The research

Why you should trust us
Who this is for
How we picked and tested
Top pick: OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker
Top picks: Technivorm Moccamaster KBT and Technivorm Moccamaster KB
Other coffee makers worth considering
What about Bonavita?
The competition
Sources

Why you should trust us

I’m a staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team, as well as a cookbook author and avid home cook. I’ve also tested and written about knife sharpeners, immersion blenders, and more.

For this guide:

I’ve spent over 45 hours researching automatic drip coffee makers and testing 18 of them.
Over the years we’ve interviewed numerous coffee experts. And we’ve invited pros from either Counter Culture Coffee’s New York City team or Coffee Project New York’s Specialty Coffee Association–certified training center to participate in every major round of testing.
I built on the work of Marguerite Preston, senior editor overseeing Wirecutter’s kitchen team, who has edited all of our coffee coverage since 2017.
Cale Guthrie Weissman (a National Barista Championship finalist), Liz Clayton (an associate editor at the coffee news website Sprudge), and writer Alex Arpaia also contributed research, testing, and writing to past versions of this guide.
Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

Who this is for

If you regularly buy specialty coffee beans and want to be able to brew a large pot of very good coffee at the touch of a button, this is the guide for you.

Our picks cost between $200 to $350. But investing in a machine that will bring out the nuances of those high-quality beans—to yield a balanced, café-quality pot—is worth the price.

The machines covered here are, in our experience, more reliable, durable, and consistent than cheaper brewers, and they’re a good investment for people who love coffee.

If you want something less expensive that will just get the job done, we also have a guide to the best budget coffee makers.

If you want the absolute best cup of coffee, consider a pour-over dripper, which gives you the most control over the brewing process. But the trade-off with pour-over is convenience: Making a good pour-over requires some technique, and with most pour-over drippers, you can brew only one cup at a time.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

How we picked and tested

We focused primarily on machines certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) to meet its standards (PDF). The SCA doesn’t assess every machine on the market—manufacturers must submit machines for consideration, with an application fee. But focusing on SCA-certified machines allowed us to be fairly certain that the models we tested met these baseline criteria, which are crucial to brewing good coffee:

Brews with water around 200 °F: This helps to extract the best flavor from coffee (the SCA specifies between 197.6 °F and 204.8 °F). Cooler water results in a weak, flat-tasting brew, while boiling water can bring out unpleasant flavors.
Brews evenly: We looked for models that saturate all the grounds in the brew basket with hot water in the first minute, to produce a balanced, full-bodied pot of coffee every time.

Matt Banbury watches a spray head in action while testing at Counter Culture Coffee’s training lab in New York City. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

Beyond those brewing fundamentals, the things that separate a good coffee maker from a great one are all about how it feels to use:

Brews quickly: We chose models that produce a full pot in under eight minutes.
Clear controls: These make it possible for a groggy person or a houseguest to brew a pot of coffee without confusion. We looked for machines with minimal settings and clear interfaces.
A thermal carafe, or a finely tuned hot plate: An insulated stainless steel carafe will keep your coffee warm for hours without having much effect on its flavor, and it doesn’t break easily. Glass carafes typically sit on a hot plate that can make your coffee taste burnt after an hour or so, and they can shatter and need replacing. That said, certain brands (like Technivorm) design hot plates that hold your coffee at an optimal 175 °F to185 °F, keeping your coffee warm without scorching it. We’re keeping an eye out for other coffeemakers with stable, just-right hot-plate temperatures.
Easy maintenance: This is important, since cleaning and descaling your coffee maker regularly is key to ensuring that your pricey machine stays in working order as long as possible. The best models have dishwasher-safe parts, an alert to remind you to descale, and a solid warranty.
Bonus features: A schedule-ahead brew timer, flavor-enhancing bloom feature, and single-serve function add versatility to a well-designed machine.

Most of the brewers we tested advertise a capacity between eight and ten cups of coffee. But an important note: In the world of coffee-brewing gear, a cup is typically defined as 4 to 5 ounces. The average mug holds between 10 and 16 ounces. So the brewers we recommend will likely yield four or five servings, depending on the size of your pour.

Though our exact testing procedure has evolved since 2014 (when we started covering coffee makers), we’ve always focused on comparing taste and usability.

