Buyer Beware: finding the perfect coffee maker

(Columbia) Jan. 1, 2003 - Consumer Reports brewed more than 500 pots, a total of 5,000 cups of coffee, to find the best coffee makers.

Testers found the most expensive coffee makers, starting at $100, were not more capable of brewing a good cup of coffee than $20 coffee makers.

Also, coffee that sits around on a hot plate can develop a burned flavor. Some coffee makers now have an insulated carafe to preserve the taste and keep the coffee hot without a hot plate. Consumer Reports's Bob Karpel tested the temperature on several of the coffee makers, "We found that the insulated carafes kept the temperature of the coffee quite hot. Here we see it on the screen that it's been almost an hour and it's only dropped a few degrees."

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