The best single-serve coffee makers for fast and flavorful brewing

The manual AeroPress is the best single-serve coffee maker because it's still relatively fast, but it yields a cup with a noticeably richer and more complex flavor than you'll get from pod-based machines.

The brewing process for the AeroPress is simple and well-articulated in its instruction manual. You add a paper filter and screw the cap onto the brewing chamber, scoop in your ground coffee, pour in hot water water, give it a stir, and then insert the plunger and push down until it reaches the grounds. With this versatile method, you can swap espresso in for regular ground coffee, or replace hot water with room temperature water and make a cup of cold brew in just 2 minutes. 

The AeroPress's portability is also a major selling point in its favor. The coffeemaker does include a few different components, but they're all small and easy to stow in a work bag or a desk drawer for on-the-go barista action. 

Finally, the flavor of AeroPress coffee will satisfy even the most discerning third-wave coffee shop fiend. The plunger and cylinder allow for quick coffee extraction without rushing through the infusion process, and the finished cup boasts fragrant aromatics, a long finish, and no trace of burnt grounds or excessive bitterness. You won't get exactly the level of complexity that you'd get from a pour-over brew, but the AeroPress makes a great cup of coffee in half the time that a pour-over does. It's a worthy trade-off.

Read our full AeroPress review to learn more about our top pick. 

It's no surprise that our top choice for a pod coffeemaker is a Keurig that uses brewing technology and Bluetooth compatibility to offer a highly streamlined process and a tasty end product.

The K-Supreme Smart Single-Serve Coffee Maker features BrewID, a technology developed by Keurig to recognize individual K-Cups and recommend a specific brewing temperature. You can press the Brew button and let BrewID do its thing. If you'd like more agency over your brew, the K-Supreme Smart's clear screen and control buttons let you control the coffee process.

Not only can you remotely schedule your brew through the app, but you can also save your preferences for easy access and pre-schedule brews.

As far as flavor goes, coffee from any of the best Keurig coffee makers won't (and really can't) offer the same level of nuance and depth as freshly ground coffee. But it is perfect when I just want a drinkable, potent, and easy brew. Plus, fans of iced coffee will be glad to know that this machine includes a setting that brews extra-strong hot coffee designed to pour over ice. This coffee doesn't pack the punch of cold brew, but it's strong enough to avoid tasting watered-down.

For more information, check out our guide to the best K-Cup coffee Keurig pods. 

I may be a coffee elitist, but I still have an undeniable soft spot for fuss-free, nothing-fancy drip coffee. That's exactly what the Black & Decker Single Serve Coffee Machine provides in a user-friendly, efficient, and mega-affordable manner. 

This small and lightweight machine would be an ideal choice for a dorm room, a tiny apartment, or a work desk. You can use ground coffee — and the thorough instructions explain how much to add for a single coffee serving — or pre-loaded drip coffee pods. Those pods are compostable mesh pouches filled with a single serving of ground coffee and designed to work in a drip coffee maker (unlike the hard-sided K-Cups, which only work in coffeemakers designed for that style of pod and can't be composted). From there, it's as simple as filling the machine with water, adding the grounds or pod, and flipping a switch. 

Will you be blown away by the multilayered flavor profile of the coffee made with this machine? Honestly, no. What you're getting is a single serve of standard drip coffee: mild, drinkable, and quickly brewed. 

Making espresso at home can feel like a daunting task. I don't have the coffee making expertise, available counter space, or budget to set up a full-scale espresso machine in my kitchen. That's why Business Insider's coffee reviewers and I have such a deep and abiding appreciation for Nespresso and its VertuoPlus model in particular.

The VertuoPlus has a sleek silhouette that's easy to set up on even a very small counter like in my galley kitchen. The pieces are clearly marked in the box and the instructions are detailed and broken down step-by-step. However, it did seem like the machine needed to warm up. You have to run a rinse cycle before brewing, but it took a few pushes of the "brew" button before the cycle started. The same thing happened when I went to brew my first cup.

The machine's software scans each pod and automatically determines the best brewing temperature, pressure, and brew time. Nespresso's Vertuo pods also come in coffee brews, if you'd rather have a standard cup of coffee. With both the coffee and the espresso pods, the VertuoPlus creates a beautiful layer of crema at the top of the brew, and the flavor of the drink is rich and nicely balanced. 

If you want the Nespresso experience but with a smaller countertop footprint, check out the Nespresso Essenza Mini. The Essenza Mini brews espresso with the same ease as the VertuoPlus (although it uses Nespresso Original pods rather than Vertuo pods), but it takes up a fraction of the space. 

Read our full guide to the best Nespresso machines to learn more.

The phin filter is a pour-over brewing device that's wildly popular in Vietnam. Now that I've used one to make my own coffee, I think American java fiends will find plenty to love about this remarkable stainless-steel tool.

Nguyen Coffee Supply is a roaster with Vietnamese roots, founded by Vietnamese-American entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen. Their phin filter coffee maker consists of a small cup-shaped brewing chamber, a perforated plate that serves as a filter, and a cap that fits over the top of the brewing chamber to keep in the heat. This might sound like a lot of pieces to carry around (and potentially lose), but the components all stack neatly together. 