To help us assess the flavor of coffee from each machine, we enlisted coffee professionals (most recently Kaleena Teoh, co-founder of Coffee Project New York) to taste alongside us. In these tastings, we always tried to brew the best pot possible, making adjustments to our grind size or coffee-to-water ratio as needed.

A person holding two different coffee filter baskets, one with a flat bottom (right) and one with a cone shape (left). — The machines we tested used either #4 cone-shaped filters (left) or standard flat-bottom filters (right). Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

To judge consistency and usability, we brewed multiple pots with every machine, using generic paper filters and a good-quality medium-roast blend. We brewed using the coffee-to-water ratio suggested by the manual.

While brewing, we used an instant-read thermometer to periodically measure the temperature of the brew bed and looked for a stable temperature of around 200 °F. We also measured the temperature of the coffee immediately after brewing a full pot. Then we poured off half the pot (to simulate serving a couple cups of coffee), and let each carafe sit with the lid on for four hours, measuring the temperature of the coffee every hour to see how much it cooled.

Top pick: OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker

The OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker, an also great option for the best drip coffee maker. — Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

Stylish from top to bottom, though tall and difficult to fit under some kitchen cabinets, the OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker comes with a number of convenient features. The auto-brew function is the most important of those features: It lets you program the brewer to make coffee before you wake up.

It makes good coffee, quickly. Coffee brewed in this machine is pleasant, though not as nuanced compared with the Moccamaster. And the OXO 9-Cup brewed a full pot in just under 8 minutes.

It has many helpful automated functions. Every brew starts with automatic pre-infusion (aka blooming) which briefly wets the coffee grounds before brewing to prepare them for better extraction. With the Moccamaster KBT, you have to physically close and open the brewing basket as your pot brews to achieve pre-infusion.

For smaller amounts of coffee, the OXO 9-Cup also adjusts the pre-infusion and overall brewing time (you have to select between brewing a two- to four-cup pot or a five- to nine-cup pot). We found this helped the OXO 9-Cup make a stronger-tasting partial pot of coffee than some other machines we tested.

This machine can also detect when you remove the carafe to pour yourself a cup before the machine has finished brewing. A mechanism in the bottom of the filter basket springs shut to stop the flow of coffee from the machine, and the machine also pauses brewing for up to 60 seconds. And if you forget to replace the carafe, the machine will cancel the brewing cycle so you don’t end up with a mess.

Don’t worry about positioning the carafe incorrectly: A red carafe symbol will appear on the display to tell you it’s out of place.

A person setting the dial on their OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker to two-to-four cups of coffee. — The OXO 9-Cup machine’s digital interface is sleek and easy to use, once you get the hang of the single-button system. Here the machine is set to brew two to four cups. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

It has a clock and a handy auto-brew function. You can set the machine to auto-brew at your desired time—say, right before you wake up. For those who find mornings to be a scramble, this feature makes the OXO 9-Cup more convenient to use.

A chart showing the heating times of four different coffee makers. — The results of our 2023 heat-retention tests for our five finalists show how well each carafe kept our coffee warm.

The carafe does a good job of retaining heat. Although the coffee started out cooler than brews from the Moccamaster KBT, it was hotter after four hours sitting in the carafe. And even with the lid off, the OXO 9-Cup’s carafe is easier to pour from than many others we tested.

It’s generally easy to take care of. Aside from the carafe, all of the removable plastic parts are dishwasher safe (top rack only). After every 90 brews, a little red light comes on to remind you to descale the machine (you can still use the brewer when the light is on).

You can get a pretty good grip on the carafe’s screw-off lid. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

OXO offers a two-year warranty, and it has a reputation for excellent customer service. All of the Wirecutter staffers who’ve taken advantage of the coverage have found OXO to be helpful and responsive (sometimes sending replacement parts even after the warranty has expired).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

In general, the controls aren’t immediately intuitive. You have to press the button or start twisting the dial to switch from the digital clock to the brewing options (these display as either “2-4” or “5-9,” in reference to the number of cups you’re planning to brew). Then you have to press the button again to start brewing. Also, the dial-controlled digital display does not clearly show how to program the auto-brew function (though the manual does clearly explain how).

The machine doesn’t make any audible signals when it’s finished brewing. But the display does show you how long it’s been since the coffee was made—up to 60 minutes after brewing.

