In a previous post I wrote about the importance of water temperature when brewing coffee and how the perfect temperature ranges between 195 ℉ and 205 ℉.
Knowing this is a great help because you can use this information when you are looking for your next coffee maker or for when you are boiling water for your next pot of french press coffee.
In this post I want to look at the best coffee makers that have temperature control.
Off the bat, let me say that these are not coffee makers that have thermal carafes or coffee makers that have warming plates that can be set to operate at different temperatures.
Those machines only allow you to control the temperature that any coffee is stored at..
Coffee makers that have temperature control are machines that allow you to control the temperature that your coffee is brewed at.
It is like comparing a Honda to a Tesla.
Which is the kind of control that any home barista worth their salt really desires.
If you want to refresh your memory about the importance of temperature on the coffee brewing process, then read this.
As you can imagine, there is a massive body of research related to coffee brewing and temperature how different temperatures affects flavor.
How the brewing temperature of coffee effects the flavor
So let me just provide an overview of that.
The hotter the brewing temperature, the more full bodied and sweet your coffee will taste. Other ways of describing this flavor is chocolate-like and earthy.
If this sounds like heaven then remember that hotter brews carry a greater risk of over extraction- which is when the sweetness turns bitter.
Cooler brewing temperatures emphasise more of an acidic or fruity taste in a coffee.
The danger with temperatures that are too cool is that coffee will be under extracted and the coffee with just taste sour…
Now before we look at individual products, I want to look at some of the killer features that you will find in these machines.
How long does coffee stay hot in a carafe?
Most coffee drinkers like their coffee piping hot but most times you find the liquid losing heat and getting cold after a few minutes at best, and lukewarm or stale cold coffee can be very horrible and undrinkable.
To solve this problem, coffee maker manufacturers came up with a carafe with an insulating system (thermal carafe) to trap the heat in the coffee and keep it locked in for hours.
A thermal carafe is usually a double-walled (sometimes triple-walled) stainless steel container with a vacuum between the walls to prevent or reduce the transfer of heat by air movement.
Thermal carafes are able to retain the heat of coffee so it can stay piping hot for a few hours. Besides heat retention, thermal carafes also preserve the flavors and integrity of coffee drinks by preventing its volatile acids from escaping into the atmosphere therefore keeping it fresh and hot.
But there is another type of carafe, the glass carafe. Unlike the thermal carafe which have insulating systems the glass isn’t built the same way and therefore it has zero ability to retain heat. If you brew coffee into a glass carafe and leave it there, except your drink to start losing heat immediately and it’ll retain very hot for only a few minutes.
Glass carafes can only keep coffee hot if there’s a hot plate beneath it but this can overheat the coffee giving it a burnt and rancid taste.
How do you keep coffee warm without electricity?
Okay so you just finished making your morning cup of coffee, you take the first few sips and nod in satisfaction — fresh, full-bodied and piping hot, just the way you like it. You take a few more sips and go about your morning chores.
A few minutes later you return to cup for another sip and ugh … the damn coffee’s gone cold. And you hiss in frustration, if only you knew how to keep your brew hot for much longer. I totally get your frustration, but there are actually simple ways to keep your brew piping hot for long, at least until you drink it up.
The simplest and most effective ways to do this without compromising the integrity of your brew are …
Use a cup sleeve
The simple technique of wrapping a scarf around your coffee cup can provide some insulation and make your drinks stay hot longer than it ordinarily would have stayed. An even better way of applying this technique is by using a cup sleeve to hold your cup, this minimizes heat loss and keeps your coffee hot much longer.
Use a travel mug with good insulation
A travel mug with an insulating system works much like a thermo. And there are many travel mugs that work really well and can keep our brew hot for some hours. Investing in an excellent travel mug is a good to keep your coffee hot for long hours.
Get a really good thermo
Thermos with excellent insulating systems are known to keep liquids cold or hot for up to 24 hours. You can get one of these for preserving the heat and integrity of your coffee, after brewing a pot, pour your brew into a thermo and drink from there. Some thermo have push buttons that allow you to pour yourself a drink without having to unscrew it and expose the liquid while pouring.
Top Features of Temperature Controlled Coffee Makers
The features that I highlight below are stand out and special features.
They aren’t available on every coffee maker in my comparison and the section isn’t another dull explanation of coffee pods and ground coffee.
#1. Temperature control
I am guessing that this is a feature that you are most interested in.
Before you press start the brewing process, you can select the precise temperature between 187 ℉ and 210 ℉.
The exact range varies depending on each coffee maker.
Some machines in my comparison allow you to set the temperature to the nearest degree(link) others have a few presets (link) to choose from,
And an indicator of how important the correct brewing temperature is, it is part of the SCAA certification.
#2. Flow Rate
The speed with which water is added to coffee grounds is can be important in terms of creating the right flavor for your cup of coffee.
And this model allows you to choose between one of three different rates.
#3. Blooming
Blooming is the process that describes the initial release of C0² from the coffee grounds when water is poured onto them.
It is considered by some baristas to be an important part of getting the best flavor out of your grinds.
