On Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:40:23 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Thu, 4 Apr 2013 04:06:59 -0700 (PDT), Bob_Villa
wrote:

I have a Mr.Coffee...one with all the extra buttons for delayed-brew, clean ,etc. (model ISX43)
The question: does the "regular/strong" selection do anything? It appears to taste the same and take the same time to brew!? Thanks!

I looked around the net a little. Until I got bored, which didn't
take long.
One guy with a Kitchenaid having those settings said he found the
"weak" setting channeled more water into a groove in the basket behind
the filter, bypassing the grounds. Stupid design, but that's what he
said. He said it was stupid too, and didn't use a setting that
allowed channeling.
The consensus with the Mr Coffee guys having a "normal" and "strong"
setting is that the strong setting feeds water into the basket more
slowly, and takes longer to brew a pot.
You could confirm that by running water through a cycle with both
settings, and accurately timing each.
The coffee purists say a slower feed "overextracts," causing
bitterness.
That's all I know. Never had those settings. When I want stronger
coffee, I use more grounds.


First off, I like bold coffee (from my days drinking real Italian
expressos...long story) so I buy bold ground coffee from the grocery
and use a cheap coffee maker for my coffee. And like you, if I want
it stronger (not usually) I just add more. And if that's not good
enough for me, I then go to Starbucks or McD for a double expresso or
latte or both. I know the coffee purists will say this isn't how you
drink good coffee but it works for me despite them.