Coffee makers 10 cup: Coffee Makers 10 Cup : Target

The Best Inexpensive Coffee Makers ($150 or Less) of 2023

Straight to the Point

Our top pick is the Bonavita 8-Cup One-Touch Coffee Maker. It’s easy to use and brews consistently great coffee. You might be asking, “Is $150 really inexpensive?” We think it’s a reasonable price for a device you’ll likely use daily and still far less than other home brewers, which can cost upwards of $400 (or more). However, if that price isn’t doable, we also like the Mr. Coffee 10-Cup Coffee Maker. It’s about $80 and has a thermal carafe.

As a former barista—who’s been in the speciality coffee industry since 2010—my day used to begin by dialing in espresso and batch brewed coffee, getting things just right for customers. I’d pour myself five ounces of coffee to start, replenishing my cup every time I brewed a fresh batch.

Now that I work from home, though, my needs are very different. I’m brewing coffee once, in the morning. That’s it. Instead of tweaking my brew recipe throughout the day, tasting as I go, I need a brewer that’s just going to reliably do a good job, which can be difficult to find at an affordable price point.

We Tested Drip Coffee Makers and Landed On 3 Favorite Brewers

Serious Eats last tested coffee brewers in 2018, however coffee technology has changed a lot in the past four years. So, we’re re-reviewing coffee makers, including old favorites, updated versions of previously tested machines, and entirely new models. This review is split into two parts: the best automatic drip coffee makers (if you have more to spend) and the best models for $150 or less.

There are some excellent brewers that fall into this more inexpensive category (although the Specialty Coffee Association’s or SCA’s list of recommended brewers only includes one under $150), but there are also a lot of clunkers. I specifically want to talk about what to look for in a more cost-effective brewer and the features sub-par brewers use to disguise their shortcomings. But, first, here’s a quick look at the top models after testing.

The Winners, at a Glance

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The Bonavita 8-Cup brewer is SCA certified and does exactly what a great brewer should: it holds a high brewing temperature, extracts coffee evenly, and keeps coffee hot in its thermal carafe. (Editor’s note: When we tested this model, we paid $150 for it. Now, at the time of updating, the brewer’s price is about $190.)

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This Mr. Coffee 10-cup model was the only brewer in this price range that brewed in a reasonable amount of time (the SCA recommends between 4 to 8 minutes), was easy to use, and produced well-extracted coffee.

The Tests

Using a pipette to transfer coffee to a refractometer to measure total dissolved solids (TDS).

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

Brew Test One: Brew medium-dark roast coffee, to assess brew time, how well the machine does with a standard coffee available at a supermarket, and the resulting brew’s flavor.
Brew Test Two: Brew light roast coffee, to assess brew time, how well the brewer does with a harder-to-extract bean, and the resulting brew’s flavor.
Brew Basket Saturation: After each brew test, evaluate brew basket saturation, as an evenly extracted brew bed is a sign of a well-designed coffee maker.
Total Dissolved Solids: Measure total dissolved solids or TDS using a refractometer, to see if it provides a baseline for how much coffee is ending up in the final cup.
Temperature Tracking: Using a thermocouple, track the water temperature of the showerhead and the brew basket during brewing, looking to see how stable these temperatures are and at what temperature brewing occurs.
Heat Retention: Using an instant-read thermometer, check the temperature of the coffee right after brewing and again 30 minutes and an hour later, to see how hot the carafe keeps it.
User-Experience Evaluation: Determine how easy each coffee maker and carafe is to set up, use, and pour from.
Ease of Cleaning: After each test, clean the coffee maker’s carafe and brew basket by hand, looking for any factors that make one machine easier to clean than another.
Preset Functions: When necessary, try the preset functions these models offer.

Why You Should Trust Us

I’ve been in the coffee industry since 2010. My very first coffee job was as a barista at a high-volume shop where we weren’t allowed to change the grind setting on the grinder. After that, I was behind the bar in some capacity until 2019 and I continue to write about coffee and interview folks for a coffee-centric podcast. I’ve written the Serious Eats reviews of espresso machines, French presses, cold brew makers, and milk frothers.

What We Learned

Temperature Stability Was Essential

We used thermocouples to track the temperature of the brew basket and the water coming out of the machine’s showerhead.

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

Coffee extraction is affected by temperature, as higher temperatures will extract more from coffee. To track the brewing temperature, I used a thermocouple with two probes on each machine during brewing: one attached as closely as I could to the sprayhead to measure the temperature of the water coming out, and one at the bottom of the brew bed.

I didn’t learn a whole lot from the bottom probe, and I did have some issues getting this probe exactly where I wanted it (most of the brew beds are enclosed, so once a probe was attached I couldn’t confirm exactly where the probe was or if the water displaced the probe at any time). However, from the top probe, I found out a lot about how the brewing temperature changes over time and varies from model to model. Many of the cheaper brewers started brewing with water that wasn’t hot enough (around the 170-180°F range), but that would spike towards the end of the brew. This resulted in coffee that was over-extracted and bitter. Higher-end models were able to keep the temperature consistent throughout the brewing cycle, around 195 to 205°F, producing balanced, well-extracted coffee. Our top pick, the Bonavita, got up to temperature (around 196°F) quickly, and stayed between 195-205°F during the entire brew cycle without any weird temperature spikes or deviations.

