Five Types of Home Coffee Machines: Insights and Tips for Brewing Coffee at Home

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Do You Love Coffee Like I Do?

I'm someone who really loves coffee. I used to enjoy canned coffee, but after discovering it was made with artificial flavorings, I rarely buy it anymore. Later, I switched to buying coffee from convenience stores, McDonald's, and Starbucks. There's a coffee shop just about a 1-minute walk from my alley, so I never considered buying a coffee machine for home.

But sometimes during New Year holidays, restaurants close early, and if I wanted coffee at night, I had to travel far to get it. That's when my wife and I got the idea to buy a coffee machine to make coffee at home.

First Model: Capsule Coffee Machine

Our first coffee machine was a capsule model. We chose it for its convenience—just add water, drop in a capsule, and you get a cup of coffee. A machine costs only a few thousand dollars, which isn't expensive. However, after using it for a while, we found we needed to use two or three capsules each time to get a strong enough brew. My wife and I were going through five to six capsules daily. Friends also criticized it for being environmentally unfriendly, and we later discovered the costs were too high.

Second Model: Philips Coffee Machine

Since I was selling Philips coffee machines myself, we sold our old capsule machine and switched to our current one. This coffee machine is perfect and flawless. The cost per cup is very low—you just pour coffee beans into the top of the machine, press start, and it grinds the beans into coffee powder before brewing, ensuring every cup is fragrant and mellow. Since you only need to buy coffee beans, the cost per cup is very low, making it one of the best choices for home coffee brewing. However, the machine is expensive and takes up space, so unless you have the financial means like I do, and both husband and wife love coffee and drink it daily, buying this kind of machine is only cost-effective. (Friends who are interested can click here)

Third Model: Moka Pot

The third coffee machine I bought was a Moka pot. This is the most common coffee brewing vessel in the Western world, as ubiquitous as teapots in homes. Operation is very simple—pour in coffee powder, add water, place it on a gas stove, and when the water boils and rises up, the coffee is ready.

Asians are less accepting of Moka pots because you're really drinking straight coffee, plus it needs to be heated on a gas stove. Almost no one in my friend circle uses a Moka pot. A few years ago, Electrolux made an electric Moka pot, which I found very convenient and even organized group buys for a while. But because everyone wasn't accustomed to the Moka pot brewing method, the product was eventually discontinued.

Fourth Model: Siphon Coffee Maker

The fourth coffee machine I bought was a siphon coffee maker. I absolutely do not recommend this one because it uses alcohol for heating, and if it tips over, it could cause a fire, which is very dangerous. Later, electric siphon coffee makers appeared on the market. Although there's the pleasure of slowly brewing coffee, it's clearly not something I as a busy person would enjoy.

Fifth Model: Cold Drip Coffee Maker

Another type that I personally really like is the cold drip coffee maker. Friends know I'm impatient—to be honest, I don't like drinking hot coffee, I prefer iced coffee that I can gulp down in big mouthfuls, which is more satisfying.

For someone like me who loves coffee, coffee can be both my triumph and my downfall. Although it's refreshing, with today's competitive iced coffee market having high concentrations, drinking a cup in a short time can cause heart palpitations, or drinking a second cup in a day can also cause them. That's why I want to recommend my personal favorite: the cold drip coffee maker.

Let me first talk about cold drip coffee. Cold drip coffee uses ice water to extract coffee powder. Because it's not brewed with hot water, the caffeine content is very low. Additionally, cold drip coffee has a completely different flavor from coffee brewed with hot water, so there are many cold drip coffee enthusiasts worldwide. I was also curious when I first tried it and became a regular customer. Because cold drip coffee is troublesome to make and yields small quantities, few restaurants sell it. Even when available, a small cup starts at 40-50 yuan.

Recommended Home Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted single-origin home coffee beans—such as washed Yirgacheffe coffee, Kenya AA coffee, and Panama Geisha coffee—offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various equipment. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227g) bag costs only around 80-90 yuan. Calculating based on 15g of coffee powder per cup of pour-over coffee, one bag can make 15 cups, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to cafés that often sell for dozens of yuan per cup, this is exceptionally cost-effective.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473