This machine (link) has a pre soaking feature that allows you to do just that.
#4. Lightning Fast
Every now and again, we all just run of time.
What we wanted to get done just doesn’t happen.
If you are feeling rushed then this machine has a solution.
At the press of a button it will make your coffee 25% faster than other similar machines.
#5. Not in the mood
Even the biggest coffee lover, doesn’t feel like drinking it all the time.
For those moments when you just fancy something else, use the hot water function on this machine (link) to make a cup of tea or hot chocolate.
#1. Keurig K-Elite
Details
Features
This little bad-boy is a busy, control freaks dream!
It brews single-serve pod-style coffee hot, efficiently and allows you to adjust the brew temperature with the touch – or 3 touches – of a button.
Just click the Settings button 3-times and then select your temperature between 187 – 192 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also, it can brew a cup of coffee from a standard k-cup pod in under a minute!
Its sleek and stylish design at an affordable price make it perfect for the office, at home or for your business.
The versatility of temperature control on this quick-brewing pod-style coffee machine is rare and nice to see.
In addition, you can choose between hot or iced-coffee and it comes with a hot-water system that purely dispenses hot water.
This machine has been well received by consumers, with the only downside being its less than ‘piping hot’ brew temperature.
Although the machine brews coffee very fast and the temperature is controllable, some would rather wait a little longer for coffee that brews hotter.
The counter to this criticism… this is not what the K-Elite is all about!
What it is about is elite speed and control within a simple design.
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#2. Breville BDC450
Details
Features
Precision by name, precise by nature.
The Breville BDC450 Precision Brewer is all about brewing perfect coffee the right way.
This means, drip coffee brewed and bloomed at the perfect temperature. Even though it will automatically adjust to the perfect temperature of 195 – 205 degrees Fahrenheit while brewing coffee, and is recognized by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), its capabilities go even further.
Using a digital temperature control, you can select exactly what temperature you want your coffee to be brewed at and choose between 3 different flow rates as well.
Even the time in which coffee is in contact with hot water can be personalized to your liking.
‘Precision Brewer’ is an entirely accurate way of describing this machine, and it is made for real coffee enthusiasts.
Vary your drip coffees brew-strength depending on the type of roast you use and keep it warm for hours in the stainless-steel thermal carafe it comes with.
This all stainless-steel machine, with matching stainless-steel body, carafe and filter doesn’t come cheap but is not over-priced in the slightest.
It is definitely worth the money and is in the mid-high price range; very reasonable for such a precise and customizable machine.
Some find the specific controls overwhelming, especially if you don’t vary your coffee options much, and don’t like to having to wait as long as you do for properly extracted coffee.
All in all, feedback has been majorly positive. For those who appreciate a job well done, and the time it takes to produce great coffee, the Breville Precision Brewer offers just that, perfectly brewed, perfectly hot and completely customizable coffee!
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#3. Keurig K575
Details
Features
The name of the game for the Keurig K575 single-serve, pod-style coffee-maker is its selection of options.
Options for brew-strength, temperature, brew size and even a hot-water-on-demand option as well.
This compact machine with a stylish, modern aesthetic and large digital colour touch-screen is perfect for large households, businesses or offices.
Being able to select from 5 different temperature options means anyone, with any style of k-cup coffee pod, on any given day can have exactly the type of coffee they want.
This form of customization is really nice to see in a pod-style machine.
It goes to show that Keurig not only cares about convenience, but offers customization to their customers as well.
That being said, we need to be realistic and understand that coffee stored in, and brewed from, a plastic pod is not the same as freshly ground drip or pour-over coffee.
And even though after thousands of reviews, the general feedback is positive on this machine, there are always those critics that expect it to produce coffee tasting as such.
The Keurig K575 is a respectable machine at a respectable price.
It is perfect for any grab-and-go coffee drinker who wants more customization out of their single-serve k-cup machine.
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#4. Behmor 5393 Brazen Coffee Maker
Details
Features
If fully extracted flavour and consistency from your coffee beans is why you are interested in temperature control, then you will be very happy with this machine.
Using a precise digital scale, you are able to select any brewing temperature between 195 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that you can not only brew piping hot coffee, but this SCAA approved machine allows you to adjust the brewing process to fit your specific coffee needs.
If, for example, you like a light or ‘blonde’ roast, crank up the heat. If a darker coffee is your preference, then maybe scale it back a few degrees. “Any way you like it (your coffee that is), that’s the way you got it!”
Everything, including the pre-soak feature, is customizable.
You can choose to let your coffee grounds bloom from 15 seconds all the way up to 4 minutes!… but the features for perfect coffee don’t end there.
A stainless-steel water reservoir, thermal-carafe and exterior accents help this machine to not only look clean, but by ensuring coffee-taste purity as well.
It does this by brewing your coffee without any direct contact to plastic during the entire process; from storage, to the brew to post-brew storage and all the way to your mug!
This is truly a knowledgeable coffee connoisseur’s dream machine.
If you know precisely what you’re looking for, in terms of great coffee, this is a great choice… just be careful when brewing your piping hot coffee as steam has been known to build up in the water reservoir and can burn you!
