Especially since you don't drink a lot of coffee, a good, medium - large sized, stainless steel french press. It will not draw electricity to run a clock or lights 24/7. Can be used to make teas and other steeped beverages. And, it is a great multi-tasker to have in the kitchen. Besides which, it makes GREAT coffee and will last a lifetime.

Thank you. I own a french press and like it, but we need smth quick to clean and I find French press time consuming. Something I save for weekends

I've had a Jura Capresso CM300 drip coffee maker for a year. I re-tested the temperature of the water this week -- still 180F. Hot water is essential for good coffee. My DH has two cups in the morning; I have half coffee/half milk. This is quick, and it's easy to clean. You need to warm the carafe prior to brewing. If we keep it closed between pours, the carafe keeps our coffee hot enough that DH doesn't need to microwave-warm his second cup. I paid about $80 at Costco.

french press or Nespresso. K Cups are horrible tasting

I have had a few Nespresso units in the past - all high quality. The larger Nespresso cups are made for american sized mugs. they are about a dollar each. french press is cheaper since you are using ground coffee

What about pour over coffee?

I tried pour over as well. It comes out excellent, but we need to have an electric option available. We like coffee and expression

For good coffee shop quality coffee, I highly recommend the Brew Express. It builds into the wall and connects directly to your cold water line under the sink. I installed my first-generation model about eight years ago and recently upgraded to the new 10 cup model that fit into the existing rough-in box. The Brew Express has an insulated stainless-steel carafe that holds serving temperature for about two hours after brewing. Because there is no hot plate under the carafe, you never have coffee that becomes stale tasting from sitting on a warming plate. You need only heat momentarily in your microwave oven to bring the coffee up to the desired serving temperature after two hours. The coffee will still taste fresh, even after a day of sitting in the carafe. Check the Brew Express website for further information.

Consider the Technivorm or a Bonavita. They both heat the water to the ideal temp (195 to 205) for maximum flavor extraction. The Technivorm has a single cup brewer and Bonavita has a five cup - we have the eight. The Technivorm is taller and more expensive than the Bonavita. Both are pricey. You will see either one of them at or near the top of every rating where they are considered, including America's Test Kitchen and CNET. Neither have clocks or fancy timers and controls.

We also have a Nespresso for espresso and Americanos. Much better than the other capsule machines for an espresso type coffee. The commercial models taste betters but I've found very little difference between the all-in-one Delonghi Lattisma and the lowest end Nespresso. Unless you drink a lot of lattes, I would get one with a separate frother and save your money for capsules.

To clarify - you have to register online with Nespresso (the "club") but they don't send anything routinely - you order what you want when you want it. I sometimes order online, and sometimes buy my capsules at Macy's or Bloomingdales. Same price.

We have the Nesspresso Virtuoline as my DH had some cardiac problems and was told to cut back on caffeine. I have been against pods due to landfill issues. Nesspresso recycles the pods. SLT and WS give you a recycle bag to college ct the pods

I need to correct my comment about the Capresso coffee maker. I tested the *coffee*, not the water. It was 180F. I suspect the water heater is the first thing to fail on one of these things, so we'll see. This Capresso is just over one year old (and is not used two months of the year). At a price of only $80, who knows? lol

Second Gooster's rec for Technivorm coffee maker. Brings the water to the correct temperature (195-205) and makes killer coffee. Made in the Netherlands. High quality, simple to use, best drip according to this Seattle coffee drinker. I've been using ours for over 5 years and have never wanted anything else. The Nespresso seems too limiting and potentially costly with the pods. The Technivorm isn't cheap but it's a one time purchase. Lots of others on the forum are also fans.

Although coffee is not my drink, there is a wealth of information at coffeegeek.com.

We have or have tried a variety of coffee makers. Technivorm, Bonavita, French Press, Clever Coffee Dripper, Moka Pot, Plumbed in Fiorenzata Espresso machine as well as Keurig and Nespresso.

Currently we're back to using the Technivorm if we need a whole carafe, French Press for two big mugs, or the Clever or Moka pot for one.

The plumbed in machine was probably our favorite, but frequent repairs have put it in storage for the time being.