The carafe has a narrow opening, so you need a bottle brush to clean inside. The carafe lid’s hollow interior tends to retain a little coffee, and it dribbles out when you set the lid down on the counter. Some of that coffee also builds up as gunk, which is tough to clean without the help of a pipe cleaner.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Top picks: Technivorm Moccamaster KBT and Technivorm Moccamaster KB

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBT, and also great pick for the best drip coffee maker. — Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

Technivorm brewers have legions of devoted fans because of their reputation for simplicity, longevity, and making a great cup of coffee. In the past, we’ve preferred the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT for its thermal carafe, which retains heat well and is more durable. But among coffee makers with glass carafes, the Technivorm Moccamaster KB stands out, with a hot plate that keeps an impressively stable temperature and doesn’t burn your coffee—so we’ve added it as a pick. Both models feature a generous 40-ounce capacity and offer some manual control over the brewing process by allowing you to open or close the filter basket.

They’re pricier than our other top pick, but they make excellent coffee and have a long, five-year warranty and a history of durability.

They make a terrific cup of coffee. The Moccamaster KBT and KB produced well-rounded, nuanced, high-quality cups. The KBT made and kept the coffee very hot, a close second to the OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker. The KB kept the pot warm for even longer because of its hot plate, and unlike many glass carafes with hot plates, it did not overcook the coffee or damage its flavor.

They brew quickly. Both models turned out a full pot of coffee in just seven minutes.

Despite the bare-bones interface, you get a little more control over brewing. They operate with just a simple on/off switch, which takes care of brewing and descaling.

Turning the machine on is all you need to do to brew a pot of coffee, but if you like to experiment with brewing parameters, you can also flip the switch on the brew basket, which allows you to open and close the drainage hole manually.

Controls on the Moccamaster KBT consist of little more than an on/off switch. The light on the right indicates when the carafe is fully in place. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

By switching the brew basket to the closed position for a short period at the start of brewing, you can control how long your coffee blooms (or is saturated with water) before draining into the pot. (In our tests, we found closing the basket for 30 seconds yielded good results.) Just remember to open it again, since nothing stops the machine from overflowing if you don’t.

When you want to make a smaller pot of coffee, you can close the drip basket halfway, which allows for slower brewing and more-consistent flavor.

And though the machine lacks a preset one-cup function like the OXO Brew 8- or 12-Cup Coffee Makers, you can achieve similar results using the manual switch. We’ve produced well-extracted brews with as little as 8 ounces of water by closing the switch completely for a couple of minutes then releasing, mimicking a Clever dripper.

After the Moccamaster KBT finishes brewing, you can close the switch when you remove the carafe to prevent extraneous dripping, a small annoyance we experienced with machines that lack a stop-drip mechanism.

Quite a few pieces of the brewer are removable and can go in the dishwasher. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

The Moccamaster machines are beautifully designed—tall with a European sensibility. Many parts are detachable and top-rack dishwasher safe. You can easily reach into the water tank for cleaning. And the thermal carafe’s lid is easier to screw on and off than the one on our top pick.

But the plastic base that sits under the KBT carafe is flimsy and falls off whenever the machine is moved (you could do without it if you don’t mind a couple drips on your counter). The narrow mouth of the carafe also requires a bottle brush for hand-cleaning.

Many people fall in love with the colors available in Moccamaster’s KBGV Select line, but unfortunately the KBT only comes in silver, black, gray, and white, while the KB model only comes in silver. The KBGV Select is a great machine too, so if you’re drawn to the colors, you likely won’t be disappointed. However, the KBGV costs about $30 more than the KB, and its brewing basket lacks the manual drip-stop mechanism.

The screw-on lid of the carafe has two tabs that help you get a grip. Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter

The warranty is impressive. With a five-year guarantee behind them, the Moccamaster models have the longest warranty of any machine we tested. And anecdotally, Technivorm brewers have a reputation for lasting a long time (though any brewer requires regular descaling and proper maintenance to stay in working order).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The bare-bones design has some drawbacks. The Moccamaster machines don’t have a clock, a descaling reminder, or an indication—either a beep or a light—of when the machine is finished brewing, which are all features the OXO 9-Cup includes.

They are pricier than our top pick from OXO. Refurbished models are available at a discount on the manufacturer’s website, however.

