If you are asking about a coffee maker, I finally found my favorite after years of trial and error. I'm pretty particular about coffee and I make freshly ground coffee every morning. The Technivorm Moccamaster is my go-to machine and well worth the rather hefty price tag. I can't say whether it is the best built, but I can say it delivers great coffee (assuming you start with good beans) every time.

Depends on how automatic you want it. We have a simple Aeropress maker that makes 3 mugs of coffee in very short order. But we have to supply the hot water and ground coffee. I looks like a giant syringe with a filter in the bottom and you must add grounds then hot water and stir for 10 seconds and press the coffee through the filter. All manual. Cost: 30 bucks. Coffee is as good as it gets.

hank-you for your replies. I was thinking along the lines of the Wolf or Meile built in systems. We are building a new kitchen and are considering having a good coffee machine to be built in.

Thank-you for your replies. I was thinking along the lines of the Wolf or Meile built in systems. We are building a new kitchen and are considering having a good coffee machine to be built in.

You will get a lot of feedback here. Many own the Miele and can tell you its pros and cons. I decided built in wasn't for me personally (cost and current cabinetry) and own a Jura.

I wouldn't personally get a builtin - we don't drink enough coffee to warrant it (it would get less use than the microwaves does), but if you decide against the builtin, friends have the Moccamaster referred to above, and they are coffee snobs and love it.

Miele makes an excellent one. The Wolf is a dressed up DeLonghi. The build quality on our floor model leaves a LOT to be desired. We have had ok luck with the Bosch/Thermador variants. But I think in terms of offerings and ease of us (because its plumbed) Miele wins that one pretty hands down...UNLESS you have the budget for the TopBrewer Pro...if you dont look I encourage you to look it up!

Top Brewer Pro

We were faced with the same decision last year. Ultimately the decision was to go with a french press for regular coffee and to get a good quality espresso maker when we redo the office next year. Not sure if we'll get a plumbed-in model or something standalone or not, to be honest.

It really depends on your how you consume your coffee. If your a 1 or 2 cup a day person and like premium coffee, I'd avoid a super automatic. Go with one of the better pour overs or FP. If you like premium coffer prepared in a 'commercial process', have a big budget, entertain coffee drinkers (bling and user control) and have sporadic coffee urges then a hi-end built in would probably work for you. Just be sure your not too far from a good repair guy.

If your like us and appreciate a great cup once in a while but want a good cup all the time, anytime we chose a Brew Express and are quite pleased. We have a press we pull out on weekends or when 'coffee snobs' (not derogatory) come by but we drink coffee all day everyday and always have a pot on. The BE is plumbed in which avoids the mess and hassle of transporting water, has a thermal carafe so no 'burnt' coffee. can brew from 1-10 cups and do hot water from single cup to full pot and is always ready to brew. It's nothing fancy, it's programmable so I have hot coffee when I get up. I doesn't hold beans, have a grinder or dispense coffee into the basket. You still have to manually fill and empty the grounds like counter top pour overs. Ours just quit one morning about 2 months out of warranty, called BE, had a box shipped to us overnight and the fixed unit back in a week, no charge, excellent CS.

It's not for everyone but those who like well prepared hot coffee w/out the clutter and hassle of a counter top unit it's a good choice. Cost is very reasonable also. While searching I was looking at the hi-end built ins for our new build, seems reliability is an issue, most are manufactured by the same company (sort of like MW's), service is a problem in my area and while reading the coffee blogs by the 'snobs' I determined no SA unit would be that great. I felt it was better not to take a chance on a $3k built in. While reading I came across a review by a snob who begrudgingly admitted the BE made a 'decent' cup of coffee, one of his criteria was that it brew at the correct temp, I think it's like 205 degrees which the BE unit does. We like it and after 2 years if this one completely failed we'd replace it w/another, already more than gotten out $$ out of it. Previously we were replacing our Bunn units every 3 years or so anyway.

Service availability is key. I have a built in Italian made lever espresso machine that is currently not in service. It keeps blowing stats, gaskets, pumps, etc. Parts are easily available, but not service. Last time I sent it back to Chris' Coffee who I bought it from, came back working fine but blew another pressurestat shortly there after. I finally have just given up and now use French Press or Moka Pot.

Our daily machine is a Technivorm Grand, which is their 64oz brewer. Nothing I've found matches the brew quality at that capacity. I agree with above posters - select good beans, a good grinder (not a blade chopper), and grind daily. I roast my own beans but you don't need to take it that far.

My favorite brew method is vacuum brewing, but we switched to the Technivorm (40oz) when my Bodum electric vacuum brewer died, and stovetop brewing in my glass vacuum pot is not practical on a daily basis. Jumped to the 64oz Technivorm Grand when they came out with that and started bringing coffee to work instead of buying, and we pack the 40oz Tech on vacation - these things last for ever. The forthcoming KitchenAid glass electric vacuum brewer is something I'd suggest taking a look however, if you like a great, rich coffee and don't mind a bit extra cleanup.