Coffee Maker Reviews | Review of Espresso Machines

Frequently referred to as one of the best coffee makers on the market by people who have enjoyed owning one, this tall drink of water (err, coffee? hot water??) comes from the Zojirushi company, makers of exceptional hot water pots and rice cookers. That fact alone is enough to ...

Chemistry class was always a favorite of min -- the tubes, beakers and flasks, the interesting experiments. I guess that's why I'm drawn to this unusual coffee making system by Bodum. Each time a pot is made, it's like a little laboratory in my kitchen. It is as much fun ...

The Gaggia Titanium Super Automatic Espresso Machine features a double boiler system to separate water supplies for brewing and steaming and fully programmable settings. Perfect espresso is the consistent result, with options for several brew times and varieties of product.

This beautiful machine is not difficult to comprehend. Internal sensors warn ...

The Krups XP1500 Coffee and Espresso Machine is a moderately priced combination coffeemaker that wants to please everyone but unfortunately ends up falling short in its coffeemaking abilities and convenience.

With the aim to produce an appliance that satisfies the coffee as well as the espresso drinker, Krups has come out with this ...

This sturdy and compact espresso maker from Cuisinart has all the features that make for a great coffee making appliance for your kitchen. The question is, does it provide enough features and convenience to compete with others in the price range?

The EM-100 Espresso maker is a pump-driven machine capable of coffee brewing ...

This programmable eight-cup Renaissance Drip Coffeemaker from Saeco uses a thermal stainless steel and carbon fiber carafe to keep coffee hot rather than a warming plate. Although that is energy efficient, and the unit shuts off after brewing, it can affect both temperature and flavor of your morning brew.

When ...

The ESAM3300 is known as a Super-Automatic for good reason. This style of machine is designed for absolute push-button convenience when preparing Italian coffee drinks.

Manufactured in Italy, this model features a burr grinder and will hold up to 7 oz. of coffee beans ready for automatic grinding right before the brewing ...

If you are looking for an efficient, quick way to heat water for coffee or tea without the potential hazards of boiling water on the stove, then an electric kettle is for you.

The Chef's Choice electric kettle has a 1.7 liter capacity, almost 2 quarts. There are smaller kettles on ...

Coffee is a religion. And for those of us who worship daily at the altar, the promise of better coffee and easier preparation will always get our attention. This espresso maker from Nespresso in Italy sounds like true coffee nirvana, albeit an expensive one. I mean, the machine is ...

Cuisinart's DCC-1100 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemake offers 24 hour programmability plus settings for 1 to 4 cups of brew. Programming and use is not self explanatory, however, and you'll find the manual essential until you're accustomed to the system.

The DCC-1100 does have water filtration and a warning light which flashes ...

Few brewing methods are easier than the percolating design of the Presto 12 Cup Coffee Pot. If it's been a few years since you've used one, you may need to relearn the old tricks that go along with it.

The Presto, like any percolator design, takes a little longer but does a ...

Simple and durable, the Original GRXB BUNN Coffeemaker makes coffee in three minutes and gets ready for more. Lack of computer control contributes to reliability, but there's no 24 hour automatic brewing option.

With the BUNN Original, you add water to the stainless steel reservoir tank, add finely ground coffee ...

Why consider a dispensing pot? Walk through your day and think about all of the times in your day hot water is called for. Hot cereal, coffee or tea at breakfast. Boiled eggs or soup at lunch. Hot drinks throughout the day. Instant noodle snacks. Water for boiling pasta, blanching vegetables. ...

A French press pot with a precise filtering mechanism and a great look, this polished stainless steel coffee maker by Bodum makes eight two-ounce espresso style cups of delicious hot brew. That's about four cups American style.

This much stainless steel, with a double walled thermos design, can take ...

With the capacity to make four two-ounce cups of rich espresso coffee, the Bialetti Brikka stovetop percolator is the tried and true coffee system of many European homes. Although it takes some tending, it yields an excellent brew.

Cooking with steam rather than a hot water drip means you have to be ...

There are no doubt as many methods of brewing coffee as there are coffee drink flavors. They all follow the same basic rules, however:

1. Grind roast coffee beans.
2. Boil water and add to ground beans.
3. Filter and drink resulting brew.

Since the basic process is such a simple one, folks are always ...

