Coffee Makers for Home

There are two main considerations when buying a coffee maker for your home: type of brewer and features.

You can pay very little money and get a drip coffee maker for your home that works perfectly fine, as they all work basically the same - they pour hot water over coffee grounds and then filter the coffee into a decanter of some sort. On the other hand, it doesn't cost too much more to get a home coffee maker with lots of extra features that will last for many years to come. Prices generally run the gamut from a $29.95 special on up to over $200.

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Choosing the type of Brewer - Drip, Pod or Thermal Carafe - or Chemex?

The Drip Brewer is the old stand-by - pour the water in the top and the coffee is served up in a glass decanter that site on a warmer. The decanter sits on a warmer that keeps it warm. Consider a brewer with an auto-shut-off if you are worried about leaving the warmer on.

The Thermal Carafe Brewer brews into a thermal carafe instead of a decanter. There is no need for a warmer, as the thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm and preserves the flavor and aroma for hours. Another advantage to the thermal carafes is that they do not break as easily as glass decanters. Variations on thermal carafe models include thermal mugs and double thermal carafes.

The Pod Brewer is the hot new entry in coffee brewing. For each cup you brew, you insert a prepackaged coffee pod into the brewer. The machine brews the cup, then you dispose of the pod. There is no mess because the coffee comes in the filtered pod and is thrown away in the filtered pod. The negative is that the pods cost a bit more than regular coffee and filters, plus, you can only brew one cup at a time.

The Chemex hourglass brewers are about as basic as brewing coffee gets - just insert a filter into the skinniest part of the hourglass, fill with coffee, pour in some hot water. It does require that you heat the water on the stove, and then maybe keeping the brewed coffee warm by keeping it in an airpot or carafe. The advantage of the Chemex brewer is that the hot water and coffee only touch inert surfaces, so no foreign tastes are imparted into the coffee.

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Features that may be included on more expensive brewers include a clock/timer to enable programmable brewing times, water filtration, stop-and-serve and auto shut-off. Also, some brewers may be combination machines that include an espresso maker or a grinder. Here are some options to consider:

Programmable - you can program the machine to have the coffee brewed before you walk into the kitchen.

Volume: Options range from brewing on a per cup basis to brewing into a 12-cup carafe.

Speed: Bunn coffee makers feature a hot water reservoir that enables the machine to brew a pot of coffee in 3 minutes.

Water Filtration: greatly reduced mineral build-up in the water reservoir.

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