Thermal carafes kept coffee piping hot, whereas coffee makers with glass plates tended to “bake” coffee, giving it a burnt taste.

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

I also measured the heat retention of the carafes, taking the temperature of the coffee right after brewing, after 30 minutes, and after an hour. Most of the higher-end machines came with thermal carafes, while the cheaper ones were split between thermal carafes and glass carafes with a hotplate. I found that machines with a hotplate kept coffee hotter (and in some cases, even made coffee hotter than it was right after brewing), but at the cost of flavor. Over time, the coffee from a glass carafe on a hotplate tasted baked and bitter. Thermal carafes were able to keep coffee hot without altering its flavor profile.

Why Showerhead Design Matters

One way I like to convey coffee brewing is to think of a container full of rocks. Now, imagine you pour water over the top of the rocks. Eventually, the water will end up at the bottom of the container, but a lot of factors can affect how that water moves through the rocks.

I usually use this metaphor to explain grind size: water will move through smaller rocks (a finer grind) more slowly than bigger rocks (a coarse grind). However, it also works to explain how the showerhead of a coffee brewer functions. If you poured water from one point, directly down, only the rocks directly below that point would get wet.

An example of a well-designed shower head, with lots of holes over a wider area, which leads to a more even saturation of the brew basket.

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

A well-designed showerhead acts as a water dispersion tool, making sure that the entire brew bed is evenly wet, which is important because you want your coffee grounds to be evenly extracted. You can tell a showerhead is well-designed when, after you’re done brewing, you open the brew basket and the brew bed is flat without any noticeable craters or deep depressions.

That’s harder to achieve than it sounds. Some of the showerheads seemed narrow in design, with many of the water holes concentrated in the middle. This resulted in a brew basket that had a noticeable crater in the middle and grounds creeping up the sides of the brew bed. Because the grounds weren’t evenly saturated, the coffee was under-extracted.

Some of the showerheads were too powerful, puncturing (if you will) the top of the grounds and creating channels where water passed through too quickly and without extracting enough flavor, while the rest of the coffee was displaced and over-extracted.

Analyzing The Coffee Makers’ Features

Some of the buttons or features on these machines were incredibly helpful. For example, a “bloom” setting saturates coffee beans with a bit of hot water, releasing carbon dioxide before brewing (carbon dioxide can act as a sort-of shield around coffee beans, making it harder to extract flavor). Some aren’t that useful, but are innocuous, like the fact that some brewers allow you to pick the number of cups you’d like to brew. This was initially confusing to me, however, I realized these machines are attempting to slow down the water flow for smaller batches of coffee. Essentially, they’re decreasing how quickly the water pulses or moves through the machine to increase the contact time of the grounds and the water.

But some features seemed out of place, like they hoped to take advantage of a user’s inability to understand the basics of brewing by adding buttons that weren’t helpful. When I wrote my review of espresso machines, I noted this phenomenon—a lot of the models boasted being able to pull shots at 14, 15, and 16+ bars of pressure, which is entirely unnecessary (most espresso machines apply about 9 bars of pressure when pulling shots).

We found “bold” or “rich” settings to not be useful and that they lead to over-extracted coffee.

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

I was particularly curious about coffee makers that boasted they could brew “bolder” or “richer” coffee, which showed up on a number of the sub-$100 models, including those from Ninja, Braun, Cuisinart, and Black + Decker. I did some research online and couldn’t find anyone who had tested or written about this. I then asked my friend, Steve Rhinehart, e-commerce manager at Acaia and former brand manager at Prima Coffee Equipment, what he thought about these features. He guessed it was an issue of time and thought the brewers were extending their brew cycles so that the water would stay in contact with the grounds longer, but he wasn’t 100% sure.

So, I did a run with the Braun BrewSense using the “bolder” setting and noticed that the brew time was indeed longer (10 minutes and 46 seconds versus the nine minutes and 32 seconds it took for a standard brewing cycle). However, what I think is being interpreted as a “bolder” flavor is actually over-extraction. So yes, technically, this coffee is “stronger” because water is staying in contact with the grounds for an increased amount of time. But in this case, I’d argue strong isn’t necessarily good and suggest avoiding these types of features. There are other ways you can manipulate the strength of your coffee to deliver a tasty cup—like adjusting your coffee-to-water ratio or grinding finer, which we’ll talk about more below in the FAQ section.

