When it comes to buying a coffee maker, one that gets you through the morning, there are so many options that it may drive you crazy. Drifting away from Starbucks and the instant stuff, there are machines that can do the job fairly well. But they must pass through a set of criteria.
Simplicity
With coffee makers, as with most machines, simple is always better. You don't want too many switches and buttons and overcomplicated procedures. All you want is a cup of coffee. A simple machine, one designed and tested to do one simple thing, and be good at it, tends to work better than a complicated one.
Function
You want a coffee maker that does the job all the way through, nothing too much, and nothing left half done. Underachievers that don't extract enough flavor, and overachievers that boil the water too much that your coffee gets too bitter; you don't want them.
Type of Coffee
It pays to know what kind of coffee you love to have from your coffee maker. For most brews, drip coffee makers are all right. For espresso, a dedicated espresso machine is the only one that will do. If you want espresso, but don't want to buy a machine for it, a French press can actually do the trick. Percolators are also good, as they're tried and tested. The coffee you want tells you what kind of coffee maker you need.
Cup Size
See if the coffee maker makes a decent-sized serving at one go. Decent-sized is relative. If your morning wake up ritual needs two cups, then see that your coffee maker can deliver just that. Some coffee machines limit themselves to serving sizes that are precise, but are annoyingly less or more than what some need. Make sure what you buy neither serves too little nor overflows your cup and wastes all that coffee goodness.
Reservoir
A good coffee maker should hold enough water for a decent amount of servings at one time. Make sure it can hold a good amount without the reservoir being too big that it takes over the machine. Bad coffee makers tend to have big reservoirs, and cheap machine parts within, just so that they can pass as coffee makers. Do not fall for this. Scrutinize, and choose wisely.
Value
Everyone wants a bargain, but remember that there's such a thing as a balance between the price and the features. Measure the coffee maker's set of features along with its build and its price. This kind of formula is a good rule of thumb. So this means you'll need to check out the slightly costly items, and visit the reputable shops to get the best "balanced" value. It's not just money at stake here, it's your mornings.
Brand
It may not seem necessary, but buying a coffee maker from a reputable brand is much better than buying some run-in-the-mill counterpart (unless you've done a great deal of research behind some new or unknown brands). A branded machine can beat any brandless contraption anytime. That's another consumer rule of thumb there. More of a guide, not a rule. When it comes to build quality, features, and overall design, brands like Bunn, Black & Decker, Cuisinart, Braun, and so on are the best there is.
Easy-to-Clean
Of course, you have to deal with cleaning issues. You want to maintain your coffee maker's service life. Make sure that the crucial parts are washable so that you do not get coffee sticking to them over time. As long as you can wash the important parts like the pot and the reservoir with soap and water, you're good to go.
Portability
You don't want anything bigger than your counter. If you buy something that can sit snugly at the corner of your kitchen, then you'd want to use it day after day, since it doesn't "intrude" in your kitchen space.
Safety
Make sure that there are no exposed electric parts; that everything is properly insulated. Sometimes there are spills, and you don't want a shock when you clean up the spill. See if the handles are cool to the touch and children who fumble with them and won't get burned.
Coffee makers come in many shapes and sizes. Simplify your search of your best coffee maker by setting your criteria of what you want from your machine before you start looking for your perfect coffee maker.
