Coffeemaker killer

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good coffeemaker? I sort of burned mine up last night.

I decided to clean the water reservoir since it'd been a while. I bought some baking soda, dissolved half the box in water, poured it in and turned it on. The coffeemaker started to make a gurgling sound like it does right before it's finished. Only problem was that there was no water in the pot.

When I empited the reservoir into the sink, the water had miraculously turned into a thick, white sludge. I must have used a tad too much baking soda. Interesting fact: When wet baking soda dries, it transforms itself into an organic concrete, which can plug up even the best coffeemakers. Now all I get is white smoke, which looks nice, but tastes awful.

So, uh, any suggestions, besides DO NOT CLEAN THE COFFEEMAKER, would be appreciated.

UPDATE: Found a Black & Decker 8-cup carafe at Kohl's. List price was $49.99, sticker price was $34.99, tag sitting on top of boxes said $24.99, girl who rang me up couldn't do math and gave it to me for $22.54. Figured I couldn't beat the deal. Timer, cone filter (looks like it can take reusable), and black.

Thanks for the suggestions...I really wanted a Braun, which is what I had, but couldn't see spending $70 or $80 for one.

02:17 PM | Comments (7)

Comments

Braun. The one that brews into a thermal carafe. I love mine.

Posted at March 11, 2005 03:51 PM

Your salsa review is up!

http://salsareview.blogspot.com

Posted at March 11, 2005 05:19 PM

What I do is buy a cheap one every year. Forget cleaning them. This is America for crying out loud.
Baking soda? Really?

Posted at March 11, 2005 10:58 PM

Actually, Howard, I saw this on Apartment Therapy and thought of you:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/main/archives/002226.html

All about the coffee makers.

Posted at March 12, 2005 05:11 AM

Clean a coffee maker with a mixture of water and white vinegar. Run the mixture through several times. I agree with RP- Braun.

Posted at March 12, 2005 01:03 PM

Uh, if you don't mind looking vaguely gay (hee hee), I love french press coffee makers. You use a more coarsely ground coffee with very hot water, let it soak, and then use this filter plunge thing to push all the grounds to the bottom. The coffee tastes much more rich.

Posted at March 14, 2005 06:35 PM

French press is wonderful. Get the one with the thermal carafe though and not the glass because they get cold too fast. Also, a pain to clean the press/spring part. Not for everyday use in my view.

Posted at March 16, 2005 10:43 AM