calculate the shipping costs.

posted by Zorro on 2008-04-21 23:21:36
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Legend Cookshop doesn't ship fragile items overseas, so I'm back to locating a new ceramic cone filter in North America!

posted by Zorro on 2008-04-22 22:56:09
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