If I asked you to think of the first brand that comes to mind when I say coffee maker, you’ll probably think of Keurig, Nespresso, or Mr. Coffee. But have you heard of Capresso? This lesser-known brand is actually on their A-game as far as it comes to coffee machines. In this post, we’ll look at some of the best Capresso coffee makers and review them.
First off, what is Capresso, anyway? The name Capresso is a combination of everyone’s favorite coffee drinks: cappuccino and espresso.
In other words, cappuccino plus espresso equals Capresso!
Capresso makes almost everything you’re looking for in the coffee industry: coffee machines, espresso machines, coffee grinders, gooseneck kettles, and milk frothers.
They’re also very innovative, and over the 20 or so years of their existence they’ve actually pioneered many industry firsts: integrating a drip coffee maker with a conical burr grinder, the first automatic milk frother(standalone), and the first electric burr grinder that uses sensors, to name a few.
Anyhow, you’re probably here because you want to learn about the best Capresso coffee makers, so let’s get to it.
Capresso Coffee Maker Reviews: Our favorite picks
1. Capresso On-The-Go Personal Coffee Maker
The Capresso on the Go Personal coffee maker is one of our favorite choices because it’s super simple to use,?it’s nice and small, and does not break the bank. Plus it’s a single serve coffee maker, and we are huge fans of functional single serve machines 🙂
Don’t buy this expecting lots of customization or bells and whistles. There’s just a single button that you push to brew a single size of coffee. However, calling it a single serve machine is a little bit of a misnomer because it does not brew anywhere near as fast as a Keurig or Nespresso machine.
To make a single 16 ounce brew, this guy takes 4 minutes. That’s not excessively long, but it’s not quick by any means. You can brew a french press in the same amount of time.
The Capresso comes with a 16 ounce travel mug that we’re actually not huge fans of. You will be better off using your own travel mug with it – as long as it’s less than 7 inches tall, it will fit in the machine without any issues.
It’s difficult ranking personal, single-serve coffee makers alongside full-sized models, but I felt the Capresso On-the-Go Coffee Maker was deserving of a spot in the top 5.
You use your own coffee grounds with this machine. Fill the grounds into the basket and start brewing. You want about 12-15 grams for every 6 ounces of coffee(sorry for the mixed measurements!), and one tablespoon is about 11ish grams of coffee grounds.
So just to make things simpler, assuming you’re using two tablespoon for every 6 ounces of coffee, you should actually brew 18 ounces worth of coffee from the grounds the machine can fit,
I think this is actually a smart design move. Since there is no button to adjust the brew strength, you can actually play with the brew strength by adjusting the amount of coffee you add.
Note: Ditch the included travel mug, you may find that it’s not durable at all. But for the price, you can’t really complain.
Finally, this machine has a tiny footprint: just under a foot tall and half a foot on either side of the base.
Pros
- Small and economical
- Includes permanent filter
Cons
- Travel mug is a little flimsy
Conclusion and bottom line
For the size and convenience, you can’t really find much to complain about the Capresso On-The-Go Coffee Maker. For personal use or brewing for just 2 people, it’s a superb budget option.
2. Capresso MG900 10-Cup Rapid Brew Coffee Maker
Capresso really got straight to the point with naming this coffee maker: calling it rapid brew from the onset, the MG900 is capable of brewing 10 cups of coffee in just 7 minutes.
It is able to brew so fast because it showers a lot more water onto the coffee grounds, wetting them quickly and brewing faster.
One potential downside of fast brewing is under-extraction. The Rapid Brew takes care of this issue by using a very large shower head that is able to wet the coffee grounds more evenly and effectively, and you actually end up with a better cup of coffee.
You have a choice of either getting a glass carafe(fairly inexpensive) or a thermal carafe(double the price). If you tend to leave the coffee sitting around for a while before drinking it, I would suggest the thermal carafe. Otherwise, if you drink it within a few minutes of brewing, the glass carafe will suffice.
The 50 ounce reservoir can be removed, which is a huge plus for cleaning. You can also pause the dripping to siphon off your first cup of coffee, and program the coffee maker to start at any point in 24 hours.
Pros
- Option for thermal carafe
- Can brew 10 cups in 7 minutes
Cons
- Carafe is not dishwasher safe
- Carafe not covered under warranty
Conclusion and bottom line
For households that require lots of coffee and need it fast, the Capresso Rapid Brew is a good choice. The option for a thermal carafe is useful if you need to keep your coffee hot for a while, but the fact that the carafe is not dishwasher safe is disappointing.
3. Capresso 5-Cup Mini Drip Coffee Maker
If you don’t need a massive 10 cup brewer, Capresso offers a smaller coffee maker that also draws less power. Don’t let the smaller size and less power pull you down, though, as it still brews really good coffee.
You can program the machine to start at any time within 24 hours, which is a great way to make sure you wake up to a fresh cup of coffee and you don’t need to fiddle with brewing first thing in the morning.
