Single brewers have come a long way, baby. If you’re a coffee connoisseur, you no longer have to sacrifice taste to save space. These one-touch wonders give you the smooth brew of a French press or coffee maker without the hassle of boiling water, measuring grounds or dealing with messy filters. If you live alone, are the only coffee drinker in your house, or are just looking for a way to simplify your life, a single serve coffee maker is a must!
If you like to brew a cup for the road instead of stopping on the way (look at you, ecowarrior), make sure to pick a model that can accommodate tall travel mugs (e.g., cups that are 7 inches tall). It’ll save you the trouble and cleanup of brewing in one mug and having to transfer to another.
Don’t think of your coffee maker as just a coffee maker. Do you like oatmeal in the morning? Or instant soup for lunch? What about a nice cold glass of iced tea? If you pick the right model of brewer, with added functionality, you can use it in multiple ways, eliminating the bother of boiling or microwaving water, and prepping containers of cold drinks that need to refrigerate overnight.
If you love the ease of a single-cup brewer but don’t love the waste created by individual pods, there are options! Some brands, like Keurig, make reusable plastic pods you can fill with your own coffee grounds. Other machines, like Nespresso, are constructed with more than 50% recycled materials and offer pod recycling. Auto-off settings also save energy.