New Yorkers already know where to get a decent cup of coffee.
It’s their local bodega or their favorite coffee shop (within walking distance). If they’re a gold-star New Yorker, it likely only costs $3 or $4 and comes in a certain blue-and-white cup with a Greek amphora wrapped around.
So, due to that, we didn’t test the cheap coffee makers. The bodega has cheap covered. For the New York Post’s Made It Here Awards, we tested premium machines, ranging from $369 to $4,499, with one question: Which ones make coffee so good, you’d skip the shop?
Helen Pinch, a barista from Paloma Coffee & Bakery in Brooklyn, New York, put these machines to the test. We asked ourselves: How easy are they to use? How loud do they get? Most importantly, which one brews the best battery acid New Yorkers need to keep the city that never sleeps awake?
See our full test and criteria
What are the best drip coffee makers?
Drip is the bodega’s game, so this is where a home coffee machine has to work hardest to justify itself. Both winners skip the pod and the plastic basket and act more like a pour-over with an on switch. You bring the ground coffee. They handle the water.
Pros:
- Won our coffee sommelier taste test
- Hits 196 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit, the SCA’s target brewing range
- 10 cups in one go
- Hand-built in the Netherlands with a 5-year warranty
- Only 6.5 inches deep
Cons:
- No timer, so you can’t wake up to a pot
- The hot plate keeps cooking the coffee
This is the machine we’d buy first, and it’s the least complicated one we tested. There’s no screen, app or Wi-Fi. It just makes “really good coffee,” according to Pinch.
You fill the tank, add grounds, flip the switch and get up to 40 ounces, about 10 cups. A second switch drops it to a half carafe for the mornings when it’s just you. Those are the bells and whistles.
“[The coffee] hits at first with acidity, then sweetness, then just the finest bit of bitterness at the end,” Pinch described the Moccamaster’s ability to brew the best cup. “It really brings out the stone fruit, mango and apricot.”
Moccamaster says it brews between 196 and 205 degrees, the range the Specialty Coffee Association sets for good drip, and it can hit that range in under a minute and hold it through the brew. It’s SCA-approved, and it won our sommelier blind taste test.
It’s built like a prewar, too. Moccamaster hand-builds every one at its factory in the Netherlands, crafting the body from metal, and the few plastic parts are BPA-free. For a New York kitchen, the shape helps. It’s 6.5 inches deep and 14 inches tall, so it fits under the upper cabinets.
“It does what a good cup of drip coffee should,” Pinch adds. “It offers a comforting and rich taste without being overly chalky or tasting like ‘jet fuel’.”
Why it beat the Fellow: It’s $30.95 cheaper, it won the taste test, it comes with a 5-year warranty instead of 2, and there’s nothing on it to update, pair or troubleshoot.
“Sorry to all you other ones, this one is my favorite.”
Capacity: 40 ounces (10 cups) | Brew temperature: 196 to 205 degrees | Carafe: Glass, on a hot plate | Auto-off: 100 minutes | Size: 14 by 12.75 by 6.5 inches (H x W x D) | Weight: 6 pounds | Certifications: SCA approved, ECBC certified | Warranty: 5 years | Made in: The Netherlands
Pros:
- Brews 1 cup or a full 50 ounces in a batch
- Temperature adjusts to the degree
- Presets for light, medium and dark roasts
- Cold brew mode
- Built-in timer
- SCA-certified
Cons:
- The thermal carafe loses heat fast
- Mostly plastic body
- Only a 2-year warranty
- A lot of settings to work through on a small screen
If you buy $45 bags of single-origin, high-altitude beans, this is your machine. Fellow refers to its Precision coffee maker as a pour-over without the process.
“Fellow is awesome. I’m not surprised,” Pinch opines on her extensive experience with the brand.
This machine replicates a manual pour-over by executing a dedicated bloom and pulsing water through the grounds, all while maintaining precise temperature control.
“You get a fabulous cup of drip coffee,” Pinch adds. “[It has] a lot of acidity and bright flavors.”
A smart dual showerhead automatically adjusts to your chosen brew basket. Choose from light, medium, or dark roast presets, or fully customize your brew — adjusting temperature, ratio, bloom and pulses — right on the device or through the Fellow app. It’s quiet, too.
The catch is heat. There’s no hot plate, so you better pour it while it’s hot. The body is mostly plastic, which other reviewers knock at this price, and the lid is tall enough to bump low cabinets.
Capacity: 1.5 L (about 50 ounces) | Single cup: Yes, in 120 ml steps | Temperature: Adjustable to the degree | Carafe: Double-walled thermal, no hot plate | Modes: Hot brew, cold brew, guided brew | Timer: Yes | App: Yes | Certifications: SCA certified | Warranty: 2 years
What are the best fully automatic espresso machines?
A fully automatic machine grinds the beans, doses them, brews and dumps the grounds. The trade-off is size and cleaning, and reviewers often find these fully automatic, or super-automatic, espresso shots a bit lighter than shots from a machine you run by hand.