The Criteria: What We Look For in a Great Inexpensive Coffee Maker

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez / Chloe Jeong

A great, budget-friendly coffee brewer should give drinkers exactly what they need: a machine that can properly extract coffee, produce an even brew bed, and keep coffee hot over a long period of time without baking it. The best brewers were able to properly heat water and maintain temperature throughout the length of the brew cycle, made a full pot of coffee in under eight minutes, had a thermal carafe, and had a straightforward, easy-to-use control panel. A good coffee maker should be a cinch to clean, too, and carafes with wide openings are better than something tapered (which requires a bottle brush to scrub).

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What we liked: I can’t describe how beautiful it is to pull out the brew basket of a coffee brewer and see a perfectly flat bed. And the Bonavita delivers every time.

The model could not be simpler to use. There’s one button to turn the machine on, and if you hold it down for five seconds, it will activate a bloom cycle. The thermal carafe keeps coffee hot after brewing, and its pared-down design means you get everything you need to brew excellent coffee and nothing more.

When you’re looking at machines in the $150 range, it’s really a question of where your money is going. With the Bonavita, all the attention and care are in the design of the showerhead and the water heating elements. The showerhead is made to saturate all the coffee grounds evenly, producing clean and well-extracted coffee during each brew cycle. Both the dark and lighter roasted coffees tasted nuanced and fully expressed. The Bonavita also kept water above 195°F throughout the entire brew cycle without spiking and getting really hot towards the end—which did happen a lot on the other brewers.

Out of all the inexpensive brewers, the Bonavita brewed coffee the fastest by far. Along with our other pick, it was the only brewer that could meet SCA Gold Cup standards, which resulted in a well-balanced drink that had no lingering bitterness. The Bonavita is a snap to clean, too, featuring a wide-mouth top that makes scrubbing the thermal carafe simple. Its compact design also means it’ll fit easily on any countertop and take up minimal space.

What we didn’t like: The lid on the Bonavita is a little awkward and can be difficult to pour from—you have to press a button to activate the pouring lip and it has a tendency to dribble a little. The Bonavita has no extra features (like a programmable start setting), which could be a dealbreaker for some. It seems to have supply issues, too, and its price fluctuates (sometimes well above $150).

Price at time of publish: $150.

Key Specs

Thermal carafe: Yes
Temperature loss after one hour: 16°F
Average brew time: 4 minutes, 56 seconds
Capacity: 8 cups
SCA certified: Yes
Programmable: No

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

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What we liked: The Mr. Coffee was the only other brewer in this price range that brewed a full pot under seven minutes. The brew bed, which you access via a side panel that opens like a dresser drawer, was perfectly flat and the carafe kept coffee hotter than any other brewer. The coffee tasted well extracted, albeit a little thin, but I think that could be adjusted by grinding coffee a little finer. The brewer can be programmed to make coffee at a specified time and features a timer that tells you how long coffee has been sitting in the carafe.

What we didn’t like: This isn’t the prettiest brewer to look at. It’s a little clunky and tall, and the tapered top of the brewing carafe makes it more difficult to clean.

Price at time of publish: $80.

Key Specs

Thermal carafe: Yes
Temperature loss after one hour: 6°F
Average brew time: 4 minutes, 51 seconds
Capacity: 10 cups
SCA certified: No
Programmable: Yes

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

The Competition

Braun BrewSense: This was the winner of the budget-friendly category in our 2018 coffee maker testing, but the glass carafe and hot plate baked the coffee and it took over eight minutes to brew. The Mr. Coffee is also about $20 cheaper.
Braun BrewSense with Thermal Carafe: Although this brewer solves the above complaint about the standard Braun BrewSense by switching to a thermal carafe, it still took too long to brew.
Ninja Programmable Brewer: The Ninja has a lot of features (some innocuous, some unhelpful), but the hot plate actually made the coffee hotter than it was when it was first brewed, so the coffee tasted astringent and burnt over time.
Cuisinart Programmable Coffee Brewer: The water on this brewer got really hot and the resulting coffee tasted flat and boring. It doesn’t have a thermal carafe, so the coffee tasted baked over time.
Hamilton Beach Programmable Front-Fill Coffee Maker: The front-fill panel was a nice feature, but the showerhead was mostly concentrated on the center of the brew bed, creating a sunken portion in the middle and leading to uneven extraction.
BLACK+DECKER 12-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker: The coffee from this brewer tasted flat, which makes sense: the temperature of the coffee immediately after brewing was lower than any other machine, implying that the water never got quite hot enough.

FAQs

What kind of coffee filters do you need for brewing?

For this review, I used two different types of coffee filters, based on the shape of the brewer: flat bottom filters and the #4 cone filters, both from Melitta. I used bleached filters, mostly because that’s what I had at home, but you can use brown, unbleached filters if you prefer. Some folks report these unbleached filters have a bit of a cardboard taste unless you pre-wet them.

While I used a paper filter in each brewer, many of the brewers came with a mesh filter. The mesh filter is reusable, but will allow more coffee oils through as you brew. Some folks like this—if you’re into French press brewing, this is a good method to get that same heavy body in the cup. A paper filter will produce a cleaner cup since it catches most of the coffee oils.

