We recently were gifted the Chemex coffee maker - wow. I have entirely replaced my regular coffee maker. The Chemex is beautiful, easy, and you can make coffee ahead of time that is just as delicious microwaved or on ice the next day. Not to mention how much better it looks than my old, black, ugly, Black & Decker.

French Press. Yea it takes me effort and is harder if you need to make a big pot for a crowd. But for 1 or two people having just one perfect cup in the morning, it is perfect.

In the summer I use it to make overnight iced coffee too. http://whitneyinchicago.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/better-than-dd/

The Aeropress is my favorite! It's perfect for a single cup in the morning. I was dubious at first, but in my opinion it's better than a French press.

I use and love Bodum's 8-cup French Press. It's a bit of an overstatement as it brews only 4 healthy-sized mugs of coffee, but it definitely overcomes the drawback of the traditional 1 or 2 cup press. Plus it's a fairly elegant stainless steel pitcher design, so it looks nice for serving.

I like my cold brewed coffee; all I need is a mason jar; put in your coffee, add your cold water, let it sit overnight, then stir, let sit for half an hour, and pour carefully. Usually, you don't even need to filter it, because the grounds settle, but you can filter with a french press or wire sieve if you want.

I like this because I can make a half gallon jar and just stick it in the fridge after we've had our morning cup; it keeps well, and it's just as good heated up as it is consumed cold, and it means we only need to bother with making it every two or three days.

It's the best because it means I don't need to have any special equipment, and making coffee for a crowd is EASY. The only downside is that it does take some planning, but no more planning than prepping the electric maker the night before takes.

I love my 4 cup French Press. I decant it into a thermos to keep it hot. Works fine for a group, just have to keep the hot water going.

We love the chemex and haven't felt the need to try anything else since we got it over 2 years ago. I don't know if it's "the best" but it's a nice balance of great flavor, control, and ease of use (including cleaning). And an added bonus: it reheats well and makes great iced coffee.

French press, hands down; especially since I now drink my coffee black.

For coffee, and coffee alone, I agree that the press is the best.
That said, I can make a single cup of hot water with my Keurig, which makes it my coffee-maker multitasking workhorse in my kitchen. (I use a reusable filter instead of the pods for better control of flavor.)

For me, fresh ground beans make all the difference in the world.

It's a little off topic, but I also love love love cold brewed coffee. It is delightful! You get iced coffee without the acidic taste. If you've never tried it, you really should. You will never want to buy regular "iced" coffee again!

french press- and i usually brew more than i need to. that way i can stick the rest in a tupperware and have iced coffee the next day.

French press, definitely. The taste is so much better than brewed, and it's cheaper! I use fewer beans per cup than when I was making brewed coffee. It just takes less to get the best flavor.

Oh lord, we've been trying to tune in our coffee brewing for at least a year, and these are our current options:

1. Chemex for pour-over. It seems to help to wet the filter with the hot water to create a good seal before adding your grounds. Coffee's excellent, but cools quickly since there's no insulation or direct contact with heat.

2. Bodum French press. Ours came with a little neoprene jacket - not sure if that actually makes a difference in heat retention. There are times I really like French press coffee, but since the coffee goes straight from the pot into my JoeMo in the morning, I far too often get a mouthful of sludge an hour into my workday.

3. Totally lousy $25 Black and Decker drip machine, purchased in a fit of angst and exhaustion about the pre-work coffee process. I would never vote for this as being the best method of coffee preparation, but since I don't always have time to do EVERYTHING before work, it's an acceptable option.

Key to all of this, however, is using VERY FRESH BEANS, as close to the roast date as possible, and the right grind for your coffee making method. We have a hand-crank Burr grinder (now powered by our cordless drill thanks to my very clever fiance) that, for $50ish is the equal of a $200ish automatic Burr grinder. Fresh beans and a good grind can improve even your drip coffee. :)

Plain old drip. I love my morning coffee, but I don't want anything more complicated than setting the timer before I go to bed.

Was this post perhaps inspired by the coffee ad that runs in the middle of it?

My fiancee and I are very much into coffee, and have owned and used devices ranging from cheap plastic drip machines to a bodum french press to a chemex pour over pot. We've also made the switch from a blade to a hand-cranked ceramic burr grinder, now powered by a cordless drill.

