My old reliable German-made coffee maker finally died and bled out on the counter. RIP.
Turns out that like everything else, coffee makers are now all made in the same two factories in China, and as far as I can tell they are all kind of crap. Luckily, Amazon's return policy is not crap, so they all went back as "not as described." (They were all described as "making good coffee".)
FYI, I only use freshly roasted beans that I grind immediately prior to making coffee or espresso. Monsoon Malabar or French Sumatra, both dark roasts.
Anyhow, after researching the subject further than Amazon reviews, I discovered finding "the best coffee maker" is as complicated and opinion-strewn as finding "the best keyboard*". But I finally settled on the Technivorm Moccamaster, but that costs as much as a proper espresso machine!
So I got a Hario to use while I built up the courage to spend big bucks on Dutch craftsmanship. Then, after discovering that it was possible to make coffee that was too strong, I have settled on a grind, amount, and method that makes really good coffee.
For 10% of the cost, that little V60 makes a damn fine cup of Joe!
- Ron | samwisekoi
* Still the Model M.