You need separate appliances. Get a coffee maker with a timer and you won't need the crappy pod types. The coffee will be ready when they get up. And get an induction steel disc so that your aluminum espresso maker can work on induction. It's not as efficient, but almost any espresso maker you can buy is much worse than the simple little Italian stovetop appliance.

After 30 or so years of daily use, our Black & Decker Spacemaker stopped working. After researching a replacement coffeemaker, I decided to get a used Spacemaker. Compared to our old one, it looks hardly used. Works great and has a timer. I was amazed that there are still new, in the box, Spacemakers available out there. As I remember, they run about $275.

Here is Part of a write up about my Brew Express BEC-110BS 10 cup that I was planning to include in my reveal...when I get to it. This maker also can brew directlyinto a single cup, and you can adjust the cup size too. It isplumbed, so you dont have to fill with water, and it brews very quickly.

We love this coffee maker! Because the cabinets were set at only 18" above counters (in spite of my repeated instructions that they be set at 20", more details on that in the section called GC's biggest mistake), I decided to plumb in the water line so we don't have to pull the coffee maker out to fill it. (We used to fill the old one with the separate sprayer, and didn't have to pull coffee maker out to do this because the cabinets were a full 24" above the counter!, but we got rid of separate sprayer with the new faucet.) Also, with the change from laminate to marble, sliding the coffee maker back and forth is much louder, and I didn't want to worry about damaging my marble.

It brews into a thermal SS carafe, so no hot plate to worry about leaving on. I insist on really hot (and strong) coffee, so I was worried that it wouldn't be hot enough or stay hot long enough. When I make it, I rinse the pot out with hot water, and let the hot water sit in the carafe while I grind the coffee beans. DH does not take this step, and the coffee is still plenty hot. DH makes the coffee during the week, I do it on the weekends. I also always preheat my mug with hot water. Strength. I like it strong. We did a temporary setup with the water line for a few days until I was sure it made the coffee strong enough. Otherwise it was going back. Luckily it does, so we (me actually!) ran the water line up behind the DW, ran it through the wall for only about 8" and brought it out behind the coffee maker.

For quick cups of coffee, my family loves the aeropress. Its very small, and makes remarkably good coffee, one cup at a time. Its a small plastic thing that wears out after a couple years of hard use, but at only $25 (cheaper with a bed bath and beyond coupon), its fairly painless to replace.

For us, we use both the aeropress and for those times a whole pot is needed, we use a chemex (manual filtered coffee in a glass coffee maker).

Here is a link that might be useful: aeropress tutorial

The absolute best coffee maker I've ever used belongs to a client of mine. It was such a great coffee maker, I was going to get one for myself, so when I got home, I looked it up.

It's a Juraâ¦and costs @ $1,000! So that ended that little dream.

BUT, if you have the $, it's actually worth buying, IMO. It makes GREAT coffee, from beans, individual cupsâ¦no pods needed (more trash and bad for the environment). Some come with the ability to make espresso as well.

My ultimate coffee maker is the Technivorm Moccamaster. We've had ours for 5 years. Makes a killer cup of drip coffee. It brings water to the correct temp for brewing. It's made in Denmark and is a beautiful thing, IMHO. It's $300. No affiliation with the product other than I wouldn't change it for anything.

I'd also check with seattlecoffeegear.com for other types of coffee products. They know their stuff. (Also no affiliation)

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/technivorm-moccamaster-kbt741-black-or-polished-silver

I'll second ChristyMcK's endorsement of the Technivorm. I have had mine for several years and we love the coffee. Since we both drink coffee in the morning and I nurse cups during the day, I make the full 10 cup amount each morning and often throw away a couple of cups the next morning.

That makes for VERY cheap coffee compared to the per cup price on a Keurig.

Unless you take into account that I have begun to roast my own own coffee beans. Now that toy (I started with a popcorn popper and graduated upwards!) cost even more than the Technivorm. BUT the per-cup cost of the coffee beans I roast is SO much less than when I buy them pre-roasted. And they are SO much better.

Soooo. Be careful. You are making your first steps onto a slippery road. . . . to coffee bliss.

A coffeemaker makes coffee, depending how many scoops and water you put in. One cup? 12 cups? Forget timers and having to fiddle around at night. Mine is done before I get out of the potty.Quite a few years old, it cost $10. If you're a slow drinker, make the pot, then pour it into one of the insulated servers and unplug the maker. It will still be hot for supper.

OOTM_Mom,

I like the idea of running a water line as in the Brew Express. My kitchen is already done. How would I run a line? My fridge is built-in, it's got cabinetry around it. I guess a hole could be cut, but then I'd have to add a filter.

Above the sink and DW, there's backsplash and granite of course. Do you have a hole in your backsplash, granite? I do have a filter faucet at the sink. I guess I could utilize that filter and direct the line to the coffee maker from there. Hmmm, lots to think about. I'll post in the Kitchens forum to ask about how I could install this since all the remodeling is finished at this point.

My line goes from sink cabinet to DW opening (through holes already there for DW stuff) then through wall behind DW, up, and back out at coffe maker. I ran it before BS was installed. There is a small hole with a grommet thingy where it comes through the BS.

Good luck!

The other coffee maker that gets the temp right is the Bonavita, Similar to the Technivorm, but not built as sturdy, but only about $160. Right now I'm using the low tech Clever Coffee Maker, only about $20, makes one big mug of coffee, but it's a great one.

