Compare the Best Coffee MakersApril 2018

Coffee makers work by percolating hot water slowly through ground coffee beans, picking up the flavour of the beans and turning the water into delicious coffee! There are numerous different types of coffee machines on the market, running the gamut from simple pots and mechanical presses to fully automatic electronic machines that not only brew coffee, but also froth milk to create lattes and cappuccinos. Below is an outline of the major different types of coffee makers:

Espresso Coffee Makers

These are the quintessential Italian coffee machines. They work by pushing hot water through finely ground coffee at extremely high pressure, creating a small amount of extremely strong, powerful coffee - an espresso shot. This can be drunk by itself, or can be mixed with hot water (an Americano), hot milk (a cafe au lait), or hot frothed milk (a latte). Espresso machines can be expensive and temperamental, but the coffee they create is perfect for a serious coffee addict.

Automatic ("bean-to-cup") Coffee Makers

These machines automate the entire coffee-making procedure, from grinding the beans and brewing the coffee to frothing the milk and adding it to the coffee. While they are some of the most expensive coffee makers on the market, they are also the most fully-featured, allowing consumers to create most different types of coffee shop-style drinks at the press of a button.

Filter Coffee Makers

Drip, or filter, coffee makers are far simpler machines than the expensive expresso machines. Coffee grounds are placed into top of the machine, then hot water is poured over the top. The water filters through the beans, extracting the coffee from the grounds as it does. The resulting liquid is usually collected in a heated pot, which can then be served whenever needed.

Filter coffee machines are usually significantly cheaper than espresso machines, but are limited in the amount of coffee they can make - espresso-based drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, etc) can’t be made in these machines. These machines are good for serving coffee to lots of people at once, or to a steady stream of people over the course of a day.

Stovetop Coffee Pots

Stovetop coffee pots cover several different types, from moka pots to turkish coffee pots. Coffee grounds and water are added to the pot, then this is placed on a stove or hot plate. As the water heats up it is forced through the grounds and the coffee is brewed. Because they don’t require any electricity, they are perfect for camping or travelling. Most stovetop coffee pots have a smaller capacity - enough for 1 or 2 people - so may be better for single people or for holidays.

Cafetières (French Press)

These are glass cylinders with a plunger on the top. Coffee grounds are loaded into the bottom of the cylinder, then hot water is poured in. This is left for 3-4 minutes to brew, then the plunger pushed down to compress the grounds, extracting the remainder of the coffee from the grounds and preventing them from escaping when pouring. French presses are much cheaper than espresso makers, since they require no electricity, and come in a variety of sizes, from small one person cylinders to giant presses for 10 people. The coffee produced is closer to filter coffee than expresso.

Pod Coffee Makers

Finally, pod coffee makers are the newest type of coffee maker on the market. Instead of measuring out the coffee grinds and loading them into the machine, the coffee grounds come pre-packaged in single-serving ‘pods’. These pods are inserted into a specialist machine, and at a button press it pushes water through the pod and crafts your coffee for you.

Pod coffee makers such as Nespresso have become extremely popular in the last few years, and are extremely easy to use for making high-quality coffee quickly and easily. However the machines themselves aren’t as cheap as other single-cup coffee machines, and some machines are only compatible with certain brands of pods - so double check the compatibility before you buy a 64-pack of pods! There are also environmental issues with pod coffee makers, since the pods generate a lot of waste.

Extras

Some more advanced coffee machines - especially the automatic bean-to-cup machines, may have alternate modes for making other hot drinks. These can include hot chocolate, cold milk, or dispensing hot water for making tea. While not the prime function of a coffee maker, there are a nice extra to have built in to the machine.

Finally, certain brands of coffee makers may have extra functions to aid coffee making. These can include built-in grinders so the beans are always freshly ground, or a milk frother (also known as a steam pipe) to allow you to froth milk for cappuccinos and macchiatos. Finally, some coffee makers have timers, so that you can program your coffee to start brewing for a specific time. These are often found in filter coffee machines - these can be set to start percolating early in the morning, so that coffee is ready for when you wake up!

