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The best drip coffee maker
By Cale Guthrie Weissman and Liz Clayton This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. Since 2014, we've spent 71 hours brewing in 19 coffee makers to find our top home brewer. After tasting hundreds of pots of coffee, we think the OXO On 9-Cup Coffee Maker is the best automatic drip coffee maker for most people. It's fast and convenient, with a programmable start time and a well-insulated carafe, and it makes a good pot of coffee. We love the features of the OXO On 9-Cup Coffee Maker, like its timer function and automatic pre-infusion cycle (which briefly wets the coffee before brewing for better extraction). The machine has a handsome design, with a well-made thermal carafe that pours easily and keeps coffee hot for hours. We found the coffee from the OXO a little less reliably nuanced than brews from our runner-up, the Bonavita Connoisseur. But it still makes coffee far better than the average machine, and unlike the Connoisseur, allows you to wake up to a fresh pot in the morning or pour yourself a cup while the machine is still brewing. The Bonavita BV1901TS Connoisseur brewed the best-tasting coffee of any machine we tried, with minimal (read: zero) bells and whistles and an uber-simple interface. Like the OXO, it has a pre-infusion cycle (though it's not automatic) and can still brew fast, making a six-cup pot in less than 5 minutes. It also has an improved design over older Bonavitas, with a brew basket that slides right into the machine instead of resting awkwardly on top of the carafe. As a bonus, it sits on the low end of the price spectrum for the high-end coffee makers, costing about $160. We love the simplicity of the Bonavita and think it's a great choice if flavor is your number one priority. But unlike our top pick, it has only an on/off switch, so you can't program it to brew at a set time. And the carafe is clunky: You have to brew into it with the lid off, but can pour only with the lid on. It also didn't keep coffee hot for as long as the OXO did.
The best cheap coffee maker
By Thais Wilson-Soler This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After considering 17 cheap coffee makers and testing the six most promising candidates, we think that the Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Coffee Maker (46205) is the best. In addition to winning over our tasting panel of pro coffee roasters, it has a host of user-friendly features like a removable water reservoir and a programmable auto-brew timer. Best of all, it was the cheapest model we tested.
Keurig revives refillable K-Cups following disappointing sales
Following its first disappointing holiday sales numbers since its coffee machines hit shelves, Keurig will bring back refillable K-Cups. So far, the Keurig 2.0 machines haven't taken off like the company thought they would, partially because new brewers don't allow users to add their own beans with a so-called My K-Cup filter. The machine -- capable of brewing more than one cup at a time -- also costs $200 while other Keurig options have price tags around $100. In an attempt to revive interest, a version of the My K-Cup for the pricier new brewers is in the works. CEO Brian Kelley said on an investor call this week that Keurig "underestimated the passion" customers had for the DIY option. What about the unpopular DRM requirement that nixed some third-party pre-filled pods? It's staying. The company wants to convert all unlicensed cup to official products, adding to the 500 varieties of coffee, tea and hot chocolate from 70 brands.
IRL: I spent a month controlling my coffeemaker over WiFi
The unending march to bring the Internet of Things into all the things continues. While CES 2015 gave us a sneak peek at the near- and long-term future of the IoT movement, there are plenty of WiFi-connected options available today. We've already taken a close look at the Belkin Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker with WeMo (phew!). Now it's time to see how useful a smart coffeemaker can be.
Smart coffee maker brews your next cup right when you get home
Sure, you can get connected coffee makers, but they tend to brew whole pots (or multiple cups). What if you just want a hot cup o' joe when you get home? That's where Smarter's new WiFi Coffee Machine comes into play. The device lets you remotely brew individual cups through an Android or iOS app, complete with scheduling. You can have it wake you up when your coffee's ready, and it'll offer to grind and pour that beverage when you step in the door.
