Morning coffee is essential for many, and with the features available in today's coffee makers there's no reason not to treat yourself to a fresh-brewed cup each and every day. Shop for coffee pots with the perfect combination of features for your needs, so you can make mornings something to look forward to.
Pause and serve: One of the best additions to traditional coffee makers, the pause-and-serve feature allows you to enjoy a cup of hot, fresh coffee before the entire pot has finished brewing. Older coffee machines were designed to brew until all the water had heated and passed through the grounds, meaning a messy spill if you removed the carafe before brewing was complete. Newer coffee pots allow you to remove the coffee pot and automatically stop the flow of coffee until the pot is returned.
Programmable timer: Programmable coffee makers make it possible to wake up to hot coffee without a thought. Becoming more of a standard feature, the programmable clock allows you to set the coffee to brew at a specific time; you can grind the beans and add water the night before when you're more alert. In the morning, let your coffee pot do the work, and you'll have freshly brewed coffee when you get up. Programmable timers are also great if you enjoy coffee after work or before bed. Set the timer on your coffee maker and have hot coffee waiting for you when you walk in the door.
Automatic shut-off: The automatic shut-off feature on coffee makers is a lucky break for absentminded coffee drinkers; a hurried morning no longer means returning to scalded coffee or scorched carafes. The automatic shut-off feature works well when paired with the programmable timer; the coffee maker begins brewing just before you want it and shuts off when you're done, ideally providing you with hot coffee exactly when you want it.
Reusable filters: Coffee makers work by running hot water through ground coffee beans, and in order to keep those grounds from ending up in the coffee, they're contained in a filter. Coffee makers often include either enough paper filters for your first few pots of coffee or a reusable metal filter. Reusable filters can generally be purchased separately if your particular model of coffee maker doesn't come with one. Reusable coffee filters, while initially more expensive than paper filters, don't have to be replaced after every use, so they are more economical in the long run.
Built-in grinder: If you're a coffee connoisseur, you might be ready to take it to the next level. Coffee makers with a built-in grinder are designed to grind and dispense exactly the right amount of beans for the amount of coffee being brewed, so you know you're getting fresh-ground beans for every pot you brew.
