Coffee Experiment Day 2

Like my father, I enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee in the morning. Also like my father, I do not need a whole pot of freshly brewed coffee each morning. Years ago, Dad started on a quest for the perfect single-cup coffee maker, and we gladly helped (hey, it was better than another tie or cologne for Father's Day, right?). We gave him the Home Cafe from Black & Decker--one of those pod coffee makers. And it was great for me, but Dad likes his coffee to "put hair on his chest," so he modified the recipe by using 2 pods for each mug until we got around to buying him a better option.

So we bought him the Stainless Steel Single Cup Coffee Maker from Brookstone. This has been better for him, but not so good for the rest of us. Dad can add as much coffee as he wants and is not limited by those silly pods. Then you use the mug you're going to drink from to measure your water, pour it in and push the front button. Simple. Great. However, Mom and I have issues with this one. It has two faults which alternate: 1. it doesn't brew all the water and you have to push the button again, and 2. it overflows. I haven't had the time to research why it overflows when you use your own mug to measure it, but it does. Anyway, Dad seems to like that one.

As some of you may know, my roommate is moving out at the end of the month. I've been using her 4-cup coffee maker for the past year when I've been in town, and she's already packed it, so I suddenly find myself in a bit of a predicament. I have an espresso/latte maker, but no coffee maker, and I'm trying to cut back on the espresso, so I'm trying to figure out the best plan for me to continue to drink my coffee.

I figure here are my options:
A. find a way to brew coffee with items I have at home.
B. buy a 4-cup or single-cup coffee maker.

Before I go with plan B., I need to be sure I can't brew coffee with what I have. So far, here is what I've discovered:

1. Trying to brew coffee in a tea diffuser is no good. I can't fit enough coffee in the diffuser and the water doesn't stay hot, so it ends up very very watered down.
2. Brewing regular coffee in the espresso maker is a little watered down but not bad. Today I did regular ratios. Tomorrow I shall try extra coffee with the same amount of water.

I feel that I may end up just buying reg and decaf espresso and blending the two to make a less-caffeinated espresso.

PS, I'm really digging the new Bonnie Hunt talk show on NBC!