I have limited storage space in my kitchen affecting both my counters and cabinets. I need to combine wherever possible, or I'll soon be crowded out of the room. That's why I really like this combination. With all of the available choices in appliances in general, and coffeemakers in particular, ...

My family has an overwhelming need for hot water. Using the stove, the kettle gets filled, the burner heated ten times or more a day. With a whistling kettle, the charming sound can wear out its welcome quickly if you're busy and can't get right in to take it from the heat.

This is a brilliant ...

The Premier Airpot from Zojirushi has such an efficient design and high insulation rating that it can keep a pot of coffee or hot water for tea piping hot for 24 hours. Often used in fine coffee shops to dispense house brews, you can now get the same energy efficient convenience ...

This coffeemaker began with a reasonable idea: Move the appliance up and off the counter to make better use of limited space. Unfortunately, this version has too many problems to recommend as a solution to the lack of counter space.

Black & Decker has been making reliable and popular gadgets ...

Oh Senseo, why do you continue to taunt us with your promises of convenience and quality, while delivering just expensive, average coffee?

The Senseo Single-serve Coffeemaker from Phillips is designed exclusively for use with premade coffee pods in a variety of flavors. It will dispense a 4 or 8 oz. cup of ...

The venerable Mr. Coffee, not to be outdone by all these European upstarts, has added a coffee/espresso combo machine to their line of appliances. Trim and easy to use, but is it worth the money?

First the details. This unit is capable of brewing up to 8 cups of coffee on one ...

Each morning in our house, a distinct and welcoming noise issues from our kitchen. It is my signal to drag myself out of bed. It is the whir and crunch of my partner grinding fresh beans for coffee. That is a sound far more pleasant than the harsh demand of an alarm ...

It can be a challenge to find the best choice in a coffee. Flavor is a major part of the bargain, but it is only a part. Aroma, strength, and delicate notes must be considered. Equally important is price and availability. For some, the source of the beans, their sustainable ...

Back in the early '90s, we got our first espresso machine at a restaurant where I was working. It proved enormously popular, and soon we were in need of a sturdy surface to knock the portafilter on for quick release of used grounds. I fabricated something from a small steel ...

The coffee percolator was once ubiquitous to the home kitchen. This is where the term "coffeepot" originated after all. Long before the fancy drip coffeemakers with their timed brewing and goldtone filters were these iconic silver workhorses.

Many of us have fond memories of coffee bubbling away in the morning during our childhood ...

This espresso machine certainly looks to have all the features one desires for producing quality coffee drinks at home, and the sale price makes it a very attractive competitor to costlier appliances.

First of all, the XP4030 is manufactured by Krups, a leader in the field of coffee brewing devices for the kitchen. ...

The Spacemaker line of appliances from Black & Decker are meant to solve the problem of too little counter space by mounting under your cabinets. This presents some unique design and function challenges that have been addressed to varying degrees of success, depending on the appliance.

This model coffeemaker has the ...

The Old Dutch is a stainless steel Windsor kettle, styled after the English whistling kettles. Tea kettles basically boil water, but people can become very attached to their particular shape, design or individual whistle. They are often a functional ornamental item in the kitchen. To properly brew tea in an ...

Have you ever come home tired, sat down at the table, and wished you could have a butler appear at your elbow to take and prepare your drink order? This machine won't walk the cup to the table for you, but it will do almost everything else.

Braun addresses several common complaints ...

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been a fan and user of the Bodum coffee press for over fifteen years, ever since receiving one for a gift. Mine has accompanied me on camping trips and been packed in the suitcase for use in hotel rooms, along with a small ...

Call me old fashioned, but I like to return to the simple things, including in the kitchen. I associate the whistle of the tea kettle with my great grandmother. I enjoy taking the time to complete the ritual of preparing my cup of coffee or tea, laying out the spoon and cup,
choosing ...

The simplest of features can be taken for granted when you're dealing with a coffeemaker at home. A lack in options isn't as glaring
when you only make a few quick cups a day. Maybe you make an adjustment here, an alteration there. Those same small promises you may have ...

