Looking for the best single serve coffee makers?
I've reviewed the best of the best in this article!
Single Serve Coffee Makers are for mornings when I’m too lazy and too impatient for a French Press or a fancy at-home latte.
They are perfect for those days where I just need caffeine right away.
No hassle, no fuss, (most importantly, no clean-up): just a cup of delicious coffee.
These machines are versatile: they’re great for lazy mornings and for quick caffeine fixes throughout the day. Every coffee lover should have a single serve coffee maker on hand.
In this article, I share my top 8 favorite one cup coffee makers that will give you a great cup of coffee every time you press brew.
| Image | Product | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick  | Our Top Pick | Keurig K55 Elite Single Cup Home Brewing System
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| View on Amazon |
Best High-End  | Best High-End | Nespresso by De'Longhi Coffee and Espresso Machine
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| View on Amazon |
Our Budget Pick  | Our Budget Pick | Hemera Vietnamese Phin, Drip Coffee Maker
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| View on Amazon |
Most Compact  | Most Compact | MeCraft Ceramic Pour Over
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| View on Amazon |
Eco-Friendly  | Eco-Friendly | Cafetiere French Press Coffee Maker
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| View on Amazon |
 | Cuisinart Premium Single Serve Coffee Maker
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| View on Amazon | |
 | Mixpresso Single Serve Coffee Maker
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| View on Amazon | |
 | K-Fee Twins II & Latte Verismo
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| View on Amazon |
Top 8 Best Single Serve Coffee Makers in 2020
A single cup coffee maker is great for folks who love coffee, but hate the process and clean-up. They're also great for individuals with limited counter space and who are low-volume coffee drinkers.
For their price, convenience, ease of use and taste, these are the best single serve coffee makers you can buy now:
- Keurig K55 Elite Single Cup Home Brewing System
- MeCraft Ceramic Pour Over
- Hemera Vietnamese Phin, Drip Coffee Maker
- Cafetiere French Press Coffee Maker
- Nespresso by De'Longhi Coffee and Espresso Machine
- Cuisinart Premium Single Serve Coffee Maker
- Mixpresso Single Serve Coffee Maker
- K-Fee Twins II & Latte Verismo
If you've already found the favorite coffee maker that you need in my list above, great! Here's the perfect coffee mix while you sip on that hot brew ;).
Click to hang out a minute and listen to Damian Marley, One More Cup of Coffee:
What Are Single Serve Coffee Makers?
Single serve coffee makers are exactly what they sound like. Typically using K-Cups, or coffee pods, these machines allow you to make the perfect cup of coffee for one.
This makes it convenient, easy, and minimizes waste when you just want one cup of coffee.
Now-a-days, there are so many different options of K-Cups that you can find at your local grocery store, making the options endless for single serve coffee makers.
Traditional Single Serve Coffee Maker Options (The Best Ones!)
Ok, so hear me out. This blog is about GREAT coffee. Not mediocre coffee. Not so-so, average, everyday coffee...
I care very much that you have great coffee experiences, and that they are easy and accessible for you.
So, while I've included in this review the best options for k-cups, Nespresso and other single serve, easy-to-use, one-touch coffee makers that I know you all desire, the best options for single-serve coffee making are perhaps the simplest, but also the most labor intensive (and by that I mean not really that hard to use, but harder to use than instant coffee, lolz!).
These options for single serve coffee making have all the benefits of an automatic one-cup coffee maker, but:
- You will have more control of your brew and beans
- And, you will limit environmental impacts of automatic machines and reduce waste even further.
These are the best traditional single serve coffee makers that I own and love:
Mini French Press
Paper filters in most drip coffee machines absorb the delicious oils (flavor) in your coffee grounds. Instead of losing that flavor, a personal-sized french press lets your grounds steep and presses the brew out of your coffee grounds.
You'll end up with all the amazing taste from every bean in your cup instead of your filter.
And personal sized french presses give you a couple cups for those days when you want to sip and savor coffee with a book, your studies or your computer, you'll be able to top yourself off mid-way into your work session.
Phin, Vietnamese Pour-Over
I've written about my undying love for Vietnamese pour-over here, but truly, for an awesome, personal-sized cup of caffeine, there's nothing quite as intimate and beautiful as a Vietnamese coffee brew.
A Phin is a Vietnamese pour-over apparatus that sits over your cup like a traditional pour over, but doesn't involve a paper filter.
Pour-Over
There are several types of personal pour-overs you can get these days. Stainless steel mesh, ceramic, stainless steel with paper filter, glass with paper filter, plastic, etc. ...
While stainless steel mesh filters have advanced, and paperless pour over is a thing, I do prefer to use a paper filter for pour-over coffee to keep coffee grounds out of my mug.
Pour over is a timeless, one-cup method that has been perfected, but does take a few minutes of prep and brew time. If you're patient, and your one-cup brewing is being done at the home or office, every coffee lover should have a pour-over cone.
The catch is, you'll need a goose-neck kettle for hot water too. Here's a really awesome one, with heat regulating controls, if you're looking for a great, permanent addition to your coffee bar.
Other Reasons to Buy a Single Serve Coffee Maker
Let's look at some of the main reasons that coffee drinkers like us should own a single serve coffee maker, shall we?
