The 14 best coffee machines tried and tested, from bean-to-cup machines to pod coffee makers

Reviewed by Silvana Franco

This is the easiest way to make traditional cold brew coffee. Admittedly, it’s slow going, taking somewhere between eight and 24 hours to fully extract, but the result is a smooth brew with lower acidity that’s easy on your digestion and a great base for cocktails and mocktails.

While it’s a long process, it isn’t labour-intensive. All you need to do is fill the bottle with cold water and spoon some coffee grounds into a stainless steel filter basket, which lowers into the water and begins to infuse. It only took me a few minutes each morning and it became part of my summer routine.

Grind says you only need 50g of coffee grounds per litre of water, which could easily make you three or four cups of nice strong coffee. Between uses, you can throw the bottle in the dishwasher, but wash the integrated filter and silicone stopper by hand.

Key specifications

• Dimensions: H 34cm, W 19cm, D 25cm
• Weight: 1.7kg
• Capacity: 1,000ml
• Range of programmes: N/A
• Special features: Dishwasher-safe, silicone stopper, integrated filter
• Warranty: None

If you don’t want another appliance in your kitchen, you need one of the following coffee makers:

Cafetieres

If you’re keen to explore different ways of making coffee, and you don’t mind putting the work in, you could try a cafetiere, also known as a French press. You scoop ground coffee into a pod, add hot water and stir with a spoon. A few minutes later, you push the plunger down to the bottom of the pot to filter out the grounds and pour. You should be left with a cup of smooth, intense coffee, though it might take a few goes to work out the right ratio of coffee and water.

AeroPress

Or you might like the AeroPress coffee maker. Also incorporating a pot and a plunger, it’s a similar concept to a cafetiere, but it’s far lighter and more portable. Most suitable for single servings, it’s small enough to fit in a handbag or a suitcase so you could bring it to the office or on holiday. Our expert Sarah Finley can make a great espresso in her AeroPress, though her Americanos are still a little weak compared to a cafetiere version.

V60

Another alternative is the V60 coffee maker, which is a variant on filter coffee making. According to Hario, the makers of the V60, you wet the inside of a filter paper with hot water and place it inside the V60 dripper. Then you pour your ground coffee onto the filter and gradually add boiling water. Try to pour in the middle and draw an outward spiral onto the paper to extract all the coffee. We haven’t tested this yet, but they are popular among coffee fanatics.

Moka pot

You might also like a moka pot. Traditionally, they sit on the stovetop, but these days you can get electric versions, which heat water to produce steam and brew coffee. The Bialetti Moka Express is the most iconic, made from aluminium, but you also see stainless steel ones.