Moccamaster Select Coffeemaker Pistachio

In the past, those scientific testers at Cook's Illustrated magazine gave the Moccamaster coffeemaker three stars in every category (brewing, flavor, user-friendliness), awarding it the coveted "Highly Recommended" rating. They even went so far as to say the Moccamaster made better coffee than their previous reference standard, the classic Bodum Chambord French press. Not only that, the Moccamaster is also one of the few electric drip coffeemakers approved by the Specialty Coffee Assocaition of America for as certified brewing equipment. Now, the Moccamaster Select lets you choose whether to brew a full 40-oz. pot of coffee, or just half a carafe.

We've been drinking coffee made in a Moccamaster for years, and we can say without hesitation that the Moccamaster makes the best darn cup of coffee any of us has ever tasted. And we've had the coffee produced by more coffeemakers than you can shake a stick at.

So, what's the secret? Simple: ideal control of both time and temperature. The Moccamaster, according to Cook's Illustrated came the closest of all coffeemakers to the ideal brewing time of six minutes and alone among the machines tested achieved the perfect brewing temperature of between 195 and 205 degress over the full six minutes. It also met the standard for the ideal serving temperature of 155 - 175 degrees. The result is coffee that will change the way you think of your favorite morning beverage, complex and dynamic, powerful, but smooth. And hot, too! The Moccamaster now features a hot plate with its own heating element, with your choice of 175 degrees F or 185 degrees F as the keep-warm temperatures. The element gently rolls heat into the coffee without burning and shuts off automatically after 100 minutes

The Moccamaster isn't for everybody. It's expensive and it doesn't do any tricks. There's no timer, no programmable features, no clock. In fact, there's simply an on/off switch that starts the brewing, a switch to choose a half-pot or a full pot, and a three-position switch on the filter basket that controls the flow of coffee into the carafe. And a two-position control for the warming plate. That's it. Simply fill the clear water tank on top of the stainless-steel tower with water, put your favorite ground coffee in a filter in the filter basket, place the carafe under the basket, and hit the "on" switch. The water is heated, pumped over to the filter basket and dispersed via a 9-outlet spary head over your ground coffee. In about six minutes, you'll have a carafe full of the most wonderful coffee you've ever tasted. An automatic drip-stop lets you remove the carafe and pour yourself a quick cup without waiting for the brewing process to finish. But, that's about as fancy as the Moccamaster gets.

The Moccamaster is hand-assembled in Holland (if it's not Dutch, it's not much!) out of the finest materials; the power cord alone looks like it belongs in a power plant. It measures 14" high, 6.5" deep and, with the carafe in place, 12.75" wide. If you love coffee , if you want the best drip coffee you've ever tasted, if you don't need a bunch of fancy electronic features, you'll love the Moccamaster.