How does the quality of coffee produced by one cup coffee makers compare to brewing a whole pot?

 How does the quality of coffee produced by one cup coffee makers compare to brewing a whole pot?

Whether it's something like the L'OR Barista System Coffee and Espresso Machine for one cup at a time goodness, or... a 12 Cup Programmable Drip coffee machine like the Cuisinart Coffee Maker you can't really go wrong.

Let’s define terms first. There are a myriad of ways to brew coffee, and it’s functionally impossible to compare, say, Ethiopian coffee brewed in a jhebena to an iced mocha with whip; they’re both “coffee” but they are not the same thing at all. However, this question compares two very similar things: a one-cup coffee maker to a coffee maker which brews by the pot. These are both automatic drip makers, and they both ostensibly produce the same thing. So which one is better?

There are two broad factors deciding the quality of the coffee between these options, and both run the full gamut from “great” to “terrible”.

Of course, as you likely know, water is important. But the water doesn’t vary between pod and cup makers. In both cases, better water makes better coffee, and cleaning the machine regularly to get rid of buildup will make for better coffee. In theory there might be a machine which is egregiously difficult to clean or tends to have considerably more mineral buildup than other machines, but to my knowledge this is not the case.

The first question, then, is the particular machine. The typical full-pot machine has relatively poor temperature control and water distribution. Unfortunately, so too does the typical single cup machine!

The second question, then, is the coffee being brewed. Now, there are single cup machines which allow you to use whatever coffee you desire, but in many cases you’re limited to whatever pods you can get. Although some pods are available with premium coffees - Nespresso pods come to mind - often your only options are rather mediocre. By contrast, most full pot brewers let you use whatever beans you can acquire. This doesn’t technically make the full pot brewer better, but it gives you more options.

Ultimately, most automatic drip machines, whether single cup or full pot, are pretty mediocre. There are some that are better than the rest, but mostly not. The main advantage to the traditional machines which brew by the pot is in flexibility - you can choose the bean, grind, and filter as you see fit, and these can make a substantial difference.

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