As much as I love espresso, sometimes you can't beat a good drip coffee. When you're brewing coffee for one, a super-simple V60 dripper mounted on a mug will do the job just fine, but if you want to brew coffee for multiple people (or a few cups to last you through the morning), it's time to look at drip coffee machines.
I was lucky enough to test many of best drip coffee makers here at TechRadar, but I've narrowed it down to the top three that I would recommend to friends and family or buy for my own kitchen. There's something for everyone here, whether you want a drip machine that can tailor brew settings to suit your beans, a completely manual machine with no screens or dials, or something in between.
1. DualBrew Ninja Prestige System
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Part drip coffee maker, part Nespresso machine, the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System is your new morning best friend. Like all of my top-rated drip machines, it comes with a timer so you can set it at night and wake up in the morning with a full pitcher of freshly brewed coffee. If you want something stronger, just add an espresso capsule (compatible with Nespresso Original capsules), choose from two drink sizes and you'll have delicious espresso at your fingertips in minutes.
It features a traditional glass carafe and keeps your coffee warm with an electric hotplate. However, unlike most drip machines, the DualBrew burner offers temperature and time control, so you can program it to avoid simmering your drink.
The machine is equipped with an extra-large shower head that distributes water evenly over the coffee grounds, and a handy drip tray that prevents coffee from dripping onto the burner after you lift the carafe. If you're the only coffee drinker in the house, remove the carafe to reveal a collapsible drip tray that allows the machine to drip straight into a cup or travel mug, and you can take it to work with you.
If you're not a coffee capsule drinker and want a machine that makes both drip coffee and espresso from fresh grounds, check out this Ninja Lux Cafe instead of.
Read our full Ninja Prestige DualBrew System Review
2. Thermal thermos Sage/Breville Luxe Brewer
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If I were shopping for a drip coffee maker for my own kitchen right now, the Luxe Brewer Thermal would be my number one choice. For somewhat complicated reasons it's sold under the Sage brand in the UK and Breville in the rest of the world, but the machine itself is the same – and it's excellent.
Making a batch of drip coffee is essentially a very simple process (just pour hot water over the ground coffee and let it drip into the carafe), and the Luxe Brewer Thermal makes it easy by providing some really useful customization options. In my tests, the default settings worked well, but if you're not getting the flavor you want from the beans, you can adjust the bloom time (how long the coffee is pre-brewed in hot water), bloom temperature, brew time, and brew temperature to fine-tune your extraction.
The machine can also brew a batch of iced coffee. Load your ground coffee (the Luxe Brewer Thermal comes with a handy guide to help you measure out the perfect amount), add water to the line on the reservoir, remove the carafe lid to prevent it from dripping, and press the button to get started. Your coffee will stay cold for 24 hours and the machine will beep to let you know when it's ready.
Other smart features include a delayed start timer (great for mornings), a removable water reservoir for easy refilling (no more pouring water from jugs into the machine on the counter), and the best insulated carafe I've ever seen in a drip coffee maker. Not only does it look elegant, but it also keeps coffee hot even longer than the company claims. After four hours, the half-filled carafe was still above optimal drinking temperature, and a full batch stayed hot even longer.
Read our full Sage Luxe Brewer Thermal System Review
3. Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker
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If you want to get more technical in your coffee brewing process, the futuristic Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker is the drip machine for you. In fact, this is the machine that the trainer used during my last SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) course.
Aiden offers a selection of brewing modes, so you can choose the right one depending on how much time you have to spare. The auto brew mode works like any regular drip coffee maker: it simply heats water and pumps it into ground coffee. The pump will run until the water tank is empty.
Things get interesting in guided brewing mode. It lets you choose how much to brew and then suggests the optimal dosage, bloom time, and temperature based on the type of beans you choose. The machine will also tell you whether to use a conical or flat-bottomed brew basket and detect which one you have inserted.
The Aiden also has a cold brew mode, which uses hot water to brew the coffee and switches to cold water for the rest of the process. It's a neat trick that means it only takes 1.5 to 2 hours to brew, compared to 24 hours for traditional cold brew. The flavor profile is impressively similar, so hats off to Fellow.
Like the Luxe Brewer Thermal above, the Aiden has a removable water tank that's easy to fill from the tap. Aiden's tank has a larger, more ergonomic handle that makes it easier to carry when full, which is a plus.
However, Aiden loses his glasses due to the decanter, which causes the heat to escape too easily. A friend claims that your batch of freshly brewed coffee will stay hot for hours, but in my tests it cooled noticeably in 45 minutes. It was nowhere near as effective as the Luxe Brewer Thermal.
In short, Aiden makes gourmet drip coffee, but you need to be ready to enjoy it right away.
Read our full Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker Review
