A coffee maker is your best friend

For those dependent on their morning fix of caffeine, the coffee maker is an old friend. It brews coffee in an instant, and in exactly the way you want. What's more it takes very little space in the kitchen, saves you a great deal of bother and gives you great pleasure.

Today most homes use automatic coffee makers which consist of a hot plate, a carafe or glass coffee pot, filter basket, and water reservoir. The heat is provided by a heating element attached to the base of the hot plate. Within the heating element is an aluminum tube, and it is here that the water is heated.

When you pour cold water, it flows from the container into the aluminum tube through a plastic pipe. This happens naturally because of gravity. Now, when you switch on the coffee maker, the heating element starts heating the water that has entered the aluminum tube. The heating element has sensors that ensure that the water temperature stays within 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the water nears the boiling point it releases bubbles that rise to the top of the surface pushing the water ahead of them. The hot water travels upwards through an exit pipe and flows onto a drip plate. From here the water falls evenly over grounded coffee kept in a filter basket.

You can now see drops of freshly brewed filter coffee dripping in your glass carafe. A coffee maker delivers best results with freshly ground coffee. This means that you need to grind coffee beans in a grinder minutes before you place them in the coffee maker.

Most coffee makers have timers that allow you to regulate the brewing time. You also have a choice of filters. If you want strong and heady coffee then you should use a steel filter. They allow the oils to pass. Paper filters absorb oils and leave you with a light coffee.