More Coffeemaker Drama

 After I fell in love - so in love - with my electric percolator, I had a little mishap and have to return it. (Not only did I return it, but I also had to go over and drop the rating from 5 to 3 stars. The original blog review has all the update info in detail.)

And, man, did I love that coffeemaker. It was beautiful on my counter and didn't hog all the space. Then, the thing I loved most about it became the reason I have to return it.

When I was pouring a cup of coffee the other morning, I lost slight control of my hand and slopped coffee. That coffee was so freaking hot. Lucky for me, I happened to have the cold water running into a purifying pitcher and I was standing right next to the sink. I stuck my hand and wrist under the cold stream until my skin cooled. After that, I spread on some Manuka honey and rested a cool wet towel over it for a bit.

I think that if I hadn't gotten my hand under the cold water so fast that my skin might have blistered. That coffee was scalding. I knew the percolator got hot but I tend to add cold creamer most times. When I drink it black, I put it into a travel mug and dole it into my coffee cup a little at a time. Of course, I have to let it cool before drinking. I knew it got hot but never realized how hot it was straight out of the pot.

After I took care of my hand, the very next thing I did was add a note to my Amazon review. I had already mentioned that the coffee gets really hot and to be careful with kids in the kitchen. What I added was that people who for whatever reason tend to be clumsy need to be extra careful. 

So I am returning the pot. And I know I will have trouble finding something else. As it was, it took forever to find this percolator. My niece and I are reading reviews and looking at the pros and cons of the pots I can afford.

Unfortunately, I am going to be going back to a drip-style pot. I'm afraid that the design of the percolator - tall and slim - was one reason I wasn't able to control the spill. I didn't want a glass carafe but... Thermal carafes are so expensive. My niece offered to chip in but I am just going to go with something that I can use my Prime card to pay in interest-free installments. 

This one caught my eye because of the price and thermal pot:

Not crazy about the look of it, but... 

Other than the boring look, I was in love. It's obviously a best-selling machine since there are 14,600+ reviews right now. Most importantly, it has a thermos-type carafe. No glass to worry about. The thing is, after reading several opinions on Amazon and around the web (I go first for the 3-star reviews), I wasn't so sure about the thermos. There were a lot of complaints about it being drippy, messy, and - this is the kicker - only keeping the coffee lukewarm. (And, yes, some users had no complaints about the warmth.)The other downside I read about in multiple places was the durability. A couple of users said that they loved the machine because of the "price point" but that it was not the best on flavor or durability. One review gave it high marks for everything but the flavor. Rather they said that the flavor was "okay for the price" of the machine but nothing to rave about.

Because I need something that gives great flavor and will last me a long time, I put this one to the side and kept looking.

I looked at a lower-than-usually-priced Cuisinart that was still too pricey for me and didn't seem to live up to the hype for some people. There were actually a couple of Cuisinart's I checked. I also noticed when looking at different machines that people were "replacing" their old Cuisinart's. Hmmm. I did find a Mr. Coffee with a thermal carafe but it was huge and there were reported leaking issues. Also, I have owned Mr. Coffee machines or known people who have and they are reliable but very, very basic on flavor. And ugly. They are usually ugly. This one wasn't too bad for looks but it was big and not gorgeous. I looked at a Capresso; a Hamilton Beach that I liked because it was a dispensing type machine (no carafe!); and even a Mueller Austria. There was something about all of them that I liked (auto shut-off for one) and a few things I didn't like.

I was on the hunt for hours when my niece mentioned that she had loved the Ninja she owned. She loves all things Ninja and she can afford all things Ninja. I laughed at her suggestion but, by then, my brain was getting tired and wiggy, so I went and took a look.

Most of the Ninja makers are way too fancy for my needs and too pricey for what I laughingly call a 'budget'. I saw a whole array of Ninjas and my brain went into high fogginess.

People be doing too much, as the kids say!

I was about to go back to the Black and Decker and take my chances when I saw this Ninja:

Think I found my Neo. Maybe.

But... eighty bucks. Ouch! I went through the reviews and watched videos online and looked for comparisons between this one and the Black and Decker. Too much info!

I took the rest of the evening off so I could pick up on reading reviews the next day. Seriously, when my brain is done, it's d.o.n.e. I start getting overwhelmed and mentally dyslexic if that makes sense.

Feeling a little more rested, I got back to the reviews and comparisons. Oh, boy. There is a ton of information out there about coffee machines. 

This Ninja CE251 gets higher marks everywhere for everything except that carafe. Not only is it glass but it is often reported to be fragile. People told of breaking it by just sitting down too hard on a counter.

