While there are plenty of fantastic coffee makers on the market today, I wonder how many of us actually know which one is best for us. Over the course of this article I would like to cover some of the most popular and varied coffee makers so that you can at least see which kind of coffee maker suits your needs best.
There are many things that you may wish to consider before buying a new coffee maker, here I would like detail at least some of those things and hopefully allow you to get an understanding of what kind of coffee maker suits you best. Here below are the main things we should consider before buying a new coffee machine.
1. How big is the reservoir? How many cups of coffee can the machine make?
2. Does it come with a thermal carafe? or is it a glass carafe?
3. Is there a grinder attached or do we need a separate one?
4. Does it have a water filter?
5. Is it a multi-cup machine or a single server?
If you make sure to consider these points before you make any decisions about buying your next coffee maker, I don’t see you having too many problems. Over the course of this article I would like to try and give the main reasons for choosing any one kind of coffee maker over another. It also needs to be noted that I have not included any of the much cheaper coffee makers that retail for around 20 dollars, it’s really not worth spending the money, spend just a little more and you break into what I call the “gourmet” coffee maker category.
Cuisinart DCC-1200
The fifth place spot on this has to go to the Cuisinart DCC-1200. I did wonder whether this machine really deserved a place on the list, but considering that it produces coffee of such a high standard and the price now is at a low of just $65, it earns the place as best budget coffee maker. It does come with a few flaws, the biggest of those being the lack of thermal carafe, but that is something that hinders some other machines on this list too, and while I would say that in an ideal world all coffee makers should come with a thermal, I can’t get too upset by the lack of one on my “budget machine”. To summarize this machine I have to say that this machine is the best sub 70 dollar machine available, and if you don’t want to spend in excess of 100 dollars and don’t mind the fact that it uses a thermal carafe, this could be a good choice.
Bunn NHBX-B
The number 4 slot has to be given to the Bunn NHBX-B, which is the fastest machine on the market that doesn’t have the commercial price tag that comes with a lot of other Bunn models. At just 129 dollars we are getting something pretty special for such a low price. The Bunn can brew coffee at just 3 minutes for a full 10-cup pot of coffee. When we take a look at that speed compared to other machines on the market we can see that in many instances it is 3 times faster than its competitors. The Bunn produces amazing coffee of course (otherwise it wouldn’t be in this list), but it does have a couple of issues. The fact that it is a commercial machine means that it has the quirk that it must be left on all the time, or you face a 12 warm up time. This of course wouldn’t be an issue in a coffee house as it would be turned on before opening. To summarize this machine, I would say go for it if you want a machine that produces actual coffee shop level coffee and you don’t mind leaving it on all the time.
Cuisinart DGB-900BC
The coffee maker in the number 3 slot just had to be the Cuisinart DGB-900. This machine was chosen because it is the most comprehensive coffee maker available on the market today. This is because, not only does it come with the thermal carafe, it also comes complete with a grinder. Having a grinder attached to the machine means that all we need do is fill the bean hopper with beans the night before, set the timer, and when we wake up in the morning, we have freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee waiting for us in the thermal carafe. The biggest negative on this machine is the noise level that the grinder gives off. I would like to quickly conclude that this machine is fantastic if you don’t mind the noise the grinder gives off and or you don’t want to grind your coffee beans separately.
Zojirushi EC-BD15BA
The machine that gets the number 2 slot is the Zojirushi EC-BD15BA. This machine is probably one of my favorites, the reasons for that are mainly because of the thermal carafe, but also because of the price, and the fact that the coffee really does get all of the flavor out of the beans. I have had some machines in the past that have struggled quite badly when it came to brewing gourmet blends of coffee properly. With this machine you should have no problem getting all the flavor out of the beans. I would thoroughly recommend this machine if you are looking for something that will match the majority of coffee makers for flavor, comes with a thermal carafe and doesn’t cost the earth to buy.
Breville BKC700XL
The top slot on this top 5 list, goes to the Breville BKC700. The reason that this machine gets my top recommendation is because it not only produces probably the best coffee that you can hope to get from a coffee maker, but it’s actually a remake of the Keurig B70 platinum, with all the base features identical to that of the B70. The reason that this machine is on my list and not the B70 is quite simple. The B70 and the other single servers from Keurig are very noisy when it comes to pumping. This problem is completely removed on the Breville however. You can stand just a meter away from it and barely be able to hear that it is running. The Breville also comes with an iced beverage function, so you can get the most of your coffee maker during the hot season as well. The pod varieties that Keurig have over on their website is fantastic as well. They have brought a whole host of gourmet manufacturers to produce a huge range of coffee, teas and chocolates, which now at over 200 varieties makes the nearest competition look quite poor in comparison.
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