It’s time for another of our Top 3 of the Year lists for 2024, this time taking a look at slow brewing! Espresso is great and all, but we know every coffee drinker still enjoys a nice drip brew now and again. We’ve got our Fan Favorite, Top Features, and and Ultimate picks below, as well as an honorable mention. Let’s give them a look!
Fan Favorite: Moccamaster KBGV Select Coffee Maker
The Moccamaster KBGV Select is a machine that is a staple in our yearly favorites at this point. This is still a relatively new offering from Technivorm, but it’s really just a simple update that elevates their classic KBGV brewer. These machines are built on performance and reliability, and offer very simple operation. All you have to do to get great coffee out of a Technivorm is add some grounds, some water, and turn it on! Well - there’s one other feature with the Select.
Previous Moccamasters really were this simple, but it came with a caveat. The heating element inside used to be designed to perfectly heat a whole tank of water. This means that for the absolute best pot of coffee you’d need to brew a whole pot. Technivorm did produce a single cup machine as well, but neither option provided much flexibility. With the KBGV Select you can switch between brewing a full pot or a half pot. This may not seem like a major feature, but it turned out to be a game-changer for this already beloved brewer.
With its stunning visual design, fantastic performance, and legendary reliability, the KBGV Select really does offer one of the best options out there for anyone who wants a simple pot of coffee.
Top Features: Breville Precision Brewer
Breville’s Precision Brewer is another option that we’ve been championing for many, many years. This machine is basically the opposite of the KBGV Select, and it will be a perfect choice for anyone who loves options. That’s not to say it’s a slouch in the performance department either, but you will have to take some time to understand the various brew settings that this coffee machine offers to get the most out of it.
The Precision Brewer has a range of settings for things like iced coffee, single cup, and of course the simpler Gold Cup option (which brews to SCA standards), but it even goes so far as to offer multiple baskets to accommodate flat or cone filters. It really does a lot to let you customize your brew, with plenty of parameters to adjust for custom coffee as well. It does this while maintaining a baseline level of performance and quality on par with the very best drip brewers available. It’s also easy on the eyes, with soft lines and a versatile color.
This drip brewer is for you if you love lots of features and customization of your morning cup of coffee.
Ultimate Pick: Ratio Six Series 2
We’ve noted two machines with very different philosophies on this list, one flexible but simple, and one full of options. Our Ultimate Pick, the Ratio Six Series 2, may not offer flexibility or loards of features, but it does do one thing better than the rest: Brew a perfect pot of coffee.
Ratio has been at the top of many coffee enthusiasts’ lists for years now, and with the Series 2 they’ve made ours once again as well. This update isn’t extensive, but the Series 2 is designed just a touch better to prevent leaks and drips between its heat shield, brew basket, and pot. Otherwise this is the same Ratio Six that so many know and love. But what is it that makes this machine so great?
The answer is in its incredible coffee quality. This machine perfectly blooms your brew and then delivers unparalleled saturation and temperature control. The added heat shield helps to keep those temps locked in, so you don’t get the change in temperature as the water leaves the shower like you do with most machines. That shower head is another incredibly engineered piece of the puzzle here, providing exceptional coverage and saturation of your coffee grounds.
Then there’s the look of this machine which is, of course, stunning. Smooth modern lines and clear presence on the countertop makes this machine beautiful as well as functional.
This really is and excellent brewer, and will make any coffee lover jump for joy.
Honorable Mention: AeroPress XL Coffee Maker
The AeroPress is an interesting little brewer because it doesn’t cleanly fit into our list categories. In the past we’ve called it an accessory, a brewer, and even just something that can’t be slotted into a list at all. This year we’re shouting out the new AeroPress XL, which we feel is a great fit on this list.
This is still an AeroPress, a device that combines a paper filter with press-like pressure to brew a delicious coffee concentrate. What widens this AeroPress’ appeal is its larger capacity. For those who might be looking to brew a whole pot of coffee on the go (or at home) this brewer has your back. The larger capacity means you can brew for two, or brew two for you, with ease.
The coffee that comes out of an AeroPress is definitely a bit different than a typical press, drip brew, or espresso, existing somewhere in the middle between these three. It’s also important to note that this brewer will need you to add the hot water!
Portable, simple to use, and well designed, the AeroPressXL is a handy addition to your coffee travel kit, and a fun brewer to experiment with wherever you are!
Want to see these machines in action? Check out our video on this list below!