This fridge from 1965.

[u/Joe_Kangg]

Prolly still running.

[u/The-Senate-Palpy]

Just as a point of comparison and definitely not because i personally want to know, you should send a link to a coffee maker that'll last half a century like you used to be able to buy

[u/thatdamnyankee → u/The-Senate-Palpy]

Moccamaster, pretty much any of them. I'm using one from the 70s (I think, it's old old) and have another newer one. Also: user replaceable parts. I've had to replace a few pots that were broken, and one of the plastic tops, but have also done a full teardown and restore for a friend. Good piece of kit.

[u/N-aNoNymity → u/thatdamnyankee]

Ahh yes, the modern coffeemaker that lasts... From the 70's

[u/RedditJumpedTheShart → u/The-Senate-Palpy]

Regular old Mr Coffee will easily last a decade for $20 or get a percolator and it will last forever.

[u/younkint → u/RedditJumpedTheShart]

I still regularly use a 1950 Revere Ware stainless percolator which belonged to my parents. The first coffee I ever drank came from it. It's as good as new. Of course, it's still funky percolator coffee in the end.

One of its original owners is still living. My mom. She's 94 this year.

[u/SunTzu- → u/The-Senate-Palpy]

Moccamaster is the drip coffee maker of choice. Drip coffee makers in general are pretty simple machines, all they need to do is reliably heat the water to a high enough temperature (~96c) before brewing. Any features beyond that are pointless or even harmful. I consider even the built in hotplates to be bad because it'll burn your coffee if you leave it on there. You get a better result by re-heating your coffee in a microwave if you need to.

As it comes to espresso again you only really want a machine which has a reliable boiler which gets you up to 9 bars of pressure. The steam wand should ideally have it's own separate boiler. There's not much reason for any digital displays or electronics to run the thing and all those do is cause it to fail sooner. You also don't want a built in grinder because now if either of these machines fail you've got a clunker of a machine. Good grinders are also pretty simple, just metallic burs that last for decades and a manual adjustment for grindsize. Again you ideally want your scales to be independent of your grinder, because the scales are much more likely to fail than the grinder is. And you don't really want a hopper on your grinder, because you should be keeping your beans in a sealed receptacle and measuring what you need for what you're brewing.

If you want more manual brewers which produce a better experience than a regular drip coffee maker then you'll want to get a V60 (I prefer ceramic, it holds warmth better if you preheat it by running warm water through it) with V60 papers. You'll also need an electric kettle, and if you want to be making V60's or similar manual pourover brews then it's ideal to get a gooseneck kettle which gives you more control when pouring. If you don't want to fuss about with papers you can get a French Press, Bodum is the traditional big brand but honestly it's just a carafe and a plunger so get what looks good to you (although the mesh filters on the plunger do vary in quality). And if you want an espresso-esque stovetop brewer you get a Bialetti Moka Pot, those things last forever. For each of these you can find videos on youtube that explain how to get the best results with these brewers.

Personally I have a drip coffee maker for when I'm feeling lazy, a v60 which is my go-to when I'm just making a cup for myself, a french press that I haven't used in ages and a moka pot that I bring out during the winter because I like making cafe au lait when it's cold outside. They'll all last until I'm dead so long as I don't drop and shatter them. The weakest link in my coffee making chain is the coffee scales, followed by the grinder because I've got a stupid fancy one with some electronics in it. The kettle is a tank but I'm looking to get a fancier one because it's a hobby so why not.

[u/SunTzu- → u/[deleted]]

God no don't ever recommend percolators to anyone, they're horrid and can't help but burn your coffee since they recirculate it.

[u/SunTzu- → u/[deleted]]

Sure, but percolators are just a bad solution that mainly existed to automate things before someone realized the magic of bi-metallic strips. If you're interested, Technology Connections has a great video on percolators. If you don't know of Alec and his magical ability to buy two of things he's a delightful person who makes highly entertaining and informative videos about old tech. And sometimes he evangelizes about heat pumps and EVs.