Breville is solid, basically the gold standard. Controls are super intuitive and you can dial in everything - strength, amount, auto-start, the works. Just don't slack on cleaning it or you'll end up with sad weak coffee from clogged grounds.
Capresso pulls really good espresso shots, like legit café quality. But you're paying more upfront and it needs more babying with the cleaning/descaling routine.
My fav is actually [the Cuisinart](https://dgwqk2vd43ry.cloudfront.net/?q=4HCRINF686) tho. Coffee tastes amazing and the grind/strength settings let you get it exactly how you want. Thermal carafe keeps it hot for ages without that burnt taste from a heating plate.
One annoying thing - if you keep it under a cabinet, filling the reservoir is a pain in the ass. You gotta reach around to the back or water spills everywhere through the overflow slots. Worth it for good coffee but RIP to anyone with back problems lmao.
All-in-ones are convenient but the grind usually isn’t as good as a separate burr grinder, which does affect taste. For everyday drip coffee, a decent Breville or De’Longhi combo works fine, but if you care about longevity and flavor, separate grinder and a Moccamaster-style brewer is best.
Love my Breville grind and brew had it for a few years now. Insulating pot so no burnt coffee. Only real issue is with oily beans the feed clogs, 2 min weekly cleaning needed.
best coffee maker with built-in grinder right now:
Breville Grind Control - still the top pick. precise grind settings, programmable, makes good coffee. around $300-350. worth it if you want control over everything
Cuisinart Burr Grind & Brew - solid mid-range option. burr grinder (not blade), programmable, thermal carafe. \~$200-250. best value imo
Capresso CoffeeTeam TS - compact, reliable, conical burr grinder. \~$200. good for smaller kitchens
BLACK+DECKER Mill and Brew - budget option at \~$100. blade grinder tho, not burr, so grind consistency isn't as good. fine if you're just getting into fresh grinding
De'Longhi Dinamica Plus - this is a super-automatic espresso machine, not a drip coffee maker. different category entirely. $1000+. makes espresso, cappuccinos, etc.
real talk:
these are convenient but there's a tradeoff. a separate quality grinder + quality coffee maker will always make better coffee than an all-in-one. but if counter space or simplicity is your priority, these work. And if you do want to weigh your options, then please feel free to [check out this article](https://www.roastycoffee.com/best-coffee-maker-with-grinder/)
So in conclusion, the grinder in most of these isn't amazing - it's just "good enough." if you're really into coffee, you'll eventually want to upgrade to a standalone grinder
I have the breville grind control. It makes a great cup of coffee with easy clean up. I started off using the built in grinder but then switched to my baratza encore. That's a personal choice. you can definitely dial in a fine coffee using the built in grinder. The carafe isn't well insulated but isn't terrible. I've compared it directly to a breville precision luxe and it's night and day. The luxe you can't even feel any heat on the outside but on the inside the coffee is scolding hot. Whereas on the grind control the outside gets quite hot so you know it's bleeding heat. The single cup mode is quite interesting because it steeps the grounds in water for a few minutes then releases coffee. Essentially making its single cup operation like a mini French press infusion style brewer. Let me know if you have any questions
I want to share a lifehack. I use this as well for years and I loved it. From time to time, I have looked for any opportunities to upgrade, but there simply isn't one that can grind, brew, store the coffee into a well-insulated 12-cup carafe. At least not one that has features that are worth upgrading.
I agree the downside is regular cleaning, and occasionally you will have grounds stuck in the chute (probably should have been designed in a slope). Here is the lifehack that I have been using to easily clean it up. Obtain used bubble tea straw, and combine it with your dust bunny. My dust bunny does not have a nozzle small enough to fit the chute, nor do I want to let it have contact with a dirty nozzle. So I simply use a used bubble tea straw, and use my other hand to create an imperfect seal between the dust bunny nozzle and the straw. Works like a charm and made cleaning much easier and faster. Upvote if this works for you. =)
Hope it works for you.
The only other maintenance issue I run into regularly is the coffee grind build up at the mouth of the chute. I think it depends on the kind of coffee I use. There is this one coffee roaster in my area where I source my beans from occasionally, and I notice that if I use their beans, there is a guarantee that this problem will manifest. I suspect it's the oiliness of the beans. I do not really have any elegant way of cleaning this up other than to scrape them off with my fingers. I would say it's not much more effort to the regular cleaning, and I can easily avoid it by not sourcing my beans from this roaster. Using the bubble tea straw to scrape works too, but usually not going to be able to get everything off if they have hardened.
I have not noticed anything around the descaling routine. I usually just do it when it prompts me to do so, and follow the recommendation (4 cup white vinegar + 8 cup water mix, brew). I use white vinegar on other appliances so this routine is not "out-of-the-norm" for me. I do not see any calcification buildup, and I cannot detect any difference in taste.
Top Drip Coffee Makers on Reddit
1
Moccamaster (Technivorm)
KB Series
83% positive of 807 users
Durable, repairable workhorse, but pricey with basic features.
Ambitious-Map5299
