Coffee is a vital part of my morning routine. I do enjoy a cup of tea first thing in the morning but my extended morning routine includes having two cups of freshly brewed coffee along with fresh orange juice.
I have got through quite a few coffee makers over the years. They seem to die rather quickly but this one is lasting very well although it does have a problem. The problem with coffee makers is that they all seem to have a problem of one kind or another.
When I have to buy a new coffee maker I look for the same features that I have grown to like plus any improvements possible. The main thing I am concerned with is simplicity and ease of use. I only start to function properly after I have had my coffee so I can’t possibly be having anything complicated first thing in the morning.
The machine looks like the illustration shown on Ciao except mine is dark brown in colour not yellow. It is quite sleek and unobtrusive looking in the kitchen although I preferred the looks of the pale green Philips one I had previously.
There is a water indicator gauge on the front of the machine measured in the usual coffee cups (double up for mugs). The jug is also calibrated which is quite handy if you want larger quantities. Unlike previous jugs the calibration marks have remained clear after many washes in the dishwasher.
Filling with water is simple as there is a hinged lid on the top of the machine. The filter container is also very convenient as it is on a hinge and swings out. The permanent goldfilter is handy too because no paper filters are needed. My morning routine is simple; swing out the filter, put 4 heaped scoops of Douwe Egberts in the filter, pour in a pint of water and in a couple of minutes later I have two mugs of piping hot black wake me up stuff.
***The Instruction Book***
The instruction book with the appliance covers four models: ProAroma 309, ProAroma electric stop 306, ProAroma plus 310, and ProAroma Plus Goldtone 311. (If your interested it has instructions in 15 languages including Russian, Arabic, Greek and Hebrew which makes a change – I wonder if anyone has ever tried to learn a language from instructions books) The instructions are clear and comprehensive and include very useful information on cleaning and lime removal. Krups recommend descaling once a year in soft water areas, every three months for medium and monthly for hard water. I have totally ignored these instructions and clean it when it begins to slow up which is about every six months. They also, for ecological and health reasons, recommend using biological agents such as citric acid or tartaric acid available from chemists and give instructions for their use.
FEATURES
***Drip Guard*** This is a very useful feature – if you just can’t wait for all the water to filter through you can remove the pot and pour a cup without the coffee continuing to come through. I like this and now consider it an essential filter coffee machine feature, on my older machines I always had drippy bits which annoyed me.***Aroma Setting***
The 310 (and 311) machine has an aroma setting for making 1 – 3 cups of coffee. I think this setting extends the filtering time to ensure that full flavour is achieved even with small quantities. I sometimes use it for making one cup of coffee but I can’t say I have noticed any real difference when I forget. So I can’t say I’m impressed with this feature.
***Goldtone Filter***
The only difference between 310 and 311 is the type of filter. The 311 has a GoldTone Permanent filter which does not require additional filter papers. This is something I always look for in a coffee machine as I can’t be bothered with the hassle of filter papers. I have a confession to make here. The model on display in the shop where I bought the machine had a gold filter in it and this was one of the main reasons I bought this model. But when I got it home I found it had a plastic filter in it. My previous coffee maker used a plastic filter without paper filters but the gold filters are more durable. So next time I was in town I mentioned this in the shop and the assistant gave me a Goldtone filter. I now realise that it can be purchased as an optional extra and wasn’t supposed to be included with the 310 model I had bought.
**The ProAroma bit***
This refers to the special design of the lid on the coffee pot. Once you pour some coffee out the liquid forms a seal making the jug virtually airtight. The intention of this is to reduce evaporation and heat loss and so protect the aroma and freshness of the coffee.
Perhaps this feature would work very well but unfortunately the effect is totally spoilt by the fact that the hot plate is too hot. This is the main reason that I don’t drink coffee all day. The coffee stews, tastes awful and gives a rather acrid smell if you leave the coffee maker on longer than about half an hour.
***Conclusion***
I am reasonably happy with the Krups coffee maker. It is easy to use and clean and does a reasonable job first thing in the morning. The biggest problem is the hot plate which is far too hot and spoils the coffee quickly. If I want really good coffee for after dinner I prefer to use my Cona coffee maker which not only makes superb coffee but provides an interesting experience in its own right.
*The Krups ProAroma 10 cup coffee machine is very famous in certain circles due to it being the star of the very first web cam set up in 1993 in the Trojan room at Cambridge University. The boffins trained a digital camera on the coffee pot and wired up computers so they could see it from their desks – so they could see whether it was worth going to fill their up cup or not. This famous coffee maker was made even more famous when it was sold on eBay for £3,350.
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Durability
Everlasting
User's Manual
Good
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