As many coffee lovers know, pour over coffee has been gaining popularity in recent years thanks to its rich, bold flavor. However, a cup of pour over coffee can also take time and effort to brew if you’re making it by hand. Fortunately, there are plenty of automatic pour over coffee makers on the market today that can make your life just a little bit easier in the morning. Here, we’re going to go over our favorite automatic pour over coffee machines.
What is an Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker?
Many of us are accustomed to drip machines when we brew our morning cup of coffee. A traditional drip coffee machine dispenses hot water over coffee grounds in a continuous stream to extract flavor as it pours out a steaming mug. However, this process can flood the coffee grounds, which hampers the release of flavorful oils and other compounds.
Automatic pour over coffee machines work in a similar way to regular drip makers but focus on flavor extraction to create bolder, stronger drinks. Unlike drip machines, an automated pour over coffee maker allows the grounds to bloom before pouring your cup of coffee. They are really the offshoot of the quest of specialty coffee for better extracted brews.
While it might sound complicated, “blooming” is just a fancy term for coffee beans releasing their oils. Once the grounds have absorbed hot water, they give off the compounds that lend coffee its unique flavor. When the coffee maker runs hot water through once more, it transfers these oils to your coffee for a delicious, robust flavor. Basically an automated pour over coffee maker is a drip coffee maker that focuses on quality and even extraction and so makes a far more enjoyable brew. For a guide to Pour Over Coffee see our article here.
Why Use an Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker?
If you like your coffee bold, an automatic pour over coffee maker may be a good choice for you. Unlike traditional drip machines, a pour over model can efficiently extract maximum flavor from your coffee grounds so that you don’t have to worry about a weak or watery drink. Some people choose to brew their pour over coffee by hand with a pour over dripper. This process involves carefully heating water to the right temperature, then slowly trickling it over ground coffee beans through a filter and into a carafe. While it gives you complete control over the brewing process, the pour over method is time-consuming and takes practice to perfect.
An electric pour over coffee maker can make just as delicious a coffee as if you brewed it by hand (or almost!), but without the hassle. It can save you time in the morning so you can sleep in or focus on other parts of your routine. Many machines offer a set-it-and-forget-it design so that you can have coffee ready to go the instant you wake up.
What to Look for in an Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker
With the rising popularity of pour over coffee, you can find an almost overwhelming number of automatic coffee maker options available on the market today. When picking the right one for your kitchen, there are a couple of crucial factors that you should keep in mind.
Size
Size is an important consideration with any coffee brewer. You don’t want to end up wasting spare coffee with a carafe that is too big, but similarly, you want to be able to make enough for everyone in the household. Most coffee makers have a listed cup capacity that lets you know how much the machine can hold at once. A single-cup machine might suffice for a single person, but households with multiple coffee drinkers might want to look into options that hold eight, ten, or even twelve cups. You should also consider the overall size of the coffee maker you choose, regardless of its holding capacity. You need something that can fit comfortably on your kitchen counter. If you have upper cabinets, it’s good to make sure any coffee maker will fit underneath.
Programmability
If you’re looking for a user-friendly coffee maker, you can find programmable options that make brewing a breeze, even for novices. Many machines on the market today feature settings that allow you to set a specific brewing time, program specific drinks for different family members, adjust brew strength, and much more. Many coffee makers also feature an auto-shutoff function to ensure the unit is off when not in use. This feature helps prevent damage to the machine itself and reduces the risk of burns and accidental fires.
Temperature Control
Temperature is crucial when it comes to brewing the perfect cup of pour over coffee. Look for a machine that’s able to heat water between 195F and 205F. It’s also a good idea to look for a design that will keep the water hot as it brews. It can help if the machine has a separate water reservoir. Once your coffee is brewed, you want a machine that can keep it warm and ready to pour the next cup. Many automatic pour over coffee machines have a thermal carafe or a built-in hot plate to keep your coffee warm before you get around to drinking it.
Best Automatic Pour Over Coffee Makers
Technivorm Moccamaster
The Technivorm Moccamaster is a high-end automatic coffee maker looks good in any kitchen, with more than two dozen bright and bold finishes. It’s a top choice amongst coffee brewing experts and professional baristas thanks to its brewing capabilities. A nine-hole showerhead ensures even saturation of coffee grounds for a robust flavor profile. Coffee is delivered via a copper element to preserve flavors, with no extra pumps or pipes to get in the way.
