Absolutely NOT! Drip brewing destroys the taste of coffee -essentially BOILS it away. Also leaches more caffeine out of the grind than steam. Check out www.coffeegeek.com or howstuffworks.com for more information.
I spent $1200 on a Saeco semi-commercial machine eight years ago and it still pumps out great coffee, espresso or european style coffee’s everyday. I would replace that machine in a heartbeat - good thing is that same quality machines can be had for $600 or so today.
We are in the process of building a house and I am half considering a Dacor coffee system that will be plumbed into a filtered water system. It does everything from one cup of coffee at a time, bean grinder inside, to espresso, cappuccino, blah, blah, an integrated milk dispenser, etc. $3100.00. I love coffee. Everyone in my family loves coffee. But $3100.00 worth??? I don't know...but I really am considering it...
It does not “boil” the coffee. But the time the water drips threw the coffee the temp is about 190 degrees. It has to boil to force its way threw the pluming but does not drip at 212.
Grid has more to do with caffeine than water temp.
French presses are fantastic but I still say for everyday drinking a drip with a good grind is the way to go.
Hadn’t looked at coffeegeek.com before my last post. Even so, this bit from one of the “Howto” guides on that site is germane to this discussion:
“...for paper, I highly recommend the Melitta FlavorPore paper filters - they let more coffee oils flow through.”
The single cup Melitta filter cones are about $4 or so at a local market, or surf to the Melitta website. Click on “Manual coffeemakers” to see their selection.