Filter coffee is America’s best friend.
Whether it’s endless refills at the diner, a styrofoam cup from the gas station or your own morning pot, drip coffee and the filter-based automatic pour-over coffee makers that produce it are so ubiquitous they’re almost Americana. Or maybe you prefer pour-over to drip coffee.
But did you know drip coffee can also be really good?
Chances are, you’re using a pour-over coffee brewer you’ve had for ages, maybe inherited from a friend, was just left at your apartment when you moved in… whatever. There are lots of crappy automatic pour-over machines out there.
But it’s 2021. We don’t drink bad coffee anymore. We can’t drink bad coffee anymore, everything else is too messed up! I mean, leave us our coffee.
So I’ve rounded up the best automatic pour-over machines available now for you all to feast your eyes upon.
As you’d expect, these go from super affordable to pretty affordable. None of them should break the bank for most of you, and everyone should be able to afford something on the lower end.
The Best Automatic Pour Over Coffee Makers of 2021:
- Trusted by top coffee experts
- Easy to use and efficient operation
- Auto-off feature
- Backed up by 5 years warranty
- SCA certified
- Brew any volume of coffee
- Automatically adjusts water temperature
- Includes thermal carafe
- SCA-certified
- 9-cup capacity
- 24-hour programmability
- Temperature control feature
- SCA-certified
- Flavor strength control (regular to strong)
- Temperature control
- 8-cup capacity
- Showerhead facilitates even saturation of coffee grounds
- One-touch brewing
- Optimal pre-infusion
- Affordable
- Brew 10-cup full pot in less than 3 minutes
- Exclusive drip-free carafe prevents mess on cup and counter
- Multiple brew sizes
- 3 years solid warranty
- Exclusive temperature controlling
- 8-cup capacity
- SCA-certified brew quality
- Programmability
- Made of stainless steel
- Showed head to sprinkle for more balanced and flavorful coffee
- Optimal temperature controlling
- No chance for bitter coffee
These days, drip or filter coffee makers are also referred to as fully automatic pour-over coffee brewers. After all, with bloom features and auto-timer, they’re getting closer and closer to coffee shop quality.
After a brief overview, let’s discuss top-rated automatic pour-over coffee makers of 2020 in detail…
1. Technivorm KBG Coffee Brewer – Premium Quality Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker
The Moccamaster is an absolute classic.
Cup and liter measures allow you to make up to 10 cups of coffee at a time, and heat is provided by copper elements that are gentle on your brew. There’s a 100-minute auto-off timer, which is good for the environment and also for forgetful people (like myself).
The KBG from Moccamaster is really well made and solid. It doesn’t have the plasticky feel of many automatic pour-over coffee machines, despite some plastic elements.
Most noticeably, though, this is a beautiful automatic pour-over coffee maker. It has classic looks, especially in brick red. It would fit in a kitchen any time from the 1950s to today.
There’s an old-fashioned feeling to the switch controls, but that’s a good thing. Remember how I talked about drip coffee and Americana? Well, the Technivorm KBG Moccamaster really personifies that.
PROS
- Beautiful and classic
- Auto shut off
- Copper elements
- Makes really great coffee every time
CONS
- It is pricey
Bottom Line
If you want style and substance, get yourself a Technivorm KBG Coffee Brewer.
2. Breville BDC400 Precision Brewer with Thermal Carafe
This is a pretty high-end electric pour-over machine, and its looks live up to the price and the hype.
There’s also PID temperature control, something mostly reserved for espresso machines. This means no scalded beans!
The idea is that you can set this baby to fit your beans — adjusting everything, including the bloom time and flow rate — to suit the grind and the roast. Again, all this is really fancy for an automatic pour-over coffee machine.
In fact, there’s a possibility that this electric pour-over coffee maker might be a little too fancy early in the AM when the screen seems small and bright if you haven’t preset everything.
But then it’s not all high concept and automatic — the carafe is also built specifically to fit pour-over filters as well as the Precisions Brewer. So you can open up your coffee world!