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#5. Cuisinart DCC-3650 Elite 12-Cup
Details
Features
What you get besides a conventional drip-style coffee machine with the Cuisinart DCC-3650 is adjustable brewing.
Your 3 options are: Regular, Hot and X-Hot.
It has a few other features as well, such as brew strength and 24-hour programmability.
It’s ‘Extreme Brew’ feature, brews coffee up to 25% faster than machines like it, in its class.
Customizable, with cool color options such as: Metallic Red, Copper, Black Stainless-steel and others, the main feature people like about this machine is its price.
It is very affordable and comes with temperature control. Simple.
Using a glass 12-cup carafe, this machine is for someone that wants a coffee-maker with control over their brew temperature without needing much else.
It rates well overall with consumers (mainly for its affordable price) but is not something an avid coffee drinker, lover or connoisseur would go for.
If what you need is a machine to brew coffee, at a great price, with a few features such as temperature control, the Cuisinart Elite 12-Cup drip coffee-maker will definitely get the job done!
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#6. Nespresso Expert
The Nespresso Expert Coffee maker has a temperature control feature which allows you to adjust the temperature of your brew. You can choose between ‘extra hot’, ‘hot’ and ‘medium’.
In the coffee world, fresh and tasty piping hot coffee is the bomb. But what if you aren’t really into extra hot coffee drinks, and sometimes you prefer a moderately hot brew. In that case, wouldn’t it be nice if you can control the temperature of your coffee everything you brew so you can have a moderately hot brew anytime without having to sit and wait for the temperature to drop. Cool, right?
Well you can actually do that. The Nespresso Expert is a smart coffee machine with temperature control and you can easily adjust the temperature of your brew with a dial. It has 3 temperature settings and by moving the dial to select ‘extra hot’, ‘hot’ or ‘medium’, you can get the exact brew temperature you want and you get a decent Nespresso — every time. But it doesn’t end there.
The Nespresso Expert also offers 4 standard cup sizes; Ristretto, Espresso, Lungo, and Americano. This coffee machine has a large 38 oz. water reservoir, just as you would expect it uses only original Nespresso capsules and has an auto-disposal feature for adding used capsules to the capsule bin, plus a 14 count used capsule containers.
Unlike most other Nespresso makers, this smart Nespresso machine can connect to the Nespresso mobile app via bluetooth and you can create personalized coffee drinks. Through the mobile app you can choose the amount of water in exact liquid ounces for each brew size. You can schedule a brew time, brew remotely and access tonnes of coffee recipes plus order new flavorful and aromatic Nespresso capsules.
With this machine comes a Nespresso Original capsule welcome kit with a range of capsules and unique aroma profiles — a complimentary gift. For maintenance and longevity, an intuitive and automated LED notifies you when the water tank is empty, when it’s time to descale and when the capsules container is full.
With a sleek, slender and flat-to-the-wall design, the Nespresso Expert looks great on any counter top. And getting your caffeine fix is pretty quick and simple, you drop a Nespresso capsule, close the chute, select the cup size, preferred temperature and hit brew.
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
#7. Cuisinart Pure Precision CPO-850 Coffee Brewer
The Cuisinart Pure Precision CPO-850 Coffee Brewer come with a temperature control setting for adjusting the temperature of your brew — between hot and extra hot.
Any coffee aficionado will tell you that pour over coffee brewing method is the best way to make great tasting coffee with all the flavors and aroma intact and it beats the crap out of drip coffee machine.
Well, maybe they have a point. But making coffee using a manual pour over can take up to 15 minutes which a hell of a long time to wait for your coffee. Not to mention what goes into the coffee making process and the mess you’ll need to clean up afterwards.
Pour over brewing method maybe a bad-ass method of brewing coffee but it’s definitely not for someone who needs a cup right now or wants to rush off to the office with a cup of coffee in hand.
But with an automatic pour over coffee maker, this problem becomes non-existent. The Cuisinart Pure Precision Coffee Brewer is one of the best automatic pour over coffee makers available, the Precision brewing technique provides superior extraction and you get almost the same outstanding brew quality (richly flavored, strong and full-bodied brew) the manual process yields — without the time and focus invested in the manual method.
The brewer brings the water to the optimal brewing temperature of 200oF – 205oF and a showerhead evenly saturates the coffee grounds to ensure full extraction of flavor and aroma. This machine also has two temperature settings; hot and extra hot, which lets you control the temperature of your brew. You also get to choose your brew flavor and strength from three settings; mild, medium and bold.
The Pure Precision also has a Brew-Pause feature which lets you pour yourself a cup before the brew cycle is over and it comes with an 8-cup thermal carafe to keep your brew hot for hours. This machine has a variant (Pure Precision CPO-800) which comes with glass carafe and a hot plate to keep your coffee hot.
With the Pure Precision comes a charcoal water filter for improving water taste, laser-etched permanent filter and #4 paper filter starter pack. This automatic pour over coffee brewer checks all the boxes of an ideal brewer and it earned the much respected SCAA Home Brewer Certification.
Like what you see? Buy from Amazon