How can I keep my coffee hot?

Invariably, at every cafe I’ve worked at, folks have asked for their coffee to be piping hot. I had a regular customer who’d take a sip and ask us to use the steam wand from the espresso machine to warm their coffee—we obviously didn’t do this because that’d be a huge health code violation.

I have two tips for keeping coffee hot. One: preheat the carafe. If you have time, run a cycle with just hot water through your brewer and allow it to heat up the machine, including the carafe. You can also heat water in, say, a kettle and then use the hot water to preheat the carafe.

Two: preheat your mug, especially if you’re drinking out of a ceramic mug. Ceramic absorbs a lot of heat, so if you pour hot coffee into a room temperature mug, it’ll bring down the temperature of your drink quickly. Ceramic also takes time to warm up, so I usually let the hot water sit in the mug for at least a minute, if not for the duration of the coffee brewing cycle.

Alternatively, you could check out my review of temperature control mugs if you REALLY need your coffee hot for a longer period of time.

How can I make stronger coffee?

Here are some ways you can make your coffee stronger:

Adjust the ratio of coffee to water: For this review, I used a 1:16 ratio of coffee to water. If you’d like a stronger cup, try a 1:15 or 1:14 ratio and see if that gives you something richer.
Grind finer: A finer grind means that the water will move through the coffee slower, extracting more from the brew bed. Be careful with this, though: if you go too fine, the water will move really slowly and might overflow the brew bed.
Don’t use pre-ground coffee: I’m constantly surprised by how many people mention loving a “strong brew” but use pre-ground coffee. Coffee aromatics rapidly deteriorate the moment you grind coffee, so you start to lose flavor as soon as you put beans through a grinder. If you’re buying pre-ground coffee at the grocery store, there’s no telling when that coffee was ground. Most of these beans have a “best by” date, but not a roast date. “Best by” dates could be anywhere from six months to two years after roasting.

We Tested 14 Coffee Grinders—Here Are the Best Ones

The 10 Best Drip Coffee Makers of 2023

Consider these reliable workhorses for your daily needs

Derek Rose

Derek Rose is the Coffee and Tea Expert for The Spruce Eats. He received an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a BA in Communications from Marist College.For inquiries, you can reach him at [email protected].

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The Spruce / Chloe Jeong

For many households, the day begins with the slow, steady sound of coffee dripping into a pot. After all, drip coffee makers are perhaps the most common home brewing device—and for good reason. Drip is extremely easy to make and offers a wide range of flavors, from light roast to dark. Drip coffee makers themselves vary widely in price and features. But, no matter what, coffee lovers all have the same simple request for a machine they use once (maybe three times) a day: to brew a strong cup of joe.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall:

Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best for Specialty Drinks:

Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best for a Quick Cup:

Bunn GRB Velocity Brew at Amazon

Best Budget:

Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Drip Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best with Grinder:

Breville The Grind Control Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best Programmable:

Braun BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best High-End:

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best Thermal:

OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker at Amazon

Best Adjustable:

Wilfa Performance Coffee Maker at Lardera.com

Best for Camping:

Coleman QuikPot Propane Coffee Maker at Amazon

In This Article

Our Picks
How We Tested
Other Options We Tested
What to Look for
FAQs
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

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What We Like

Programmable up to 24 hours
Adjustable brew strength
Temperature control keeps coffee hot

What We Don’t Like

Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker Can Do It All

This coffee maker does everything you need, and just a little bit more. It can make up to 14 cups of coffee for a crowd or just one cup for those mornings when that’s all you need. You can also select regular or bold coffee without changing the amount of grounds used. The front panel has a straightforward list of five easy-to-use settings: self-cleaning, bold flavor, brew now/auto-shutoff, programmed brew, and brewing 1-4 cups.

After testing the Cuisinart 14-Cup Coffee Maker, our reviewer praised its versatility and multiple features. The 24-hour programmable timer lets you “wake up to the delicious aroma of brewed coffee,” and the 1-4 cup setting is especially handy for those who drink less coffee because “the machine will alter the brew process to make sure your coffee is the proper strength.”

The keep-warm temperature is adjustable, so you won’t come back to overcooked coffee or something that’s not warm enough, and the tone to indicate that coffee is done can be turned on or off. When it’s time to clean the machine, a light will let you know.

Price at time of publish: $100

The Spruce Eats

Capacity: 14 cups (70 ounces) | Dimensions: 7.75 x 9 x 14 inches | Warranty: 3-year limited | Wattage: 1,050 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Ninja CM407 Specialty Coffee Maker Review

Specialty coffee drinks differ from drip coffee, as the former typically contains espresso. This is your lattes, your cappuccinos. The drinks found on coffeehouse menus. We love the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker because it offers the best of both worlds: a 10-cup carafe for drip coffee, plus all the tools you need for specialty drinks, complete in one machine.

You can purchase the item with a glass carafe (CM401) or, for a slightly higher price, a thermal one (CM407). Aside from that, both options are identical, equipped with a fold-away milk frother, a removable water reservoir, and capable of brewing six different drink sizes, from a single cup to a full carafe.

