When the time comes to buy an automatic coffee machine, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the choices on the market. There are fancy, hi-tech machines and then there are very inexpensive brands on sale at the discount store. Knowing which one is the best choice depends on your budget and your needs. There is an automatic coffee machine to suit every coffee drinker.
Drip brewers are the most commonly available automatic coffee machines available today for home and office use. Before deciding which one to buy, the first question to ask is what kind of coffee drinker are you? Do you enjoy any kind of coffee, or are you someone who likes knowing about and experimenting with different roasts and blends? Do you prefer using whole beans versus ground? Do you need to make lots of coffee at one time, or do you need to brew small quantities? Is counter space a consideration?
Is it important to you to have a cup first thing? Many people find a programmable timer is a convenient automatic coffee machine feature. It let's you prepare everything the night before and then set a timer so that your coffee is brewed and ready for you when you get up in the morning.
Some machines have a feature that let's you choose the number of cups you want to make. This is very convenient if you want to have the capacity to make full pots, but also sometimes want to brew just a few cups.
Some people find that a single-cup machine suits their needs. With a single cup machine, you can always have a freshly brewed cup, any time you want one. You don't have to wait for a whole big pot to brew before having your coffee. There is no more old, scorched coffee left for hours at the bottom of the pot. The single cup coffee machine is a great choice when there is just one coffee drinker in the household.
There are other features you may want to consider. Some coffee machines come with a permanent filter, which eliminates the need for buying paper filters. You can select how you would like the coffee to stay at the full best drinking temperature. Some machines have a "keep warm" feature that helps prevent the bitter taste that can develop from holding coffee too long at too high a temperature. Some come with a thermal carafe, which is great for those times when you want to take the full pot of coffee into a conference room for a meeting or out onto the patio for brunch.
The final thing to think about is your own personal taste. How does the coffee machine look sitting on your counter? How does the carafe handle feel in the hand? The automatic coffee machine is one of the workhorse appliances of the modern kitchen. You're going to be spending a lot of time using it, so it's important to get one that just feels and looks right.
