Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Top 5 Best Coffee Makers for 2022
Every home in America needs a coffee maker; even if you don’t like coffee – your friends and family will.
It’s practically our national drink and deservedly so, because it’s fantastic.
The good news is that a great coffee maker does not need to be expensive and they’re incredibly convenient and easy to look after.
#1 TOP PICK
BEST COFFEE MAKER
Editor’s Choice
The best coffee maker of them all is this Cuisinart 14-Cup Coffee maker Machine buy it and you won’t be sorry.
It’s not even expensive.
How To Choose Your Coffee Maker
How Many Cups Do You Need?
I am not a big fan of leaving a cup of coffee around all day, I’d rather make it more often and have it fresh. But I do like to be able to make enough coffee for everybody who wants a cup of coffee at the same time.
You can buy a drip coffee machine that make up to 20 (or more) “cups” though “cup” usually means 5-6 ounces depending on the manufacturer rather than 8 ounces (so keep that in mind).
Whereas espresso machines, apart from really expensive models, can normally only handle 1 or 2 shots at a time.
How Often Do You Need Coffee?
I start and end my day with a cup of coffee, as does my husband, and I will have a cup or three during the morning. I now drink tea in the afternoons. The more you drink, the more you’re going to want to keep on hand.
Insulated carafes (pots/jugs) tend to keep the flavor of a brew for much longer than the traditional glass carafe on a hot plate which leaves coffee tasting burned after a while.
Do You Need A Coffee Machine To Handle The Heavy Lifting?
Some of us find mornings a breeze and others don’t.
If you want coffee but find it hard to think straight in the morning to get it underway; you could consider an automated programmable machine that makes a cup of coffee for you (and which switches itself off when it’s done).
How Much Room Do You Have?
You’ve got to be practical about these things, if you barely have a surface free in the home, there’s no point in buying a giant sized coffee shop style coffee maker with all the bells and whistles.
Measure up the space you’re going to put the coffee maker into and make sure what you buy fits the space.
The Five Main Choices Of Coffee Maker Style
Then it’s all about picking the coffee maker that suits your style:
- The Drip Coffee Maker. 5 to 6 minutes brew time, multiple cups of coffee and often cheaper than any other kind of coffee maker. Drip coffee makers are America’s favorite choice of coffee maker.
- The Single-Serve Pod Coffee Maker. These are great for people with very specific tastes but without the drive to assemble their coffees from scratch. Choose your flavor, drop the pod in and wait a few seconds. Coffee done. Not very environmentally friendly but definitely convenient.
- The Specialty Coffee Maker. From espresso makers, to simulated French presses, there are plenty of choices in this category. They tend to cost a little more and service very specific coffee needs.
- 1 to 2 Mug Drip. These are the “portable” coffee makers and for those that rarely drink coffee. No carafe needed, they use the mug you drink from instead.
- Stove Top Espresso Makers. Truth be told, real espresso requires high pressure and high temperature and espresso machines are rarely cost-effective for home use, but stove top espresso makers are “good enough” and “cheap enough” that many people love them.
Be practical! Decide how many cups you need, how often you will use it, whether you need any special features and make sure that your coffee machine will fit where you want it to
Then pick the type of machine that best suits you: the drip coffee maker, the single-serve pod coffee maker, the specialty coffee maker, the 1 to 2 mug drip or a stove-top espresso maker.
Best Drip Coffee Maker
Cuisinart 14-Cup Coffee Maker Machine
The Cuisinart coffee maker is one of the best drip coffee makers out there, its ought to be in everyone’s kitchen as an example of how to make a useful gadget that really works.
It’s a top quality build that delivers 14-cups of coffee (though as we noted earlier – there is slightly less than 8 oz in a Cuisinart cup).
It is programmable (and includes easy to use self-cleaning and auto-power off options) and all of that at a friendly price. It will even keep your coffee hot for a few hours.
This is an excellent drip coffee maker. Dare I say the best coffee maker?
Best Single-Serve Coffee Pod Coffee Maker
Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Single-Serve Coffee Maker
There are many great single-serve coffee pod coffee makers on the market today but few of them offer the flexibility of thise Hamilton Beach model.
Not only does it take pods from almost any manufacturer, but it also offers the eco-friendly option of making your own pods too with ground coffee.
It looks great and it produces super coffee. It also comes with an adjustable brew strength option for a few bucks more.