Depending on your taste, one potential drawback is that this machine produces coffee concentrate, not true espresso. Most customers hardly notice a difference, saying the coffee concentrate is a terrific substitute and, in fact, more convenient than manually pulling espresso shots.

Price at time of publish: $170

The Spruce / Cheyenne Elwell

Capacity: Single serve or 10-cup carafe (50 ounces) | Dimensions: 12 x 15 x 8.8 inches | Warranty: 1-year limited | Wattage: 1,500 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Prone to leaking
Not programmable

The Bunn name might seem familiar since Bunn coffee makers have been gracing diners, restaurants, and commercial kitchens for decades. This home brewer uses the technology of commercial machines and brings it to the home kitchen, where this speedy coffee maker can brew a full 10-cup pot of coffee in about three minutes. You’ll barely have time to find your favorite coffee mug.

Part of the speed is accomplished by having an ever-ready internal hot water supply waiting to brew your coffee when you want it, so you never have to wait for the water to heat before it brews. If you won’t need coffee for a few days, you can use the vacation switch to turn off the heater.

Rather than a cone-shaped filter, this has a large flat bottom filter for more contact between the water and grounds during brewing, while a multi-stream spray sends hot water over the top of the grounds to saturate them completely.

For messy pourers, the carafe was designed to arc the coffee neatly into your mug and then wick the drips back into the carafe, so you won’t be cleaning up coffee drips each time you pour. If you don’t want a full pot of coffee, this can brew as few as four cups.

Price at time of publish: $120

Capacity: 10 cups (50 ounces) | Dimensions: 13. 8 x 7.1 x 14.3 inches | Warranty: 3 years | Wattage: 900 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

What We Don’t Like

When your coffee-making needs are modest, this is the machine for you. The Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Drip Coffee Maker is an affordable, low-commitment purchase. There is just a simple on/off switch that turns the machine on to start brewing with an indicator light that shows when it’s on, so you’ll remember to turn off the warming plate when you pour the last cup of coffee. It has a pretty large capacity at 12 cups, so there’s enough coffee to last throughout the day, even for families.

The warming plate is easy to wipe clean and the filter basket is removable so you can empty it quickly and wash it for the next use. A pause feature lets you remove the carafe if you want to grab the first cup before brewing is done, then you simply replace the carafe to continue brewing.

Price at time of publish: $35

Capacity: 12 cups (60 ounces) | Dimensions: 8.4 x 11.76 x 12.5 inches | Warranty: 1-year limited | Wattage: 900 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

Several customizable settings
Easy-to-use interface
Tasteful aesthetic
Fresh, high-quality coffee

What We Don’t Like

Breville The Grind Control Review

If grinding coffee beans feels like an arduous step every morning, then Breville’s the Grind Control is a machine worth considering. It can be programmed to grind and brew in advance, saving time and effort and letting coffee lovers start the day off right. There are other coffee makers with this feature too, some that cost significantly less, but after testing the Grind Control ourselves we think it stands out from the rest and justifies its high price.

Users have a lot of control over their coffee thanks to six grind settings (granted, many separate coffee grinders offer more settings than this) and eight strength settings. We found the burr grinder consistent and surprisingly easy to clean. A notification pops up on the LCD screen to indicate when the coffee chute needs to be cleaned, and Breville throws in a cleaning brush to help with the process.

We found that the 12-cup insulated carafe keeps coffee warm for around five hours. Many coffee experts prefer insulated carafes to glass ones because the latter usually have hot plates underneath that alter the taste of the coffee over time. So the Grind Control not only brews strong, tasty coffee, it also keeps it fresh for awhile. Not to mention there’s a unique setting to brew a single cup of coffee.

Price at time of publication: $330

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Capacity: 12 cups (60 ounces) | Dimensions: 8. 5 x 12.5 x 16.3 inches | Warranty: 1-year limited | Wattage: 1,100 | Voltage: 110-120

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What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Braun BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker Review

The Braun BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker has several convenient features to make your day a little easier, starting with its ability to be programmed up to 24 hours in advance. You can set it up at night and have fresh coffee waiting for you first thing in the morning. There’s also a 1-4 cup setting when you want a smaller portion. Another handy touch is a self-cleaning function with an indicator light that turns on when the machine needs to be descaled.

We tested this model firsthand and found the coffee consistently strong. The brewer comes at a reasonable price too, so you get a lot of quality in return for the cost. We were also pleased with the item’s slim design. Measuring 7.9 inches wide, it doesn’t take up much counter space. One downside is that there’s no window on the machine to see how much water you’ve added, so users have to fill up the carafe to the exact amount before pouring.

If this model is close to ideal for you but doesn’t quite make the cut, Braun manufactures a higher-tier version, the KF7150, which has a couple extra touches, like multiple brew strengths and hot-plate adjustment.