PROS
- Great looking if you like modern
- Loads of options for preset and custom coffees
- Super modern
- Holds 12 cups
- Makes excellent coffee, even cold brew
CONS
- One of the more expensive automatic pour over machines
Bottom Line
If you’re into all the mod-cons, then the Breville Precision Brewer might be just what you’re looking for.
3. Oxo Brew 9-Cup
This is a smaller, stylish, and somewhat industrial-looking electric pour-over coffee maker.
The carafe is brushed stainless steel, so it looks good and also keeps your coffee warm for a decent amount of time.
The body of the machine is black, with a large and easy-to-read clock (easy to read even early in the morning). Plus, you can set a timer, so your coffee is ready for you as soon as you wake up. Maybe the aroma of the fresh brew will even wake you up?
PROS
- Well priced
- Modern, clean looks
- Small footprint
- Simple and easy to use
- Easy to clean
CONS
- At 9 cups, it has a smaller capacity than many competitors
Bottom Line
The Oxo Brew is perfect for modern, stylish coffee lovers. Plus, it’s not too pricey.
4. Cuisinart CPO-800P1 PurePrecision
The Cuisinart is a real classic. In both looks and operation, this almost is your mama’s automatic pour-over coffee machine.
A laser-etched stainless steel filter helps this electric pour-over coffee machine to achieve excellent results time after time (and brings a little much-needed modernity).
This is a coffee-bar quality pour-over brewer, with coffee-bar attention to detail. Grounds are pre-wet to allow blooming, and then the extraction process begins. In a way, it’s a perfect mix of modern coffee knowledge and a well-trusted style.
PROS
- Flavor and temperature controls
- Laser-etched filter
- Well priced
- A classic
CONS
- Looks old fashioned
- The carafe holds only 8 cups
5. Bonavita Onetouch Coffee Brewer
A showerhead water dispenser ensures an even steep for your grounds, plus there’s a pre-soak setting to allow your coffee to bloom.
It’s really quiet, easy to use the machine. Sitting in the corner of your kitchen or under an awkward cabinet, you might not even notice it! Unless, of course, you really need your coffee and would never forget such a thing.
And as there’s no auto shut-off or timer feature, you should try not to forget the Onetouch.
PROS
- Small and compact
- Affordable
- Pre-steeping to let the coffee bloom
- Easy to use
CONS
- No extra feature
- Note the best looking
Bottom Line
If size and money are concerns, but you still want a guaranteed great pot of pour-over coffee at your fingertips, then you should consider the Bonavita Onetouch!
6. BUNN NHS Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Automatic Pour Over Brewer
The Bunn Velocity is always hot and claims to be the fastest automatic pour-over coffee maker on the market! You get a full 10-cup pot in three minutes.
There’s no auto-timer function on this machine, and it’s not the best looking. It’s also pretty classic looking, so if you’re design-obsessed, it might not be the one for you.
That being said, the BUNN is a classic and reliable electric pour-over coffee machine and absolutely does the job.
PROS
- Fast!
- A 10 Carafe
- Classic looks
- Easy to clean
CONS
- Expensive considering the features
Bottom Line
If you’re all about speed, then the Bunn Velocity is a coffee machine that will fit your lifestyle.
7. Behmor Brazen Plus 2.0
The Behmor Brazen Plus is modern-looking at a really good price.
Coffee brewing temperature can be set manually, from 180-210f. After that, you’re also in control of the presoak and the brew time.
Features of the Brazen include a Mode Button, controlling the various timing and temperature, all of which are shown on the inbuilt screen. There’s also an autostart, meaning you can set and forget your automatic pour-over coffee maker and wake up to your perfect brew.
The pre-soak function can also be set for anywhere from 15 seconds to 4 minutes, so you can get your perfect bloom on.
There’s even Elevation Calibration: By telling the Brazen Plus how far above sea level you live, you allow it to work out the exact boiling temperature of the water.
Finally, an insulated stainless steel carafe means you can brew a whole pot and keep it warm as you work or get on with your day.
PROS
- Small
- Auto-time function
- Adjustable temperature
- Pre-soak function
CONS
- A little cheap to the look and feel
- A hot plate
Bottom Line
This is the best option on the market for those with small kitchens who still want great automatic pour-over coffee at the touch of a button day after day.
