The classic drip coffee maker is simple but offers great and consistent results. It’s no surprise that these are often considered the best coffee makers, and are so ubiquitous.
Drip coffee is simple: water is pulled through coffee grounds by gravity, and as it flows down, it absorbs the flavors and oils from coffee. The last step is going through a filter which removes any sediments.
Drip coffee makers are easy to use and very versatile: many brewers have glass or thermal carafes along with non-stick warming plates which make sure that the coffee will be still warm for an extended time after the brewing is complete.
What Kind of Coffee Maker Should You Get?
For most of us, coffee is an essential part of our morning routine. Personally, I go to sleep looking forward to a hot cup of coffee in the morning.
But good coffee can take a lot of work, especially if you make pour-over or french press coffee. While those are perfectly legitimate and delicious ways to make coffee, not everyone will be willing to put in the effort to brew first thing in the morning.
You also have an option to use an espresso machine, but that’s also a bit of effort.
Add this to the fact that you may have many household members in line for a cup of coffee, and the effort increases that much more.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have single-serve coffee makers like Keurigs and Nespresso that require zero effort altogether. Just pop in a pod and you’ll have a hot cup of coffee in less than a minute.
However, single-serve coffee is of questionable quality and coffee aficionados won’t touch a Keurig with a ten foot pole.
There are many types of coffee makers, but the sweet spot between excessive work and excessive convenience is with drip coffee makers.
What’s So Special About Drip Coffee Makers?
Drip coffee makers work by dripping hot water through coffee grounds in a filter. The water is pulled through the coffee grounds by gravity, and they absorb flavors on the way down.
Most drip coffee makers can brew a variety of cup sizes from just 4 cups in small coffee machines up to 8 and 12 cups.
The differences between cheap and high-end drip machines are as follows:
Programmable brewing
Some coffee makers let you program the brew cycle so the coffee will start brewing at a particular time. This is especially useful for having a cup of coffee ready for you first thing in the morning.
The only disadvantage here is that you have to pre-ground your coffee 10-12 hours before you brew, which may slightly affect the freshness.
If nothing beats a hot cup of coffee immediately after you wake up, though, you may find this to be a non-issue.
Brewing system
Not all drip coffee makers brew the same way! Cheaper coffee makers may not have much temperature control, and just end up dumping water on the coffee grounds.
More expensive machines have better-controlled brews. Some coffee makers have a pre-wetting stage, where the machine will first wet the coffee with a small amount of water to bloom the coffee, then shower the coffee grounds for even distribution of water.
Temperature control is very important: the best temperature to brew coffee is about 195-200 degrees F, and there are also SCAA certified coffee makers that brew at very specific temperatures.
Heating plates and thermal carafes
Most drip coffee makers have some form of heating mechanism: either a heating plate that the glass carafe sits on or a thermal carafe.
Heating plates heat the coffee from the bottom up, and if you leave the pot on a heating plate for too long, you’ll end up overcooking the coffee.
Thermal carafes are much better for keeping your coffee warm, as they uniformly keep the coffee heated without overcooking it and messing up the flavor.
Best Drip Coffee Maker For The Money: Our Favorite Picks
Technivorm Moccamaster: Best High-end Courmet Coffee Maker
Capacity: 5 cups
Programmable: No
Carafe: Thermal and Glass
The Technivorm Moccamaster is royalty in the drip coffee world. It’s a great machine that’s handcrafted – something that can’t be said for other coffee makers.
It is certified by both the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and the ECBS(European Coffee Brewing Center). Very few coffee makers can boast of having both certifications!
The machine brews up to 5 cups in one go, which is less than what other coffee machines can do, but each cup will probably be the best gourmet coffee you’ve had in your life.
The temperature-controlled brew takes place through a showerhead with 9 holes which extracts all the flavor evenly from your coffee.
If you happen to brew less than 5 cups, a small lever lets you adjust the water flow so you can concentrate the showering on the grounds and not anywhere else.
A single button gets the brew started, and that’s all you need to do for good coffee.
It’s worth noting that any coffee machine is only as good as the coffee you put into it: pairing fresh coffee beans with this coffee maker will result in a cup of heaven.
Pros
- 5 year warranty
- Handcrafted and great design
- Excellent coffee brewing
Cons
- Expensive
- Not programmable
- Not dishwasher safe
OXO Brew 9 Cup Coffee Maker
Capacity: 9 cups
Programmable: Yes
Carafe: Thermal
The OXO Brew 9 Cup coffee maker is one of the coolest coffee makers on our list. It seems they have gotten the inspiration for the brewing system from the extremely popular Technivorm Moccamaster.
The aesthetics of this drip coffee maker are very pleasing and a single dial controls the brewing. You can use the one dial to set the number of cups to brew, as well as set the brew timer up to 24 hours.
You also get a double-walled thermal carafe to keep your brew nice and warm for up to a couple of hours after brewing.
The brewing system is temperature-controlled and uses a rain shower head to evenly distribute water all over the coffee grounds.
The OXO is SCAA-certified, so you know you’ll get very good tasting coffee.
Pros
- Good value for features
- Sleek looks
Cons
- Relatively unknown brand name
Black and Decker 12 Cup Coffee Maker: Best 12 Cup Coffee Maker With Thermal Carafe
Capacity: 12 cups
Programmable: Yes
Carafe: Thermal
The Black and Decker CM2035B is one of our favorite 12 cup coffee makers. If you need something that can brew a lot of cups in one go, the CM2035B is a superb option.
The brewing system uses what Black and Decker calls the EvenStream Showerhead, which wets all the coffee grounds easily for maximum flavor extraction and consistency.
You can program the coffee maker to brew at a specific time(in a 24 hour period), and the coffee maker displays how much time has passed since the coffee was last brewed. This is a super neat function to make sure you’re picking up a fresh cup of coffee.
Just because this is a 12 cup coffee machine doesn’t mean you can’t brew less coffee: there is a function for brewing 1-4 cups as well.
As with most coffee machines in this category, you can pause the brew to pour yourself a cup before the rest of the coffee finishes brewing.
The coffee brews into a stainless steel thermal carafe which is vacuum insulated and double walled to keep your coffee warm for hours.
Pros
- Great value for money
- Can brew between 1 to 12 cups
- No-spill spout
Cons
- Not quite as long lasting as other coffee makers