The filter design is also really cool as the Capresso uses a GoldTone permanent filter. This way you don’t have to mess with paper filters – just put the grounds in the gold filter directly. Gold is very inert so it won’t react with the acid or oil in coffee grounds. Just make sure you don’t use superfine grounds or else they’ll result in muddy coffee or worse, clog up your filter.
Since this machine has a glass carafe, there is a warming plate built in which stays on for two hours and then shuts off.
Pros
- Gold permanent filter
- Small footprint and good 5 cup brewing size
Cons
- Some pieces have mild leakage issues
Conclusion and bottom line
If you don’t need the larger machine and 5 cups is just the right size for you, the Capresso 5-Cup Mini is a pretty good choice. Leakage is a risk you will have to take, but it’s quite rare.
4. Capresso CoffeeTEAM GS 10 cup digital coffee maker
Time and time again, I’ve reiterated that the best cup of coffee comes from freshly roasted, freshly ground beans. The only hassle there is that grinding manually takes some time, and a good electric burr grinder can cost you some $$.
Well, the Capresso CoffeeTEAM is an amazing solution that’s functional and cheap – though the only potential downside is that you’ll be stuck with drip coffee, so if you want an espresso or a cold brew, you’ll need another grinder to make the correct consistency.
But if drip is your thing, then you can’t go wrong here. To get started, drop some freshly roasted beans(get some from here) in the grinder, set how many servings you want(from 2 to 10), and press the GRIND/BREW button on the coffee maker.
In just a few short moments, you’ll have a freshly ground cup of steaming drip coffee. What’s not to like?
If you prefer to buy coffee grounds, just press the “BREW” button after filling enough grounds into the filter basket.
In one go, you can fill in enough beans for 20 cups of coffee.
The brewing system has a gold filter, a charcoal water filter, and the choice of a glass or stainless steel carafe.
The 6 oz bean container holds enough beans for around 20 cups of coffee, or 2 full 10-cup brews.
There’s also a 24 hour auto start so you can wake up to a cup of freshly ground coffee, as well as a drip stop to siphon out one cup of coffee.
Pros
- Option for glass and thermal carafe
- Can make freshly ground coffee and has a timer too
Cons
- Grinder can be hard to clean
- Can’t use oily dark roast beans with built-in grinders
Conclusion and bottom line
Grind and brew coffee makers are love-hate relationships. Some people can’t live without them, and some people can’t stand them. The Capresso CoffeeTEAM is a good way to enjoy freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee without the hassle or cost of an external grinder.
5. Capresso MT600 Plus 10-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker
The Capresso MT600 coffee maker really hits the sweet spot amongst all of Capresso’s machines. It’s functional, can brew 10 cups in one go, you can program it to brew at any time within 24 hours, there’s a permanent gold filter, a charcoal water filter, and has a thermal carafe.
What’s not to like?
Overall, the machine is made out of plastic, but there is some tastefully added stainless steel which makes a huge difference in the overall look of the machine.
Use between 10-14 grams of coffee(about one tablespoon, slightly rounder) per 6 ounce cup for the sweet spot of really good coffee.
Pros
- Thermal carafe included
- Built in charcoal water filter
- Programmable to have a brew ready whenever you want
Cons
- Filter holder requires a bit of fiddling to fit correctly
Conclusion and bottom line
The Capresso MT600 is a good overall coffee maker but there are better coffee makers in the Capresso line-up that are not that much more expensive.
Capresso buying guide: a quick overview
Now that I’ve listed my favorite models, I thought I’d do a quick buying guide if you’re still on the fence about which model to buy.
Brew capacity
Brew capacity is arguably one of the most important factors: a single serve machine may not cut it for a large household or for households where multiple cups of coffee are needed during breakfast. In those situations, you’ll need something that can brew a large amount of coffee and keep it warm for long enough so it can last through everyone’s breakfast routine.
For a large brew capacity, the Capresso MT600 is the way to go.
Built in grinder
If you like to brew freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee beans and don’t go anywhere near pre-ground coffee, then a drip machine with a built-in grinder is a good choice. It is very convenient because you don’t need two separate machines(though you could get a good manual grinder and a separate drip machine for less than what this machine costs).
It’s not so much about cost here as it is about convenience – you don’t need to fiddle with anything. You just drop in the coffee beans, press the button, and the machine does everything else.
The CoffeeTEAM is your brewer of choice in this case.
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Brewing time
What if you need to brew coffee really quickly? Most drip machines take a bit of time to brew coffee – they are brewing a lot of coffee, after all, but the Capresso MT900 is a Rapid Brew machine and it can brew a lot of coffee in less time without sacrificing the quality of the cup.
Final thoughts
All in all, Capresso has a line of machines that suit nearly every use case. Whether you’re brewing quickly for one person, or brewing for a family, there’s something for you. We hope you have found these Capresso coffee maker reviews useful.
Frequently asked questions
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Last update on 2024-04-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
