Thermal Coffee Maker: Pros and Cons

Most of us have experienced the unpleasant taste of coffee that has been left on a warming plate for hours. When coffee is kept on a warming plate for more than a few minutes it becomes burnt, the taste starts to become tart and bitter - and soon the coffee will be practically undrinkable without a heavy dose of sugar and cream.

If you like to keep your coffee hot without ruining its flavor then a thermal coffee maker might be the answer. These are ordinary drip coffee makers with one difference: they have a specially designed carafe with double wall insulating system. This insulation system ensures that heat does not escape and get lost like it does with typical glass carafe.

Advantages of thermal coffee makers

• The most obvious advantage of thermal coffee makers is that they can keep your coffee piping hot for hours.
• The flavour of your coffee is not compromised in any way since there is no warming plate to burn the coffee.
• You also save some energy that's normally used by the warming plate.
• No need to worry about breaking the carafe. The rugged construction of most thermo makers means years of use.
• The brushed stainless steel exteriors are quite stylish these days.

... and the drawbacks

• You cannot see at a glance how much coffee is left in the carafe.
• You have to be quite careful following the instructions - making sure that the carafe is placed in correctly to avoid any spilling.
• People with arthritis or similar conditions may find the lid of the thermal carafe difficult to handle - it may not be a good gift for your old grandmother.
• Some users find the speed of pouring the coffee from the carafe frustratingly slow.

Additional features

Many thermal carafe coffee makers come with additional features that are very convenient, especially for the busy business type with little time to mess with preparing coffee for the day. Some of these features include digital timers that offer pre-programming for up to 24 hours in advance. Program your requirements the night before and wake up to piping hot coffee ready for breakfast on the go and the office all in one.

The automatic shut-down of most machines means you don't have to sit in your car on the trip to work wondering whether or not you turned the coffee pot off before you left. The specially designed carafes also help to keep you from spilling on yourself before you even get out the door, with a tight fitting lid for pouring. Some machines even offer color-coded lids so you remember whether the brew was regular, decaf or flavored. If you need one of each variety, you can often purchase additional carafes.