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    Best Coffee Makers for College Students in 2024

    These top-rated drip and single-serve models deliver a consistent temperature from cup to cup and are easy to clean

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    Coffee pot with graduation cap
    CR has tested more than 150 coffee makers from Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, Nespresso, and other top brands.
    Illustration: Consumer Reports, Getty Images

    While top-of-the-line coffee makers pack more advanced features like interactive displays or built-in milk frothers, they might take up considerable space, which isn’t ideal for smaller (or shared) environments like dorm rooms. So if you’re shopping as a student, consider a machine that’s not only easy to use and available at a price you can afford but also compact.

    “Full-sized coffee makers could brew a stronger cup and offer more features,” says Ginny Lui, CR’s test engineer for coffee makers. “Single-serve machines are a great option if you want to brew a cup quickly.”

    In our tests, full-sized coffee makers typically take about 10 minutes to brew a full pot, and some are even faster. But if you need your cup of joe as quickly as possible, try a self-serve drip machine or a single-serve model that uses disposable pods (or, better yet, recyclable pods).

    If you’re heading into a new school year and have no idea where to start, consider some back-to-school essentials to streamline your shopping experience. To prepare for your classes, you might need a laptop, headphones, and backpack. And for your room, consider looking into a printer, a mattress topper, and pillows, as well as a coffee maker for those late-night study sessions. 

    Below are six coffee makers grouped by type and listed in alphabetical order (not ranked by performance) that stand out in our tests for their consistent brewing and simple operation. You can also use our coffee maker buying guide to get a sense of which features are helpful, and CR members can check out our complete coffee maker ratings of more than 150 models.

    Best Full-Sized Drip Coffee Makers

    Automatic drip machines are the most popular type of coffee makers because they are easy to use. You simply fill a chamber with water, load coffee into a filter basket, and flip the switch to heat the water. These top-rated models feature an automatic shutoff and can be programmed the night before.

    CR’s take: You’ll pay more for the Cuisinart 14 Cup Programmable DCC-3200 than the Hamilton Beach above, but you’ll get more features, including a permanent filter and a light that indicates when the machine needs cleaning (a good reminder for a student who might otherwise overlook this chore). It also takes just 10 minutes to brew a full pot but makes 2 cups more than the Hamilton Beach. It’s a cinch to operate and clean, earning a very good rating for convenience. In our tests, we also fill the filter almost to the top with grounds, which can happen when you skip measuring and just dump the coffee in. Some models overflowed in that test, making a mess of the counter, but this Cuisinart model didn’t.

    CR’s take: It takes 10 minutes to brew a pot of coffee in the Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Programmable 49465R. And at about $37, it costs just a little more than one week of takeout coffee from a barista. This Hamilton Beach brewer has automatic shutoff, a nice feature for busy students. Its brew performance is top notch—in that test, this model earns an excellent rating—and our testers find the machine convenient to use and clean.

    Best Self-Serve Drip Coffee Makers

    These highly rated coffee makers work similarly to full-sized drip coffee makers but serve one cup of coffee rather than two or three. These models feature an indicator to tell you when cleaning is needed and an automatic shutoff.

    CR’s take: The Cuisinart Coffee on Demand DCC-3000 dispenses coffee one cup at a time. Once the coffee is brewed, just place your travel mug under the reservoir, push the lever, and you’re good to go. The self-serve machine fills the entire 12-cup reservoir with freshly brewed coffee in 9 minutes, and it earns a top-notch rating for brew performance. The reservoir is easy to remove and clean. It’s also programmable, so a busy student can set it and have coffee ready the minute their morning alarm goes off.

    CR’s take: In 8 minutes you can fill a large travel mug from the Hamilton Beach BrewStation Summit 4846[4]. The trade-off? Brew performance isn’t quite as good as that of the Cuisinart above, though this model still earns a solid rating in that test. It comes with auto-shutoff, a cleaning indicator, and a water reservoir big enough to make 10 cups of joe.

    Best Single-Serve Pod Coffee Makers

    Instead of loading loose coffee grounds in a filter (like the models above), single-serve coffee makers use ready-made pods. These machines then pierce the capsule, which allows the water to run through the ground coffee. The best performing models in this category include an automatic shutoff and a height-adjustable drip tray.

    CR’s take: If Nespresso is your preferred brand, try the Nespresso CitiZ. It brews its first cup quickly, which is perfect for hectic mornings when you need to rush out the door. Our testers also find that it makes cups that are very consistent in size and temperature. This model comes with an auto-shutoff, a removable reservoir, a height-adjustable drip tray, and a milk frother.

    CR’s take: The Nespresso Essenza Mini is a bit pricey, but it’s the highest-rated single-serve pod coffee maker in our ratings. It earns high marks across the board but receives only a decent rating for temperature consistency, meaning some cups might be hotter than others. This model comes with a removable reservoir, a height-adjustable drip tray, and auto-shutoff. And with its unique red exterior, it will add a bit of flair to your dorm room.

    How CR Tests Coffee Makers
    For drip coffee makers, we conduct a brew-performance test to measure the brew temperature and contact time (how long water stays within the sweet spot of 195° F to 205° F for brewing). 

    For single-serve (pod) coffee makers, our engineers evaluate the temperature consistency and size consistency of individual cups of coffee. Both types also undergo convenience tests to evaluate how easy it is to set timers, clean the machine, and more.