When I first moved in with my now-husband, he made coffee using a French press. I thought it was very cool, dare I say very chic, even though, to be clear, he is not French. What I quickly learned about the French press was how easy it was to accidentally make a bitter cup of coffee, and how much of a pain the French press components were to clean.
We eventually got an automatic coffee maker that we inherited from a friend, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. It was fine at the time. Ten years later, with three kids, coffee has taken on a new meaning. It’s a luxury, but also a necessity, something I can’t play around with. My coffee has to be good. And strong.
Recently, someone (who I won't name, but who used a French press) dropped our coffee maker. It shattered into a million pieces. I was asked to replace it. Instead of not thinking twice, as I may have done in the past, I called in an expert to find the best affordable coffee maker to use at home.
I wanted something efficient that consistently made great coffee, was easy to clean and use, and cost less than $100. Here's what I learned.
Cuisinart
The Best Home Coffee Maker Under $100
Cary Wong, director of coffee at Partners, a Brooklyn-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe, recommends the Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker.
Wong says, “The Cuisinart coffee maker offers a few extra features over most coffee makers in this price range, which can make your coffee routine more convenient.”
It comes with a number of cool features, including its generously sized 14-cup carafe, a container that makes it easy to accurately measure water, and an auto-shutoff option. Two features that Wong highlights are 24-hour brewing, which lets you wake up to freshly brewed coffee, and brew strength control, which means you can brew a pot of coffee at regular or strong strength.
Wong emphasizes the importance of water temperature when brewing coffee at home. “Another important feature to look for in a coffee maker is temperature stability. The water temperature should be high enough to extract the wonderful flavors from the ground coffee.”
This means that the water must be sufficiently hot (between 195°F and 205°F) and stay hot enough throughout the brewing process. This Cuisinart coffee maker brews a piping hot cup of coffee and the glass carafe keeps the coffee hot for a long time.
BUY IT: Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker
Pro Tip: Get a Burr Grinder
To take your cup of coffee from good to great, Wong suggests using a burr grinder.
Burr grinders grind coffee beans into more uniform pieces, while blade grinders cut the beans into uneven pieces. You can get more precise and uniform grinds with a burr grinder, and it's easy to adjust the size. If your coffee tastes bitter, you may need to grind it coarser. If it tastes weak, you may need to grind it too coarse.
“My main advice is to invest in a good coffee grinder that, along with a good coffee maker, can make great coffee,” he says. “You can also ask your local coffee shop to grind your coffee beans for you when you buy a bag of coffee.” That’s right. When all else fails, seek advice from the experts.