Coffee Maker Prices

Coffee makers range in price from £10 to £2,443 and in total we found prices for 729 coffee makers. A new coffee maker costs on average £264 and 80% of coffee makers are priced between £27 and £750. The cheapest coffee maker that we found is the Bialetti Moka express (1 cup) at only £11, and the most expensive is the Miele CVA6405CLST at £2,443.

Coffee Maker Brands - Price Range

Bauknecht coffee makers range in price from £1,588 to £1,588, and the average price of Bauknecht coffee makers is £1,588 which is the highest average price of all coffee maker brands.

The second highest average coffee maker price out of all brands is Miele coffee makers with an average price of £1,525. Miele coffee makers start at £648 and their most expensive coffee maker costs £2,443.

Neff coffee makers start at £849 and their most expensive coffee maker costs £1,576. The third highest average coffee maker price out of all brands is Neff coffee makers with an average price of £1,212.

Coffee Maker Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 216 expert reviews and 15,323 user reviews for coffee makers from across the internet and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of coffee maker. Breville is the top rated coffee maker brand with an average rating of 93%. Magimix is the second best brand with 93% and Nespresso is the third best brand with 91%.

Biggest Coffee Maker Retailers

We found 516 current offers for coffee makers from eBay making it the biggest coffee maker retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 391 current offers for coffee makers. The third biggest retailer is Currys with 131 current coffee maker offers.

When Are Most New Coffee Makers Released?

The most common period for new coffee makers to be released in is between September and October. If you wait until September 2018 then you might be able to get better features on your coffee maker. It's also worth keeping in mind that the price of the current coffee makers tend to drop off when the next models are released. 54 new coffee makers were released in September 2017 making it the biggest month that year for new coffee maker releases. In 2016 most new coffee makers were released in October, with 103 new coffee makers released that month. The biggest month in 2015 for new coffee maker releases was May, with 85 new coffee makers released that month.

How Fast Do Coffee Maker Prices Drop After Release?

New coffee makers drop in price by an average of 2% in the first 6 months after they wer first released. That means that on a typical coffee maker costing £264 you could save on average £6 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The most popular type amongst new coffee makers is drip. We found 319 coffee makers that are drip coffee makers. Espresso is the second most frequently found type amongst new coffee makers. We found 299 coffee makers that are espresso coffee makers.

Colours

Black is the most popular colour amongst new coffee makers. We found 661 coffee makers that are coffee makers that have a Black coloured. We found 269 coffee makers that are coffee makers that have a Stainless steel coloured, making Stainless steel the second most common colour amongst new coffee makers.

Coffee Input Types

The type of coffee e.g. coffee beans, ground coffee, coffee pods that is placed into the product in order to produce a cup of coffee.

We found 626 coffee makers that are Ground coffee coffee makers, which makes Ground coffee the most popular coffee input type amongst new coffee makers. The second most popular coffee input type amongst new coffee makers is Capsule / Pod. We found 323 coffee makers that are Capsule / Pod coffee makers.

Output

This denotes how much coffee the machine is capable of brewing and delivering at once, measured in cups.

The output of coffee makers range from 1 cups to 400 cups. The output of the majority of coffee makers range from 1 cups to 2.8 cups. The Russell HobbsBrew&Go 22630, which is available at £29.99, has the most output and is a 400 cups dispensing capacity coffee maker. The Russell HobbsBrew&Go 22630, which can be purchased for £149.00, has the least output and is a 1 cups dispensing capacity coffee maker.

Biggest Coffee Maker Retailers

We found 516 current offers for coffee makers from eBay making it the biggest coffee maker retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 391 current offers for coffee makers. The third biggest retailer is Currys with 131 current coffee maker offers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Coffee Makers?

The retailer that most frequently offered the cheapest price on coffee makers is eBay and offers the cheapest price on 363 coffee makers.

Proportion of Coffee Makers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

The cheapest shop by number of coffee maker for which they offer the cheapest price is eBay with the cheapest price on 70.3% of its coffee makers.