Do you drink coffee from a coffee maker? Does the second, third and fourth cup taste as good as the first one?
If it doesn’t, I’m guessing you make the coffee and then leave it sitting on the warming plate to keep it warm until it’s time for another cup.
When coffee is exposed to the continuous heat of the warming plate for more than a few minutes after it’s done, it becomes burnt. This will give it a tart and bitter taste, and pretty soon you’ll have to add sugar and cream by the boatload just to make it drinkable.
And not only are you getting foul tasting coffee by leaving it on the warming plate, you’re also wasting money and electricity in the process!
Luckily, there’s a simple solution to this: Get a good quality vacuum flask, pour the freshly made coffee into it and switch your coffee maker off.
Any vacuum flask worth its salt will keep your coffee at a good drinking temperature for hours and keep the good taste intact to boot.
PS: Coffee makers are one of the most common causes of fires, so you might want to consider pulling the plug, rather than just switching it off.
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This post was tagged with: coffee, coffee makers, energy saving, how to save electricity, saving energy, vacuum flask
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great tip! I absolutely hate the taste of coffee that has sat for more than just a few minutes. And I don’t use a microwave so … no warming a second cup up. I like your idea … and I agree … it must be a good vacuum flask, otherwise it won’t stay good and hot!
Better coffee … and good for the earth! Brilliant!
BTW … our challenge this week is also about saving energy. Drop by if you get a moment!
Small Footprints
@Small Footprints: Thanks! I’ll try to drop by the challenge soon – blogging and summer and my regular work is taking its toll :-/
Good tip. You should also consider a double-walled steel french press like these
http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&famid=10&famSubId=1001&id=11055-16
http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&famid=10&famSubId=1001&id=10743-16
roy
Great tip on saving electricity and your palette.
I also don’t recommend reheating in a microwave later in the day. The taste is dreadful to say the least.
Thanks!
@Roy Sigurd Karlsbakk and Tommy: Thanks for commenting, and thanks for the tips
Just a little bit of effort will allow us to taste a better cup of coffee. This pointer is wonderful. Imagine the saving done if everyone does that. If this is expanded to other drinks, the mass accumulation of saving is even tremendous. This shows that no effort is ever wasted, how small it is!
Maths Is Interesting!
Anything Gorgeous
@Lim Ee Hai: Thanks for commenting! I love your “Anything Gorgeous” blog, by the way. Reading it makes me happy