Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best "Americano" coffee maker Yet! (June '07 - are these REALLY available again?), March 20, 2004
I had to think a bit before spending $100 for an 8 cup coffeemaker with no fancy digital timer, thermal caraffe, or built in grinder. I ordered one, convinced by the reviews of numerous satisfied owners who really seemed to know about coffee. I am so glad I did. I have tried the top rated drip brewers, vaccuum brewers, and press pots, but the Krups Moka Brew beats them all.
The low pressure brewing system seems to extract the maximum possible rich and complex coffee flavor, with an absolute minumum of bitterness. When you first get it home, experiment with the grind, and amount of coffee. I find that a grind half-way between drip and espresso is perfect. I use only half the amount of coffee per cup I would with drip, and get a richer cup. The Moka brew is not cheap, but cause I use less coffee it will pay for itself the first year.
As noted in other reviews you cannot get filters except by phone through Krups. However, I have found that using 2 standard 3.5" disk filters (cheap at any major supermarket) and offsetting them slightly so they cover the 3.75" in basket, that I get perfect coffee with no grinds slipping into the brew. I tamp the coffee down a bit too which once again, makes the coffee taste a bit darker and richer. No one has yet mentioned how much fun the machine is to watch. The coffee sprays down creating a deep tan crema during the first half of the brew.
One more hint, when you are in a hurry, just fill the brew chamber with hot tap water instead of cold. I can taste no difference in the final result, and it brews in half the time. Five stars!!!
UPDATE: Krups had not imported these to the U.S. for a couple of years. I bought an extra when they were going away and they have become prized commodities on eBay because there is nothing else like it. If they are really available in 2007 jump on it before they disappear again!
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best-tasting coffee, January 28, 2004
The Moka Brew does make outstanding coffee. The brews are strong but not bitter. Everyone agrees that it is far superior to the automatic drip machines. Also it takes less actual coffee to produce a strong cup.
I do have some reservations. The machine takes a non-standard disk style filter that I have yet to find in any store (even Williams-Sonoma.)You can't use basket style filters as the steam goes under them and not through the grounds making horribly watery coffee. I even tried regular percolator filters, without luck. This forces you to by the filters directly from Krups.
The machine is also harder to clean than my old automatic drip. Since the filter is under the coffee there is no easy way to get it (and the grounds) out. I end up putting more grounds down the disposal.
If Krups supplied a reusable filter basket that would eliminate all of my reservations.
UPDATE:You can use basket style filters if you cut them to fit. We use the filters for the mini 4-cup style drip machines. We tried to order some of the disk style filters from Krups...but the cost was $15.00 for 200 filters and they were on back order. If I were rating Krups'customer service instead of the machine itself, it would get 0 stars.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic coffee, March 12, 2004
By A Customer
I am a coffee nut, plain and simple. I have literally over 10 ways here at home to make coffee, and I roast coffee, oh 3-4 different ways. Let's see, oven, stove, whirly pop, and small 2 oz roaster. When this Krups came around, I was skeptical probably b/c I didn't understand it at first. The key to thinking about this, is espresso richness in large volumes without bitterness. It just extracts full flavor very quickly, like an espresso shot, but in a 8 cup quantity. And it works. To me, this is the single best way to make coffee out there. It probably ranks alongside French Press, but this method produces coffee that is a bit thinner and doesn't leave appreciable amounts of grounds and/or dust in your cup. The main thing to adhere to, however, is that you must use espresso ground all the time. And you must have a good grinder to achieve a consistent grind. Other than that, this baby rocks. Plain and simple.
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