Drip Coffee Brewers/High-End Drip Brewers
Drip machines are an easy way to get into brewing better coffee. They balance flexibility and control over brewing and leaving a fair amount of labor to the machine. Your job will generally to put a filter, ground coffee, and an appropriate amount of water in the machine. At the bottom of the water tank, there is a heating element that will heat up the water and force it through a tube to a shower head above the grounds, where it will be distributed over the coffee bed. A hole in the basket that holds the filter will allow coffee to drip down into a carafe. Carafes are either insulated metal, which will keep the coffee hot, or glass, which will rely on a hot plate which is warmed by the same heating element that heated up the water. The hot plate can fairly quickly cook the coffee to an unpleasant degree, so it is not recommended to leave your precious coffee there with the heating element on for more than a few minutes. Insulated carafes are generally a better option, but many of them are not easy to clean or pour out of (At least some of the coffee may be left behind.).
Look for features that may be helpful to you, such as a timer to brew at a preset time, an optional reusable filter, and the carafe set-up that you prefer.
One feature I really like is the ability to remove the carafe mid-brew and stop the flow of coffee out of the brew basket. Water continues to flow into the brew basket, so you have to return the carafe within a minute or so. This is usually called something like “Sneak a Cup” or something like that, depending on the brand. In general, the idea is that if you are impatient, you don’t have to wait for the whole brew to finish before you pour yourself a mug. Removing the carafe closes a valve on the bottom of the basket so that more coffee can’t come through.
I don’t really recommend using this feature for its intended purpose, as good coffee is the sum of all phases of extraction added together. Instead, you can use this feature to slow down the brew and make it more of an immersion method, which will improve your coffee if you have water that isn’t hot enough or a grinder that does not produce very even grounds. In fact, one of my first forays into better coffee making featured the basket from my Mr. Coffee perched on top of my french press, wherein I would make an immersion brew with water off the stove and then drain it at the end (This was the tricky part, as the lever on the bottom of the basket would get quite hot!). In effect, I was making a proto-Clever Dripper, even though I had no idea what I was doing!
Entry-level Drip Coffee Machine Recommendations:
Black and Decker 12 Cup - Here is a solid basic choice in a drip machine. It is a glass carafe model, is programmable, and will stop the flow of coffee if you remove the carafe.
Mr. Coffee Thermal Carafe Brewer - A good choice for a thermal carafe brewer. This one has full programming and boasts a higher brew temperature than other machines (205 degrees).
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High-End Drip Machines
Beyond the entry level, there are a number of very good drip machines that improve extraction, and in some ways mimic the customization of a pour-over. For example, many machines will pause to let the coffee bloom, and will allow you to select a temperature for brewing. Some will even allow you to program out pours of various amounts to allow you to experiment with different brewing recipes. Overall, the biggest reason to buy a better machine is just overall quality, such as better heating elements and greater durability.
High-end Drip Machine Recommendations:
Bonavita BV1900TS - Very simple, but very effective. Makes great coffee and only has one button.
Breville Precision Brewer - This is one of the most customizable, flexible brewers on the market. It really works hard to mimic a pour-over, letting you customize and program a personal recipe by bloom time, and water temperature. Cool stuff, and gets hot enough for great brewing, though it is not as good for small batches.
Technivorm Moccamaster - This is a truly great, simple brewer, with great manufacturing and materials. People keep these brewers for 20 years or more. They don’t have an amazing showerhead, but they are known for heating extremely well and making great coffee.
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