Abstract: A coffee maker having a centrifugal brewing system. The system includes a basket having a bottom and sides extending upwardly therefrom. The sides define multiple vertical ports that extend upwardly from the bottom of the basket. The basket rotates at low angular velocities, preferably less than about 150 RPM, to extract coffee. Extracted coffee exits the basket through the ports.

Abstract: A coffee maker having interchangeable carafes, a serial heating system, and a centrifugal brewing system. The coffee maker includes a glass carafe and a thermal carafe, either of which interchangeably fits within a carafe cavity. The presence of the glass carafe activates a heating element positioned under the carafe. The thermal carafe does not. The centrifugal brewing system includes a showerhead for distributing water at radially spaced locations over a rotating grounds basket. The control for the serial heating system activates and deactivates the heating element to allow for heat transfer between heated and unheated portions of the water. In an alternative embodiment including a batch water heating system, the coffee maker includes a modular distributor secured to the bottom of the water heating vessel by a hand-actuated bayonet mount for easy cleaning or replacement.