This coffee maker uses finely ground coffee and water that's just below boiling (about 200 degrees F) to make a brew with a robust body, innumerable flavors, and a pleasantly lingering finish. It takes about five minutes to make a cup with the phin filter but trust me; it's more than worth the wait. The included instructions have a conversational flow that still clearly communicates the steps; I felt like I was reading a note from an especially smart and coffee-savvy friend.

For experienced pour-over users, I also loved the Kalita Wave Dripper 185. It's as straightforward as you can get: you insert a Kalita filter, add coffee, and pour hot water over the grounds in a circular pattern. That said, the simplicity of the method means that there's a lot of room for variation and a lot of room for error. 

Though we don't feature the Phin Filter in our guide to the best pour-over coffee makers, we selected it here because of thoughtful details that make it particularly travel-friendly.

Primarily, you're choosing between pod machines and more traditional coffee brewers.

Pod machines: To use a pod machine, you just check the water tank is full, pop in a pod, and then press go. However, the machines produce more environmental waste and coffee purists often find the brews less flavorful.

Traditional brewers: French presses, pour-overs, and drip coffee makers can make more nuanced cups of coffee, but all three methods necessitate more steps.

Speed: One of the benefits of making small batches is that you can make them faster than a full carafe. Our best pour-over pick takes the longest time to brew (up to 7 minutes), so that's not great for a grab-and-go morning. Pod machines are generally the fastest to operate and brew.

Capacity: Every one of the best single-serve coffee makers we recommend primarily makes one serving at a time, but some of them can make larger portions. If you like an extra large mug or have occasional guests, a single 8-ounce brew might not be enough for you.

As a long-time coffee snob and lifestyle product reviewer, I used my experience to compare the best single-serve coffee makers on the basis of speed, usability, and taste of the finished brew. I also spoke to Matt and Katie Woodburn-Simmons, veteran baristas and current owners/operators of Home Coffee Expert and Sara De Luca, founder of Invita Cafe in California to get their takes on single-serve coffee makers. Here is how I tested each product:

Brew time: To determine the efficiency of the best single-serve coffee makers, I timed how long it took to brew 10 ounces of coffee. I started by pushing the "brew" button for electric models and adding hot water for manuals. I set the standard or "signature" brewing temperature for each of the electric models, and for the manual models, I heated the brewing water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Maintenance: A good single-serve coffee maker is maintained as easily as it brews. I put each coffee maker together and determined the difficulty of each assembly. I cleaned each coffee maker and noted whether the coffeemakers could be washed in the dishwasher and how many different compartments needed to be cleaned.

Taste: I used Starbucks Pike Place coffee for each brewing test (finely-ground Pike Place for the manual brewers, Pike Place K-Cups for the models that could accommodate K-Cups, and Pike Place Nespresso pods for the Nespresso machines). I then critiqued each finished cup on the basis of flavor balance, nuance, and strength.

Is there a better single-serve coffee maker than a Keurig?

It depends on your preference, but we generally find that the best Nespresso machines produce more full-flavored brews and come the closest to making true espresso of any pod machine. However, Keurig machines and K-Cups are more affordable on average and more widely available.

How do you descale a Keurig?

Every 3-6 months, Keurig recommends that you remove the mineral deposits (known as "scale") that build up in your machine over time and can negatively affect the timing and flavor of your brew. To descale and clean a Keurig, you'll need either Keurig's proprietary Descaling Solution or white vinegar. Add the solution to your water reservoir with a water bottle's worth of water, place a mug under the drip area, and run a Brew cycle. Follow that up with a Brew cycle using fresh water to thoroughly rinse the machine.  

Can you use K-Cups in all single-serve pod machines?

Not all single-serve pod machines are compatible with K-Cups. For instance, K-Cups can't be used in Nespresso machines, as those coffee makers use their own pods. Same goes for drip coffee machines like the Black & Decker; these coffee makers are only compatible with "soft" pods, which are compostable. K-Cups and Nespresso pods, on the other hand, include hard plastic and aren't compostable. Only use K-Cups with machines that are specifically designed to accommodate K-Cups.

As already mentioned in this piece, K-Cups and other pre-measured pods won't produce exceptional coffee. "The coffee isn't necessarily bad, but it's far from great," said the Woodburn-Simmonses. However, reusable K-Cups can be purchased, which can be filled with your ground coffee of choice and used just as you would a standard K-Cup. "[By] using freshly ground beans in a reusable K-Cup filter, you absolutely can make a great cup of coffee," said the Woodburn-Simmonses.

What is the difference between a pour-over and drip coffee?

While pour-over and drip coffee both involve saturating ground coffee with hot water and allowing the resulting infusion (the liquid coffee) to drip into a vessel, the similarities between these methods end there. "Pour-over" is a manual process that requires you to heat the water (and to determine the water's temperature yourself) and to slowly pour the water over the grounds. "Drip" automates that whole procedure. After you add the grounds and cold water, the machine does the rest for you. Think of drip coffee machines as automatic cars and pour-overs as stick-shifts. They'll both make a car run, but the latter is far more hands-on (and more car-nerd-friendly) than the former.