Price at time of publish: $100

The Spruce / Cheyenne Elwell

Capacity: 12 cups | Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 14.2 inches | Warranty: 3 years | Wattage: 1,000 | Voltage: 110

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What We Like

Fast brewing (4-6 minutes)
Tastier coffee than most machines
Easy to fill water reservoir
SCA certified

What We Don’t Like

Some people take their coffee seriously. Very seriously. This machine is handmade in the Netherlands and looks like something you’d see in a futuristic sci-fi kitchen. The item brews up to 40 ounces of coffee in just six minutes, and if you’re too impatient to wait that long, the drip-stop feature will let you remove the carafe during brewing without creating a puddle of coffee on the counter.

Allie Caran, the Program Manager at BaristaValet, told us this is one of her favorite coffee makers for home use. “It retains heat well,” she says, “and drains water slowly over the coffee grounds, giving more clarity to the cup. Plus, it’s a really cool looking machine.”

The Moccamaster’s hot plate may be its most unique feature, since it is engineered to roll the heat into the coffee in a way that won’t scorch or overcook it, while keeping it at your choice of an even 175 or 185 degrees. After one hour and 40 minutes, the hot plate will turn off, so you won’t come home to a burned carafe.

Price at time of publish: $349

Capacity: 10 cups (40 ounces) | Dimensions: 12. 75 x 6.5 x 14 inches | Warranty: 5 years | Wattage: 1,475 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

Brews at optimal temperature
Easy to fill water reservoir
Single-serve capabilities

What We Don’t Like

Small capacity
Not programmable

OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker Review

From a simple interface to a thorough and consistent spray head, many details illustrate why the OXO 8-Cup Coffee Maker is a top-grade pick up. Perhaps the most telling detail, however, is that it is one of the few coffee makers certified by the Specialty Coffee Association to meet their Golden Cup Standard. This means the OXO 8-Cup is guaranteed to heat your water to the ideal brewing temperature (between 195 and 205 degrees) and whip up a whole pot within four to six minutes. It’s delicious coffee made quickly.

Another key area in the Golden Cup Standard is how long a machine can maintain coffee temperature once brewing is complete. The OXO 8-Cup has exceptional heat retention thanks to its thermal stainless steel carafe. The item also has single-serve capabilities, making it a great option for those switching from pod-based coffee makers. The only downsides are its small capacity and that it is not programmable.

Price at time of publish: $200

The Spruce / Cheyenne Elwell

Capacity: 8 cups (40 ounces) | Dimensions: 10.5 x 7 x 13.5 inches | Warranty: 2-year limited | Wattage: 1,400 | Voltage: 110 to 120

Lardera

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What We Like

Simple and intuitive design
Removeable water tank and filter basket
Labels how much coffee to add

What We Don’t Like

Not programmable

In designing the Performance Coffee Maker, Norwegian-brand Wilfa pared away many of the features we associate with drip coffee makers and, instead, primarily focused on the quality of the coffee. The machine is not programmable and there’s no automatic strength control, but it’s easy to use and makes excellent coffee. Its standout component is an adjustable flow controller, located beneath the filter basket, that users turn by hand so that the coffee brews at the optimal flow rate for the size of the batch. It ensures strong yet balanced flavor whether you want a couple servings or a full 8-cup pot.

We received the Wilfa Performance Coffee Maker for testing purposes from its U.S. and Canada retailer, Lardera Coffee Roasters. One of our writers has used it consistently for more than six months and noted that the removable water reservoir and filter basket are extremely convenient and easy to fill. The water reservoir is also labeled with the recommended amount of coffee to add depending on the number of cups you’re making, which eliminates a lot of frustrating guesswork.

The Wilfa Performance Coffee Maker is more expensive than most drip coffee makers, but the price isn’t outrageous. Your buying decision might come down to what features you can or can’t live without. If you don’t mind a simple, minimalist machine, you can trust this coffee maker to deliver a delicious cup of joe.

Price at time of publish: $249

Capacity: 42 ounces | Dimensions: 13.5 x 6.5 x 13.5 Inches | Warranty: 2 years | Wattage: 1,800 | Voltage: 120

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What We Like

No burner required
Large capacity
Easy to start

What We Don’t Like

Slow brew time
Heavy

While there are many great brewing devices for coffee-drinking campers, from pour overs to percolators, the options for true drip coffee are limited since the majority of products require electricity. That’s where the Coleman QuikPot Propane Coffee Maker comes in handy. No electricity required. No stovetop or hot water needed. Hook the item up to a small propane canister and you’ll have 10 cups of delicious coffee, just as if you were making it in your own kitchen.

Don’t count on the coffee to be speedy, however. Coleman says it takes 18 minutes to brew a full pot, and many customers write in reviews that the process is much slower than what they’re used to.

Price is another consideration. The QuikPot costs more than typical home coffee makers, so think about how much use you’ll get out of it before buying. For frequent campers, especially groups and families, this is a worthwhile product. For those who camp less often, as well as those who only need a cup of coffee or two per day, a smaller non-electric brewing device might be a better choice.

