This style of coffee maker will produce coffee in a fraction of the time an old fashioned percolator would. Although newer coffee machines have an internal filter that is made out of a thin metal screen, you still have the option to use a filter made of paper along with it to keep the cuppa joe free of grounds.

Once the java is brewed, the machines are created to drip the coffee into a carafe or directly into the coffee cup. Another way to personalize a coffee pot is to choose how much it can make at one time. There are large family sized machines that can make 10 to 12 cups per time.

This type of machine takes regular coffee grounds, or if so desired whole beans can be purchased and ground at the store or at home. For a larger selection, many malls also have stores that specialize in gourmet coffee beans.

At the other end of the scale are single serving machines, some of which use a pod. An example of this is the Nescafe coffee machine. A pod is one serving of coffee grounds sewn into a filter so all that is required is to drop the pod into the receptacle and turn the machine on. Pods are meant to be used with a specific type of coffee maker. You can find these pods in your favorite grind and roast and they make it easy to choose a different flavor every day.

Today’s coffee machine comes in a rainbow of colors designed to coordinate with contemporary kitchen designs. The most popular styles are still basic black, chrome and white though the red coffee maker is beginning to shine. Some machines are designed to do more than one function. Some very fancy coffee makers are almost like a computer with all of the functions that can be programmed in.

Espresso and other specialty coffee drinks can be made at home in the kitchen with these new multifunction machines and others can be programmed at night so that you can wake up to the smell of coffee in the morning. If there is only one machine that you can purchase for the kitchen, a coffee maker should be it.

In case you aren’t familiar with these types of machines, they essentially grind and brew in a single step, all in an effort to make things easier for the end user. While this sounds great on the surface, there are a few reasons why bean to cup coffee machines aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. Listed below are just a couple of reasons for disliking these machines –

1.    Inferior Components – grinding your own whole coffee beans just prior to brewing is essential if you want to experience the best tasting coffee. However, you must grind them using a quality burr coffee grinder. Most bean to cup machines use a blade grinder that essentially pulverizes the coffee beans into tiny bits of dust, lending to bitterness in the final cup.
2.    Expensive – knowing that most of these coffee makers come equipped with inferior grinders, do you really want to spend $150.00 to $200.00 on one? For about the same price you can purchase a top of line drip coffee maker and burr grinder, which will provide you with far better results.

The bottom line is this – don’t be duped by the slick marketing techniques that place these types of machines in a positive light. They may look nice and come from reputable manufacturers, but if your interest lies in producing the very best coffee then it’s critical that you move on in search of a better alternative.

If you are into health foods and natural health care, you probably know that fresh juice is a great way to boost your energy levels and your general well being. There is a good chance that you have come across the Angel juicer at some point – it is often advertised in natural health journals, magazines and websites, and sold as the “Rolls Royce” of juicers.

Rolls Royce make enormously expensive luxury cars…giving us some indication that this juicer isn’t going to be cheap! The Angel juicer in fact retails for a little over $1000 US, or enough to buy a used car with.

Why so much, and is it worth it? Here are my thoughts.

1. The Angel juicer uses a juice extraction system known as a twin gear system. This means two inter-meshing rollers slowly turn, and crush everything, squeezing out the juice. This is far superior to conventional juicers, that work by shredding everything, then allowing juice to drain out. The slow processing speed of the Angel not only extracts more liquid, but preserves more of the vitamins and nutrients resulting in healthier juice.

2. The whole thing is built of stainless steel. This is rare – most juicers are made of plastic, and correspondingly don’t have very long lives…stainless steel not only looks good, but is chemically neutral and virtually indestructible.

3. This juicer has the ability to juice anything that you could chew up yourself – it doesn’t get jammed on things like wheat grass and herbs, and can also “juice” oily seeds like linseed and flax to make fresh cold pressed oils

4. It has a massive warranty of 10 years. This is pretty impressive for a kitchen appliance that is intended for heavy use. It indicates that the company expects these machines to have a very long service life under normal conditions, else they would not risk the costs associated with giving such a long guarantee.

Basically the old saying “you get what you pay for” holds true for this machine. Pay a lot, get a lot – in this case a great looking juicer that really delivers.

A good alternative for those who like the idea but not the expense would be to buy a used model from Ebay or Amazon, for roughly half the new price. Even with some use, these juicers should have many years of solid work left in them.