Convenience
Save yourself the hassle of making a full pot of coffee when you just want one. One pod makes one great, customized cup of coffee just for you. It’s never been more easy and convenient to treat yourself to a caffeine fix
It’s also extremely versatile: you don’t have to just have coffee. K-cups come in different coffee flavors, tastes, and strengths, but there are also K-Cup teas, hot chocolates, and chai lattes.
Looking for your new favorite coffee pods for those lazy mornings? Check out some of my favorite Nespresso Capsules for Lattes!
One cup coffee makers are typically automatic and fairly easy to clean. Most have a built-in process that you need to run every couple of months to keep your coffee brewer germ free and your coffee fresh-tasting.
Minimize Waste and Save Money
Don’t you hate when you waste a whole pot of coffee? I also feel like I’m throwing my money down the drain when I only drink one cup from an entire pot of coffee.
With a single serve coffee maker, you’re saving your money, time and eliminating waste while still making a perfect cup of coffee. I've written specifically about pod-only options out there here.
K-Cups and Coffee Pods
These small capsules have truly become a powerhouse in the coffee world. The single serve machines run on K-Cups and coffee pod capsules that you can buy practically everywhere now.
Want to learn more about Keurig and Nespresso Machines?
Many of the mainstream coffee companies have their own K-Cup options, making it easy to get a quick fix of Starbucks or Peet's Coffee from your home.
If you have a favorite coffee roast that doesn’t have a K-Cup option, many single serve coffee makers come with a capsule for you to make your own makeshift K-Cup with your favorite kind of coffee.
Environmental Impact
Some have talked about the negative effects that K-Cups and coffee pods can have on the environment. I concur. But for the sake of being honest, these machines are everywhere, folks are going to buy them, and many don't know that these little capsules are recyclable! If you do buy a pod-machine for single serve coffee making, please take advantage of recycling programs.
Otherwise, we're doing a huge disservice to the environment by using them.
Companies like Nespresso, for example, will take back and recycle all Nespresso coffee capsules in their store, or by mail. Keurig also has their own recycle program.
To recycle these capsules, check out this video:
Top-Rated Single Serve Coffee Makers
Now that you know the basics of single serve coffee makers, let’s get into my favorite coffee makers to get you roasting convenient cups of coffee as soon as possible!
Products Reviewed
I think the Keurig system is the easiest type of single coffee maker that I have ever tried. It’s convenient, versatile, and easy to clean. You can use practically use any kind of K-Cup or coffee pod. If your favorite type of coffee isn’t available in a K-Cup version, you can use the additional capsule to use your preferred roast. You can change the brew sizes, which also changes the strength of the pods. It’s an awesome option for single cup coffee maker – I highly recommend it!
The BEST ceramic pour over. Hands down. #2 paper filters are a perfect fit. The price is unbeatable. It's a beautiful, sleek looking filter that fits over most mugs and travel tumblers. You'll get specialty coffee shop flavor with every use, and you can't beat dishwasher safe!
The creamy, sweet indulgence that is Vietnamese coffee is to die for. And a phin is a great pour-over method for folks looking for strong coffee and a unique way to brew and serve a single cup.
French press coffee makers are so versatile, every coffee lover needs at least one. I love the unique design of this stainless steel personal-sized french press that'll keep your coffee hot while you take your time enjoying your brew. Dishwasher safe and easy to use, french presses are always my first recommendation for personal coffee brewing at home.
Nespresso is such a lavish coffee company. Every time I make Nespresso coffee, I always feel like I’m treating myself. This coffee and espresso machine comes with a milk frother, which makes it extremely easy and versatile: have a cup of strong black coffee, or have a barista style cappuccino with the push of a button.
The Cuisinart coffee maker has so many different options to personalize your cup of coffee. It’s a very straight forward coffee maker and is pretty sturdy. It’s also easy to clean which is a huge plus. Overall, I have no complaints. It’s not a fancy coffee maker, but it definitely gets the job done so… I like it!
Mixspresso's single serve pod coffee maker is pretty good at what it does. On our list, it’s the lowest priced coffee maker that still get the job done. It’s takes about 2 minutes to heat up and brew the perfect sized cup of coffee. It’s simple, efficient, and sturdy.
When I first found the K-Fee coffee maker, I was intrigued but also skeptical. The fancy design looked overly ambitious. I do like this coffee maker, but I think it’s not as simple as I’d like for a single serve coffee maker. There’s something complicated about this coffee maker that I wouldn’t recommend for newer coffee drinkers. If you’re experienced in the coffee field, and you’re looking to up your coffee game, this is definitely the machine for you.
There’s something straightforward and easy about this Keurig coffee maker. I like it because it's hassle free and brews coffee quickly.
The pods are always convenient and accessible at grocery stores, and with all of the flavors available now, I never seem to get bored.
With an easy cleaning process and a sleek design, it just wins as my single serve coffee maker that I always have on hand during my busy mornings.
Single serve coffee makers are a great addition to any coffee lover’s collection of tools. I highly recommend investing in one that you will fall in love with. They are the perfect coffee maker for any lazy, laid back morning.