Oh do I have a suggestion for you! You want the LaCornue range (the real one, not a CornuFe!!) of the coffeemaker world? Check this out: consider a Technivorm Moccamaster. Handmade in the Netherlands. This is the ONLY machine I am aware of that can brew at a true 200 degrees. Incredibly fast too. We have the KBTS, with the much-preferred thermal carafe rather than a hot plate. It's listed as "8 cups" but they must be those tiny European cups, since for me I can get just about 6 "american" cups out of it. A bit bigger than you're looking for, but if you want the ultra-snobbiest, hottest brewing machine made, this is the one! See http://coffeegeek.com/proreviews/quickshot/technivorm/details for a review and the link below for a source.

Here is a link that might be useful: Source for Technivorm coffeemakers

Buy a good burr grinder capable to insure a proper and consistent grind, an electric kettle, a small thermos, and a four cup press pot. Buy only fresh, not more than a fews days old, roasted whole beans. Unless you have a local roaster, you will most likely have to purchase the beans over the internet. There are a number of good roasters who will express ship to you right after they roast.

Only order the amount of beans you might use up in 10 days or so. After 10 days, the beans really start to loose their flavor. Store the beans in an air tight container, NOT in the refrigerator. Grind only what you are going to brew. Heat filtered water to just below boiling, 190 to 200 degrees. Let coffee brew about 4 minutes, press, then serve.

The burr grinder will be the most expensive part, the rest of the stuff is pretty cheap. No matter what method you use: drip, mocha pot, French press, etc., the freshness of the beans and the quality of the grind are the two most important parts of the process.

svwillow1 has it exactly right. Somehow the appliance makers have brainwashed the public into believing that the right coffee maker can magically transform stale, pre-ground coffee into a drinkable beverage.

Be aware that there are many cheaper so-called burr grinders that use inferior quality burrs and are a waste of money. A good burr grinder capable of grinding for any type of coffee maker other than espresso will cost $100 - $200. I recommend the Baratza line of grinders (www.baratza.com). The refurbished models are a particularly good deal. The differences between the Maestro and more expensive Virtuoso are relatively minor.

a bit OT for Appliance forum, but svwillow1, you sound knowledgeable enough to answer a question for me. I too have heard the instructions not to store whole beans in fridge or freezer. As a former biochemist, this has always confused me: I would have thought the idea of storage was to minimize the loss of volatile components which are responsible for much of coffee's flavors. Basic physics argues that any volatile ingredient will dissapate more slowly at lower temperatures: thus my logical conclusion that storage at lower temps would be superior. Are there specific reasons why this is held to be untrue?

clinresga -- see the link below for a the best analysis I have seen on the coffee freezing issue. The author specifically looks at coffee used for espresso, but I believe the conclusions should be generally applicable regardless of the preparation method.

Short answer if you don't want to read the article: freezing is OK if you freeze batches of beans in airtight containers and bring each batch to room temperature before opening the package.

Here is a link that might be useful: Effects of freezing coffee

Well, still way OT and my apologies, but...
mrblandings--I LOVED the link! It totally appeals to the lapsed scientist side of me. Still wish he had done one more comparison--coffee frozen x 4-8 weeks, versus coffee stored 4-8 weeks at ROOM temp. There I would still guess frozen might have an advantage. But, what do I know???

I am way short of that degree of obsessiveness over my coffee, though I enjoy a good cup. And, since I am obsessive about other things, I appreciate others who are equally committed.

I have the Mr. Coffee 4 cup coffeemaker, and I really like it. The coffee is very hot the first coffeemaker I've had that actually makes HOT coffee. It has auto shut off (an hour or two) and a clock and is programmable, so the coffee is ready every morning when I get up. It was $20 at Walmart. My DD has one for her husband and is just as pleased.

I do use Poland Spring water and buy good coffee - usually Brazilian Santos - a good, mild coffee, perfect in the morning. I buy it already ground, and keep a small canister on the counter, the rest in the freezer.

An interesting article. A couple of points: I wonder how a darker roast, would fair under the same conditions. I'm not a chemist, but when the oils are on the surface of the bean, can their structure be damaged in some way by the freezing and thawing? What about the residue moisture within the bean? This can vary by the roast. Can the freezing and thawing have any effect? IMHO, to be a fair test, one would have to try it with different beans, different roast profiles, and different brewing methods. The other issue is the "exchange" of flavors that often takes place. We've all experienced that refrigerator taste when something has been kept to long in the freezer in spite of it being in a so called "air tight" container.

Me, I just like good coffee and its no biggy to purchase it fresh roasted and use it up quickly. We order a pound every other week. Our problem is with espresso. We don't use up the beans as quickly. Most espresso is a blend. There are only a few single orgin beans that make a good cup and a good shot. When I can get them in the roast profile I like, we use them up fast enough so the storage question is mute.

Any tasting is, by its nature, a subjective thing. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters. But I do warn you, if you start drinking coffee made from quality beans, freshly roasted and ground, and properly brewed, you have a good chance you'll never be able to stomach Maxwell House again; and Starbucks will merely become an emergency fix only to be used when your supplier is unavailable. It can become an addiction for which there is no known 12 step program!

Thank you clinresga and momj47 for the tips. I'm researching the Technivorm Moccamaster and am wondering if Mr. Coffee machines have improved over the years. I had 2 of them a long time ago and the only thing I had against them was they weren't hot enough. Maybe it's time to give one another chance.
Thanks to both of you,
Cathy

I second the post on the Mr. Coffee 4-cup pot; I have one that I use at work and it's really good for what it is. I was deluded into thinking that it's attributes would transfer to the larger 12-cup model which I have at home, but not so. I can't wait for my kitchen reno to be complete so I can upgrade to a better pot. I've also been looking at the Technivorm, but I remember leaning towards the Capresso MT500 (or something like that) instead. It's been a little while since I did the research on those two, but there was something that made me lean toward the Capresso over the Technivorm, but of course I can't remember what. Switching from grocery store swill to freshly roasted whole bean and upgrading to a decent burr griner has been an epiphany. Baratza grinders are supposed to be really good but I cheaped out a bit and got the Capresso for a few bucks less. I still think it's pretty comparable to the Baratza in grind quality, just not as nice of a finish looks-wise.

straw_bale_ln: I owned a Capresso MT500 for a number of years and recently replaced it with a Technivorm Moccamaster. They both make a decent cup of coffee with sufficiently hot water but I really prefer the Technivorm. The Capresso has a design flaw in the carafe cover and/or brewing basket that causes it to often overflow. I can't tell you how many times I've had to mop up the counter or the floor. This is a known problem that has been documented in many reviews. The only feature that the Capresso has that the Technivorm doesn't is a timer but I never used it.

When I got the Technivorm I also got a Baratza Virtuoso grinder and I'm very pleased with both.

Thanks for the heads up weissman. Now I'm going to have to go digging and figure out what made me go with the Capresso instead of the Technivorm. I really don't care about the times since I never use it so that couldn't have been it. Good thing I haven't pulled the trigger yet :)

I also recommend the Technivorm Moccamaster although we did replace the thermal caraff with a vaccume insulated one from Thermos that keeps the coffee HOT far longer. Fits the maker and style as well as the original.