Mr. iPhone, meet Mr. Coffee
You know what's been missing in our lives? An Internet-connected, app-controlled coffeemaker. And that's why the good folks at Belkin and appliance manufacturer Jarden Corporation have teamed up to bring the world the Mr. Coffee 10-cup Smart Optimal Brew Coffeemaker with WeMo (US$149.99). To learn more about how your sad, depressing life can now be filled with happiness and freshly-brewed coffee, read on. Design Like the other Jarden/WeMo collaboration - the Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker with WeMo - the Mr. Coffee Smart Coffeemaker dispenses with fancy displays, replacing them with integration with the free WeMo app. The device looks a lot like a standard coffeemaker, featuring a large thermal carafe as well as the usual water tank and filter/grounds basket. But there are some technological differences that are not immediately apparent to the naked eye. First, the water tank is removable so you can put it under the faucet for filling. I love this idea, since my existing coffeemaker requires me to fill the carafe with water, then pour it into the tank - that usually means that I end up spilling at least a half-cup or two of water, even when I'm careful. The next difference has to do with the Optimal Brew technology, which heats water up to 205°F before sending it to the filter basket. According to the Mr. Coffee folks, this means that it not only extracts the most flavor from the ground coffee, but you can get a full pot of coffee in just under eight minutes. That's 20 percent faster than most competing thermal carafe-type coffeemakers. The Mr. Coffee Smart Coffeemaker should also be more energy efficient than those that don't use a thermal carafe, since it doesn't need to run a heating coil for a few hours each day to keep the brewed coffee warm. Functionality To test the Mr. Coffee Smart Coffeemaker, well, I made a pot of coffee - two, actually. It's a piece of cake to get ready to make a pot; you just fill the removable reservoir and then drop it into the appropriate place, then pull out the drawer for the filter basket and fill the basket with ground coffee. If you just want to make a pot of coffee, there's a button you can push and you'll have your steaming brew about 8 minutes later. The app comes in when you decide you want to set up a schedule. The app is the standard WeMo app, and setting up the coffeemaker for app control is easy. When you first power up the coffeemaker, it sets up a WeMo Coffeemaker Wi-Fi network. Attach your iPhone to that network, pull up the WeMo app, and it finds the coffeemaker. Within seconds the app sets up the coffeemaker so that it's working on your usual Wi-Fi network. The app can be used to simply "press the button" remotely, which would be useful if you were about to take a shower or something and wanted a pot of fresh coffee when you were done. It can also be used to set up a brewing schedule for each day. Setting up the schedule is similar to setting an alarm in the iOS Clock app. You tap on a day, then use a time picker to set the time. Tap "Save Schedule", and the schedule is saved to the device. If you haven't put coffee and water into the device, it senses that there's no water (there is no sensor for the coffee bin that I can tell) and will tell you to "Refill Water". Once you've filled up the tank and refresh the app, it shows that it's "ready". When the pot of coffee starts brewing, the app tells you that it is doing so by showing the word "brewing" and displaying an animated green cup of coffee. After brewing is done, refreshing the app shows a green "hot cup of coffee" icon and lists the time that the pot finished brewing. If there's one thing I'd like to see the app or device do is actually send me a notification that the coffee is ready to drink. You do get notifications when the water filter -- which lasts for a month -- needs to be replaced. While testing, I left a pot of water that had gone through the coffeemaker in the thermal carafe overnight. To my amazement, it was actually still warm over twelve hours later. In terms of the taste of the coffee, I felt it was a bit more "overextracted" and bitter than what I'm used to with my regular coffeemaker. You may need to play with the amount of coffee used in the basket to get the best possible flavor. Price-wise, the addition of the WeMo capability adds $60. The non-WeMo version of the Optimal Brew 10-cup Thermal Coffeemaker has a suggested retail price of $89.99, while this version runs $149.99. Whether that $60 is worth the convenience of being able to start a brewing cycle from anywhere in your house or change your coffeemaking schedule from your iPhone is entirely up to you. Unlike some other WeMo-enabled devices, there's no way at this point to