Deciding on The Best Home Coffee Maker For Your Home

There are lots of different ways to make coffee at home.  You could use a boring old drip coffee maker, or something a little more extravagant like a moka pot or french press.  You could even go so far as to invest thousands of dollars in high quality home espresso machines.  But what is the best?  What makes the best coffee, and at the right price?  Figuring out what is the best home coffee maker requires some consideration.  What criteria would we use?

Here is a basic outline of what to look for in a coffee brewing device and how to know if the one you’re thinking of will suit your needs, because what makes the best coffee for you will depend on what your needs for a coffee maker are.

• Find a brewing method that can brew at almost exactly 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  This creates the absolute best extraction.  Devices that are capable of this kind of brewing include moka pots, pour over apparatuses, french presses, and anything else that allows you to heat the water before brewing.  Devices that will not work for this include the drip coffee maker and the percolator.
• Find a brewing method that is simple to clean up.  Cleaning up a messy coffee brewing device can be painstakingly time consuming and feel like a serious waste of good ‘coffee drinking’ time.  This is why I recommend moka pots like the Bialetti moka pot – you only have to rinse it out after use (does not need to be run through a dishwasher), and it only takes a few seconds.  Pour over devices are also great for this as you just need to rinse them out.  The french press is not so great as it takes a considerable amount more effort to clean it properly.

Moka Pot or Pour Over?

This part is truly up to the individual.  Moka pots and pour over apparatuses like the Hario v60 or the Chemex have very different brewing styles and meet somewhat different needs.  The moka pot can be great for brewing small portions of coffee that taste quite similar to espresso.  I use my stovetop espresso maker in the evenings to serve coffee with dessert (especially if I’m having guests).  It is a great way to entertain guests and makes a phenomenal cup of coffee.

On the other hand, there are pour over apparatuses, my favorite being the Hario v60.  It’s a simple, ceramic cone that sits on top of a coffee mug.  You just set a filter inside it, put ground coffee in the filter, and pour hot water over the top – it produces a very strong cup of coffee but a cup that has no bitter qualities whatsoever.

The Decision is Up To You

Both of these coffee brewing devices are fantastically engineered and durable enough to last you many years.  They offer different styles of brewing and produce very different cups of coffee – but both are uniquely incredible.

I would recommend you get both – but if you don’t want to, just consider what you like in a cup of coffee and pick which ever one you’d prefer.