The factors that I have seen have the biggest impact on our coffee have been the coffee itself, the freshness of the beans, the coarseness of the grind, and the amount of coffee used. You have to find bean varieties you like, and realize that these varieties are immensely different. Then, you have to get those beans freshly roasted, and keep them from staling. Buy it as close to the roasting date as you can, and only as much as you will drink in a week. Keep it in a ziploc bag with the air pushed out (America's Test Kitchen approved).

The coarseness of your grind needs to match your brewing technique AND the amount of coffee you are brewing at once. With a single-cup pour-over device, my favorite local coffee shop uses 21g of coffee for 12 ounces of coffee, and does a fairly fine grind. They can do this for a single cup, but try this same grind for 24 ounces in a chemex and you will end up with a giant coffee plug in the filter and water barely dripping through after half the pot is done. I've found shooting for 4 minutes of brew time, whether that's from a french press pot steep time or time spent for the water to course through the chemex, is about right. Tailor your grind to the amount of coffee you want to make, and use 10g of coffee for 6 ounces of water.

Water temperature is also important - hit about 190F. I had been thinking my water was higher than that, but failed to realize that simply pouring from the kettle into a chemex measuring cup lost about 30F, leaving me with water in the 175-180F range at best. If you are pouring from the kettle, I've read to remove it from the heat, let it sit about 20 seconds, and pour. If you are pouring into another vessel to measure, I'd suggest preheating it. In fact, preheat EVERYTHING - your french press or chemex, your cups, whatever you use - heat will get lost very quickly otherwise, especially in a chemex.

I won't repeat chemex or french press-specific techniques, those can be easily researched.

In summary - buy coffee you like, buy it fresh, use it quickly, tailor your grind for 4 minutes of brew time, use 10g of coffee for 6 ounces of water, hit 190F for your brewing water.

Sock pot! It's the best. Aeropress is a close second, with a vacuum pot coming in a tight third. The drip machine has been given away, as it is ugly and produces inferior coffee. The french press sits unused, as it is pretty, but comes in a definite forth for flavor and body after the above-mentioned devices.

All fresh beans are ground on a hand-cranked ceramic burr grinder, for an even and controllable fineness.

I use a bialetti stovetop percolator, or a french press.

I have to agree that the coffee beans make a huge difference--past that, I love my french press. I don't think I could go back to anything else.

I would never give up my Bodum french press and burr grinder.

Buy fresh beans (I like Peet's), use them as soon as you grind them, and add just a half-pinch of salt to the grounds to cut the acidity. I use 1 tbsp of grounds per cup and steep for 5 minutes.

I have a drip pot too, but the coffee is not as good and it is a bear to clean.

We use a stovetop espresso maker (i.e., Bialetti)--I'm actually really surprised more people haven't mentioned that option... We have three different sizes, depending on how many people we're serving. And of course, ALWAYS beans freshly ground each time. It takes a little bit of time (esp. when we haven't cleaned it out since last time!), but we love the ritual of it--even on weekday mornings, it makes breakfast feel more leisurely. And of course the coffee comes out good! Not quite as strong as "real" espresso but more so than regular coffee--definitely needs hot milk, latte-style.

If I'm just doing a single cup for myself, I'll often just use a cone drip thing with paper filter.

aeropress. *SO* much easier to clean than a french press. good for varying strength as well.

If I think ahead, cold brewed is my favorite. If I don't think ahead, a french press is great. I keep the big drip coffee maker with a timer around for parties - it makes 12 cups without me having to think about it during the party, keeps it warm, and makes it easy to make another batch. And I always grind the beans right before.

A Bialetti stovetop esppresso maker. I too am surprised more people haven't mentioned it...

(my dream machine is a La Pavoni... one day...)

There is a wonderful little roasterie in town, which does great blends, but it is not very convenient, and so we always have Illy on hand. Illy is an amazingly good blend -- full-bodied, rich, never acidic.

I was using the Aeropress and digging it but moved at the end of the year and got a Bialetti Mukka stove-top coffeemaker and haven't looked back. It's not a lot more work than the Aeropress and having the steamed milk ready at the same time makes it all the more worthwhile.

Surprised no one mentioned it yet, but Technivorm Moccamaster automatic drip. Seriously the best $$ I've spent on coffee and well worth it for something that you enjoy everyday, and the machine itself will last a ridiculously long time. We bought one for the BF's parents as a gift two years ago, then got our own this week. Smooth, complex, perfect temperature. It's the only coffeemaker that Cooks Illustrated recommends. After that, they say just go w/ the french press.

