Due to the fact that we are now spending more time at home, it is essential that we carefully consider how we make and take our coffee in the morning. Our day is often made more enjoyable by it, or what jumpstarts our day. Brewing coffee is much more intricate than just making a large quantity at once and continually returning to it for more.

With so many choices available like Leverpresso and single-use pod systems, what criteria should you consider in order to figure out which coffee-making machine would be best for your needs? We have created a guide with the most popular espresso and coffee machines, along with how they work, so you can choose the one which works best for you and your desired coffee-making experience.

Drip Brewers

Beginning with automatic drip coffee makers, these appliances brew large quantities of coffee instead of just one cup of espresso. Perhaps one of the most well-known ways to brew coffee in the home is the use of coffee makers. This is likely because of their inexpensive cost and ease of use, two factors that must be taken into account when analyzing different machines. The machines demand that when getting up in the morning, you fill the paper filters with coffee grounds and pour hot water into the machine. Hot water passes through the coffee grounds on its own and a pump is used to move it above the grounds. Additionally, the heating element underneath the pot keeps the coffee warm for an extended time as it is brewing. The value of these machines is dependent on the kind of coffee you are trying to brew. Each individual machine filters coffee a bit differently. Using a paper filter will change the taste compared to if you were to use a metal filter in a French press. This is because paper filters tend to remove a lot of the taste and oils that make coffee unique.

French Press

As previously stated, French presses contain metal filters that are able to hold onto oils and flavors, resulting in a stronger taste when compared to drip brewers. Although they require some extra effort to keep them in good condition, typically they can stand up to wear and tear for a long time and aren’t overly costly.

One of the biggest advantages of using a French press is that it is cost-effective and very straightforward. Mix your coarsely-ground coffee with steaming hot water, let it steep for four minutes, then press the filter and serve.

Fully-Automatic & Partially-Automatic Espresso Makers

These machines appear to be incredibly convenient for those hoping to easily create coffee shop-style beverages in the comfort of their own home. However, there is significantly more to them than meets the eye. One of the most serious issues is that machines of this type usually come at a hefty price, which can be as high as 1,000 US dollars (or about 1 million South Korean Won), thus making it difficult to select an affordable coffee maker.

It is more cost effective to utilize the espresso machine on a daily basis, depending on how long it can last. Despite this, the calibre will not always meet the standards you desire when compared to a hand-operated tool. These machines necessitate frequent upkeep in order to guarantee they function correctly for a substantial amount of time. When it comes to making espresso, automated machines seem like they could save time, but they often require additional upkeep which you may not be willing to do.

Leverpresso

Leverpresso has a distinct shape and fit, and is a breeze to use since the whole process takes only three minutes. This espresso machine comes with two types of portafilters that you can select from. There are two types of coffee makers available – one for those just starting out, which is pressurized, and one for more advanced, at-home baristas, which is non-pressurized. This allows you to have more control over the brewing of your coffee, setting it apart from other options in terms of the control it offers.

It is completely in your hands when you utilize Leverpresso. The product functions similarly to traditional espresso machines in cafes, permitting you to produce balanced 9-bar pressure while brewing the espresso. You can determine the velocity of the extraction using the two levers, however, it is suggested to allow the beverage to be pulled for approximately 30 seconds for the best tasting results.

While the Leverpresso is producing espresso, it applies minimal force, which results in limited water flowing correctly. The most amazing aspect is that you get to witness the entire espresso brewing process in real-time, something that is not possible with many other manual espresso machines because their vessel is not transparent. This procedure yields two cups of coffee simultaneously, which should give you enough to start the day.

Manual Drip Brew

Rather than opting for convenience over pleasure, this process is more satisfying even though it requires more effort. This type of coffee making takes on a shape resembling an hourglass. It dates back to the 1940s and is one of the longest-standing, classic brewing options, in comparison to the Moka pot.

The standout features of this brewer are its strong filter and glass build. This glass ensures that the coffee does not have any additional flavors, making it less bitter.

Coffee made with an automated machine generally has a medium-sized grind and utilizes a standard filter. The coffee is poured out fluently and briskly, but it loses a good amount of its oil and taste from the beans. Hand drip filters use a rougher grind of coffee, which slows down the brewing process, allowing for full flavor in your cup.