Price at time of publish: $148

Capacity: 10 cups | Dimensions: 13.75 x 8.88 x 16.88 Inches | Warranty: 3-year limited | Wattage: N/A | Voltage: N/A

Final Verdict

With numerous features and a compact design, the Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker is a great investment for any kitchen, earning it our top spot. It’s a straightforward drip machine you can count on for years to come. For a more versatile device, check out the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker, which can make espresso and froth milk along with drip coffee.

How We Tested

Our team of product testers spent weeks evaluating these drip coffee makers in their homes and in our Lab. They rated each one on its brew quality, ease of cleaning, durability, design, heat-up time, and more. They also provided in-depth descriptions of what they liked and disliked about each coffee maker and added whether they would recommend it or not.

How We Test Products

Other Options We Tested

Krups Grind and Brew KM785D50: The main reason we can’t recommend the Krups Grind and Brew is that our testing team was unable to achieve a strong pot of coffee with it. The result was thin, weak coffee, especially in comparison to other models that were tested. It also took the machine a long time, just under 10 minutes, to brew a full pot. One bright side is that cleaning is extremely easy. However, we concluded that there are better coffee makers available for the price, some with a grinder too.

The Spruce Eats

What to Look for in a Drip Coffee Maker

Size

If counter space is limited, you might have to rule out some of the larger drip machines. This shouldn’t be too much of an issue, however, as there are many wonderful compact coffee makers out there. No matter what, it’s usually worth measuring beforehand, especially regarding the depth of your counters and the height of your cabinets.

What The Experts Say

“Here’s one little secret of coffee makers: You think you want the biggest coffee maker you can find, and people tend to buy these, but if you have a lot of capacity in the coffee container, you also need a lot of capacity in the basket that holds the coffee grounds.”

— Peter Giuliano, Chief Research Officer at the Specialty Coffee Association and Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation

Giuliano adds that the optimal proportion for a filter basket is 55 grams of coffee for every 1 liter of water. What does this mean for you? Well, it’s certainly difficult for most buyers to ascertain these numbers, so check out our product round-ups or refer to SCA-approved coffee makers. Most importantly, know that a bigger coffee maker isn’t necessarily better—in fact, it can often be the opposite.

Features

Some devices have all kinds of bells and whistles, from automatic shut-offs to flavor strength and even temperature control. Other machines, including ones on this list, are simpler but still make delicious coffee. If you’re looking for convenience, just be prepared to pay the price for advanced models.

Capacity

While larger capacity coffee makers generally sound more appealing, a 14-cup carafe might not always be best for your coffee needs, especially if you only drink one or two cups a day. Consider the number of coffee drinkers in your home, as well as your own coffee intake. If you’re primarily purchasing a drip machine for personal use, keep an eye out for items with a 1-4 cup setting.

FAQs

What is descaling?

Descaling is the process of removing mineral residue—also known as “scale”—that builds up inside a coffee maker over time. If the task isn’t performed regularly, a device can face issues that range from brewing weak coffee to the machine not working at all. The general rule is to descale at least once every one to three months, but users should default to manufacturer instructions if a different interval is recommended. Descaling can be done with a simple at-home combination of vinegar and warm soapy water, and many brands sell liquids or powders specifically for descaling. The first step in the process is to fill your coffee maker’s reservoir with a mixture of water and descaling solution. Second, run the brew cycle. Third, empty the carafe (now full of descaling solution) into the sink and rinse clean. Finally, run the brew cycle with just water to remove any leftover descaling product.

What is a 1-4 cup setting?

A 1-4 cup setting calibrates a machine’s brew cycle to suit smaller batches of coffee. Since most drip coffee makers are designed to brew 10 cups or more, the normal drip speed is too fast for small portions and leads to a weak pot of joe. By clicking the 1-4 cup setting, your machine will slow down the drip speed to perfectly extract the small amount of coffee you want.

What is the best water for coffee?

Taste is always subjective, so there isn’t one right answer for the best water for coffee. That being said, most experts say water with “sticky” minerals like calcium and magnesium improve taste, and that comes from hard water. The downside to hard water is that it’s harsher on your machine and will increase the frequency you need to descale. Those who use soft or filtered water can still brew tasty coffee, of course, but there is a higher chance the coffee can end up a little weak, so users may need to compensate by adding more coffee grounds. On the plus side, soft water is gentler on your brewing device over time.

The Spruce / Cheyenne Elwell

How should coffee be stored?

