Brew Edition: 5 Manual Coffee-Making Gadgets Tested

I'm not a true coffee snob, but I have sampled coffee from a lot of different places. (And I even sometimes drink that burnt stuff they call coffee at Starbucks -- okay, so I'm a snob when it comes to Starbucks.) I just like a well brewed cup of coffee, nothing fancy.

The best tasting coffee I've ever had is what I get from my Planetary Design french press coffee maker at home. I use an electric kettle to boil the water and wait a couple minutes after it has boiled before pouring the water into the press. I use freshly ground beans. I let the carafe sit for 5 minutes while it brews, then press down the stainless steel fine-mesh strainer. I get very little residue in the cup.

The carafe body of the press keeps the coffee hot for a while, and it holds 4 mugs-worth of coffee. [If I need more I pour it into a thermal coffee server and brew another carafe.] Clean up is super-simple: dump out the grounds (onto my plants outside in the summer or down the drain in the winter) and rinse everything with hot water. Done.

My son and daughter in law, who are true coffee snobs (they even buy raw beans and roast them at home), are very content to drink my coffee.

This one is similar to mine: Planetary-Design-Stainless-Presses-Brushed

What ever you do, do not order coffee at Subway.

I do not know what Rat Urine taste like, but I have an idea it's taste like Subway's Coffee.

Its so bad, I threw it out and went across the street at the gas station for coffee, because when my girlfriend brought it up to the manager, that their coffee maker may need to be cleaned out, the manager's response was, we are not the first to complain, and that it tastes that way becasue thats Subways brand. ,

+ 1--Have yet to find a better cup'o joe....My daughter bought me one...Never looked back...