Hey! Chewey coffee is GOOD for you. You won't need toothpicks for you'r eyelids, they'll be spring loaded to the wide open position, and the coffee will also set your back into an upright position too.

Seriously, while vacuum posts do keep coffee tasting better for longer, try not to keep coffee in them for over an hour. Rinse them out after each pot, and clean them thoroughly at the end of the day.

As someone said earlier, make enough to drink now, and then make more later. This is a good excuse for the 4 cup brewers; they let you make a pot, drink it while it is fresh, and then make another pot.

I, personally, feel that the drip pots with paper filters make the best coffee, but some swear by the French Press/Presse(?) coffee makers, and still others by the expresso machines or small espresso pots - makes great chewey coffee for drinking as is, or with steamed milk as cappuchino. The two advantages of these systems are that the coffee never goes through the grounds twice, and it never boils, two problems with "percolator" coffee makers.

That having been said, some of the best coffee I've had was cowboy or camp coffee; 3-4 quarts of cold water, coffee grounds to suit, gently boil and let settle a couple of times by a campfire, a cup of cold water or some egg white, to settle the grounds, and enjoy. Since this violates every point that I've advocated about making good coffee, it must be the smell of coffee outdoors that makes this seem as if it is good coffee. We just know that you can't make good cofffee this way.

Dave