Krups 468-42 Moka Brew 8-Cup Coffeemaker
by Krups
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: KrupsBrand: Krups
Model: 468-42
Product features:
- Low-pressure steam brewing process extracts delicious Italian-style coffee
- 8-cup graduated glass carafe with locking lid and easy-to-read markings
- Stainless-steel heating element for fast heating
- Easy-to-fill water container below warming plate
- Measures 12-1/4 by 7-3/4 by 8 inches; limited 1-year warranty
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- Krups 203-42 Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder with Stainless-Steel blades, Black
- Krups FDD912 Expert Waffle Maker with Rotary System
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Krups 468-42 Moka Brew 8-Cup Coffeemaker
Customer Review: Great Coffee Maker, but make sure you are serious about your coffee.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had my Krups Moka Brew for about 3 years now and I still love it. It's the best coffee maker I have ever had. After my 6 month old Mr. Coffee drip machine (with clock/timer, auto shut-off, programmable brew cycles) died a sudden death I set out to do some research before I bought my next home coffee maker. At first I was skeptical -- $80 for a bare bones coffee maker. But I took the plunge after reading the reviews and haven't looked back.
That being said, this coffee maker is not for everyone. Before you buy, consider the following:
IT DOES NOT MAKE DRIP COFFEE. If what you want is drip coffee look elsewhere. It makes something closer to what you get with a stovetop (Bialetti)moka pot. A rich cup, no bitterness.
IT IS NOT BUILT FOR CONVENIENCE. Do not buy this machine for the office. (Sure you saw it in the sheriff's office on the TV show EUREKA, but that is fiction.) It requires and rewards patience. Brewing times are long. Filling it with water, tamping the coffee in the filter basket, and sealing the carafe in place can be awkward. Varying the pot size cannot be done casually without some experimentation. There is no auto shut off (This is the one thing I find really inconvenient.) It is not the ideal machine for that quick morning cup. It is ideal for a proper after dinner or weekend cup.
YOU NEED TO USE A BURR GRINDER TO GET THE BEST OUT OF THIS. Maybe others can, but I could not get a consistent pot using a blade grinder. Once I bought a proper burr grinder life was good. You can buy pre-ground coffee, but standard auto drip grind is a little too coarse to get the best out of this machine. (I use the second "fine" setting on my Capresso Infinity: the best burr grinder under $100.) Weighing out your coffee is helpful too, but not as critical as the grind.
YOU NEED TO TRANSFER THE COFFEE TO A THERMAL CARAFE AFTER BREWING. This does two things: it keeps the coffee hot as the heating element on this is designed to heat the water not the resulting coffee, and - more importantly - it mixes up the coffee which is somewhat stratified in the brewing process.
Some additional hints which may help you:
After some experimentation, I found a formula that works well for me: I use 40-42 grams of coffee (usually Peets Garuda blend) and 1 liter of water. I know that is not quite a full pot, but I buy water in one liter bottles and filling the reservoir from a water bottle is so much easier that from the carafe. This gives us 2 large mug fulls with a little warm up for each.
Filters can be hard to come by, especially when the brewer was unavailable in the US (I am happy to see it is available again) but I found a local store that carries 3.5" Melita disk filters which work fine - just don't punch out the center hole.
It helps to wet the filter with a few drops of water so it stays in place as you put in the coffee grounds.
The coffee should be tamped down lightly. Not as hard as you would for espresso or else the coffee will never brew. Any round flat surface will do. I used the bottom of a drinking glass before I bought a cheap espresso tamper. No, you don't have to find something the exact size of the filter basket, you can gently tap around a bit to get a level layer of coffee in the basket.
Make sure you center the carafe properly to get a good seal. It is really not hard, but you just need to pay a bit of attention here. It is great fun to watch the crema form and dissipate as the coffee brews. (OK, after the first couple of times I went back to reading the paper.) Once the coffee is finished brewing immediately turn of the machine (make it part of the routine so the lack of auto shut-off will not haunt you) and transfer the coffee to a thermal carafe or, if you are serving it into mugs immediately, give it a good stir first.
So is it worth all the trouble? That is up to you, but once you find a formula that works for you, it isn't really that much more trouble that a regular drip machine and the results do not compare. (The learning curve here is nothing compared to my friend with his Rancilio Silvia.) If you like to experiment then this provides endless opportunity.
Description of Krups 468-42 Moka Brew 8-Cup Coffeemaker
What's different about the Moka? The brew process uses steam's natural pressure to extract rich, aromatic, Italian style coffee, releasing all the nuances of the bean. A three chamber system offers authentic results while the stainless steel heating elements heat up fast and provide really hot coffee. Not only does this coffeemaker work differently, it looks different too.Many automatic drip coffeemakers oversaturate the grounds, resulting in flavorless, watery coffee. The Moka Brew aims to avoid fitting into that category by using steam to generate a low-pressure brewing process. The unique design of the Moka Brew makes it stand out next to other automatic drip machines. Instead of pouring water into a tank on the side of this coffeemaker, water is poured directly below a lid that lifts up from the warming plate. When the unit is turned on, steam pressure forces just enough water up a tube hidden in the coffeemaker?s frame and through the grounds, which rest in a compact filter right beneath the lid. The result is up to 8 cups of rich and aromatic Italian-style coffee. Stainless-steel heating elements heat water quickly and continue to keep the carafe at the right temperature while on the hot plate. The graduated glass carafe lets you monitor how many cups you?ve brewed and has a locking lid to safeguard against accidental spills. The Moka Brew comes with 100 paper filters to get you started and is covered by a limited one-year warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde
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