Top Five Best Coffee Makers of 2012

More expensive isn't always better with coffee machines. The right coffee maker is really up to your taste, but sometimes great coffee can be made with a simple, $15 coffee maker from Mr. Coffee, or it can be a $1,000 espresso machine from Jura Capresso. In this article, we'll stick to simply coffee, no espresso.

When you go to buy your coffee maker, if taste is important to you, then look up the reviews online first before you buy. The reviews usually give you a pretty good idea of what to expect when you bring your machine home. This page helps you to make an educated decision about your product by taking the very best reviewed coffee makers and displaying them on one page. All of the products are available for purchase from Amazon in their coffee makers section.

What to Avoid in Coffee Makers:

What to look for in a coffee maker is almost not as important as what to avoid. Look out for these features that might make your experience a little less than tasty:

• Cheap plastic materials. Plastic just doesn't taste good, and can really affect the taste of the coffee. Look for thin plastic walls or a plastic taste in your first cup of coffee. Check the interior of the carafe and make sure it isn't cracked upon purchase, and send it back if you have any doubts after your first cup.


• Bad reviews. Check out the reviews of the product before you lay your money on the line.


• Too many steps to get to your coffee. Programming options and buttons can be nice, but if they get in the way too much of operating your machine, this leaves more room for error and less room for a great coffee.

Taste is the most important factor, right? So first, determine what type of coffee you like. Certain brands and styles of coffee makers are known for producing different results. For example, an electric press coffee maker will make the coffee in an older style where there's sediment and a little richness. Mr. Coffee makes an incredibly good tasting cup of coffee cheap, many machines with temperature adjustments, so you can enjoy it faster. Bunn provides smooth, restaurant grade coffee with a smooth taste. Keurig offers limitless options and convenience. For the ultimate in great taste, Presto produces amazing results. Cuisinart has always made their machines stylish, while offering advanced ways to filter water and save time.

When you buy you're coffee maker, you're going to want to look for these qualities or features for best results:

• The bottom of the machine should have a heating plate to keep the pot warm. If not, your coffee will wind up getting cold in no time. The only exception is pots that are made of stainless steel, which can really hold the heat.


• Look for machines that have good heating elements. Even if you don't like your coffee ultra hot, to get the best taste, it's best to heat the coffee up to between 196 and 200 F to get the coffee to fully steep correctly.


• If you're on the go, a programmable coffee maker will save you some time in the morning on the way to work. This is a really good idea and will save you a bundle compared to hitting the drive-thru.


• Personal coffee makers are much more popular than they were years ago. K-Cups by Keurig and 4 or even 1 cup coffee makers exist that have great ratings from buyers.

Bunn NHBX-B Contemporary 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer, Black

Bunn really does make a great coffee maker. How so? Major coffee shops like Dunkin' Donuts use Bunn, but that's not the reason why it tastes so great. They emphasize the coffee being at the correct temperature, which is around 200 degrees F. Even if you don't like your coffee hot, it needs to be heated to the right temperature initially for the proper taste from the coffee grinds to be infused into the water.

This specific machine heats the water ahead of time, so you don't have to wait for the coffee maker to heat up. That hot water hits the grinds and stays in the carafe for just the proper amount of time for it to brew up a great tasting batch of your favorite coffee. The bottom warmer is also the perfect way to keep it tasting nice and hot for quite a while.

I actually own this very machine, and I've been impressed with the quality for the money. Most Dunkin' Donuts coffee shops use a Bunn (usually large scale commercial varieties), and this one doesn't disappoint. It does need to stay plugged in all the time in order to make use of the heated water, but it's a piece of convenience that will save you time and have your coffee tasting incredibly good. Of all of the brands that I've owned, this one is my favorite so far.

Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System

Keurig has revolutionized the coffee drinking industry to say the least. If you walk into any large department store, you're going to see Keurig machines advertised before a lot of the classic coffee makers, and with good reason. How many times have you brewed up a whole pot of coffee, only to drink a cup or two, then dump the rest down the drain? Or, how many times have you bought a bag of coffee and not finished it, or got tired of it? Keurig eliminates that aspect out of the equation with their single cup home brewing system. Much like Nespresso, these machines use single pods of coffee to brew up just one cup at a time. The result is that you'll have fantastic tasting coffee without the waste.

