Drip Coffee Makers - super simple, super cheap

Don't hold back on those coffee opinions! It boosts engagement :)

I feel like you’ve opened the door to explore espresso machines now. It would make for a good video anyway, there’s a lot of mechanical goodness happening inside.

"Big tubs because some families will absolutely get through it in a month."
I have been promoted to the status of "a family." I don't feel lonely anymore.

The coffee flavor degrades if heated more than a 30 minutes after brewing, so it's best to not use the warming function too long, as James suggests. When I pour my first cup of coffee, I turn off the coffee maker and pour the rest of the coffee into an insulated carafe, which keeps the coffee nice and hot for hours. This is simple and beats having to microwave later cups of coffee.

Some months back, I watched your video "why don't Americans use electric kettles" and I remembered someone had gifted my husband and I one years back. I thought maybe I was misremembering, so I took a look, and I found it - still in the box and all. To be honest, I didn't really think about it before. My goodness, I've gotten literally daily use out of it since.
It's so quick and easy to use. Thanks for the information and for enlightening me to these nifty things. I just came by this video, and remembered you, so I had to tell you!

This guy effortlessly combines the delightful comedic notes of an in-stride Contrapoints with a hefty dose of "How It's Made" serenity. Perfect.

My grandparents ran a diner from 1938-1965 that was on a major highway. The sign in addition to saying (Our Diner) also had the subtitle, "Good Coffee". For making coffee, they had a two-pot glass contraption. Two Bunn-like pots joined in the middle, with coffee in a chamber between them. The coffee was loaded, the water put in the lower pot, the halves joined, and the whole thing put on the stove. Water boiled & the pressure forced it up a dip tube into the top chamber. When the bottom chamber was dry, steam stopped being generated, and the vapor in the lower chamber began to cool even though the flame was still on. Vacuum drew the hot water in the upper chamber through the grounds & back to the lower chamber. Don't know what it's called.

This man could make a whole 2 hour documentary on anything, and I would watch all of it.

Also, one handy feature of many modern drip coffee makers is the auto-pause feature. You can remove the carafe, pour a cup of coffee, and put the carafe back without letting coffee pour onto the hot plate.
It's a ridiculously simple mechanism: there's a spring-loaded cover over the dispensing hole in the grounds basket. The carafe presses the cover open, allowing coffee to pour. When the carafe is removed, the brewed coffee builds up in the grounds basket until the carafe is replaced.

One thing you didn't mention, that unlike percolators or electric kettles, that since a drip coffee machine doesn't give you coffee that's quite as hot, you don't have to wait as long after brewing before you can actually drink it! My favorite part is because they're all so consistent, you can find your favorite kind of coffee and expect it will taste the same pretty much regardless of the machine you use. Even most hotel rooms have the same cheap machines, and I know a lot of people that bring some of their favorite coffee with them.

Coffee makers kept getting more sophisticated. We had a Cuisinart machine with a built in grinder. However, it didn't have a warming plate. It had an insulated carafe instead.

I can't believe I sat through a whole video on coffee makers. But, it was actually very interesting! I had no idea they were so basic. I didn't think they were very complicated, but hey, I was impressed! Thank you!

Here in Sweden it’s hard to find a kitchen without a water boiler. It’s equally hard to find one without a drip-brewer as well AND we are the second largest coffee consumers in the world (after our neighboring Finland). We don’t drink a lot of tea but the boiler can be used for a ton of reasons. Brewing coffee through a filter down into a kettle for example (the coffee gets better if the water is around 90 celcius which) or just to pre heat the water before cooking.

I am an American who admittedly prefers tea over coffee. I usually would use a kettle on the stove to boil water until I got my electric kettle. I dont remember why I bought it, I think it was on sale. I got the electric kettle and I figured I'd be the only one using it but my dad seen how fast it boils water. He LOVED it, he uses it everytime he boils water. After having it for 2 weeks he was so impressed he went out and bought one for my grandma saying "She NEEDS this." After several years of owning my electric tea kettle I would go as far to say it is one of the most used appliances in my kitchen.

Brewing coffee is a hot water extraction, which is determined almost entirely by duration of the solvent mixing with the substance. So, for the "coffee saver" feature, there is a relatively solid chemical explanation for them being similar.