Pros:
- Espresso, drip and cold brew in one machine
- 13 one-touch drinks
- 2 bean hoppers, so you can keep regular and decaf loaded
- Grinds and doses for you
- Powerful steam wand
- Under $1,000
Cons:
- At 41.3 pounds, it’s the heaviest machine we tested
- Coffee can taste weak below the top strength settings
- Goes through water quickly
This is the one machine for a household that can’t agree on coffee.
Most espresso machines make espresso drinks – duh. The AutoBarista Pro also makes drip and cold brew, and Ninja calls it the only fully automatic machine that does all three. The 13 presets cover hot and iced lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites, Americanos, drip and cold brew, plus you can save your own versions.
“They make blenders, too,” Pinch remarks on the Swiss-Army-knife-like capabilities of the multi-hyphenate home brand.
Ninja’s Grind iQ sets the grind size and dose for you, with 50 settings and dosing by weight. It has two bean hoppers, so you can keep a dark roast and a decaf loaded at the same time. The milk system features a surprisingly sophisticated steam wand that froths dairy or plant milk hot or cold.
“It has a slightly less rich body than Fellow, but still full of depth and flavor,” Pinch added.
Calibrating Grind iQ only took about five minutes, but it did use a fair amount of beans. The 80-ounce tank is an impressive size, but needs refilling more often than you’d think.
At $950, it’s $550 less than the Rivelia and the cheapest way here to get espresso, milk drinks and drip from one machine.
Drinks: 13 presets, including espresso, drip and cold brew | Grinder: Built-in, 50 settings, Grind iQ auto-adjust | Hoppers: 2, swappable | Pressure: 9 bar | Water tank: 80 ounces | Milk: Automatic frothing, hot or cold, dairy or plant-based | Size: 17.81 by 10.68 by 15.82 inches (L x W x H) | Weight: 41.3 pounds | Warranty: 2 years
Pros:
- 4 user profiles that save each person’s drinks
- 2 swappable bean hoppers
- Adjusts the grind, dose and temperature to the beans
- Easy 3.5-inch touchscreen
- Removable brew unit
Cons:
- $1,499.99
- Milk can come out a little cool
- Hoppers aren’t airtight, so you can’t store beans in them
- Cold foam may need an add-on
The Rivelia stores up to four user profiles, so your oat-milk flat white for breakfast and espresso after dinner and your partner’s drip and “Why not try this today?” cup are each one tap away.
De’Longhi’s Coffee Routines feature learns what each person drinks and when, then suggests it. Its Bean Switch system uses two swappable hoppers, 250 grams each, so decaf, a light roast and a dark roast can all be in rotation. Bean Adapt changes the grind, dose and temperature for each.
The price is cost-prohibitive, and the hoppers aren’t airtight, so true coffee connoisseurs won’t want to store beans in them long term.
At $1,500, it’s $550 more than the Ninja. You give up cold brew, but you get the profiles, a smaller footprint, and, to be honest, a slightly nicer machine to look at.
Drinks: Up to 18 hot and iced, per De’Longhi | Hoppers: 2, swappable | Profiles: 4 | Display: 3.5-inch touchscreen | Water tank: 48 ounces | Size: 9.75 by 17 by 14.75 inches (W x D x H, with hopper) | Warranty: 2 years
Pros:
- 7.5 inches wide, the narrowest machine we tested
- Espresso, lungo, Americano and drip from whole beans
- Simple dial and dot-matrix display
- Removable brew unit
- From a New York City brand
Cons:
- Drip is medium strength, even on max
- Small 4.6-ounce bean hopper
Terra Kaffe is based in New York City, and it built the Demi to replace those pod machines. It grinds whole beans and makes espresso, lungo, Americano and drip, plus hot water. Instead of a touchscreen, there’s a brushed-metal dial and a dot-matrix display. It’s the calmest interface of those we tested and the one a houseguest could figure out if they’re early birds.
What you give up is milk. There’s no frother, so no lattes unless you froth separately. The drip-only feature is fairly medium strength even on the max setting, and the 4.6-ounce hopper means refilling more often than the others.
Drinks: Espresso, lungo, Americano, drip, hot water | Grinder: Built-in conical burr, 5 settings | Water tank: 46.5 ounces | Hopper: 4.6 ounces | Milk: None | Size: 7.5 by 15.7 by 12.8 inches (W x D x H) | Weight: 17 pounds | Warranty: 1-year or 3,000-brew
Pros:
- 51 drinks, hot, cold and in between
- Real cold-extracted coffee in minutes
- Grinder adjusts itself for each drink
- Aluminum finish from a Swiss brand
Cons:
- That price is for real
- The brew unit doesn’t come out for cleaning
The second-generation Z10 makes 51 drinks across 4 menus: classic hot brew, light brew, cold brew and sweet foam. Cold drinks stand out – instead of heating, Jura pulses cold water through the grounds under pressure, giving cold-extracted coffee in minutes, not hours. Sweet Foam adds a chocolate attachment for mochaccinos and hot chocolate. Its grinder adjusts itself for every drink, then resets.
