Are you an absolute coffee fanatic but can never finish a whole pot of coffee? Hate waiting on a full pot to brew when you're rushing out the door? Do you just want the option to switch up coffee flavors depending on your mood? Let me show you how to choose between all of the single serve coffee makers on the market to find the perfect one for you.
Jump to:
- Why You Should Trust My Opinion On Single Serve Coffee Makers?
- What Are The Perks Of Single Serve Coffee Makers?
- What Should I Look For In Single Serve Coffee Makers?
- 1. What Kind Of Coffee Does It Use?
- 2. How Big Is The Footprint?
- 3. What Is The Capacity Of The Water Reservoir?
- 4. How Easy Is It To Clean?
- 5. How Expensive Is It?
- Best Single Serve Coffee Makers
Why You Should Trust My Opinion On Single Serve Coffee Makers?
- Coffee Fanatic. I absolutely adore coffee. When I'm not grabbing a coffee on the go, I'm using one of my many other coffee makers to make the perfect cup at home.
- Efficient. I love using kitchen gadgets to make cooking more efficient. That's the only way I know how to do things. If a cup of coffee is creating problems instead of fixing them, I'm not interested.
- Gadget geek!: I'm a self-proclaimed food tech enthusiast and have been known to purchase (and review) just about any kitchen appliance or tool I can get my hands on.
What Are The Perks Of Single Serve Coffee Makers?
It's no secret that single serve coffee makers are popular by the sheer number of them on the market. You may be wondering what makes them so popular. Well, here are a few of the things people love so much:
- No wasted coffee
- Reduced brew time
- Large variety of flavors
- Can brew things like tea and hot cocoa as well
- Easy to use
- Smaller footprint and usually also more easily portable
What Should I Look For In Single Serve Coffee Makers?
- What Kind Of Coffee Does It Use?
- How Big Is The Footprint
- What Is The Capacity Of The Water Reservoir?
- How Easy Is It To Clean?
- How Expensive Is it?
1. What Kind Of Coffee Does It Use?
Most single serve coffee makers give you the option of using two different types of coffee when brewing. These options are:
- Pods in a variety of brands and sizes
- Ground coffee in a single serve filter
Pods
Pods are single serving plastic cups that fit inside of your single serve coffee maker that have a premeasured amount of coffee in them. When you insert them into your coffee maker, the top and bottom of the pods are punctured and hot water is pressed through the pod to brew the coffee.
Ground Coffee
If you are using ground coffee, you will need to purchase a separate filter. These are great for people that are environmentally conscious and want to reduce waste. It can also be much less expensive than purchasing pods.
To use ground coffee:
- Insert the filter into the compartment that holds coffee
- Fill the filter with your favorite ground coffee blend
- Press start
- Enjoy
Remember that if you are using a filter with ground coffee in it, you will need to wash it in between uses. If you're not a fan of constantly cleaning your filter, you can also purchase disposable liners to fit in your filter that can just be tossed after every use.
2. How Big Is The Footprint?
Single serve coffee makers are not all created equal when it comes to footprint. Some can be extremely big and take up a lot of room on your kitchen counter. If you also like the option of making full pots of coffee and refuse to toss your traditional coffee maker, the amount of real estate for your morning wake up call can add up fast.
You can get a single serve coffee maker that has a large footprint. The Keurig K Classic Coffee Maker that measures 17.6"H (when opened to insert coffee) x 13.3"D x 9.8"W
You can also get a single serve coffee maker that you barely even notice and is easy to store. The Chefman InstaCoffee Single Serve Coffee Maker that measures 14"H x 7.6"D x 5.6"W
3. What Is The Capacity Of The Water Reservoir?
Some single serve coffee makers have a large water reservoir that holds enough water to accommodate several cups of coffee so you do not have to fill it every time you brew a cup.
When shopping for single serve coffee makers, you'll be able to find water reservoirs that can hold anywhere from Black and Decker Single Serve Coffee Maker the with a 16oz reservoir capacity (or a travel size mug) to the Keurig K-Elite that has a 75oz water reservoir (or approximately 9 cups).
This can be both a bad and a good thing depending on how you look at it. If you like the convenience of being able to pop a coffee pod in the machine and press brew, a large reservoir may seem like an amazing feature. However, when it comes to cleaning, you may see it in a different light.
4. How Easy Is It To Clean?
One of the things you will hear from anyone that owns a coffee maker is how much of a pain it can be to clean. This is true for traditional coffee makers and single serve coffee makers.
