I know it's still August, and we are still soaking up these last few weeks of summer. Trust me, I'm not trying to rush anything, but humor me for a moment. Imagine it's a chilly autumn morning, the rain softly falling outside your window. You turn on your drip coffee machine, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the house. Can you imagine a better way to start the day? Even the routine of my gourmet espresso machine household doesn't compare to the simple magic of a drip coffee maker.
Maybe it's because I grew up with parents who almost religiously drank drip coffee (it's a nostalgic scent for me), but something about this slower-paced appliance is so comforting. A drip coffee maker uses a percolation brewing method, where gravity pulls hot water through a bed of coffee grounds held in a filter (typically made of paper). The result is a pot of black coffee with a crisp, light, and balanced flavor profile. The slow brewing and coarser grinds mean it's less dense (read: intense) than coffee from a French press or espresso maker, and the filter traps heavy oils, giving its taste more clarity. And because these machines are automatic (unlike similar hands-on pour-over machines), you get a controlled brewing process with consistent cups each time. Not to mention, a full pot of coffee so you can easily refill your mug.