The trade-offs are worth mentioning. The brew unit is fixed, so you rely on the machine’s own cleaning cycles and Jura’s cleaning products, which makes upkeep a bit high-maintenance.
At $4,500, it’s $1,500 more than the Breville, or about 12 Moccamasters. No doubt, this is a splurge.
Drinks: 51 | Grinder: P.R.G.2+ with automatic adjustment | Cold brew: Cold Extraction Process | Display: 4.3-inches touchscreen with rotary dial | Water tank: 81 ounces | Hopper: 10 ounces | App: JURA J.O.E., Wi-Fi | Warranty: 2 years or 6,000 brew
What’s the best espresso machine for home baristas?
A semi-automatic espresso machine gives you the portafilter and the steam wand, so you do part of the job yourself. If that sounds like a chore, go back up to the fully automatic. If it sounds like the fun part, this is your machine.
Pros:
- Grinds, doses and tamps for you
- Dual boilers, so you can brew and steam at once
- 45 grind settings
- Guided recipes on the touchscreen
Cons:
- Price
- 38 pounds and one of the biggest machines we tested
- Light roasts are tough to dial in
The Oracle Dual Boiler is a real semi-automatic with a 58-millimeter portafilter, but it does the messy parts for you. Lock in the portafilter and it grinds, doses and tamps automatically. The dual boilers let you pull a shot and steam milk at the same time, like the café machines do. The touchscreen walks you through every drink.
It’s also big, at 38 pounds and about 15 inches wide, and it uses a lot of power while it heats up.
At $3,000, it’s the second most expensive machine here. If you don’t care about steaming your own milk, the Rivelia costs half as much.
Drink: 14 preset recipes, 8 customizable drink menus | Boilers: 2 | Grinder: Built-in, 45 settings | Portafilter: 58 millimeters | Milk: Steam wand with Auto MilQ | Water tank: 68 ounces | Size: About 15 by 14 by 17 inches (W x D x H) | Weight: 38 pounds | Warranty: 2-year limited
Coffee makers compared
How we tested
It’s one thing for our team to tinker around with brewers for months, but bringing in a ringer changes the equation entirely. We handed our highest-rated machines over to Helen Pinch of Brooklyn’s Paloma Coffee & Bakery to see how they hold up to professional scrutiny. Beyond just the taste, she audited the entire morning workflow. She judged the acoustic footprint for shared apartment living, the tactile feel of the buttons and the cleanup process. But the ultimate metric remained the same: identifying the machine capable of producing the richest, most unadulterated coffee. Simple.
Testing criteria
- Coffee quality: We drank the machine’s brew straight. Any cup of coffee can be good with enough cream and sugar, but straight? This requires someone who knows exactly what to look for. So we ran our taste test with our coffee sommelier.
- Ease of use: The morning-rush test: How long from pressing the button to coffee in hand, how many steps it took and whether a first-time user could make a drink without relying on a manual.
- Build and maintenance: What the cleaning involves, whether the brew unit comes out, how often the machine asks to be descaled, what it’s made of, and how long the warranty runs.
- Counter Space: New York counters are small, so we compared each machine’s footprint and height. Most kitchens leave about 18 inches between the counter and the upper cabinets.
| Machine | Width by depth (inches) | Height (inches) | Weight (pounds) |
| Moccamaster KBGV Select | 12.75 x 6.5 | 14 | 6 |
| Terra Kaffe Demi | 7.5 x 15.7 | 12.8 | 17 |
| De’Longhi Rivelia | 9.75 x 17 | 14.75 | 21.4 |
| Ninja AutoBarista Pro | 10.68 x 17.81 | 15.82 | 41.3 |
| Jura Z10 | 12.6 x 17.7 | 15 | 27 |
| Breville Oracle Dual Boiler | About 15 x 14 | About 17 | 38 |
| Fellow Precision Coffee Maker | About 10 x 10 | About 10 | 9.6 |
Which coffee maker is worth it? Final verdict
The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select is the one we’d put on our own counter, and it’s the cheapest machine we tested. Not to mention, “the aesthetic is really strong.”
Coffee quality: It won our coffee sommelier taste test, and it brews between 196 and 205 degrees, the SCA’s target range. Ease of use: Two switches, one for power and one for a half or full carafe, and up to 10 cups. Build and maintenance: Hand-built in the Netherlands with a 5-year warranty, and Moccamaster says it will repair it for life. Counter space: Just 6.5 inches deep and 14 inches tall, so it fits under cabinets. Value: $369, $30.95 less than the Fellow and $580.99 less than the Ninja.
It isn’t for everyone. If you want to adjust every variable, get the Fellow. If you drink lattes, get the Ninja, or the Rivelia if two or more people share it.
Keep the bodega for a cup of joe on the go, and make the one at home on the $369 Moccamaster.
Our tester
Helen Pinch is a coffee sommelier for Paloma Coffee & Bakery in Brooklyn. She has been making coffee for twelve years in Vermont, New Mexico and New York City. She plays the violin and is not afraid of spiders.
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