You mentioned the bimetallic valve on Grandpa Coffee, but didn't mention the valve that lets you pull the carafe midbrew on the new ones. Another super simple addition that makes a world of difference.

Only a couple minutes in but for the record, pour overs and french presses also have an incredibly tiny footprint, which is why I use them for ~non hipster reasons~. They're ideal for small apartments since counter space is incredibly precious.

Seeing that early mechanical design with the valve created from a bimetal strip was truly delightful. And of course, so was the rest. Thank you!

"I'm not willing to become a coffee enthusiast!"
*proceeds to name and model approximately a dozen different coffee brewing devices*
"And I also weigh my coffee."
...
Mate, you're an enthusiast. Perhaps not an afficionato, but definitely an enthusiast.

Very interesting video. As a "Yank", I grew up with Mr Coffee makers. I'm very cultured in my taste when it comes to coffee. At the same time, I work full time in a factory so I'll settle for Essential Everyday brand instant coffee during my lunch break, yet I us a more traditional coffee brewer at home. I got tired of drinking burnt coffee after forgetting to shut off the brewer so I bought one with an insulated carafe. I figured if the insulated carafe is good enough for restaurants, it's good enough for me. Nice job with the vid!

My parent's first Mr. Coffee came with a water pitcher. So you could have the pot in place when pouring in the water. I used to make them coffee because this was like a toy to me. 1972 I believe was our first Mr. Coffee. Also, there were different grinds of coffee: Regular and Drip.

I've been using a French press all my life, so this was actually really educational!

Thanks for this video! I had a percolator back in college, and I have pretty much worked out the mechanism for modern drip machines, but it was nice to have you fill in the gaps with how Mr. Coffee worked and evolved to the modern day. You are very thorough in your research and explanations!

I was given a manual drip coffee cone (that takes paper filters) and I love it.
Cheap way to make coffee at home and saves money on the take out stuff, since you have the big package of bulk coffee grounds.

I am an Old Geezer and I remember the invention of the Mr. Coffee drip coffeemaker. One thing you did not mention is the prevalence of instant coffee during the time before Mr Coffee. Between the years of the late 1950's and the early 1970's in office break rooms, the ubiquitous instant coffee and an electric percolator used to keep hot water warm was the de facto standard. There wasn't any time to use anything else during the week. It is no wonder that people loved perked coffee during the weekend, in spite of it easily scorching if not carefully watched. Even perked was so much better than the instant garbage they usually drank. When Mr. Coffee machines were introduced, coffee lovers saw light from heaven. They could make a pot fast at the office, and it didn't taste like bilgewater. Another thing you did not mention on the later versions is the handy little spring that allows you to take a quick cup even though the coffeemaker is not done.

You're one of those content creators where I'll leave autoplay on by accident and no matter how interested I THINK I am in the topic, I will find myself sitting through the whole thing completed entertained until the next video starts

here in the European Nordics, we are pretty big coffee drinkers too, the vast majority uses drip coffee makers, but mostly with a 'slide-out' filter holder, and the filters are almost always (in my experience) cone shaped... that style of filter you use is mostly associated with larger industrial styles cafeteria coffee makers...

I am astounded at how thoughtful this video is. I would never have guessed at the level of engineering involved in brewing coffee.

I love coffee videos! And the amount of detail and research you put in for every video is staggering. If you make anymore coffee related videos I want to watch.

Since I got my electric kettle, I DO use it for tea nearly daily (wife is allergic to coffee, so drinks yerba mate), but I do use a drip coffee maker (since my son broke my French press). I also use it for a start to grits, rice, oatmeal, pasta, etc.

That bi-metal strip to control the water inlet is just genius. I love how limitations bring innovation.

I’ve been watching your show for a while and I just have to commend you at how well done they always are. Super intriguing as always and a a coffee enthusiast (not so much drip as other brewing methods) I found these simple yet brilliant feats of engineering were awesome.

I honestly go for a pour over because I don’t drink enough coffee at once to justify a drip machine. It makes more sense for me to just brew one cup when I want it

I love this channel and the content you create. It's always interesting and well presented.

I really hope you do one on how Keurig or single cup coffee work. I personally don't drink coffee and my husband only has one cup a day so we have a Keurig. But I do wonder how it works in comparison to the ones you discussed today. Thanks for your informative videos!!!