We had a Nespresso machine in an apartment we rented in Europe this year, and it made good coffee, but the capsules are way overpriced for what amounts to stale, pre ground coffee.

I'd go with a really good grinder, the freshest beans you can find and a well built, simple brewing method like the Technivorm or a French press.

Dbabrams, looks like Technivorm is one of the favorites on this forum. One question - is it difficult to clean? Also, does it require a special grind? Similar to French press? I usually grond my coffee coarse for french press but I have to do it in a supermarket or specialty coffee because my grinder is really simple. What grinder do u like ?

The Technivorm is very simple, you just rinse out the drop basket and carafe. You want a drip grind, I like strong coffee so I use the same setting as for French press, a little finer. I have a Mazzer Mini which is great, but very expensive now, we got ours over 10 years ago when they were less than half of the $750 they sell for now. You can get a decent grinder for $100-200 though. it makes a big difference grinding fresh though, if you grind at the store it gets stale quickly,

In order of importance: beans, grind, method, especially when you're making espresso.

I've had the Nespresso (they are all using the same pump/19 bar) for the past 3 years and IMHO its the best pod machine on the market bar none. Its also very inexpensive relatively speaking and Nespresso pods have some of the best tasting coffee (espresso) there is. I paid $300 for mine including an electric milk brother which I also use all the time. I also have several french presses and generally drink a lot of coffee / espresso/capucino's. There is a fundamental difference between "just" coffee and espresso in how its made and the taste. Both are great if you are into coffee, just different.

But back to hardware ;) ... Nespresso is an incredible deal in that for a really good price you get a small countertop box that works as good or better than most high $ omnibus machines that take 5 times the space. I am constantly reminded of this whenever I see the Keurig junk boxes... and how much their pods cost. Nespresso pods are anywhere between $0.65 and $0.75 /pp for excellent quality coffee with a wide selection of types and flavors. Keurig is like a young compared to that with coffee that tastes like a day old coffeemaker at a used car dealer, and costs 2x price per pod. And its not espresso! its just regular coffee...

If you're shopping for a grinder as well the Baratza Encore is a great option. It has a wide range of grind settings, is durable enough for light commercial use, and is very popular in coffee circles.

I lust after a Saeco Royale machine, but the cost keeps me from making that leap. We were just given a Ninja coffee maker for Christmas. It's the one with the thermal carafe, and it has a variety of options for brewing. There are four size options (standard cup, travel mug, half carafe, full carafe), and several choices for strength, including concentrated. I've been surprised by how much I like it.

>>>"We are not big coffee drinkers - will have 3 cups all together,..."<<<

You want to match coffeemaker capacity to the amount you drink? Should be simple, right?

Nah. No such luck.

Not to confuse you too much, but how much coffee are your "three cups altogether?"

A "measuring cup" is 8 oz., so "three cups" could be 24 oz. of coffee. But maybe you are using the kind of "coffee cups" that come in dinnerware sets with saucers? Europeans assume those to be 4 oz. capacity "coffee cups" where American designed brands often assume 5 oz. Or, maybe, like me and many others here, you call a mug a "coffee cup?" My coffee mugs hold over 10 oz. of coffee.

For me, my "three cups altogether" would be 30 oz. of coffee. Three measuring cups worth of coffee would be 24 oz. Three "cup and saucer" cups would be 15 oz. or 12 oz. depending on the size of those coffee cups.

We are not done with the curve balls yet. When manufacturers state the "cup" capacity of their coffee makers, they usually are referring to "cup and saucer" cups, so you need to know whether they are talking about the European "4 oz. standard" or the North American "5 oz. standard." Just to add to the potential confusion for shoppers, the custom in adverts is to list the capacity for the amount of water (input side) rather than the amount of coffee produced in the pot (output side). The "ouput" side will be less because somewhere around 15% of the input water gets absorbed into the coffee grounds and does not make it into the pot.

So, let's try to put this together by looking at a coffeemaker such as the Technivorm or Bonavita that were recommended by others.