Whether it’s whole bean or ground, coffee lasts longer and tastes better when stored in an airtight container and placed in a cool, dark place. Oxygen, sunlight, moisture, and high heat all negatively affect the quality and shelf life of coffee beans. Under ideal circumstances, whole-bean coffee stays fresh for two weeks. Naturally, it loses freshness more quickly if any one of those four damaging factors are in play. Many coffee lovers turn to the fridge or freezer to store their beans and, while this may seem a logical method of preservation, it is actually quite harmful to coffee due to the high levels of moisture that come from freezer use—not to mention the temperature fluctuation of taking it in and out every day. When in a pinch, coffee can be stored fairly well—though not optimally—in the bag it comes in. Most coffee bags have a circular, one-way valve on the front that is used to release carbon dioxide and keep oxygen out. The National Coffee Association offers even more storage tips.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

This piece was written by Derek Rose, the coffee and tea expert for The Spruce Eats. He researches a variety of coffee products, from measuring scoops to commercial espresso machines, and interviews field experts for their insight. He has used the Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker in the past and recommends it. Derek has written for The Spruce Eats since 2019.

Sources

Peter Giuliano, who was interviewed for this piece, is the Chief Research Officer at the Specialty Coffee Association and Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation.

Allie Caran, the Product Manager at BaristaValet, was also interviewed for this piece. She previously worked as the Director of Education at Partners Coffee. Allie has been in the coffee industry for more than 15 years.

The Best Budget Coffee Makers, Tested by Our Experts

Originally written by

Donna Currie

Donna Currie is a food writer and blogger specializing in recipes and kitchen gadgets. She covers kitchen tools and gadgets for The Spruce Eats and is the author of Make Ahead Bread.

Learn about The Spruce Eats’
Editorial Process

Article Sources

The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Specialty Coffee Association. Coffee standards.
Vilanova C, Iglesias A, Porcar M. The coffee-machine bacteriome: biodiversity and colonisation of the wasted coffee tray leach. Sci Rep. 2015;5:17163. doi:10.1038/srep17163
Azoulay A, Garzon P, Eisenberg MJ. Comparison of the mineral content of tap water and bottled waters. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(3):168-175. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.04189.x
National Coffee Association. How to store coffee.

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Coffee maker geyser Magistro Moka, for 3 cups , 150 ml 0 how they differ and how to choose. Geyser, carob, capsule, drip – which is more expensive to use.

July 19, 2022

If you want to make delicious and fragrant coffee at home, buy a coffee maker. They are usually divided into four large groups: drip, geyser, capsule and carob. What are the features of each – we tell in our guide.

Contents

Expand

Drip coffee makers

Drip coffee makers are the simplest and most common. You pour water into one compartment, pour medium-ground coffee into the other. After switching on, the water heats up and passes through the coffee in the form of a water-steam mixture. The finished drink is collected in a cup or a special container.

Ideal if you need to make a bigger drink. For example, the Bosch TKA3A031 model in our online store is suitable: the glass coffee pot is designed for 1.2 liters. This is enough for at least 10 cups.

Pros:

Inexpensive.
Easy to use.
A lot of coffee can be made in one cycle.
It is often possible to warm up a previously prepared drink.

Cons:

Large consumption of coffee.
Slow cooking.
The drink is not strong.

Geyser coffee makers

These coffee makers consist of two containers. You pour water into the lower one and put the coffee maker on the burner of your stove. There is a filter with ground coffee above the water tank. Hot steam pushes water through the siphon tube through the filter, and the finished drink fills the top tank.

Pros:

Inexpensive.
Easy to use.
Compact.
Delicious coffee: strong and rich.
Tea or herbal infusions can be prepared.

It is important to understand that a geyser coffee maker is not a self-sufficient device that you can plug into an outlet and get what you want. Almost always, such a device must be placed on a stove and heated on it. Depending on the angle, this is both a plus and a minus.

Cons:

You need to watch the cooking process – as always when you put something on the stove.
Slow cooking.
Rubber seals between containers wear out over time.

Pod coffee makers

Pod coffee makers require special coffee pods. During preparation, the capsule is automatically pierced with a special hollow needle through which water enters, passing under pressure through the coffee powder. One capsule is one cup of coffee.

Pros:

Inexpensive.
Quick preparation.
Trouble-free and very easy to maintain.

Cons:

Disposable capsules that fit exactly your coffee maker model. Just buying your favorite coffee in beans and making it will not work.
Capsules are relatively expensive.

Carob coffee makers

Carob coffee maker prepares a drink using steam, which is forced through the rammed coffee cone under pressure. It produces a clean and strong espresso. Some models of carob coffee makers, for example, Polaris PCM 2001AE, are equipped with a cappuccino maker – a nozzle that, with the help of steam, turns milk into milk foam for cappuccino.

Pros:

Fast cooking.
In addition to espresso, many models allow you to prepare cappuccino or latte.

Cons:

Expensive.
Bulky.

There are automated, but noticeably more complex and expensive coffee brewing devices that allow you to pour a lot of coffee beans, pour a lot of water and prepare up to several dozen cups of coffee without maintenance – the device will grind coffee in the right portions and tamp it down for each cup of drink . Such coffee makers are called coffee machines. About them some other time.

What else to look for when choosing a coffee maker

Estimated frequency of use. It is one thing when one cup a day is drunk at home, and quite another when five people demand coffee every hour and there is always a chance to be in line.