How we rate drip coffee makers

Whether the machine brews at the right temperature and wets the grounds evenly. Most cheap drip makers fail on one or both, and it is the whole reason a $300 brewer exists next to a $30 one.

What we can actually read: SCA certification is the strongest evidence here because it is a third party testing the brew rather than the maker describing it. Brew temperature, bloom and showerhead design are published by the machines that have them.

Scored directly from published figures.

1 of the 4 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 3 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 30 of the category's 100 points.

• SCA certified4 of 10

  present

  4 pts

• Brew temperaturenot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 3 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  between 92 °C and 96 °C

  3 pts

• Bloom / pre-infusion2 of 10

  present

  2 pts

• Showerhead1 of 10

  Rain, Shower, Spray, Multi

  1 pt

  Single

  0.3 pts

10 of 10

Carafe material is the part that breaks, and the warranty is the only signal of how long the rest is meant to last.

What we can actually read: Carafe material, warranty and which parts are dishwasher safe are published.

Scored from figures that predict it, because the thing itself is not published.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 15 of the category's 100 points.

• Carafe material4 of 10

  Stainless Steel

  4 pts

  Glass

  2 pts

  Plastic

  1 pt

• Warranty4 of 10

  none

  0 pts

  up to 1 yr

  1.5 pts

  over 1 yr, up to 2 yr

  2.5 pts

  over 2 yr, up to 5 yr

  3.5 pts

  over 5 yr

  4 pts

8 of 10

Glass on a hot plate cooks the coffee: after twenty minutes it tastes stewed. A thermal carafe holds it without heat. This is the single biggest difference in how the second cup tastes.

What we can actually read: Carafe type and material are published, and whether a hot plate is present follows from them.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 13 of the category's 100 points.

• Carafe type5 of 10

  Thermal, Insulated, Vacuum

  5 pts

  Glass

  2 pts

• No hotplate cooking the coffee2 of 10

  Not asked of a product whose carafe type is thermal or insulated or vacuum.

  absent

  2 pts

7 of 10

The daily friction: what goes in the dishwasher, whether you buy paper forever, and whether it turns itself off.

What we can actually read: Dishwasher-safe parts, a permanent filter and auto shut-off are published.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 4 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 12 of the category's 100 points.

• Dishwasher-safe parts3 of 10

  present

  3 pts

• Permanent filter included2 of 10

  present

  2 pts

• Auto shut-off2 of 10

  30 min or less

  2 pts

  over 30 min, up to 120 min

  1.5 pts

  over 120 min

  1 pt

• Programmable timer3 of 10

  present

  3 pts

10 of 10

How much of the brew you can change: strength, timing, a single cup instead of a pot, and whether it will bloom before extracting.

What we can actually read: Programmable timer, strength control, single-cup mode and bloom are all published features.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 10 of the category's 100 points.

• Strength control2.5 of 10

  present

  2.5 pts

• Single-cup mode2.5 of 10

  present

  2.5 pts

5 of 10

Whether it brews what you actually drink. A twelve-cup machine making one cup extracts badly; a five-cup machine cannot do a dinner party.

What we can actually read: Cup count, reservoir size and single-cup mode are published, though cup is not a standard measure and makers use anything from 4 to 6oz.

Scored directly from published figures.

1 of the 2 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The one that remains scores this criterion out of 10 between it: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 10 of the category's 100 points.

• Cups per brew5 of 10

  4 or less

  1 pt

  over 4, up to 8

  3 pts

  over 8, up to 10

  4 pts

  over 10

  5 pts

• Reservoirnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  1 L or less

  1 pt

  over 1 L, up to 1.8 L

  1.5 pts

  over 1.8 L

  2 pts

7 of 10

Points per pound against the category median.

What we can actually read: Needs a published price here and on at least three rivals.

Computed from price, not from a rule list

Value is the only criterion here with no thresholds of its own, because it cannot be read off one product. It asks what else the same money buys in this category, so it needs the category. That result is then worth 10 of the category's 100 points.

Points already earned on everything else

out of 10

Multiplied by the category median over this price

median ÷ price

Capped at

10

No price published, or fewer than 3 priced rivals

5 of 10

Half marks is not a verdict, it is a refusal to guess: with nothing to compare against, a product is neither good value nor bad, and scoring it either way would invent a finding. It corrects itself as the category fills.