integrate the Mr. Coffee Smart Coffeemaker with other devices through IFTTT. I can see where it could be very useful to have the coffeemaker automatically start brewing when you enter a certain geolocation (like when you get near your office), and that's either going to take IFTTT integration or location awareness on behalf of the WeMo app. What I'd really like to see down the road is a more complete connected coffeemaker that connects to a water supply and has large built-in bins for beans and used grounds so you wouldn't even have to touch the device for a week or two in regular home use. That device would also probably be out of my price range, but it would be impressive... Conclusion Belkin's WeMo family of connected devices continues to grow with the addition of smart appliances to the mix, and all of them are easily controlled from one single iPhone app. The Mr. Coffee 10-cup Smart Optimal Brew Coffeemaker with WeMo adds the convenience of WeMo to a trusted, longtime appliance brand. If you're a fan of connected devices, this coffeemaker does a good job of letting you schedule and monitor brewing from your iPhone. It will become even more useful if Belkin adds IFTTT integration and better notification to the mix. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible
The Barisieur alarm clock automatically brews coffee while you wake
It's no secret the first five minutes of consciousness for many of us each morning involves brewing a cup o' joe. Well to help get a jump-start on things, designer Joshua Renouf has developed a striking alarm clock that starts the process before you even get out of bed. Using induction heating and stainless steel ball bearings, the Barisieur boils water for pour-over brew, giving off the aroma of your favorite beans as you rise to start the day. There's even a cooled slot for a spot of milk and storage for sugar and extra grounds. Renouf plays up the ritual of loading the unit before nodding off as an activity that helps alert the body that it's time to catch some shut-eye. Though there's only one for now, plans are in motion to produce the multitasker that's said to retail for £150-£250 (around $250-$420). While a retail option is in the works, we should have ample time to stash away our loose change.
Keurig's coffee copy protection should take just months to crack
Much like printer makers barring cheap ink, Keurig is using elaborate methods to block third-party coffee pods; its upcoming Keurig 2.0 machine will have cameras that read tags and limit you to official brews. Think of it as K-cup copy protection. Unfortunately for the company, those added measures may be for naught. TreeHouse Foods, which sued Keurig for allegedly abusing a monopoly with its 2.0 system, now estimates that it should take just a "matter of months" to replicate the K-cup technology. The discovery should keep TreeHouse selling unofficial pods that cost significantly less than Keurig's, and it could also thwart similar protection schemes in other companies' coffee makers.
R2-D2 Dark Roast Edition makes your coffee astromech-style, puts brew into 'homebrew' (video)
Has there been a gaping R2-D2-shaped hole in your gadget life ever since the Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 Edition bowed out? The good crew at Instructables knows your plight and has designed the R2-D2 Dark Roast Edition to give your astromech desires an almost literal jolt of energy. The team's do-it-yourself project modifies a BUNN industrial coffee maker -- no slow-drip home unit here -- with a float valve and a generous mix of aluminum, brass, copper and steel welded on top. If you're particularly ambitious, you can even make R2 bleep his delight when you've got a fresh pot lined up. Constructing a Dark Roast Edition requires a good amount of electrical and metalworking savvy, but it might be worth your time while you wait for C-3PO to reach stores.
TextSpresso machine brews caffeinated goodness via text messaging (video)
The folks at Zipwhip may have unwittingly discovered a new business model. While the company is primarily focused on cloud messaging services, it's recently created an espresso maker that allows employees to whip up custom brews from the comfort of their mobile phone. Known as TextSpresso, it's based on the Jura Impressa XS90, but unlike the retail model, the machine accepts orders via SMS. As if that weren't enough, it's part of a larger system that's capable of printing employee names onto the foam (using edible ink) and then placing the drink onto a warming tray. TextSpresso is very much a custom job, but if you'd like an inside peek of the system -- complete with servo motors, an Arduino microcontroller and a retro-fitted Canon printer -- be sure to hop the break and dream of what could be.