Did we mention it's also convenient? Just turn it on, wait a minute for it to warm up, and then put the K-cup capsule in, press start. Done.

It's not just about convenience, though, it's also about variety. Keurig has given coffee drinkers the power of choice with their wide range of K-cups available from companies like Caribou Coffee, Peet's Coffee, Green Mountain, Newman's Own, Gloria Jean's, Timothy's, Van Houtte, and soon, Starbucks. The ability to choose from this wide variety of K-cups, which also includes Keurig's own lines of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, is a beautiful thing; one day choose Caribou Coffee, the next day switch to Green Mountain. One day bold, one day mild. One day french vanilla, the next day hazelnut. You get the point.

While I don't own this machine, I know two people that do and are very satisfied with it. They like the options that Keurig offers, and they're busy people who like to have a cup of coffee when they want it, not have to wait to grind, brew, and then eventually waste most of the pot.

The reviews of Keurig machines speak for themselves, customers love them. All things considered, this definitely deserves a top spot on the best coffee makers list for 2011.

Presto 02811 12-Cup Stainless Steel Coffeemaker

There's something to be said about these old school coffee makers that brew it up inside of a metal pitcher. The taste in these electric makers is a little bit different -- a very rich, thick taste. The one great thing about it is that it's so easy to pour once it's brewed. No mess like your traditional glass pot or clumsy metal container. It also looks nice in comparison to other modern day gadgets. I can vouch for this because my mother-in-law owns one (and has actually had the same one for decades).

What have reviewers had to say about this product? People love its ease of use and most of all, its taste. Electric percolators are said to produce the best tasting coffee of all, and this one takes the cake. With some people not having to replace their Presto percolators for 30 years, this is definitely a great investment. One note: with percolators, you will have to grind the coffee from whole bean to electric perc setting (a little bit coarser). This is to prevent grinds from getting into the pot. The coffee will always have a very light sediment at the bottom, but the rest of the cup is outstanding.

If taste is your biggest consideration when buying, the Presto stainless steel percolator won't disappoint!

Cuisinart CHW-12 12 Cup Programmable Coffeemaker with Hot Water System

This is the perfect option for people that enjoy drinking both coffee and tea. This system dispenses hot water, ready at a moment's notice, so you can have it on hand for tea, hot cocoa, or soup. Cuisinart has consistently produced the most convenient coffee makers on the market, but this one is the current leader of the pack. Here are a few things that have put this machine in the top five:

* It replaces the need for a kettle on your stove. Hot water is here all the time, so there's no need for a kettle.

* It looks attractive on a countertop. As one of the nicer looking coffee makers out there, it's not all about the looks, but it doesn't hurt.

* The coffee tastes great because of the charcoal filters and gold filter basket. This double filtration removes impurities from the water.

* You can use it for soup, oatmeal, hot cocoa or tea - a definite bonus, and it's ready whenever you need it.

* It's programmable, so you can have it ready when you wake up in the morning.

* The carafe has an adjustable temperature setting, so you can have it super hot, or just warm enough (adjust it when guests come over if they like it warmer or cooler)

Mr. Coffee TF5 4-Cup Switch Coffeemaker, Black

Really, this coffee maker is nearly ten bucks and makes a great cup of joe! I know what you're thinking, how can this model that costs around ten bucks really make coffee that tastes as good as the $100+ coffee machines? I don't know exactly how, but they manage to pull it off.

I can personally attest that Mr. Coffee does make some great machines. I owned one for seven years, and it worked without fail every time. In fact, family members who had much nicer machines wanted me to bring my cheapo coffee maker because they liked the taste better than their most expensive counterparts!

Operation is simple with these, you just flick a switch to get it started after pouring in the grinds and water. Maintenance is really simple - just wash and rinse. The only reason I don't have my original Mr. Coffee maker is because I foolishly left the grinds sitting in the basket for months on end when I moved, creating a hopelessly moldy situation. Rather than risk eating mold, I decided to get a new machine.

I miss the simplicity of cleaning and making coffee with Mr. Coffee, but for some reason the taste was very smooth and delicious. I went the more expensive route, and while I have a great machine, it took me a few tries before I found another good one. This is the perfect start off machine!