Brewed to perfection

Today’s home coffee makers do more than just brew coffee. They grind, steam, froth and, if asked nicely enough, blow on your coffee to cool it to the perfect temperature.

Although we’re kidding about the last part — sorta — owning modern coffee and tea makers is like having a virtual barista in your home.

“It’s a trend we have seen with coffee in general. People are always going to coffee and tea shops and want a high-end drink,” said Marion Belouis, appliance manager for Krups.

She said coffee drinkers have taken note of the different taste of coffees, different varieties, how they are roasted and how the hot water passes through the grounds.

“Now, it’s more of an experience,” Belouis said. “We have an answer for each and every type of coffee you can get. It is really like having a coffee shop at home.”

As March’s National Caffeine Month observance comes to a close, she described some of the various coffee-making machines Krups offers, providing users the ability to enjoy a variety of experiences and tailor their beverages to their tastes.

For example, one of the company’s simplest offerings, the KM720, an automatic drip machine, allows users to adjust the length of time water passes through the coffee grounds, making it weaker or stronger depending on their preference.

The company also offers a model that grinds fresh coffee beans and automatically brews them. It offers multiple types of grinds as well as different brew strengths.

The next step up from a basic coffee maker is an espresso maker, Belouis said. These offer more features, as well as the option to make different types of beverages such as lattes with the included milk frother.

According to Belouis, 70 percent of the population puts milk in their coffee.

“Espressos are more like what you will find in a coffeehouse, they are more European,” said Belouis from her office in France.

Belouis said as the units step up in price, they move from a system that uses steam to push the water through the coffee grounds to a pump and tamping system that allows greater control of temperature and won’t burn the coffee.

These machines allow users to select their preferences by strength, froth their milk and can use coffee grounds or premeasured coffee pods. Some also are programmable.

For those who don’t want to manually select all the desired qualities of their drink, there are fully automatic machines that just require a single touch of a button. They range in price from about $800 to $2,500.

Belouis described Krups’ best-selling EA82 model. She said once beans are put in the machine, a display screen allows users to select what type of beverage they want — it makes coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte or tea — its strength and number of cups desired.

“It can replace several machines,” she said.

The company also offers its EA9000, or the barista. “This machine does every single thing for you.” It has a digital touch screen that will froth milk and brew coffee with one touch of a button, and allows for eight personalized program settings. It also cleans itself.

“In my opinion, fully automatics are really great machines. For those who are going to Starbucks every day, after six months or a year you get your investment back,” Belouis said.

Additionally, having a brewing system at home provides coffee drinkers the opportunity to experiment with beans with different types of roasts and origins. Darker roasts have more intense flavor and are more oily than lighter roasts, she said.

Simplicity and variety also are trademarks of Keurig’s Vue brewing systems.

Using premeasured packets, users can brew a hot beverage or a cool one over a cup of ice. An interactive touchscreen allows each cup to be brewed to the user’s specifications in less than a minute, according to a company spokesperson.

Specialty drinks such as a cappuccino or latte are brewed through a two-step process that provides a milky froth.

For those who prefer to drink tea, Krups offers two personalized tea kettles, priced at about $50 and $100. Both have a mesh filter at the top that allows users to steep loose tea leaves. The more expensive version provides for different water temperatures to accommodate various types of teas.

For example, white tea is more delicate and should be brewed at 175 F while black tea should be brewed at 212 F, Belouis said.

“After water, tea is the most popular drink in the world. But there were limited offering in terms of kettles in the U.S.,” she said.

“With an old kettle it is very hard for you to know how long to infuse the tea and at what temperature.”