Best Yellow Coffee Makers

#1: Automatic drip

Best for: Everyday coffee drinkers

The omnipresent automatic drip brewer is the most popular brewing method in America because of its convenience. Just fill it up and press start; the coffee maker takes care of the rest.

Automatic drip is a filtered brewing method, which means a smooth cup with little to no sediment and a balanced flavor.

#2: Pod brewers

Best for: Office workers, busy lifestyles

Pod brewers see the convenience of auto-drip machines and kick it up a level with pre-dosed pods and a brewing time as fast as 30 seconds.

The sacrifice you make for this is flavor. The coffee in a pod isn’t as fresh as whole bean, and you don’t get as much control over the ratio and other factors that let you customize the flavor.

#3: Pour-over

Best for: Coffee aficionados

Pour-over is a manual version of the drip method. It’s the favorite brewing method for unlocking nuanced flavor notes from high-quality coffee. Baristas love it because it gives the user complete control over every parameter of the process.

It doesn’t take long to brew pour-over (2-3 minutes on average) but it’s a hands-on process and can be tricky to master. You’ll also want a few extra accessories to do it right, like a kitchen scale and a goose-neck kettle.

#4: Clever

Best for: Smooth, flavorful single cups

The Clever system looks like a pour-over dripper, but with one key difference: there’s a valve on the bottom that holds the water in. This gives you the smooth grit-free texture of filtered brewing with the water contact time of immersion brewing (and the strong flavor that comes with it).

Clever brewers also don’t require the circular pulsed pour that’s used in pour-over, so they’re a bit easier to learn how to use.

#5: French press

Best for: Lovers of full-bodied coffee

French press is the simplest of the manual brewing methods. Just put in your grounds and water, let them sit for 3-5 minutes, and press down on the plunger.

The metal filter in a French press allows more oils and flavor compounds into the brew, resulting in a bolder cup than drip methods. The main down-side to French press is that you will get some sediment in your cup.

#6: Soft brew/Immersion

Best for: Tea and coffee versatility

Soft brew systems are basically teapots for coffee. Most use a metal filter insert that goes inside the pot. This lets you “steep” the coffee as long as you’d like then easily remove the grounds so you can serve from the same container.

Since this is the same basic way you brew loose-leaf tea, you can use soft brewers for both beverages. Most use non-porous materials like ceramic, glass, and stainless steel that won’t retain odors or flavors between brews.

#7: Cold brew

Best for: Sensitive stomachs

Some of the acids in coffee don’t become soluble unless they’re heated. Cold brewing takes advantage of this, immersing ground coffee in water that’s room temperature or cooler for 18-24 hours, slowly extracting some flavors and leaving others behind.

The result is a concentrated brew that’s up to 2/3 less acidic than hot methods. The downside is obvious: it takes a long time. You can store cold brew for 2 weeks in the fridge, though, so it can still be convenient if you make it ahead of time.

#8: AeroPress

Best for: Traveling and portability

The AeroPress is a versatile hybrid brewing system. Depending on how you set it up, it can be used for espresso-style brewing or immersion brewing, all from a compact plastic device that’s easy to take with you.

Like other manual brewers, it can take a bit of trial and error before you get your AeroPress technique down. Once you do, though, it’s a fast and easy way to brew single cups.

#9: Pump-driven espresso

Best for: Cafes and specialty drinks

This is the style of espresso machine you’d see in a coffee shop. You can find home versions, too, although the good ones don’t come cheap and they take up a lot of space and power.

In espresso, water is forced through finely ground coffee under high pressure, brewing a concentrated shot with a thick texture in about 30 seconds. This is the ideal machine for making drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, but the learning curve is high if you’re not a trained barista.

#10: Stovetop espresso

Best for: Home espresso brewing

Also called Moka pots, stovetop espresso makers are an easier to use and more compact alternative to pump-driven espresso machines.

While the coffee brewed in a Moka pot has a similar taste and texture to espresso, it’s not “true” espresso by official standards. Most notably, it doesn’t have crema so it can’t be used to make latte art. That’s a non-issue for most home users but a deal-breaker for baristas.

#11: Portable espresso

Best for: Espresso on the go

These slim, cylindrical brewers have a hand-driven pump mechanism inside, along with a water chamber and filter basket. Some models can even reach similar bars of pressure as full espresso machines and may produce crema on top of the shot.

It takes some elbow grease to get enough pressure for brewing from most portable espresso makers. From an ease of use standpoint, they’re on par with pour-over and AeroPress—you’ll need to be invested for the whole brew but it doesn’t take that long to do it.

#12: Stovetop percolator

Best for: Strong coffee at home

The percolator method was the home brewer of choice before the automatic drip machine. The brewing process happens automatically once the heat is applied, with the water rising up through the central pipe and dripping over the grounds via steam pressure.

Percolators do need to be watched during the brew to avoid boiling or over-extracting the coffee. You also may get some grit in your cup, though using a paper filter in the basket can eliminate that issue.

#13: Electric percolator

Best for: Parties and offices

Electric percolators use the same brewing process as their manual counterparts but come with a plug-in base that heats the coffee and keeps it warm. This means they don’t need as much supervision.

Like automatic drip machines, electric percolators have a built-in warming function that keeps coffee hot until you’re ready to serve it. Most can also be used to heat other beverages, one reason they’re especially useful for hosting large gatherings.

#14: Vietnamese dripper

Best for: Bold iced coffee flavor

These compact metal drippers sit directly on your cup and produce a strong, concentrated brew similar in taste to espresso but with a lighter body.
You can serve

Vietnamese coffee hot but it’s at its best over ice, especially mixed with some sweetened condensed milk.

#15: Siphon brewer

Best for: Entertaining

Also called a vacuum pot, siphon brewers are how a mad scientist brews their coffee. Like a percolator, water is heated in the lower chamber and forced through coffee grounds, but it uses a cloth filter that produces a smoother brew.

Siphon brewers can be delicate and trickier to use than other methods. They can also take a while and aren’t the easiest to clean. In the plus column, though, they’re super fun to watch and can be a great conversation starter when you’re entertaining.