iOS-controlled Top Brewer coffee maker is a thing to behold
Rejoice, o ye iPhone and iPad-toting coffee addicts with fat wallets! Just when you thought that there was nothing new under the sun to create the perfect cup of joe, Scanomat brings the Top Brewer to the market. The Top Brewer is a high-end coffee machine that uses an iOS app to control brewing. Most of the hardware for the brewer is hidden under a countertop, meaning that all you see is a spigot, a drain, and a touch panel for those times when your coffee jitters have caused you to drop your iPhone. The Top Brewer was demonstrated at the recent HOST hospitality show in Milan, Italy, where many top baristas gave the coffee-brewing juggernaut top ratings. Those who own more than one Top Brewer can control multiple machines simultaneously via the app's favorites screen. It gives you control all of your machines in one view, so you can be churning out a variety of drinks with a few taps, conducting a team of invisible baristas. This may be the start of something big. Perhaps your local coffee shop will install a team of Top Brewers and let you order your coffee drink just the way you like it from your iPhone or iPad while you stand in line to pay for the beverage. There's no price tag for the Top Brewer yet, but it's probably going to be targeted at high-end homes and to the hospitality industry. [via Gizmodo]
Scanomat TopBrewer brings iPhone control, elegant design to single-cup coffee makers (video)
There's no question that we love our coffee, but we're often far less intrigued by the brewing process than we are the result. With its incredibly sleek design and simple iPhone or iPad control, Scanomat's faucet-like TopBrewer could easily become one of the few exceptions, however. This fully automatic coffee machine grinds your beans, measures out ingredients and foams milk, before dishing out the perfect cup. But iOS control is the keystone of this elegant solution, letting you make your beverage selection from a wireless device, leaving nothing but the stainless steel tap exposed. Craving a cappuccino? Simply toss your cup under the spigot and tap an icon. You can also dispense cold milk or water, hot chocolate and even carbonated water -- all from the same head. Scanomat has yet to hint at a release date or price, but if you have to ask... Jump past the break for a quick taste, courtesy of some lucky folks at a hospitality industry expo in Milan. [Thanks, Fredrik]
Barista-approved mod shoves a coffeemaker, Mac mini and subwoofer into an iMac DV case
Do you have even the slightest clue what you get when you shove a perfectly operational Mac mini, JBL Spot subwoofer and WMF1 coffeemaker into a perfectly defunct iMac DV case? The iMac CS, that's what. In one of the most bizarre and aspirational mods we've seen in quite some time, one Klaus Diebel has managed to combine three devices that wouldn't typically be shoved within the same enclosure... into the same enclosure. The result is a coffee-making media server that just so happens to boast its own inbuilt sound system, or in other words, exactly what you need to start a street corner java shop. The bad news is that a customized version will set you back at least €300 ($431), but the good news is that you can probably build your own for less. Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into before embarking -- we've got a vague idea that this won't enhance the lives of many.
Combination Mac mini, coffeemaker and subwoofer stuck in an iMac
That's why, we're guessing, tinkerer Klaus Diebel put together this incredibly useful device that will make your coffee, play some thumping tunes, and do your computing tasks as well. He tells us it was something like that -- he really enjoyed the look of the gumdrop iMac, and has experimented with it a few times, creating both a mailbox and a birdhouse from the computer's case. And this one just sort of snowballed -- when he found that the Mac mini's optical drive slot fit perfectly with the iMac's slot, without any alterations at all, it had to happen. And we're glad it did. The iMac is an exceptional little computer with a very distinctive form factor -- if you have to put a coffeemaker in the thing just to keep it on your desk, so be it!
