Not good for making multiple cups but definitely minimalist, low investment, super small footprint, and excellent coffee is an aeropress.

I don't believe in multi-function machines, which tend to do all tasks poorly. The quality of your coffee has more to do with the actual coffee, not the machine. Get a grinder, it takes up very little space; ours is a Krups, from Target. Good beans, we buy Peet's from Costco. And a basic coffee machine.

Cretin coffee drinker here. I got a Farberware 4-cup electric perc as a bridal shower gift 50 years ago, and it had the nerve to lose its handle after 45 years of daily use. I replaced it with the same one and it works just as well. I like my coffee hot, and I take it black and no sugar so that may be the reason I am happy with it. I don't expect to last another 45 years myself! I realize that I will never make it as a barista. Maybe next lifetime.

I used a Breville Barista Express for several years. I like my coffee potent and used it to brew an Americano. It had a steamer wand and could be used for other coffee drinks. It was also very loud grinding beans. Upon advice I got here, I switched to a Jura 4 this past year. Love it! It's simple, much quiter and brews an excellent cup of coffe with one touch of a buttion. You program it for the amout of bean you want ground and the amount of pour into your cup. Couldn't be easier.

Chemex

We like our Mr. Coffee, about $39 from our local True Value. America’s Test Kitchen had chosen Mr Coffee, even without the great price, several years ago. We bought one, eventually we broke it, so this is our second. Filling the reservoir isn’t as convenient as on the previous one, or other coffeemakers we’ve had, but better than the Cuisinart we borrowed from my parents. Otherwise, easy, consistent.

Years ago, DCarch posted an explanation (scientific) of why super cheap coffee makers make great coffee to start with, but get bad with use. People praised the coffee I made with a new super cheap drip maker, paper filter, and ground Yuban. I might have used it enough times to lose its greatness (I don't drink coffee, myself, and the beloveds who do like instant (!)) because there's been none of that praise in the last while. On that basis, I'd pay heed to the people here recommending their long term, daily use units over anything that the review sites have to say.

I don't get wanting to make a big load of (tbh, not great) coffee in a coffeemaker and then let it stew for ages while you work your way through it. I use a French press and DH uses an Aeropress to make a fresh cup each time we want it. That way the coffee grinder gets the bench space :-).

Agree with above that it’s more about the coffee, at least in my experience. I gave up my beloved French press about a year ago. I now have a Cuisinart and use a paper filter with it. I use the same ground coffee now in the Cuisinart as I did with the French press. It tastes the same to me.

I find the sound of a grinder first thing in the morning annoying. I buy ground coffee only.

Colleen, I've only seen that in movies, the coffee sitting around on the warmer. At my first job, I had to make and serve coffee while doing five other things. I served a LOT of coffee. If there was any standing in the carafe during a lull, it got tossed out and fresh was made. My folks made just enough for the two of them at a meal at home. When I do coffee service, I make a full carafe each of regular and decaf, because one never knows, but they get their coffee and drink it and aren't looking for seconds. There are French presses that make half a gallon at a time, but is the coffee as good as the two serving ones? The old percolator urn that took a pound of ground coffee at time made a brew that people said was great, though percolators have bad press nowadays.

I've had all manner of coffeemakers over the years - Chemex, drip, Mr. Coffee, espresso maker, etc. - but I love my French press the best. With my electric kettle, I can make my morning coffee speedy fast (very important!!) and with no muss, no fuss and minimal clean up.

I did, but he died in 1995 and I've had to make it for myself ever since 😢

We have used the bialetti moka maker for more than 10 years and would never go back to to a traditional maker, quick and easy to make and doesn't require any counter space.

Electric kettle, bean grinder, French press. Takes up more room, but to me makes better coffee.

Cuisinart with a thermal carafe. Paper filters. DUNKIN COFFEE (hey, I'm from New England what did you expect?).

We are not coffee snobs here. No beans, no fancy foam.

We love our Bunn coffeemaker. We had to buy a new one this summer because our old Bunn died. It was a 20-year-old workhorse so it was time.

Freshly ground beans is the single biggest improvement you can make to your morning coffee, no matter how you subsequently brew it. A burr-type grinder is best, but any grinder is better that coffee that was ground more than 20 minutes before brewing.

Anything else, from a simple pourover manual filter to a french press, to a superautomatic espresso machine, is better than a "Mr. Coffee" type machine for brewing, though one with a thermos type caraffe is better than the common ones that cook your coffee to death. Moka pots are charming, but also make over-boiled, over-extracted coffee. I've used them a lot in Europe, but wouldn't if I had a choice.

There are always a trade offs. You should consider these factors and what works for your lifestyle, needs and aspirations:

▪️Time

▪️Expense

▪️Patience

▪️Gadgetry, counter space, storage

Many commercial (store bought) coffee makers for home use do not get the water hot enough and try to play catch-up with the warmer plate.

Many coffee drinkers seem okay with this (for various reasons).

PS I am the sort of egghead that would stand at the kitchen counter with a good thermometer and notebook whether it is coffee brewing or comparing a faulty car thermostat to a new one.

Rwiegand, we bought a Moka after using one in Europe, we liked it for a while, but found our Mr Coffee was just fine and more convenient.

Man alive, people sure get judgy about each other’s coffee choices!

We are not coffee snobs here. No beans

I resemble that remark!

After many many decades I tried beans. Just this past year. I like them, think that for me they are better.

Not no snob here never put down anyone for their coffee choice as others did me when I used to use Folger's instant.

Tried this

Liked it

Enjoy it.

That's all.

