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With these results, I'm back to my glass French Press. After using the coffee maker three times, I consistently find that the coffee has a plastic flavor to it (not unlike my Cuisinart coffee maker). Functionally, this coffee maker is good and met my expectations. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the brew time reasonable for a great tasting cup of coffee.Unfortunately, that's not what I received. Despite drinking very dark roasted coffee (Sumatra, Italian and French Roasts) the unwelcome plastic taste comes through.For me, coffee is all about taste.
The unit also is bigger than I envisioned. It's a close call, but it does fit. After this, I'll get the tallest cone filters, and that should make this whole arrangement Sweet. I decided to buy this cone holder for a thermos carafe I have that has a flip-up lid. It's a sturdy item, too -- should last indefinitely. I'm pleased with the way it drips, I dont find it too slow.
This was kind of expensive with the expedited shipping, over $17, but I am glad to have it, coffee tastes great, and I think it will work well with another carafe I had forgotten I had. Every coffee making device in my house broke recently -- the glass on the french press, the electric percolator, etc. I wasnt sure if this would work, but it does, and the lid is not in the way. Right now I'm using up a pack of Bunn filters that arent even meant for this type of filter holder, but I can make do.
I had to tinker with my Rocky burr grinder to get a grind level that produced the right extraction rate, but am completely satisfied with it now. And, it is prettier than my old brown plastic mellitta filter. Get a good burr grinder. If you are using a whirly blade grinder, well, you could have both problems, over and under extraction because they cannot produce an even grind. If your coffee is going through too fast, your beans are ground too coarse, if too slow, or the brew is stalling out, the beans are too fine. This filter cone works just fine exactly as it is--suggestions that it needs extra holes drilled are wrong imo. The former will under-extract the coffee and it will suck, the latter will over-extract and that will suck too. Anyhow, the filter works perfectly for brewing directly into a thermos which is why I bought it.
If only they had copied Melitta a little more closely, they'd get 5* from me. Both cones have a single small drain hole, but the Melitta cone comes to a finer point at the bottom, and has higher plastic ridges that keep the filter paper from sticking flat to the plastic. It works perfectly with my Zojirushi Thermal 1-Liter Carafe. A coarser grind also means you need to use more coffee for the same strength brew. The extension is 1 3/16" in diameter (and 1 1/2" long).
I think I'm just going to drill a couple extra holes in mine (as one other reviewer did). The product is made of a transparent brown polycarbonate, and is rigid and durable.Having just made the switch from daily use of the equivalent Melitta cone, I can confirm that the RSVP cone drains more slowly (using the same Melitta filter papers, and coffee ground to the same fineness). The flat flange at the base of the cone that stops it from falling through is 2 5/8" wide. You can't see it in the photos, but this cone has a hollow cylindrical 'extension' that sticks off the bottom of the cone and fits into the mouth of your thermos or carafe. So you can probably use this on any thermos/carafe with a mouth between 1 1/4" and 2".
These seem to enhance drainage, especially for the last part of the brew.Another reviewer notes that you can try to compensate for this by grinding your coffee more coarsely, but I think Melitta already has it just right--I like to use a fairly fine grind, and then trust that the quick brewing will help me avoid overextraction.
Don't forget to stir the coffee after you add the water using a chopstick or another wooden utensil. The #6 that it holds are just taller, but I haven't needed them for a 16 oz thermos. Makes fantastic coffee, right into the thermos. Doesn't really tip over and you can use #4 cones. Fantastic price.
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