FWIW, I've got a Technivorm. (I like it a lot, so do not take what I'm saying as bashing the brand.) My KBG 741 model is one of the "10 cup" capacity models. (There are larger and small capacity models, too.) That 10-cup capacity assumes 4 oz. cups and the "fine print" for the TV tells you that it actually is a 40 oz. water reservoir. When I make a full pot, the amount of coffee liquid that actually reaches the pot is roughly 34 to 35 oz. With my morning "coffee cup" being a mug, "three cups altogether" is most of a full pot. Now, if my three cups of morning coffee were only "cup and saucer" cups, I would be making only half a pot of coffee instead of a full pot.

If I were mostly drinking "cup and saucer" cups and wanted a lesser capacity Technivorm model, I might want to choose the Technivorm KBTS (sometimes listed as the KBTS741) . Although listed as having an "8 cup" capacity, that's actually 32 oz. in the water reservoir and about 27 to 28 oz. for a full pot of coffee. (That's three and a half "measuring cups"). If you want three "cup and saucer" cups, you make half a pot. For that, you move a manual slider switch on the side of the filter holder. The half pot setting slows down the speed with which water drips through the lesser quantity of coffee into the pot. The idea, apparently, is that the water flow for a half pot might flow through too quickly through the smaller amount of coffee to get the fullest flavor when using the flow rates for a full pot. On the half-pot setting, the water spends a little more time in contact with the lesser amount of grounds --- basically takes about the same 5 minutes that a full pot would take.

For a competing model at less than half the cost, you could look at the Bonavita BV1500TZ which is listed as a "5 Cup Coffee Maker with Stainless Steel Carafe." (This is actually manufactured for the Melitta Corporation but is branded as "Bonavita" in North America because several decades ago Melitta sold Hamilton Beach the right to use the Melitta brand name in North America.) Anyway, the Bonavita's "5 cups" are 5 oz. "cup and saucer" cups, so the water reservoir capacity is 25 oz. The coffee pot yield apparently is around 20 to 22 oz.

The BV1500 seems to sell for around $120. Seattlecoffeegear.com has a video review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNIXzy6plW8 Online reviews seem a little mixed. Mostly positive but some reviewers apparently got early production units that did not get the water as hot as quickly as intended.

List price on Technivorm KBTS is $299 which is the same as some of the 10-cup models. Sometimes there will be discounts for holiday weekend sales. Open-box units are sometimes available for about 1/3 to 1/2 off. (Want to guess how I got my TV?)

I'll suggest checking out SeattleCoffeGear.Com as a resource. A good return policy, too, if you buy from them. They will provide helpful info over the phone or by e-mails, as well.

>>>" looks like Technivorm is one of the favorites on this forum. One
question - is it difficult to clean? "<<<

Cleaning: Technivorms are pretty easy to clean. If you get one of the insulated steel carafe, you probably want to have a bottle brush to swish through the interiors as the top opening is a little narrow. (No such need if you opt for one of the glass carafe models, instead.) The company recommends against cleaning in dishwashers. As best I can tell, their concern about dishwashers is the detergent which, over time, eventually degrades the plastic parts like the carafe lids, the filter holder and the handle on the carafe. I suppose you can use a DW's rinse or quick cycle without detergent. (I've done the rinse cycle with mine for years and not seen had any adverse effects yet.)

The company recommends that, every three to four months, you run a brew cycle with plain water to which you've added a dose of a product like Dezcal or a spoonful of critric acid, and follow that with a couple more cycles with plain water.

Seem to be the same recommendations for the Bonavitas.

>>>"Also, does it require a special
grind? Similar to French press? . . . What grinder do u like ? <<<

Neither the TV nor the BV models seem to require any special or unique grinds. Generally, you want a grind about halfway between the really coarse grind for French press and the standard fine grind often prescribed for drip coffee makers. For me, it helps to think in terms of very coarse corn meal (French press), medium grind cornmeal (BV and TV), and finely ground cornmeal (supermarket standard for "drip coffee makers.) Tell a speciality coffee roaster/store what coffeemaker you have (just about every "in the business" has heard of BV and Technivorms) and they can probably get you a good recommendation. Once you know what it looks like, you can dial that in on your area's supermarket grinders.