Don't ask me where but I know I've seen a coffee maker that has both a glass carafe and a pod in the same machine, pot on one side and pod device on the other.

Weedmeister,

I think that's a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew. I looked at it. It's only about $90. I might end up getting that but this Brew Express intrigues me.

Weedmeister,

I think that's a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew. I looked at it. It's only about $90. I might end up getting that but this Brew Express intrigues me.

The Technivorm is awesome, but pretty pricey. I have the Cuisinart Brew Central. It's not as impressive as the Technivorm but far more affordable.

If I couldn't afford the Technivorm, I'd get the Bonavita since bringing the water to the correct temperature is so important to creating an ideal cup of coffee, IMHO. My understanding is that the Bonavita is made in China and it is certainly not a pretty as the Technivorm (made in Denmark) but it would get you closer to a great cup of jo. I think the Bonavita coffeemaker is relatively new to the market so I don't know anything about it's longevity.

I realize the out of pocket is steep with the Technivorm, but if you don't buy coffee out and get 5 years out of it like we have, it totally pays for its cost.

In some ways I like the design of the Bonavita better, the brew basket exits off to the side instead of right at the bottom like in the Technivorm, so it clogs up less. We've had issues with the Technivorm failing to drain and if you don't keep an eye on it, it's a huge mess. The Technivorm is a nice piece of industrial design though, even the cord is heavy duty.
I'm really loving the coffee from immersion vs drip lately though. I wish there was a version of the Clever that could make a whole pot.

jura capresso f7 if you can swing it. we had 17 for thanksgiving and it was great. i was sure we were going to need to break out the pot, but nope!

For a single cup use the device in the link below - greatest device ever invented for coffee. For a full pot I bought a Cuisinart that was highly rated on Amazon. I noticed two friends have the same one. Have been quite happy with it especially because it doesn't drip all over when you pour. Also bought an excellent Thermos brand carafe which we pour the coffee into as soon as it's done brewing. Stays hot and fresh for hours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Single cup drip device

Our 15-year-old Krups drip coffee maker with thermal carafe is starting to fail. (It doesn't always use all the water in the reservoir, and de-scaling with vinegar hasn't helped.) DH and I have been fine with the coffee from this Krups. (Not "foodies".) I make four cups from freshly ground beans for breakfast; no more coffee during the day.

Consumer Reports lists only five mid-price-range drip makers with thermal carafes that get water temps high enough for a good brew. Of the five, only the Capresso MT600 has no consumer complaints about drip-prone carafes.

The MT600 is about $140. I see Costco is selling a Capresso CM300 for $60.

Does anyone have input on the lower-price-point Capresso products?

Technivorms are made in Holland. Were I to abandon our two French press coffee makers, the Techivorm with the steel carafe is the one I would favor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Technivorm

I also would 2nd the Brew Express machine. Very convenient, plumbing eliminates a lot of the messiness, brews to the correct temp, no hot-plate, 10 cup or single cup, comes w/both baskets. I installed mined above the backsplash which at 1st I thought looked odd but it actually works well and leaves the counter uncluttered. It doesn't appear that OOTM_Mom installed hers into the wall, mine is, only sticks out a couple inches. We planned ours into our build so didn't need to retro fit it in. It would need to be placed near a water source or in a place that water could be run conveniently. The water connection is a quick connect so if you want to pull it out for any reason you just disconnect the coupler and the water won't flow past it.

I've used the Technivorm for a long time. It makes a pot very quickly. I use the smaller 8 cup model. But you can certianly set if for less. When I commute, I set it to make a smaller amount and pour directly into my travel mug.

We had, and loved, our Technivorm Moccamaster CD. Unfortunately its reliability was terrible. The rocker switches froze and the wires got so hot they burned through the insulation eventually causing the machine to quit. This happened twice, on the original 1.5 year old machine, then about a year after that on the replacement. We did a refurb swap two times, with both of those machines also quitting. That was the end of the road for us with Technivorm. It may have just been this particular model; other TV models seem to last much longer. We did French Press for about a year, and now we're using a Bunn Phase Brew (8 cup, thermal carafe, although I use the TV glass pot). The coffee's not quite as good as the TV but it'll do, and it was 1/3 the price.

Correct Mistman, mine is not installed in the wall. I was concerned about trying to replace it in a few years should it crap out. I havent had too many coffee makers last 5+ years, so I wasnt ready to commit my backsplash to the hole to house my coffemaker. Just keeping my options open. Call me a chicken! ;-)

Thank you all! I think my old Krups must have known I was worried about it. It hasn't failed to perform for the last few mornings. However...now I have some good ideas for backup when it does fail.

I know I am chiming in late here but you can always go the low tech way with a French press or two. Not only do they make great coffee, There is nothing to break, nothing to take up space on the counter, you can make additional pots if you need a lot, they go in the dishwasher, no descaling to worry about. To me they are the perfect complement to my Nespresso Pixie.

Personally, I have fought back against high tech in the kitchen in a couple of ways where I could. That's why I have a Blue Star range and grind my coffee beans with a manual burr grinder!

+1 on the Technivorm. Makes the best coffee of any maker I've owned. And it's beautiful and incredibly easy to clean. (I have the thermal carafe version.)