8. Bodum BISTRO, Automatic Pour Over Coffee Machine with Thermal Carafe
This lovely, modern-looking coffee maker from Bodum is specifically designed to imitate automatic pour-over rather than traditional diner-style pour-over coffee.
It consists of black or white plastic, stainless steel, and glass — not the sturdiest option out there, but certainly not boring!
The water is heated in glass tubing, making sure it never picks up a metallic taste and a showerhead spout delivers water evenly across your grounds. Plus, a fine stainless steel mesh filter means you can stop buying the wasteful paper kind, and the thermal carafe ensures your coffee stays hot. Of course, there’s no hot plate, but that’s somewhat balanced out by the carafe.
PROS
- Lovely and modern
- Pour-over style coffee
- Insulated carafe
- Showerhead spout
CONS
- Small water reservoir
- No additional features — it does what it does!
Bottom Line
If you’re a pour-over aficionado looking for an easier daily alternative, then the Bodum BISTRO is really your only option!
What to Think About
Automatic pour-over coffee makers are pretty simple, and you probably know the basics. You should think about the extra features you need – specifically, do you need an auto timer? If you wake up super bleary-eyed and need coffee in your mouth before anything else (like, for example, this here coffee blogger), then definitely plump for auto-timer.
There’s also the matter of space — how much do you have? And money… ditto.
Little things make a difference with a drip maker — how well does the carafe pour? Is the spout a single stream or a showerhead?
As is often the case with coffee, the more simple things seem, the more room there is for error!
What I Want!
No question — I am in love with the Technivorm KBG Moccamaster. It looks amazing, almost vintage, and with its range of colors, it could be an amazing feature piece. Of course, it doesn’t have a lot of extra features, so if you’re making coffee for a bunch of people or are head of a busy household, it might fall down. Plus, it’s expensive!
The Bunn NHS is great for a big home, with its 10-cup capacity. But I’m also drawn to the Bodum. I love automatic pour-over, and some might say I’m often happy to sacrifice a lot for style especially when it comes to the endless coffee-making items that fill my home. I mean, do I have time for more solid brushed chrome machines? Probably… but switching things up works too.
Basically, all of these are the best automatic pour-over coffee machines. There’s possibly a case to be made for some of them having too many features, if anything.
Whatever you decide on, you’ll inevitably use it pretty much daily. I mean, it’s drip coffee! So maybe don’t stress this one too much?
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does coffee taste the same as with traditional pour-over?
For most appliances, yes, and also, it depends on the degree of precision on how well the coffee beans are ground and brewed.
2. Is it hard to operate automated coffee brewers?
Not at all; if you can operate your cell phone, I am sure this won’t be difficult to understand, program, or customize.
3. Which appliance is the best for me?
In this guide, we’ve listed the best automatic pour-over coffee makers that offer you everything, from a simple to a complex programmable coffee setting. It never means you’ve to spend extra bucks to get advanced features, you can select the one that meets your needs and within your budget – you’re all the set.
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I’m heartbroken that in dropping a spice jar from a cupboard shelf over my Bodum Bistro yesterday, I broke the spout off the carafe. Bodum don’t sell spares, so I now have to go through the pain of finding an alternative but equivalent machine.
I ‘ve had my Bodum Bistro for a few years now, and while it had no options – not even a timer – and the start button was cantankerous, I loved it: it brewed excellent coffee in six minutes.
I’m convinced the copper element, glass riser tube and silicone bridge and spreader all contributed to the quality of the coffee.
I purchased mine from Target, IIRC, but I can’t find them now. Amazon doesn’t know if or when they’ll see them again. End of an era, maybe.
Oh well, I guess I’ll grieve and move on.
Thanks for the reviews, I’ll pick something, but it won’t be the Technivorm: way too expensive; it brews coffee, not single malt Scotch whiskey 🙂
While I’m thinking about it, what do you know/think about the Zojirushi machines? Some folks are saying that the heated water temperature is low, and doesn’t meet SCAA standards, which is strange given their fussiness over their rice cookers.
“It brews coffee, not single malt Scotch whiskey” – That was fun reading :)))