The Sanyo Coffee/Tea Maker is a compact all-in-one unit that I would love to see in my next hotel room. While lacking any automatic features, it has a smart design and a value price.

This coffeemaker is unique for a number of reasons. It brews about half that of most machines (six ...

The Global Decor Rotating Dispenser holds four one liter bottles in various shapes and sizes. A bartender's rotating drink dispenser, the device allows you to perform fast, easy mixing of your favorite cocktails and party drinks without the need for measuring cups or shot glasses.

The base is large, heavy and ...

There's only one way to describe this coffee maker from Braun. It's cute. From a company that likes to push the style and performance envelope with kitchen appliances, cute is rather a novel approach.

With a white and silver color scheme, and a notable absence of stainless steel, this model is a ...

Capresso has really upped the bar this time. They have combined a burr grinder and a coffeemaker into one automatic unit. Just load the beans and water, set the timer for brewing, and the next morning you have a freshly brewed, freshly ground pot of java.

The burr grinder feature is a ...

I'll just admit it. I am a gadget geek. The thought of spending well over a hundred dollars on a device for boiling water doesn't phase me. As long as there is some major technology involved, it's Zojirushi to the rescue!

The Hybrid Water Boiler is named for the innovative thermal design. ...

The Bunn Professional is an automatic brewer with two warming plates, enabling you to produce nearly four gallons of coffee per hour (batch sizes can be adjusted). The internal components are made of stainless steel; they are durable and handle heat well.

The warmers are individually controlled, so one side can always ...

I'm all about the froth. As a near daily chai latte drinker, the froth is one of my favorite parts. (The other is the spice. Ah, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg...). But it's really the froth that keeps me coming back to the neighborhood coffee shop. I have ...

Not quite what I expected when I saw "cordless" in the description but the Cuisinart KUA-17 Automatic Electric Kettle is still an interesting convenience item for dorm or office desk. With a 1 3/4 quart capacity and stainless steel pot, this portable kettle can be a source of hot water ...

The original Moka Express coffee maker, plus a latte pot for foaming milk, make up this espresso lover's survival kit from Bialetti of Italy. This Express design was first introduced in 1933 and survives virtually unchanged. The brew from this pot is a cut above ordinary coffee because it's based ...

Although it looks strangely bulky, with protruding handles that demand extra counter space, this Mr. Coffee Espresso Machine rivals the brew quality of much more expensive models. For perfect espresso and delicate foam for lattes, you'll need a couple of things Mr. Coffee forgot.

The coffee grounds need to be properly ...

With the economy up and down, everyone is looking for ways to spend less without cutting all of the little joys out of their daily lives. The Perfect Pod Maker allows you to make your own pods at home in just seconds using the coffee or tea blend of your ...

Cup by precious cup, the Cuisinart SS-1 Cup-O-Matic Single Serve coffeemaker promises the best. No more half pots of undrinkable leftover coffee to throw out--with the Cup-O-Matic you get that fresh cup every time.

Push button controls give you selection of flavor intensity and two cup sizes, and the large 60 ounce ...

For those seeking espresso style drinks on a budget, DeLonghi has the machine for you. Although not up to the professional quality of their more commercial machines, this promises to deliver a decent cup at a modest price.

This model is a basic steam-driven coffeemaker. It differs from the more expensive ...

For those of us that begin most days by pouring coffee into a thermal mug for the morning commute, this machine is a no-brainer. Plus the warmer keeps the remaining brew ready for an afternoon cup that doesn't taste half bad.

The latest offering in the Brewstation line features plenty of options ...

Coffee lovers like me are loving the fact that burr grinders are available in a size for the home kitchen. I've burnt out so many of those little blade grinders over the years it's not funny. Not to mention the fairly crappy job they do on the beans.

This Capresso is already ...

The humble tea kettle has certainly been embraced by technology. Once upon a time adding a whistle was revolutionary; now Breville allows you to dial in the precise temperature of water you require and hold it for up to 20 minutes with this elegant model.

The sleek stainless steel variable temperature kettle is ...

The Krups Moka Brew is unusual even in how the water is added- it is filled through a container below the warming plate. The Moka brewing system refers to the use of pressure from steam to extract the flavor from coffee. A stainless steel heating element and water reservoir produce ...