I have a Krups burr grinder that I bought at Costco (currently about $27 or $30, I think). What works for me is a setting of about 1/3 back from fully coarse (fully coarse being the recommendation for French press coffees). I got it as a good place to start with an upgrade from a blade-grinder and never moved on. However, If I were contemplating making espresso, I'd look further upmarket. Again, seattlecoffeegear.com can give you a pretty good idea of what's available.

I have two Technivorm a 40oz for years then jumped up to the 64oz TV Grand when they released that - we drink more than 40oz during the day and bring better coffee from home than we can buy out. I also have a Vacuum pot for special occasions but that is high effort and cleaning, and a couple of percolators for travel. The Bonavita is also another great option. Got that for my sister last Christmas because the coffee quality is close to the TV while being a little easier to use (and 1/2 the price). My preferenceis for the TV, but a friend also swears by his Bonavita.

One note: the TV carries a five year warranty, and when my TV Grand stopped brewing a few weeks ago at about two years old, I called the company's 800 number and reached a Human directly - imagine that! After a few questions it was clear that it was likely a scaling issue (I'd done it maybe twice in two years) so she emailed me the details with followup return instructions incase that didn't solve the issue. After the descaling the machine fired right up - my bad. So if you need service, at least TV will stand behind their products.

Good luck on your choice.

I second the recommendation above for the Brew Express. It's built to office-use standards, comes with a second basket to make a smaller pot (5 cups instead of 10, or even a single cup) and is easily plumbed into your water supply. It makes great coffee (temperature is everything), without the horrid waste and high cost of Nespresso/Keurig/Tassimo pods. We bought this when we got sick of replacing $80 plastic coffee makers every 2 years. They have freestanding and wall recessed models.

I have a small espresso machine for espresso. Cleanup is pretty easy on that.

We have a nespresso Citiz & Milk. This is the second machine (same model) we have owned. Only had to replace as in a relocation it got damaged. Nespresso coffee is very good. They have a wide selection of flavors and strengths to suite pretty much all tastes. Their website is very well set up and very easy to use, and contains a lot of useful information about the different coffee types. They also frequently have limited release blends to give you the opportunity to try something new.

Recently they have also released a new line of coffee machines that instead of using a pump at 19 bar, it uses centrifugal forces to "spin" the coffee in order to create the creme. This new line also caters more for the American market and regular black coffee (like you would get at any coffee shop). As the two lines are different, they also use different pods, they are not interchangeable so you would need to decide what type of coffee you prefer as that might dictate what machine line you use (at this point in time I dont believe you have the same selection between their original line and the new).

I drink a lot of lattes, so for me i like a double shot of strong coffee, so in the morning in goes two pods of strength 10 or 11, warm the milk and pour them together. It tastes better than any Latte that starbucks, dunken or any of the other chains will ever or can make. Only ones i have tasted better, are from coffee baristas who know what they are doing.

If the pods are too expensive or that is your concern, you can now buy re-usable pods online and fill them with you own coffee. I have not tried this as i like the nespresso selection, but I would imagine a few reusable pods and a bag of your favorite coffee would come in at a fraction of the cost.

I have a Nespresso and LOVE the coffee from it. But, I would NOT recommend it to anyone who drinks more than one cup a day -- the pods are just too expensive! I have the Vertuoline, so the espresso pods are around 80 cents each and the full coffee pods are $1.10. When I make Americanos with the espresso pods, I use two. I've been spending $100 on coffee/month for year now, drinking 2-3 cups/day, and keep trying to go back to my regular coffee maker for more affordable coffee...but the Nespresso is so good and so convenient.

I also really like my Bonavita coffee maker and highly recommend it if you only need to brew around 3-4 cups at a time (two of the lines on that machine = one "normal" mug of coffee.

Lastly, my Aeropress makes the BEST coffee I've ever had, hands down. It was my main coffee maker for a while, but I missed the convenience of a pot of coffee (so I bought the Bonavita). Then my husband surprised me with the Nespresso, and my Bonavita went dormant.

Technivorm is fantastic.