Other coffee makers worth considering

If you are brewing for a crowd (and also want to brew single cups): The coffee produced by the OXO Brew 12-Cup Coffee Maker with Podless Single-Serve Function performed better in taste tests than coffee from the OXO Brew 9-Cup or 8-Cup Coffee Makers. This brewer also combines some of the best features of those other OXO models: It can brew a single cup directly into a mug, it has an auto-brew function, and the clear digital interface is easier to navigate than the one on the OXO 9-Cup. However, this machine does take a long time to brew a full pot (over 11 minutes), and it costs about $100 more than the OXO 9-Cup or 8-Cup, with the same two-year warranty..

If you want a machine that’s fast, and can brew single cups: Consider the OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker. It brewed a well-rounded cup of coffee and was faster than any of our picks, making a full pot in just under six minutes. When brewing directly into a mug, the results are as good as a pour-over (though you have to use a different filter basket and special paper filters to do so). Plus, the OXO 8-Cup’s self-explanatory four-button interface is easy to figure out. Without an auto-brew function, it lacks some of the convenience of the OXO 9-Cup, but it might be a good choice if you often just want to brew a cup or two, yet still want the option to make coffee for a crowd.

If you enjoy tinkering with brew settings: The Fellow Aiden Precision Coffeemaker has a modern, high-tech design, streamlined controls, and the ability to brew ahead. The machine offers advanced settings for temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, and bloom and pulse variations so you can dial in the brew that is best for you. It even has an app for remote use and keeping the brewer technologically up-to-date.

But it took an agonizing 10 minutes 15 seconds to brew a full pot, the carafe seemed to lose heat more quickly than many of the other brands we tested, and a full carafe is prone to spilling when poured. Though its single-serve feature and advanced settings produced a superior cup, the automatic brew setting produced flat or inconsistent results. Aiden’s brew-ahead function was also a bit glitchy, and its removable water reservoir was difficult to clean because of its flip top and handle, both of which prevent you from really getting inside the tank.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

What about Bonavita?

We loved the convenient features, reliable performance, and handsome design of the Bonavita Enthusiast 8-Cup Drip Coffee Brewer with Thermal Carafe, our previous top pick. It has a compact, streamlined design and simple functions that require just the press of a button. It made better coffee—highly nuanced and well balanced—than most models we tested. And its removable water tank allows for easy filling and cleaning.

But, due to a change in distribution which caused a disruption in availability and reports that customer service was no longer honoring the warranty, we removed the Enthusiast as our top pick in mid-2024.

As of the end of 2024, a new supply of Enthusiasts is available, but there are still some issues on the customer service end. Some user manuals still feature outdated information for customer service contact. When we called the new, company-verified toll-free number (888) 856-1789, we weren’t able to reach anyone directly, so we left a message. We did receive an email response after reaching out to support@bonavitabrand.com, and we got a call back from the company-verified number after several days.

A website and online shop at www.bonavitabrand.co is still under development. We will continue to test the new crop of Bonavita brewers and keep an eye on their availability and customer service.

The competition

This is not a comprehensive list of all the machines we’ve considered. It includes models we’ve tested that are still available.

We liked the look of the stainless steel, red-knobbed Wolf Gourmet Programmable 10-Cup, and its ability to brew a 10-cup pot in a quick six minutes. It turned out a creamy, nuanced cup, and the thermal carafe kept coffee hot for hours. We also were impressed by its intuitive features: easy manual and brew-ahead modes, an auto-pause feature that allows you to remove the carafe and pour a cup while still brewing, an audible alert to signal when it’s finished, and automatic shutoff. We were especially impressed by the Accu-brew mode, where you can fiddle with the strength (mild to bold) and number of cups. A built-in digital scale alerts you to add more (or less) coffee or water, depending on your selection. It also comes with a five-year warranty. Nonetheless, we don’t think the machine is worth $200 to $300 more than our top picks.

The sleekly designed Balmuda The Brew made a very good cup of coffee. However, it brews only 12 ounces in total, just barely two cups, which is too little to justify this model’s hefty $700 price. The machine also did not keep the coffee warm.

