Practical Living With Coffee

Bonjour's new Maximus coffee press line ($39.99), available in June, is all about experience. It comes in three colors - red, graphite or copper. A French press takes about four minutes, which isn't the quickest way to brew coffee.

"But, you're getting the true experience of coffee. Our Maximus is a patented technology with a shut off filter which stops the brewing, so your coffee doesn't continue to get bitter or too acidic," Stephanie Beck of Bonjour said.

Bonjour's new Primo Latte Milk Frother ($29.99) is the perfect marriage of function and design. It has enough power to whip cream or make salad dressing, but it's original intent is to make latte foam.

The Latissima is a partnership between Nespresso and De'Longhi (Price unavailable.) It took the best technology from both companies to create a machine that makes a perfect cup of cappuccino or latte, as well as froths milk directly into the cup from a separate spout. Every function is done with a one-touch system - even the cleaning.

"This way, it's very little work on the customer's part. It's convenient and it's consistent and it's quality coffee," Tabitha Luckett of Napresso said.

Crema is a key component in the flavor of espresso, and it's the hallmark of good pressure-brewed coffee and no other home machine does it quite like the Impressa J5 from Jura-Capresso. This "automatic coffee centers" runs about $2,000.

"[Crema] is kind of foam which is created by the pressure. It will move up and seal the flavor of the coffee. The machine controls all the variables," Michael Kramm of Capresso said.

The Impressa J5 grinds the beans, has a rotary dial that makes it easier to personalize each cup and an easy-to-read LED display to inform the user of the selection dialed. It also has a dual frother that makes it easy to steam milk just like a barista.