Best Specialty Coffee Maker
The Kungroo Airtight Cold Brew Coffee Maker
It’s not the prettiest of our top coffee makers but this is an awesome device that makes fantastic cold brew coffee and enough of it for a family gathering too.
You get a 32 oz. carafe which is just perfect for summer days gathered together.
We also found that it did a great job of keeping the acidity in the coffee low without us having to spend a fortune.
We really liked it.
Best 1 to 2 Mug Drip Coffee Maker
The MixPresso Ultimate 2-in-1 Single Cup Coffee Maker
This is another one of the best drip coffee makers on the market, it looks great and works like a charm.
Better still this “personal coffee maker” is capable of producing 14 ounces of coffee in one go. So, you can share with a friend without feeling cheated out of a decent cup.
It also has an auto shutoff so you can’t forget about it and burn your coffee or short circuit the drip coffee maker
It’s so easy to use!
Highly recommended and it’s pretty cheap too!
Best Stove Top Espresso Maker
AICOOK Stovetop Espresso Machine
We picked the AICOOK stovetop device first and foremost for its good looks. We love the classic styling.
The fact that it also makes 6 cups of espresso compared to the more limited 2,3 and 4 cup capabilities of its peers made it a sure winner.
Is the espresso perfect like in a coffee shop? No.
Is it easy to use? Yes.
Is it easy to keep your coffee hot? Yes
But for a device that costs less than 20 bucks? It’s brilliant all the same.
Give it a try and see for yourself.
That’s not all though folks!
We’re constantly adding new reviews of coffee machines and coffee makers to our coffee maker section of the website.
Check back regularly to catch up with new developments and the latest offerings.
How To Care For Your Coffee Maker
For most families their coffee maker is not the most expensive piece of equipment in their kitchen (though my coffee maker may be the 2nd most expensive thing in my office after my laptop – I really like my coffee) but that doesn’t mean that it’s a trivial expense either.
As with all things in the kitchen; cleaning and maintenance serves two purposes.
The first, and arguably most important, is to prevent you and your family from getting sick or poisoned by bacteria, mold, etc. building up on or in the equipment.
The second, is to ensure that you get the longest life span out of your purchase as possible and protect your investment. A coffee maker needs regular cleaning, or they may begin to stain, clog up or even become unsafe for use.
How To Clean Your Drip Coffee Maker
You need some tools for this:
A damp cloth, some filters (if your machine takes them), water, white vinegar, soap, a brush (dish brushes are fine as are specialist coffee maker brushes).
Then:
- Wipe out the central chamber of your drip coffee maker with a damp cloth. If you need to – use a brush to get any grounds or grime out of hard to reach places.
- Fill the water chamber to about the halfway line with white vinegar and then top it up to full of water.
- Place a filter in the filter tray/basket so that it can catch any stuff that falls out during cleaning.
- Brew the vinegar mixture as you would a coffee and then switch it off and leave the coffee maker alone for an hour. Yes, an hour.
- Come back and switch it on again and brew it all over again. Swap out the filter paper after this. Now, empty the water/vinegar mix and replace with just water and brew it again!
- Then rinse the system once more by brewing plain water.
- Finally, give everything a scrub down with soapy water (after you unplug the coffee maker) and make sure it’s sparkly clean.
Note: Sometimes, the vinegar solution may not be enough to remove limescale on a coffee maker that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. If that’s the case – buy a specialist descaling agent and use that according to the instructions from your coffee maker’s manufacturer.
If you clean your drip machines every month; it ought to last for a lifetime. However, if you are a heavy coffee drinker – you might want to clean it weekly to maximize the longevity of the machine.
For all other coffee makers; you’re going to want to check the manufacturer’s instructions on cleaning to make sure that you’re doing the right thing.
- You clean coffee machines to a.) keep them hygienic and safe and b.) to keep them running for as long as possible.
- Drip coffee makers are easy to clean using these instructions.
- All coffee makers can be cleaned, and you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Final Thoughts
We said at the beginning of this article that we’d give you everything you need to know about coffee and coffee makers, and we’d say that we’ve done a good job.
However, if you think we’ve missed something out – we’re all ears. Let us know in the comments or send us a message on Facebook. We’d be happy to consider adding something new next time around if you think it would help you choose the best coffee maker.
For now, though, we wish you an enjoyable day with the great taste and scent of coffee gently wafting through it. Coffee rocks.
It powers us and it powers America!