When we saw the SimplyGoodCoffee brewer promising to be a Moccamaster alternative for less than half the cost, we were intrigued. And on the surface, it appears comparable to the Technivorm Moccamaster KB, with a glass carafe and very similar design. But in our taste tests, we found that a cup from the SimplyGoodCoffee machine was just that—simply good, a little flat, and not very nuanced, while the Moccamaster KB’s brew was consistently bright and complex, with a jewel-like clarity. The fact that the Moccamaster uses a copper heating element, while SimplyGoodCoffee uses aluminum, likely accounts for the differences in the flavor—and the price. If you don’t need the absolute best cup of coffee, the SimplyGoodCoffee makes a decent cup at a very good price (though our OXO pick offers better coffee, more features, and a thermal carafe for not a ton more). But after a decade of testing the Moccamaster, we can vouch for its quality and longevity as an investment, and we would encourage folks who don’t want to spend as much to consider buying it used or refurbished.

The beautiful design of the stainless steel Aarke Coffee System makes it a showpiece. It’s speedy, brewing a full carafe in six minutes, and the machine is extremely easy to use—with just one button (one push for brewing, two pushes for blooming and brewing, three pushes for cleaning). We found the flavor of the coffee too one-note and a tad watery, however. It comes with a glass carafe, and a thermal carafe can be ordered separately for about $100—an extra cost on an already-pricey machine.

With a multitude of brew settings, the Breville Precision Brewer Thermal has a lot to offer to craft-coffee lovers. You can adjust almost everything, from pre-infusion/bloom duration to water temperature to flow rate. But we found it tough to get going—it took us more than two hours to dial in a decent brew. For those who love to tinker or are particular about coffee, the time investment may be rewarding. But if you’re just looking to make a good pot of coffee, the learning curve is needlessly steep.

There is a lot to like about the GE Café Specialty Drip Coffee Maker: It has settings for varying strengths and temperatures, an auto-brew function, and a handsome design, and it’s the only machine we tested that can pair with Wi-Fi so that you can control it with an app. It also brewed quickly and quietly. However, despite fiddling with different settings, we failed to brew a good pot of coffee, turning out an acrid, one-dimensional brew each time.

The Bunn Speed Brew was extremely complicated to understand, from set-up to brewing. It requires 15 minutes to initially heat up and brews a pot in 4 minutes thereafter only if the coffeemaker is left on with the water tank full at all times. Worse, it did not produce a good cup of coffee.

Despite its pleasant design and functions such as a brew-ahead timer, the Zwilling Enfinigy Drip Coffee Maker took nearly 11 minutes to brew and produced coffee with an unpleasantly metallic aftertaste.

The Ratio Coffee Series 2 Six Coffee Maker was awkward to use, primarily because of its stacked carafe and basket. The basket comes with a drip tray to “catch” drips after removing the basket from the brewer. Not only do you have to act quickly to prevent a mess, the tray is one more piece to clean. It also lacks a brew-through lid, which causes the coffee to cool post-brewing if you don’t screw the carafe lid on immediately.

The Cuisinart Pureprecision 8 Cup Pour-Over Coffee Brewer with Thermal Carafe has a compact footprint and is easy to use, but we found the flavor of the coffee to be relatively one-dimensional.

For such a clunky machine, the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker made surprisingly good coffee. But its extra features (a watery single-cup setting and a milk-frothing wand) don’t add a lot of value, and it’s now available only with a glass carafe, which we don’t recommend.

The Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker EC-YTC100 brewed coffee at a glacial pace, taking more than 15 minutes to make a full pot. We also thought the coffee tasted weak.

The Brim 8 Cup Pour Over Coffee Maker is expensive for what it offers. It’s not programmable, and it has a large gap between the showerhead and the filter basket, which allows a lot of heat to escape during brewing. The Chemex-shaped carafe can be difficult to grip with one hand. And because this model is glass and lacks a lid, your coffee will cool quickly (the hot plate shuts off after 30 minutes).

The Braun 10-Cup MultiServe Coffee Machine is the worst coffee maker we’ve tested. It consistently brewed coffee that tasted awful—like burnt gas-station coffee.

This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Sources

Dr. William Ristenpart, director at UC Davis Coffee Center, phone interview, August 29, 2023
Kaleena Teoh, co-founder and director of education at Coffee Project New York, phone interview, August 30, 2023
Chi Sum Ngai, CQI Arabica Q Grader and founder of Coffee Project New York, in-person interview, February 12, 2020
Matt Banbury, regional salesperson at Counter Culture Coffee, in-person interview, January 24, 2018
Ryan Ludwig, consumer educator at Counter Culture Coffee, in-person interview, January 24, 2018
Charles Babinski, co-owner of G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger, phone interview, February 16, 2018

machine articles