[title type="h5"]Wednesday, February 4, 2015.
The Early Death Of An Expensive Coffeemaker.[/title]
Tom's Theory Of Countertop Kitchen Appliances states that you're almost always better off buying the least expensive model of almost any gizmo in your kitchen that you use often. There have been some exceptions, but at the moment I can't think of any. I do remember that a $20 citrus juicer lasted me for twenty-five years of daily use, to be succeeded by at least a half-dozen new juicers at $50 and up, none of which made it for more than a single year. The one I have now cost $20 and after several years it shows no sign of flagging.
The history of my coffeemakers begins with an old percolator my mother gave me in 1978, after she'd used it for about a decade. It gave me another ten years of service until it finally shorted out. I replaced it with a four-cup drip machine I got free from Gevalia coffee (which, incidentally, I don't recommend.) I ended the shipments of Gevalia after awhile, but they kept sending me offers of another, better new coffeemaker if only I'd sign up again. I wound up getting three of them total.
When MA, Jude and I moved across the lake, I kept the oldest of these Gevalia drippers in my office downtown, and an identical, newer four-cup job at home. On holidays, I'd break out the 10-cup unit to keep up with the demand. The one in my office was in daily service for almost twenty years, losing its life in Katrina. I broke the carafe of the other four-cup coffeemaker after about fifteen years. I was never able to find a replacement. I still use what's left of the unit to keep my coffee mug warm at my present radio office.
Community Coffee sends me a batch of its new roasts every year, plus a few accoutrements. About a year and a half ago, they sent me a Bunn coffeemaker that sells for over $100. I liked it because it heated all the water to about 200 degrees before releasing it into the grinds. This, I am told by experts, makes better coffee than most drip pots do. In addition to its advanced technology, the Bunn unit was very solidly built. It served me well until two days ago. A year and a half, total. I tried to revive it, but to no avail. I unpacked the Gevalia ten-cup machine, and it has taken over my coffee post.
I expect that machine will still be working when, twenty years from now, my birthday falls on Mardi Gras for the first time since the day I was born, removing any reason for me to keep on living (if I even get that far).
Note that I have never paid for a coffeemaker in my life. I keep getting them without my even asking. Since they are free, and since the best countertop appliances come with the lowest price tags, I think I may be set for an infinity of working coffeemakers.
Written by Tom Fitzmorris February 11, 2015 13:01 in