Never thought I’d watch a half an hour video about drip coffee makers but I did and I loved it! Here in Australia, drip coffee makes aren’t that popular. If you go to any appliance store, they might have one or two models for sale. Espresso machines (future video idea) are far more common place. There are countless models available in most stores that sell appliances. If an Aussie family doesn’t have an espresso machine, there’s a sure chance they do have an electric kettle because tea and instant coffee are also popular here.

I'm dreaming of a collab of you and James Hoffmann, a man of coffee makers, electric kettles, scientific method, and good old british sass.

Man I just watched nearly 40 minute video about a Mr. Coffee machine and I don't even drink coffee. Something about how this guy presents things just draws me in for a relaxed ride.

An idea for an episode for you: Freezer ice makers. I just took one apart and they are a purely mechanical, ingenious piece of engineering (a lot like drip coffee makers).
Thanks for the great videos.

I underestimated how interesting this video would be at first. Awesome video and I love your technical engineering breakdowns

I remember waking up one morning to make a nice cup of coffee from my kettle and French press only to smell a horrible smell coming from my French press. Turned out the smell was coming from instant coffee my mother put into it Earlier. I Instantly lost my appetite and thirst that morning. I really don’t know how people stomach that stuff

I'm with you on drip machines hitting the magic sweet spot of effort vs. results, but I found my favourite when I found my moka pot. Much more flavourful, much more kick - albeit with much greater faff per cup.

Drip coffee machines are the dishwashers of coffee makers. They're consistent, reliable, and effective AS LONG AS YOU USE THEM PROPERLY. If you weigh your coffee and use the same mass of coffee each time, the other variables will make a much bigger difference (bean freshness, how recent the beans were ground, whether you're using an insulated carafe). Plus, guess what I'm not doing while my drip machine is making coffee! Yep, you guessed it! Making coffee!
Great vid, Alec.

actually better explanations than anything ever produced for TV, very interesting!

I love my kettle and I love my drip coffee maker. My bf's parents have turned him into a bit of a coffee snob (often will not drink drip coffee) and yet his parent's only brewer is a pour over. I hardly see the difference but it definitely is a pain to boil the water (they also only have a stovetop teakettle). I love a fast coffee because I often drink coffee when I have a migraine and I think it tastes good; also despite liking french press coffee it is not often a great idea for my particular intestines.
Interestingly enough, in my kitchen is also a box of imported instant coffee from Canada. It is pretty decent and extremely convenient. I could make it blindfolded, which is nearly the state I am usually in when I do make it.
That Mr. Coffee carafe is so cute! I feel a sudden urge to buy 70s kitchenware. Nothing like the Mr. Coffee that sat on our counter when I was a kid. We also had a percolator because my mom was born in the 60s and liked it; and it was the first way I learned to make coffee, likely because the Mr. Coffee was broken, or my mom wasn't in the mood to drain a whole pot.

This was brilliant - thank you! I wonder if the original design was ever seen in UK or Europe. I don’t remember anything like it, but I do remember electric percolators, leading straight to the modern drip design. Coffee snobs use the real stuff, but the UK does tolerate (or even enjoy) instant, better than most!

I actually have a drip coffee maker. I stopped drinking coffee regularly years ago but it is good for the occasional cup when I need it or I have relatives over. It also is like 10 years old and still works great.

I watched this preparing my morning coffee - while also using an electric kettle to make my nighttime tea! - now so content to know how this thing I’ve used every day for 25 years works. Thank you!

The best thing about your videos is that they fly by. Most other videos that are this long tend to drag on, but yours seem so much shorter than their actual length. This is because you're so engaging and entertaining all while educating! Love your work, sir!

Love this video. I just dropped around $80 on a new coffee maker, primarily because it features a shower head-style water dripper thingy and because it has a low setting on the heating plate. I was not interested in spending the additional $50 to get the unit with a thermal carafe. However, now I am I considering returning it and just getting a $25 or $30 unit. I am fairly certain using a burr grinder (which I also just ordered) will have more of an impact on my coffee than the showerhead-syle water dispenser. And I could use that money to invest in a good thermal stand alone carafe.