Small electric grinder, electric kettle, French press. Beans ground each morning. We have just replaced our kettle with one which has variable temperatures. 70c for coffee. So we no longer have to boil the water and let it cool. 100c for tea. No cooling.

Coffee pour over water at only 70 C (158 ° F)?

I don’t believe (@ sea level) that’s hot enough. Shouldn’t it be >= 195° to 200° F (90.5 C to 93.3 C)?

(I think this was from coffeeproper.com)

Yes, sorry. My mistake. 90c for the coffee.

That look like a nice electric kettle.

“Not coffee snobs here.” I certainly did not mean to be rude and apologize if some took my comment that way.

The word I first thought of using was connoisseur but I was too lazy to look up how to spell it. I will take the time, next time. 😏

We just bought a new electric kettle, and were amazed at some of the options. One had heat settings depending on what you are making: ramen, coffee, even the kind of tea you are making, labeled that way, not the actual temp. Who knew?

My DMIL is English and her favorite tea is whatever is on sale. We are almost the same: half-caf ground, on sale, and I set it up the night before. DH turns the machine on early, I get up a few hours later and put my cup in the microwave. It sets on a coffee warmer while I have my morning. I microwave the last of the coffee to have with a cookie and Jeopardy! at 3:30. Life is good.

Sounds like our Mr Coffee will be just fine! Your coffee life is like ours.

I have a Technivorm that I purchased in 2019. Very well made and it makes a HOT cup of coffee. That was important to me as I use milk in my coffee. I grind my own beans with a Baratza Virtuoso+. It takes about 6 minutes to grind beans and brew.

@Jupidupi, What did you do to the French press that was "too much work"? My morning routine is, push the "on" switch on the electric kettle, put coffee grounds into the French press and when the kettle boils, wait a few minutes to let it cool a little, pour hot water into the French press and let it sit for 2 minutes. While I'm waiting for the kettle to boil and the coffee to steep, I feed the cat, put away last night's clean dishes and take my morning pills.

Hi @Rachel, I got a Baratza for Christmas last year after my old Braun burr grinder died after about 20 years of faithful service. I love it, and have found their after sales service to be excellent.

A few nights ago, the network news stated that “coffee has gone up 48%.”

Can you guess my question? Since when?

Coffee is very expensive — climate change, tariffs (and I imagine war and political instability help to in rease the cost.

Jupidupi, if you decide you want to start ginding coffee beans, I suggest you get a burr grinder with a range of settings. Prices and build quality vary. Our burr grinder is not very noisy. Those small blade coffee mills can kick up a racket and they slice the brittle beans rather than grind. They create an uneven grind and a lot of ”dust” which can degrade your brew.

I use those aluminium capsules.

Ooh, Islay. In France???? Naughty.

@colleenoz, yes the customer service at Baratza is second to none.

I'm the kind of person willing to pay a little more for something high quality that will last. I am counting on my Technivorm/Baratza setup to last 10-20 years.

@Rachel. " I'm the kind of person willing to pay a little more for something high quality that will last." Me too. I decided decades ago that in the long run it's cheaper to buy quality. Cheap sheets and towels, for instance, last only a year or two them need replacing. Quality ones will last for many years- I have some sheets that are probably older than I am, and I'm 65.

I roast my own beans and grind them daily. My favorite coffee is from the Chemex pour over and I like Costa Rican the best but I'll drink nearly any of it, even instant in a pinch. My Dad liked Folgers and my Mother liked Maxwell House while Grandma drank Sanka, so we've run the gamut, LOL.

As I said, I like the Chemex and I do have an electric kettle but a couple of years ago I broke down and bought Elery the Technivorm MoccaMaster with the thermal carafe. He loves it and that's what we use most of the time. The coffee stays hot in the carafe and it doesn't cook on the burner. Our coffee grinder is a Hamilton Beach that we got on a Black Friday sale about the same time we bought the Technivorm. It works but it's loud.

Coffee IS expensive and I find that I save money buying pounds of green beans and roasting them. Green coffee beans keep well for weeks and I roast about a pound at a time, that keeps Elery and I in daily coffee for about a week.

Annie

I've had my Technovorm Moccamaster since 2009. Seventeen years and no problems. I have a Fellow Ode Gen 2 grinder.

Im very happy with my Technivorm Moccamaster with thermal carafe. It brews quickly and the coffee is hot. My husband is up an hour before me and the coffee still tastes fresh when I get up. It is tall so be sure it will fit under your upper cabinets. We like Kirkland french roast and grind the beans.

My kids have gazillion-dollar machines that do everything from grinding to lattes to whatever you possibly could want. I forget what my son said his cost but it's literally in the $1000s and takes up half his counter. I have a Black & Decker, and I buy ground coffee either from Traders or Target. Last night, when my son-in-law made me a special cup from his ground beans and special addition from their vacation in Sedona, I thought it was good but saw zero difference from what I serve myself in my Target Black and Decker maker. I guess I'm not a connoisseur.

We have the Ninja 12 cup coffee maker and the Baratza Encore Grinder. We are happy with both. The tank on the coffee maker comes off so you can bring it right to the sink to fill. It is also easy to clean.

Flora, without spending a fortune, I can't compete at home with any café...... at least I get coffee that tastes of coffee LOL.

We had the same situation several years ago and bought a motif coffee maker from Williams Sonoma and separate grinder and have been so happy with the upgrade. One of my biggest complaints with the old cuisinart was that the coffee wasn’t hot enough. The Motif come out nice and hot. We get a monthly delivery of beans from Birch.