While the ever-increasing technology of coffee makers is great for us coffee lovers, sometimes it comes with added effort for cleaning.
When choosing your single serve coffee maker, check to see that it has several parts that can be disassembled to make cleaning easier.
To make it even easier, some brands have developed their own cleaning solution. Keurig even has it's own line of cleaning pods. Nespresso has a descaling kit as well as their own cleaning pods.
5. How Expensive Is It?
As with most other kitchen gadgets, you need to remember the cost of ownership. While you may think that you're getting value because of how expensive the machine is, you have to remember that the coffee you're brewing can be quite expensive.
However, if you're willing to kick the habit of stopping at your favorite coffee shop on the way to work or drop the kids off every morning, you still very well may be saving yourself money.
But definitely before you buy what you may consider the best single cup coffee maker, check into the price of the coffee it uses. Of course, coffee grounds are the cheapest, next up are customizable pods, where you can put your own coffee, and ready-made pods are the most expensive.
Best Single Serve Coffee Makers
Best Single Serve Coffee Makers of 2020
Here are the single cup coffee makers that I consider to to be the best way to make a single cup of coffee at a time. Many of these coffee makers I have tried myself, and others are very highly rated by thousands of other people.
If you're concerned about the water reservoir capacity and don't want to have to fill your tank every time you make a cup of coffee, you'll love this Keurig K-Elite coffee maker. It has a 75oz capacity which means you can add coffee, push a button, and go.
It gives the option for 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 cup brewing sizes and even includes a setting for strong brew if you're a person that needs your coffee to have a little extra oomph.
My personal favorite feature this single serve coffee maker offers? It's not just a coffee maker. It offers hot water on demand for adding to coffee concentrate, oatmeal, and hot cocoa mix.
This Keurig K-Mini Plus coffee maker is incredibly small, making it the perfect solution for an office, dorm, apartment, or RV. Even though it's small, it still offers a storage compartment for up to 9 K cups so you don't have to worry about a storage solution for those as well.
Concerned with your kitchen aesthetic? This single serve coffee maker comes in five different color options to match your decor perfectly.
With the auto turn off feature that turns your machine off 90 seconds after your last brew, you'll never be left worrying that you forgot to turn your coffee maker off before you left home for the day.
If you love the idea of something small that can easily fit in to tight spaces, you'll like the Sboly single serve coffee maker. It has an incredibly small footprint that still allows you to use it under your kitchen cabinets without pulling it out every time you make coffee. It is tall enough to fit your travel mug underneath so you're not dirtying extra dishes just to get your coffee on the go.
The best part? It's a very affordable single serve coffee maker option which makes it a perfect match for an office setting.
The Keurig K-Classic Coffee Maker has a generous 48oz water reservoir and is able to make a variety of sizes of brews. It offers 4, 6, and 8, and 10 cup options.
This is one of the easiest models of Keurig coffee makers to use, as you just put in your desired coffee pod, make sure there is enough water in the reservoir, and tap the size of brew you want.
It also features an auto-off function for energy efficiency.
This Nespresso Essenza Mini Original espresso machine is the smallest model of single serve coffee and espresso maker ever offered by Nespresso.
If you're a fan of having your coffee or espresso almost instantly, you'll love how fast this is ready to brew. In only 25 seconds you'll have your favorite cup of espresso.
This makes servings of espresso between 1.25 and 5oz.
Unlike some of the other coffee makers on this list, the Nespresso Essenza Mini uses capsules and not K Cups, so if you previously owned a Keurig or other single serve coffee maker, you will not be able to use these in this machine.
The Cuisinart Single Serve Brewer Coffee Maker has a moderate size water reservoir which will allow you to add enough water to brew several cups of coffee before needing to refill it.
It offers the ability to brew 6, 8, and 10 cup options and is compatible with K Cups and reusable filters. It has a very sleek stainless steel exterior that is easy to clean and simple touch brew buttons simple enough for the entire family to navigate.
The Nespresso Vertuo Plus Coffee and Espresso Maker is the best of both worlds if you're a coffee lover. Whether you need to fill your travel mug before heading to the office or want a quick burst of flavor and energy, this coffee and espresso maker has you covered.
It comes with an optional milk frother and makes delicious iced coffee too.
Nespresso is notorious for the quick water heat up and brew time and it will have your coffee or espresso ready to drink in as little as 20 seconds.
Have an office space full of people
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Originally Published October, 21, 2020
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