This was a great video on coffee makers. I watched your video on the electric kettle over a year ago and It got me to dig mine out of the basement and I have used it daily ever since. I switched over to a French Press a few years ago but was heating my water in a small sauce pan on my gas stove. The Hot Pot seemed like another pointless appliance till I was properly educated on the benefits of using one. Prior to the French Press I did use a 4 cup Mr Coffee. I enjoyed learning about the history of it. Thanks as always for the informative videos. As a coffee snob (I roast my own beans at home now) I'll be watching your Percolator video next.

You are of the few people I can watch, and actually understand whats being said, without feeling the dastardly impulse to correct whats being stated semantically. Thank goodness for vocabulary and intelligence. You have restored my faith in humanity!

I've settled on French press and electric kettle and filtered water; cleanup is simple with an appropriately sized wire mesh strainer and swirling tap water in the carafe and pouring through the strainer and setting it aside to drain and then tapping it into the garbage - I'd love to know your assessment of SIPHON contraptions!

I think it was Sears back in the beginning of drip coffee makers coming out with a under cabinet model. Just in time for Christmas they sold like hotcakes. After Christmas houses started catching on fire (starting in the kitchen) from coast to coast. Recalled the coffee makers with the bad off switch and paid for a few houses.

I always love how your videos are a mix of How It's Made, BBC, TED talk, and elecronic dissection videos. It's really refreshing and informative at the same time. I never get tired of listening to your voice or listening to all the things you decide to talk about or explain to us. So many things I never knew I wanted/needed to learn about!

Interesting stuff. My parents were huge coffee drinkers (all day long every day) and had drip brewers for decades, probably starting with a Mr Coffee but going through plenty of other brands, probably averaging 5 years each given the heavy all day use. Myself, I was happy with a 4 cup machine, making the 20oz for a travel mug to take to work. Suffering through the industrial strength Bunn unit coffee at work. A Keurig was a gift but I enjoy its convenience. I now grind my own beans (for better taste and less waste) but still use a Keurig for the 1 or 2 cups per day.

I start every day with the exact instant coffee you showed! But I guess I enjoy as much everything that is or looks like coffee 😂

My mom had one of those beige and white Mr. Coffees when I was a kid, and I remember just loving the look and sound of that thing when it brewed. I wish they made them like that now. I currently own a Ninja, which is pretty sweet.

You should definitely try a moka pot. I remember excitedly telling a fellow chemistry student in college that it was "a Buchner funnel run backwards!"

I’ve never brewed a bad cup out of a drip maker (mostly because i’m good at timing and never leave it on the hot plate) but i’ll never EVER turn a coffee down from a French press. Me being lazy i tend to go to drip maker since its so easy and convenient. Happy brews everyone (wtf lol)

A collab with James Hoffman could be really fun for this water/coffee series! (Plus he could do a video to see if he can figure out the difference in taste between machines)

Time for one on the Keurig type machine and its differences. A new variation on drip that simplifies the process even further unless you want to grind your own (you can get reusable pods for that).
In the original electric kettle tests, did you compare the speed to a microwave? Not to boiling but hot enough to brew tea or coffee for a separate filter or French press?

Keep up the good work! I really enjoy your video's.
In the Netherlands we have a different basket. It's kind of a pyramid with the top cut off. The coffee saver is built in the basket, that way. And a lot of the good coffee drip thingy's use a thermos instead of the glass/hotplate combination.

Have you ever tried the "italian" coffee makers? I don't think it's their real name but it'q how we call 'em here. It's basically a percolator but it doesn't drip the caffeinated water back into the "fresh" one. Would love to get your opinion on those!

I agree, that 70s machine was surprisingly different and complex compared to the modern standard. Optimizing for profit always pushes out really interesting standards, even if they aren't inherently efficient. And, I also agree with the flavor to effort ratio - as long as the coffee is not being burnt or under-brewed, i'd rather invest my effort in trying new varieties and additives than actually altering the process I have to do every day at 7 am (or god forbid earlier).
Now excuse me while I go research why K-Cup coffee taste so much worse, if it takes this little effort to make what I consider not just acceptable, but good...

