Vince Marotta hated his coffee percolator.
In 1969, he set out to design a better consumer coffee maker, one that would heat the water to an ideal 200° F, not the near-boiling temperatures of a percolator, which were prone to over-extracting the coffee.
The resulting appliance, Mr. Coffee, changed the world. By 1975, Marotta had sold more than a million units. Fifty years later, Mr. Coffee-style automatic drip coffee makers are the default way of making coffee for most North Americans.
Consumer coffee makers have come a long way since Mr. Coffee popularized the category. Paired with the right grinder, one can easily brew café-quality coffee at home.
These are five of the best coffee makers on the market. Any coffee nerd would be happy to see one of these under the tree on Christmas morning.
Best Overall — Breville Precision Brewer
The Breville Precision Brewer (or Sage Precision Brewer if you live in Europe) is the coffee maker your favorite barista uses at home. In my estimation, it offers the perfect combination of high-end features and simplicity of use.
The Breville Precision Brewer offers a prewet setting, PID-powered temperature control, and three different flow rates. In other words, just enough customization to dial in your favorite microlot without getting lost in a sea of features.
Clocking in at $290, it’s not the cheapest coffee maker on this list, but it’s far from the most expensive. Like we’ve come to expect from their home espresso machines, the Breville Precision Brewer offers excellent performance at a reasonable price.
For the Tech Nerd — Fellow Aiden
Fellow built its brand by making pour-over coffee accessories. It should come as little surprise its coffee maker would offer levels of customization previously only possible with manual brew methods. Want to brew your coffee in six pulses after a 45-second cold bloom? Sure, Aiden can do that. Are you completely overwhelmed even thinking about that much control? You can also download recipes from your favorite coffee professionals.
As we’ve come to expect from Fellow, the Aiden features a lot of thoughtful design features, including a removable water tank for easy refilling.
At $400, the Fellow Aiden is by far the most expensive coffee dripper on this list. But if you love to experiment with different variables, this is probably the coffee maker for you.
The Classic — Techivorm Moccamaster
You have to respect a company that finds what works for them, then proceeds to wash, rinse, and repeat for the next 50 years. That’s essentially what Technivorm has done with their iconic Moccamaster. The family-owned Dutch company has changed very little about the coffee maker through the years, but if it’s not broken, why fix it?
I’ve been impressed by the build quality and longevity of these machines. They’re still handmade in the Netherlands and offer a five-year warranty.
At the price point, it would be nice to have a prewet setting or temperature control. I wish the shower head distributed the water more evenly. But, somehow, the coffee always tastes great. There’s a reason the Moccamaster wins Best Coffee Maker from America’s Test Kitchen year after year.
(Read our Moccamaster brewing guide here. )
Best Value — Bonavita BV1901TS
Sometimes you just need an appliance to complete a task. If you have less than $200 to spend on a coffee maker, the Bonavita BV1901TS 8-Cup Coffee Dripper is your huckleberry. The showerhead design is the key feature here: expect level brew beds and even extractions.
The Bonavita may not have any bells or whistles, but it brews a fine cup of coffee.
The Cool Kid — Ratio 6
It’s great to be the best, but it’s better to be the favorite. My favorite automatic coffee brewer is the Ratio 6.
Most of the products on this list are part of a larger family of consumer appliances. Ratio is a startup based in Portland, Oregon. I love that Ratio has a considered aesthetic to its product design while still prioritizing performance.
The user experience to the Ratio is similar to a Moccamaster: simply fill the reservoir and push the start button. The difference is the automated brewing cycle includes different stages, including a blooming phase.
If you want high-end performance with none of the fuss, this is the coffee maker for you.
As the inventor of the Etkin 8-cup Dripper, I’m obligated to mention: the Ratio 6 is fully compatible with the Etkin Dripper if you want a porcelain brew basket.