BeMoved coffee machine will make you jump for your caffeine fix
A robot barista-filled future may still be a long ways off, but it looks like you may just be answering to a machine of another sort for your coffee sooner than you think -- at least if Douwe Egberts has its way. While it's still a concept, the company's so-called BeMoved coffee machine promises to finally bring the disparate worlds of hot beverages and motion control together at last, and do nothing short of raise "human interaction with a coffee machine to a higher level" in the process. Because, really, you can never truly feel close to a coffee machine until it's taunted you to jump up and down to fill your cup of joe. Of course, you can also do some slightly more practical things like tailor your coffee exactly the way you like using the massive touchscreen, and even check up on the weather and news while you wait. No word on any test markets just yet, but folks can apparently check out the concept first-hand at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven this week -- or simply head on past the break for a video. [Via Appliancist]
Philips serves up two new Senseo brewmakers at IFA, still won't dethrone Starbucks
It's been a full year since we asked if a few off-the-wall renders were indicative of Philips' next-generation Senseo, but at long last, the next in the long line of successful coffee making machines has come to light. Seven years after the first Senseo hit the scenes, the heralded machine will finally be made available in a new "square shape," with the appropriately named Quadrante doing everything a Senseo does but with edges rather than contours. Said machine will be available in Dark Stroke Black and Bright Style White, while the limited edition version by Marcel Wanders -- which hearkens back to the classic design -- spices things up with some fancy sequins atop a translucent red or translucent grey finish. For the java lovers in attendance, feel free to give the read links below a once over, and be sure to raise a glass to us while you're at it. [Warning: PDF read links]Read - Philips Senseo QuadranteRead - Philips limited edition Senseo
Internet-connected coffee maker leaves your PC, mornings at risk
It looks like those that enjoy a little remote control over their coffee could be unwittingly leaving both their PCs and their precious brew vulnerable, at least according to BDO risk advisory services manager Craig Wright, who found that his Jura F90 internet-connected coffee maker had several significant security holes, including a buffer overflow in its internet connection software. That, he says, could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the PC connected to the coffee maker, not to mention control the strength of the coffee and perform unwanted diagnostics. Of course, given the number of internet-connected coffee makers out there right now, Wright admits that the potential risk is relatively low (and moot if it's behind a firewall), but he has some dire warnings for the future, saying that eventually "you'll be able to turn on your oven with your mobile phone," which he says could lead to a malicious hacker "burning the house down."
Nespresso Lattissima offers up one-touch cappuccinos and lattes
Stopping by your favorite java shop on the way to work each day can get relatively pricey (and frustrating if you simultaneously roll in with the other half of the city), and while the Nespresso Lattissima can't exactly read your mind, it apparently does one mean latte with just a single button press and a moment of your time. According to SingleServeCoffee, the stunning machine sports a "one touch fresh milk froth function" and also boasts an auto clean mode, detachable milk and water reservoirs, adjustable cup platform, and a twin pump heating system. Moreover, the device can reportedly crank out a cappuccino in "less than one minute," while a latte macchiato takes just 80 seconds. Slated to hit stores this fall, the mostly automated coffeemaker will come in a satin chrome flavor with integrated cup warmer for $799, while the less pricey red and black versions will save you a Benjamin at the expense of that built-in warming feature. Be sure to click through for a video that's so good, you can almost smell it.[Via SingleServeCoffee, thanks Jay]
News Brews blends RSS feeds into multicultural beverage
Getting updates on the weather and current time is no problem for modern day coffee machines, but Benjamin Brown's project aims to blend the hottest worldwide news into a multicultural cup of joe. Rather than taking time to find out what's going on in the world around you with your eyes, the News Brews hopes to shovel the latest RSS feeds into your brain via your taste buds. The steampunk-inspired device "connects to internet news feeds and parses them to determine the relative frequency at which different coffee growing regions are mentioned," which means that your brew will differ each day depending on how frequently a given country is mentioned. Of course, not everyone will be down with an unexpected coffee suicide of sorts to wake them in the AM, but trying to figure out what your mouth is reading on the drive to work certainly beats running others off the road or illegally texting at stop lights.[Via TechDigest]
Learning coffee machine on the horizon, could use GPS / RFID
Although a coffee machine that slowly but surely learns your daily preferences in regard to cups of java may sound outlandish, the already-created RFID-enabled refrigerator certainly brings things back into focus. A "provisional patent exploration into coffee machines that learn and react to their users" is underway in Lafayette, Indiana, as James Pappas is hoping to take ubiquitous computing to the next level on coffee makers of the future. While internet-connected and weather-displaying renditions are already on store shelves, Pappas is hoping to utilize some form of GPS / RFID technology to create a machine that learns and adapts to your coffee drinking ways so it can automatically have a white chocolate cappuccino ready and waiting each weekday (except Monday, which is your straight-up black coffee day, right?) without you having to touch a thing. Furthermore, he's hoping to take the idea to the mobile front, as he refers to a cellphone interface to dial-in your next request so that it's ready to go by the time you hit the kitchen. Still, it sounds like the invention is a few years off at best, but serious drinkers better hope this thing automatically alerts you when the beans are running low, too.[Image courtesy of CoffeeToThePeople]