I love the convenience of drip, and I love the flavor of espresso. So I have a machine that does both, but when I’m rushing to get coffee into my wife’s hands in the morning the drip wins every time. 😂 I make espresso when I have time. Although I steam the milk with the built in frother even for drip coffee since it makes it latte-ish.
Coffee USUALLY (I stress this because brands like ravens brew sell at premium price but has always been extremely disappointing) scales in quality with the price and you do get what you pay for. I buy expensive locally roasted coffee but my god it’s so fresh it’s actually hard to make a bad pot under any circumstances.
Coffee for me is this weird combination of luxury and necessity - I’ll happily drink mediocre coffee if I have access to nothing else, but that elite cup of coffee is just the most delightful breakfast I could ever ask for. (Usually I just have coffee with milk for breakfast, without eating anything.) Worth the money but I’m so lucky I can afford it 🙏

The Engineer Guy is one of the earliest facts-based educational channels I found. I still watch his various clips, especially the marvelous aluminium can episode :)

As the fourth most coffee drinking country in the world (Denmark) I love my drip coffee made on the best coffee maker in the world, the Mocca Master from Holland. It even has a special funnel in the pot so the coffee don't taste bitter left on the heating plate. Oh by the way.... ALL Danish households has a electric kettle as well 😉
Thanks for always interesting videos 👍

There is a rare half decent instant coffee you can use for emergencies but, proper coffee made from beans is on another level. I'm from the UK and was making my own coffee in the 80s using a percolator, then onto a filter machine, then a French press, now I have a bean to cup machine that I spent lots on but I love.
It took into the early 2010s until you could get a decent coffee from a "mom and pop" cafe instead of a big chain.

I had a percolator in my college dorm room. I almost never used it for coffee. I used it as a electric kettle for hot water and also would make soup in it since it was the perfect size to cook a can of it if you took the center out.

Hey here from Costa Rica, a country made from coffee haha, we normally use a percolator when we need to serve big quantities of people. But you probably will find like 20 coffee makers every 100mts (328ft) and I always wondered how the water went up from the reservoir! So simple yet so ingenious!

I didn't know this machine had to be defended, it's so ubiquitous. I'm not a coffee expert but these machines seem fine for so many people. I'm reminded of the meme "before and after you discover the subreddit for a hobby"

With respect sir, you HAVEN'T gone on enough. Please keep doing what you do. Watching one of your videos is always the highlight of my week/month/whatever. I absolutely loved that this one was 36 solid minutes of details and explanations. It's exactly what I'm here for. So glad I'm a patron too! I hope you love making this stuff as much as I love watching it.

This was an interesting video. We in australia have kettles, but due to being a nation of coffee snobbs we have a lot of availability of barista style machines and coffee makers of simpler designs, which one you use depends on your preference and what your needs are. Though there is a note that the USA seems to love being different and confusing, coffee machine is simple and fine, but measurements, electrical outlets and switches, etc just seem less efficient and a little confusing. Though the way we do things here using celsius and the metric system, with switches on our outlets and seperate light switches is probably convoluted and confusing for people used to the imperial system and the USAs arrangements. Doesnt change the fact that these videos are very interesting and give excelent insight to the way everything works and is done over there even if they seem confusing given that im used to a very different system. Like 5 fluid ounces makes no sence to me, though 250 mililitres or something like one cup probably is the same for you guys

I absolutely LOVE my little black 4 cup Mr. Coffee. The sound of the coffee brewing, the taste of the coffee, etc. Love it. I use McCafe because that is my favorite. For me, it’s the perfect cup of coffee. I do use bottled spring water btw.

atleast here in sweden the cone style filters are the most common one, and i have tested coffee between different dripstyle coffee brewers and there is a difference, the one i have taken a liking to the most is the Moccamaster brand but then it also depends on what kind of water you have and the minerals in it and also who makes the coffee, like not flushing the karaff out completely before adding more water making the water look dirty and the coffee taste more burnt (yuck), but i much perfer coffee out of a drip style than a percolator that have that searing hot burnt coffee...

Haven't finished yet but - did you consider messing with the screw on the old Mr. Coffee to see if you could get the strip to behave differently and brew more consistently at 200?

12:44 thank you for blowing my mind. The ingenuity is crazy, What a concept, I've never seen those before. So cool

As a non-American who has only seen these things in movies, you have no idea how grateful I am that this video exists! Thank you for thoroughly sating my curiosity. :)

In our household we mostly drink instant coffee and it is really good (in my opinion) however it is only the 1 brand that I enjoy, because I don't like other ones.
We also have an old espresso machine we sometimes use, it's fine, but I even prefer the instant, less clean-up and gives me less jitters.