The Moccamaster is easy to use, with a single push button and a four to six minute brewing time. It also has an automatic shutoff feature to keep you from hurting yourself or accidentally burning your coffee. See our more extended review of the Moccamaster here.
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Breville Precision Brewer
The Breville Precision Brewer is in many ways the techy brother of the Moccamaster. Like all Breville coffee makers it comes with a pleasing aesthetic and a careful attention to detail. The biggest strength of this particular automatic pour over coffee maker is the level of customization available. It can be easily switched between six different brew settings including Gold Standard (which sets the parameters according to the SCA guidelines), Cold Brew, Over Ice, Strong Brew, Fast Brew, and My Brew (which lets you set the bloom time, water temperature etc).
The other particular strength of the Breville Precision Brewer is water temperature stability. Often the weakest link in these machines is their ability to keep the water temperature consistently at the right heat. To offset this weakness Breville installed in the Precision Brewer the same PID temperature control that they use for their espresso machines.
In fact this machine is the only one on this list that can literally brew with a pour over coffee maker. That is right, you can even buy an adaptor so that the Precision brewer can make your morning brew with your well loved V60 or Kalita Wave! Overall the Breville Precision Brewer is a fantastic drip brewer that is advocated by some of the leading luminaries of the coffee world. Oh and it does make delicious tasting pour over! For a more in depth review click here!
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Bonavita Connoisseur Coffee Maker
The Bonavita Connoisseur pour over coffee maker can brew up to eight cups at a time, making it ideal for households with multiple coffee drinkers. A precision 1500-watt heater can brew at temperatures anywhere between 195F and 205F depending on your flavor preferences. A pre-infusion mode allows coffee to bloom, giving you the most potent possible flavor from your beans. The extra-wide showerhead and flat-bottomed filter basket distribute water evenly to maximize flavor extraction.
The Bonavita Connoisseur is easy to use at just he push of a button, with no complicated settings to figure out for those who are looking for just a simple cup of coffee. It lets out an audible tone when your brew is done so that you know to get your coffee while it’s hot.
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Cuisinart Pure Precision 8 Cup Coffee Brewer
The Cuisinart Pure Precision coffee brewer is an eight-cup coffee maker which makes it a good option for multiple users thanks to its generous capacity. It’s easy to use, with temperature controls ranging between hot and extra hot and a programmable flavor strength control. You can choose whether you want your coffee to be mild, medium, or bold. You can choose between a brewer with an attractive glass carafe or an option with a thermal carafe. Both include a charcoal filter to purify water and a laser-etched stainless steel filter for coffee grounds.
This automatic pour over coffee maker boasts a pre-wetting function to ensure that your grounds can bloom. Thanks to its flavor extraction techniques, the Cuisinart Pure Precision has been certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).
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Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker
The Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker is a stylish and versatile coffee brewer, offering more options than just pour over style beverages. The Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker can also brew lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, and fresh and flavorful iced drinks. A built-in frother allows you to take your coffee to the next level by adding smooth and silky foam to the top of your glass with either hot or cold milk.
You can brew batches in different sizes, depending on how many people want a cup of coffee. The Ninja has six different capacity options, from a single cup to a full 10-cup carafe. It’s pod free, making it an ideal choice for the eco-conscious. This automatic coffee maker uses Thermal Flavor Extraction technology to get the most flavor out of each coffee bean, no matter what type of drink you’re brewing. It boasts an SCAA Home Brewer Certification thanks to its superior flavor profile.
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The Final Verdict
An automatic pour over coffee maker can save you time and frustration in the morning by taking the work out of brewing. It turns the complex pour over process into nothing more than the push of a button. Any of the machines on this list are reliable automatic pour over coffee makers which will up your coffee game. Our personal recommendation would be the Breville Precision Brewer which really can’t be beat for customization, accuracy and ease of use. With the right automatic pour over coffee maker, you can enjoy bolder, more robust flavored coffee than with traditional drip makers.
Happy Buying!