Love love love coffee but I think I might love the toys associated it with more. Multiple French presses, Brettle Variable Temperature Kettle, espresso machine, pod machine, Chemex, Beehouse ceramic dripper, syphon vacuum ....

Intervention anyone?

I've been trying numerous things recently to get the perfect cup without too much cost or too much work or too much cleanup. I've come to the realization that there is no perfect solution. The Areopress is the closest thing I've found except that it uses 30 grams of coffee per cup which is double what your standard espresso machine uses for a double shot. There may be a $300-$500 espresso machine in my future...

Aeropress, hands down. But how you make it does not matter as much as roasting your own beans to start with! If you really want a quantum leap in your coffee, that's where you'll get it. And you can try it in a frying pan

http://www.urbanhippy.ca/coffee/roasting/frying/pan

We have a great step-by-step tutorial with pics on our blog. Check it out: Second Floor Walkup

I'm a Nespresso convert - I like the Aeropress, but I don't like the (admittedly minimal) mess after. The machine heats just the amount of water you need, makes a great tasting cup, and the mess is contained in the pod. I used to keep the coffee grounds for the garden - and I miss that, and it doesn't feel especially eco friendly, but for a couple of cups, it's quick and easy. If I'm making coffee for more than that, then I use a filter paper.

I love my melitta. I have a french press too but like the melitta better.

Here's the direct link: Drink: The Perfect Cup of Coffee

My husband and I were obsessed with our Bodum french press for a long time. Before that, I had a stainless steel hot pot (Bialetti style, but less corrosion) for the stove, and I've also used Chemex.

Currently we use the Toddy cold brew system and couldn't be happier with it. We make one or two batches a week with the cheap beans from Trader Joe's and it turns out excellent every time. There are days that I miss getting the fresh roasted beans from the high end shop down the street, burr grinding them 1/4 cup at a time, then ending up with the greasy brew from the French press. But if I need all that, there's a coffee shop two blocks away that will do a 6 cup French press for $4 and they can clean their own burr grinder.

I wholeheartedly second the Technivorm recommendation. I was happily riding the French press bus for 15 years but then S.O. started drinking coffee too and the effort/cups ratio got to be too much.
Technivorm is the only brewed coffee I have ever had that I can say I like as much or better than French press. Totally worth the $$

I use a plastic cone that takes a paper filter and goes over the top of the cup and the teapot to boil the water - makes a good cup as long as the beans are fresh. I like that it's a minimal solution and doesn't take up counter space or force me to deal with loose grinds.

The one issue is that I just adopted a dog, and we're walking every morning. I'd like to have coffee waiting for me when I wake up (a 6AM walk is early!) - anybody know a way to do this without resorting to a traditional pot and timer?

Technivorm, without a doubt, and burr grind just before brewing. Highly recommend preheating the carafe with hot water prior to brewing as well. An outstanding cup of coffee..really.

I'm with you wheedo. The spent coffee grounds go on top of my potted plants out on the balcony, and once in a while, the filter paper goes along, too. The plants seem to like it.

I go along with everyone who said it's all in the beans - together with freshly boiled, filtered water (I'm using a Brita system right now)

As for coffee first thing in the morning, if you're willing to give yourself an extra 5 minutes to come completely awake, this is what I do:
1. Prep 2-3 filters with ground coffee at night and stick them in an airtight jar, to be placed in the filter holder in the morning
2. Use a really fast electric teakettle (mine gets the water boiling in under a minute)

I don't like how sludgy french press can get, so I'm another coffee cone fan (probably because my parents used them when I was a kid). Single plastic cones, like the ones from Melitta, with paper filters in them, on top of each mug for a fresh cup when you want it. No mess, easy to clean up, great coffee.

So... where's the article? I don't understand the format of this site sometimes. Isn't there supposed to be an article about how to make great coffee? Or was that just referring to the re-posting of old articles on iced coffee, etc. Confused. Please fix...

MY Chemex is my favorite.

For "espresso", the Bialetti Musa 6-cup is perfect for two people (and it fits prefectly in our small 1 bedroom apartment). For my regular coffee needs, I have a $20 dollar Cooks brand drip machine that works well enough. The coffee I use is Paul DeLima Kona blend (pre-ground, frozen, and old) because it is free.