On the plus side though:

• Flavor gets high marks (important!)
• 
  Auto shut-off. This was a HUGE problem for me with the percolator. It was the reason I almost didn't get the machine.
• A removable water reservoir (probably the only thing I loved about the Keurig) And I don't plan on removing this but I will just fill it with a jug to keep from damaging the seal by removing and replacing the reservoir constantly. Picked up that tip from a reviewer.
•  Like the Black and Decker, it's programmable (one thing I didn't like about the percolator was that it had to remain unplugged when not in use and it was not programmable - neither was my Keurig)
• Some kind of adjustable warming plate technology that keeps the coffee hot without burning it (another downside to the percolator, it cooked the crap out of any coffee left for more than a couple of hours. Rare for me, but... )
• A showerhead-based spout for pre-infusing the grounds vs drip water system (the idea is new to me!) Try to picture water coming down over the grounds in a showerhead spray vs just drip-drip-dripping into the center of the grounds. That's the way I think of it.
• A straw feeding the brewed coffee into the center of the pot to keep the flavor more even. I can't wait to see whether this makes a big difference or not.
• A "Pause" button so I can grab a cup mid-brew (Black and Decker had this)
• Strength controls - Classic and Rich - and like the B&D, small-batch brewing. I know already which coffee I will be using the Rich function for. The B&D has "Auto" and "Strong" which is probably the same thing as Classic and Rich.
• There is a "Clean" function that should come in handy. (By the way, I heard that the glass pots for this machine tend to hold stains at the bottom and, woe is me, in short supply should you need a replacement. Just thought I'd throw that in.)
• As with the percolator, I will still be saving on coffee. I had already stocked up on some so I'm good for a good long while. No more pods. Let's say it together: "No more pods. No more pods!"
• And once again, flavor, flavor, flavor. This is going to be the biggie.

I am going with the Ninja but only because I can do the installment on my card and only because I picked up an additional warranty. I figure if I have any major problems, between the warranty and my credit card protections, I'm covered. I wouldn't have dared get this one without the installments.

After I made my decision, I kept going back over reviews again and again. I keep coming back to one that touted the Ninja CE251 as one of the best machines under $100 - the Black and Decker didn't make this particular list. Black and Decker didn't even make Owly's list of the best B&D programmable machines. I went back to Owly because they had my favorite review covering the good, bad, and ugly. 

Since I loved the flavor I got from the percolator, that was a big thing when looking for a replacement. 

Overall, the things that pushed me hardest toward the Ninja over the B&D were being able to control brew strength (I love this!) and the showerhead feature. Though the B&D does have the thermal carafe,  am counting on the special "adjustable" warming plate technology. I still have no idea what that is going to mean in the real world, but it gets some hype in reviews online.

By the way, because of my accident with the Presto, I wondered about the temperatures of the Ninja, Coffee is said to be best brewed between 195 and, I believe 205 degrees. The Presto was supposed to get to 193. Maybe, but it felt a lot hotter than that when I burned myself. The Ninja is reported by some reviewers to get to 193 degrees. That's close enough for me to the best temp. As far as spilling coffee, the Presto was easier to spill on me because of the way it's made. The tall, thin pot almost has to be unplugged to pour coffee without yanking on the cord. And I did have less control over the narrow style when pouring. I'm not making excuses for my natural clumsiness but a shorter, wider pot seems as if I will have more control over it. I was always a little unsteady handling the Presto, to be honest, and I think I mentioned that cord in my original review. And then there was the whole no auto shut-off that bothered me from the beginning.

The one thing that I don't think I am going to like about the Ninja is the size. I can't really tell from photos but it seems like I am going to be losing a lot of counter space to it. Also, a user mentioned that the brew basket opens from the top. Oh, and, of course, it takes a different type of filter... ~sigh~. Even though it has a permanent, reusable filter I know I will be buying the #4 cone filters soon. Those built-in filters never work as well as is claimed. But, still, the pros are in the high majority, so...

I conferred with my consiglieri, er, niece, and she gave it a thumbs up. She was still trying to help me pay for it because she is a generous young lady and she loves her auntie. I'm going to be okay with the payments though. When I asked what happened to her Ninja, she said she still has it and uses it on occasion. Apparently, she has done okay with that glass carafe. She and her boyfriend are not big on regular coffee but like pimped-out java with lots of foam and all that. She should have gotten one of these fancy Ninjas.

(I finalized the purchase of the Ninja a couple of days into this post. I have already packed up the percolator and will be returning it via Kohls. I also remembered to return the Asurion Plan for a refund.)

The Ninja will be here Monday. I have been using my single brew filter. My counter already looks lonely and less attractive with the percolator gone. It sounds crazy, but I was almost tearful about giving it back. 

I am hoping that this one works out for me. Hopefully, it brews my coffee hot enough without being a danger. Hopefully. I think if I try to return this one, Amazon is going to hate me.

When I get the Ninja, I will use it for a few days and then do a review.

Peace

--Free