This task may take longer than five minutes and may not be the top choice during a busy morning, but the payoff is usually worth it. This method is becoming more popular even amongst beginners.

Moka Pot

Moka pots have been a part of our lives for a long period of time and are often pictured in films, television, and other art forms, often being used over a campfire. Particular types of machines utilize steam power to make the coffee you have been wanting. Having existed since the 1930s and originating in Italy (where coffee is a specialty), these drinks remain a long-time favorite.

In comparison to Leverpresso and other manual espresso makers, Moka pots produce very minimal pressure, usually only 1 or 2 bars, which results in coffee that has a different taste than espresso does.

Basically, the container has a distinct area in the core where the powdered coffee is put. A tube located below enables the hot water to pass into the container that holds the coffee. Once the water reaches its boiling point, the coffee starts to rise up through the grounds and settle in the upper compartment of the pot. Once the process of boiling water and steam pressure has been completed, the coffee is ready to be served and consumed.

We Tested Automatic Drip Coffee Makers—Here Are Our Favorites

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Coffee Maker: Ratio Six

Without a doubt, the Ratio Six produced the highest-quality coffee out of the models we sampled. It was also one of the most appealing manufacturers of the group.

The Best Coffee Maker Under $200: OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker

OXO has discovered the secret to providing a reasonably priced yet high-quality, well-engineered coffeemaker. This brewer was easy to understand and use, and it always made outstanding coffee.

The Best Programmable Coffee Maker: OXO Brew 9-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

The OXO 9-cup offers its users a bit more command over their coffee-making settings and can be set to turn on at a set time each morning. It didn’t rate as highly as the OXO 8-cup in flavor tests, however, for individuals who regard programmed settings as important, it is a strong selection.

The Tests

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.
Winners-Only: For the top models, try any preset functions they have.

Evaluating Our Findings from Our 2018 Testing

When we released our evaluation regarding coffee makers in 2018, we did everything correctly: inspecting the flavor and convenience of use, timing the brewing process, and inspecting the brew holder. We also tried to use the amount of dissolved solids (TDS) in order to sort out the coffee makers. TDS is a scientific means of figuring out the amount of coffee that was in the final cup. Experts who are knowledgeable in coffee utilized a refractometer to determine TDS, and that is the same exact thing we did. Despite the brewer’s efforts, a variety of conditions outside the brewing process, such as the coarseness of the ground and the purity of the water, can influence the total dissolved solids. We recognized that this does not mirror the manner in which a majority of people would rate or use the home-brewing device when they have it in their own homes in our initial assessment. We decided not to invest much attention in TDS when we tested coffee makers once more. (We did measure TDS just in case, though.)

The Testing

To ensure consistency throughout testing, we kept several factors the same from machine to machine:

Grind setting: We ground whole bean coffee using a burr grinder and the medium grind setting.
Water flush: Prior to brewing, we did one rinse cycle using just water (to ensure the coffee makers were free of anything that might’ve been present from the manufacturing process). Assuming most people are not pre-heating their brewers, we waited 20 minutes after this flush to begin actually brewing.
The water: For each of our brewing tests, we used filtered water. We also weighed the water, in grams, rather than relying on the coffee maker’s water level marker (this video from coffee expert James Hoffmann shows why these can be wildly off). Basically, whereas a cup is considered to be eight ounces, a coffee maker’s “cup” can be four to six ounces, depending on the model.
The coffee: We used a medium-dark roasted coffee available at a local supermarket and a lighter roast coffee from a specialty coffee roaster in New York. We also weighed the ground coffee to ensure we were using the same amount in each machine. For the medium-dark roast coffee test, we used 55 grams of ground coffee and 1,000 grams (one liter) of water, which is a 1:16 ratio. And for the light roast coffee, we brewed half that amount: using 30 grams of ground coffee and 500 grams (half a liter) of water.

What We Learned

Large Versus Small Batch Brewing

When looking into coffee makers, it is important to consider the taste, however, it should not be the sole factor in making a decision. We looked into what could be specifically due to the coffee maker while taking into account numerous aspects that bring out the flavor of coffee. We made a liter of coffee according to the specifications of the Specialty Coffee Association, which call for a 1:16 strength ratio of 55-60g of coffee per 1,000g (or one liter) of water. For the second attempt, we tried a smaller amount of 30 grams with a half litre of water.