My favorite, well-worn stainless coffee carafe. I love this thing!
I grew up in a house where coffee was a staple. My mother loves it, and still drinks a significant amount every day. Into her eighties now, I think her coffee and her faith have kept her happy and well all these years! Her daughter inherited her taste for the stuff, too.
I do love coffee, but it has to be "good" coffee. Not from a plastic tub ground Lord-only-knows how long ago and "cooked" to death. No, I am a tiny bit a snob about my brew, and have a particular way of buying, preparing, and holding it. A Bunn drip coffee maker is my technique of choice (because it is always ready and brews a pot in under 3 minutes!), and then into a pre-heated stainless carafe it goes. (And grinding my own beans just before brewing, preferably with a burr grinder, is a must.) Bitter, muddy coffee that has been on a burner for a while is just not palatable. (I told you I was a bit of a snob.) I admire folks who can enjoy that stuff, they are hard core coffee lovers. But I prefer a bit more delicacy, thus my love affair with coffee carafes and equipment.
At the cafe I used large vacuum sealed carafes, big enough to hold a half-gallon of coffee, which got refilled frequently. That coffee never had a chance to become bitter! But at home I have a stainless steel carafe with a screw-on top that I bought years ago at a delightful kitchen store in Hollister, California when we lived in nearby Gilroy The name escapes me right now, but it was a fabulous store! That was probably 18 years ago, but that quality carafe is still in service. While I'm brewing my coffee I fill said carafe with really hot tap water. Then, once the coffee is ready, I empty the carafe and fill it with coffee. That coffee stays hot and fresh for several hours, never bitter or burnt. Though I paid a pretty good price for it, it has paid for itself many times over by eliminating wasted coffee, poured out because it no longer tasted good. And, yes, I've used the plastic counterpart while catering, which is better than nothing, but still can't compare to the stainless version.
My opinion then, is if you are a coffee fan, you might want to ask Santa or someone who loves you (and respects your coffee love) for your own fabulous carafe!
Here are some models I found that compare to mine:
Some other coffee equipment you might like, including an all-in-one system that grinds, brews, and holds in a stainless carafe!:
Ali-in-one-system Burr coffee grinder Coffee grinder Drip Brewer