Melitta Ready Set Joe Single Cup Coffee Brewer

I like this product. It is inexpensive, has filters that can be found anywhere, and provides real coffee taste in instant coffee quantities and time. This is great for me, because I do not drink more than 1 cup at a time, and making any more would just waste coffee time and money.

This cone allows you to come up with your own perfect brewing recipe without wasting pounds and pounds of coffee. The way the beans are roasted, the quality of those beans, the amount of coffee grounds you use and how they''re ground, the temperature of the water: all of these have a bearing on the taste of your coffee.

First, the water:

The industry standard for the ideal cup of coffee begins with a water temperature of 195-205 degrees. This is not quite boiling, which is why the "Monsieur Brew" brands make such bad coffee. Brewing with water at the boiling point over-extracts the beans, making for an overly bitter-tasting result.

Use a food thermometer to find this temperature range and use it with 2 tablespoons of coffee per 8 ounce cup of output as a starting point. Then vary the amount of grounds and water temperature as you see fit.

Now for the grind and blend of your coffee beans:

Melitta recommends that you get a coffee ground a little finer than the standard drip grind. You can easily get this done in one of the better supermarkets that has a coffee grinder for specialty coffees.

As for the blend, I''m not going to recommend brands, but the hallmark of inferior blends of coffee is that they start tasting sharp and nasty as they cool down. If this still happens with your Melitta filter after you''ve used the right amount of coffee and the right temperature of water, then you can blame it on your daily grind. With this filter you will quickly find which brands are good and which are bad in a matter of cups, not pots.

After this, keeping a couple of brief notes on what you do and how much stuff you use per cup will lead you to the best recipe for your kind of coffee in a relatively short period of time.

I''ve been using the Melitta system for over 20 years, and about 5 years ago starting using a new technique, which I like better. So here it is.

First, I fill my coffee cup with hot tap water to preheat it. Then fill the Melitta brew cone with a #4 filter, and wet it down with hot tap water. I like the over size # 4 filters, it keeps grounds from going down the side of the filter using this technique.

Next, I heat room temperature spring water in a Pyrex glass measuring cup, using a microwave. If you measure the water, you can easily get the right microwave time to produce 185 F degrees. For me, it''s about 1:50 for 8 oz. You want to avoid adding the coffee to boiling (212 F) water, it can make the coffee taste bitter. If it boils, let it cool for 60 seconds or so.

Then, I add the coffee, measured with a scooper, directly into the Pyrex cup full of hot water, and stir vigorously for 10-15 seconds. If you want, you can wait a little longer, depends on your taste.

Last, I pour the coffee and grounds into the Melitta cone/filter, which is placed over the empty pre-warmed coffee cup.

I think the end result is better, due to the longer contact time, and better ability to stir the coffee/hot water mixture. Give it a try yourself.

Buy Melitta Ready Set Joe Single Cup Coffee Brewer Now

Good product and improved over previous design...open at bottom so you can view how full the cup is getting so no overflow. New handle design is also an improvement.

Read Best Reviews of Melitta Ready Set Joe Single Cup Coffee Brewer Here

I''ve been using one everyday for 4 years now. I make a single cup of good coffee at home before I come into work where there are gallons of Starbucks at no cost to me personally. For many years previously my former office partner and I shared a French Press (I recommend the Portugese-made Bodum with a brazed and chromed brass frame and borosilicate glass decanter rather than their lesser spot-welded sheet metal units) -but presses are more effective at "8 cup" sizes and now I''m drinking only "2 cups" that I brew myself. Also, this filter holder is far easier to cleanup than a press. The coffee is a little tamer than that made by a french press but comparable to drip brewed coffee.

Drip brewing is really done best in very large volumes because some of the beans'' flavors are not extracted immediately unless a super fine grind is used. Small volume drip brewing tends to overextract finely ground coffee and underextract coarser grinds whereas large volumes of water tend to even everything out regardless of the coarseness of grind provided there is sufficient volume of coffee grounds. In small volumes, a perfect medium is difficult to achieve and using the right volume of coffee grinds is also important as too much will result in overextraction of the most available compounds whereas too little will result in a watery brew. Finer coffee will slow the drip down whereas coarser grinds will drain faster. Finer grinds conserve coffee beans but require more precise quantities.

With this type of brewer, you are in control of the water temperature and I''ve found it makes a big difference. Near boiling water tends to overextract tannic acids and make a bitter brew. Although some reputable experts suggest 190-200 degree water, I''ve found that 180-185 degree water produces less bitterness. It must go into a pre-heated cup.

The plastic here I understand is polypropylene -no BPA, phthalates or PVC. I doubt ceramic versions are safer.

Want Melitta Ready Set Joe Single Cup Coffee Brewer Discount?

Sometimes the simplest things are the best things ever. Nearly 30 years ago I bought a 1-cup plastic coffee filter cone that is the greatest thing for camping since boiling water. Then they went out of style. For years I''ve been looking in vain for a backup/replacement and nearly gave up in despair. Melitta delivers and then some! The new style lets you gauge the water level while the cup fills, which prevents spills my biggest gripe with the old style. My gold-tone #2 filter also fits so I can eliminate paper filters at home. For better coffee extraction, slowly pour in the hot water a little bit at a time, two or three times, so the filter doesn''t fill more than about half way. Voila! The best.