I've tried an Aeropress and it IS really quite good, but the filters are a pain and you can't just run to the store and grab some when you run out. And once there were three of us in the house drinking coffee instead of just one, we definitely needed a big coffee maker.

these videos really prompt me to stop and appreciate the design of everyday things around me :)

I wasn’t really a coffee drinker until the last year or two. My dad started getting this stuff from a company called Black Rifle. It’s called “silencer smooth”.
And it’s basically the only coffee I like to drink. Other than that it’s Victorian Fog in the grayish green tin.

This is the first video I have watched of yours and was so engaged by it that I subscribed. Great simple explanation on old/new coffee makers. Mind blown!

I have to say, I always find your “documentaries” fascinating and have learned more from you than many other Clip-Sharers. Topics seemingly boring and mundane come to life. And the funny thing is it’s not even done with fancy video effects and production tricks. A dude in a chair talking about shtuff. Keep up the good work!

Very enjoyable, and educational to watch. Thank you.

Looks like us Canadians are living the next level with both Drip coffee makers and electric kettles. Also I've always found filter brewing the easiest thing to do if you don't have the right equipment.

The biggest suggestion I can give for cheap coffee makers is to pour the coffee out of the carafe and into a Thermos. That'll keep the coffee warm for quite a while without the need to microwave it. Better coffee makers come with insulated thermal carafes that use the same principle.

I've formed a habit of collecting retro and/or classic coffee makers from my local antique and thrift shops. The one on my kitchen counter for the last 5 years is a 1983 Proctor-Silex. Flip the switch and it makes coffee. Reliability unmatched!

There are pour-over coffee makers that are basically a water kettle on top of a coffee filter. Because it releases the hot water quickly instead of dripping there should be a decreased chance for the coffee to taste bitter (I guess).

never thought I'd hit a point in my life where I'm excitedly clicking on a half hour long video about drip coffee makers but here I am.

I brew my coffee in almost exactly the same way as you, but let me make a suggestion - try using a conical burr grinder that runs timed cycles. It delivers exactly the right amount of grinds every time without measuring a damned thing.

Aerated coffee grounds is a big problem. Your coffee will taste very different on Day 3, like explained in this video.
I got around this by going to the local "tobacco accessory" store (you know which one that is) and purchasing a vacuum-sealed jar with a nice print on it (you know what that's for) to store my coffee in after opening a new pack.
It will taste slightly different by Day 3, but not nearly as "flat" as if the bag was open to the elements.

I went Canada back in the summer to visit with a friend of mine, and his folks use an electric kettle and coffee press to make their coffee; after trying it out I was sold. I bought a kettle and a press, a grand total of $25 CAD and brought them home. I use them every day!

Your sense of humor is just as keen as your knowledge of appliances! Another banger of a video

I've had pricier drip makers over the past 40 years, but across the board, they now all pretty much do the same quite good quality coffee. My current one is a $10 Dollar General model that's been running perfectly for 6+ years with no hitch whatsoever.

I don't know how you do it, but you consistently get me to watch long form informative videos on topics I care very little about. Your videos are always good for killing 20-30 minutes and increasing the amount of useless knowledge I posses in an unexplainably entertaining way. Keep up the good work telling me more about things I don't care about, but still find fascinating when you present them.

I have a induction tea kettle that I adore. It's fast . And brews to a specific temperature. So a exact to 200 when I'm using my hipster pour over come. But I agree with you that a pour over machine does a fine job. When I'm on the road , my little coffe maker saves me time and money compared to the truck stops.

How about a video on the mehcanics of the vacuum coffee maker? I've heard that the coffee it makes is much better. (I think some people call them siphon type)

man, you absolutely have to make a video on Alfonso Bialetti's moka design! It's an extremely unusual yet very simple and great design for coffee brewing considering it's been a staple of italian coffee since 1933.
Just a warning though: if you ever get to buy one, i strongly advise you to get the original aluminium one (yes it's weird choice, but it's actually part of the design and it changes the flavour quite a lot imo)