5 Best Single Serve Coffee Maker Reviews (A Complete Buyer’s Guide)

We spent 100 hours testing and reviewing more than 59 coffee machines and pulled out these five best single serve coffee maker machines. From the test and having consumed a lot of coffee, we can confidently recommend the Keurig K250 as the best single cup coffee maker for home and office. The coffee maker gets your sweet coffee brewed fast, is compact, and easy to use.

For most people, coffee is usually a beverage to kick start their morning, it helps to make their whole body parts co-operate. In fact, a survey has shown that a larger number of Americans are drinking coffee each day.

But did you know that apart from being a stimulant, coffee has plenty of health benefits? Yes, coffee is one of the cheapest and most enjoyable beverage, but very beneficial to your health in many ways. Some researchers have found coffee to prevent other types of serious cancers.

Unfortunately, many find it hard to brew a perfect cup of coffee due to the lack of the best coffee maker. Well, regardless of how best your coffee is, you can still mess up your brew. That’s why we have decided to prepare this review post with the five best single serve coffee maker machines available in the market today.

We have picked the best in terms of brew quality, ease of use, durability, and value.

Read through them carefully to pick the best one for you.

What is the best single serve coffee maker?

These days, it’s hard to find a home without at least one type of coffee maker. So in this post, we focused on single serve coffee makers. They are the most popular coffee makers currently.

As the name suggests, a single serve coffee maker is meant to brew a sweet cup of coffee fast and without too much effort. It’s an ideal coffee maker for busy people. With a single cup coffee maker, you can choose your cup size and brew strength since the machine comes with settings.

Let’s dive into the reviews of the single serve coffee makers.

The 5 Best Single Serve Coffee Maker Reviews

From our lengthy and extensive research and testing, we found the best 5 machines for our readers. Here is the list.

1. Keurig K250

The design, size, ease of use, speed and brewing control is what makes a good coffee brewer. Keurig coffee makers possess all these incredible qualities. And Keurig K250 is no exception.

A Few Things You Should Know About Keurig

Keurig is a famous company that has been in the coffee machine manufacturing industry for years now. The company manufactures other items such as filters, carafes and etc. Their first coffee maker to get into the market was made in the early 1990s and was meant for use in office settings. Since then Keurig coffee makers have dominated the coffee making industry and it’s hard to find a U.S. kitchen without a Keurig coffee brewer.

The good thing about Keurig is that they upgrade their products twice per year.

The K250 is the best Keurig single serve coffee maker that comes in the 2.0 series. This coffee machine is simple to use, beautifully designed, dependable and high-quality and comes with a pocket-friendly price tag.

You can choose from a range of colors from black, imperial red, oasis, peacock blue, plum grey and more. That means you can’t miss a color that complements your kitchen décor.

The greatest thing about the K250 is that it is a versatile single cup coffee maker. You can use it in commercial and office settings.

What’s more, the machine supports a range of cup sizes from a standard cup to a carafe. In addition, it comes with a 40-ounce water reservoir so you can brew more than 4 regular size cups before having to refill. The reservoir is easy to detach for cleaning and refilling.

You can read the machine easily via the 2-inch color touchscreen display panel. To know how much water is left in the reservoir, you can check the water level window so you know if you need to refill it. A useful strength control setting allows you to brew a big cup using any K-Cup pod brew size. Note that you will need to buy a carafe separately. But then it’s not costly and given the useful functions and usability of this single serve coffee maker, buying a carafe separately isn’t something to worry about.

Pros

• Support a range of cup sizes from a standard cup to a carafe
• Easy to use, refill, and clean
• Brew your delicious coffee in just 5 seconds
• Beautiful and compact design

Cons

• Does not come with a carafe- You have to buy it separately
• Only supports K-cups made by Keurig

2. Keurig K55 Single Serve Coffee Maker

Pocket-friendly, user-friendly, versatile, fast, and high-quality. These are the qualities of the Keurig K55.

If you are looking for the best single serve coffee maker K-cup, then this would be the best option for you. It allows you to choose your brew strength.

The K55 is the best-seller ON Amazon and that’s why we have it in our list of the best single cup coffee makers on the market today.

This coffee maker brews tasty coffee in under a minute and the Auto-on/off feature is programmed in a way that it turns off the machine if it stays idle for two hours so you don’t waste energy.

This coffee maker stands out from the crowd for numerous reasons. It gives you options. You can brew several K-cup pod sizes for six.

What’s more; it comes with a 48-ounce water reservoir so you don’t need to refill it every time. In addition, it produces 6, 8 or 10 cups of coffee in less than a minute.

The K55 is a durable single cup coffee maker so you rest assured of a machine you can use for many years. And did we mention that the machine is versatile?

Yes, you can test several flavors, make tea, coffee, lemonade, even plain hot water.

Being a Keurig’s flagship coffee machine, this mid-level model can be used in the home and office settings. Well, don’t forget that, although it’s a budget-friendly coffee maker, it still offers value for your money.

It’s easy to use. Comes with simple button controls so you just insert a Pod, select your preferred brew size, add water, hit the “BREW” button and in under a minute, you will have a fresh, delicious cup of coffee.

In summary, K55 is the best price Keurig single serve coffee maker on the market today. It is solidly constructed to last.

Pros

• Brews great-tasting coffee
• Pocket-friendly
• Simple and easy to use
• Solidly constructed to last
• Highly versatile- Test multiple flavors, make tea, coffee, lemonade, and even plain hot water
• Amazon’s best-seller
• The Auto-on/off feature saves energy
• Choose from a range of colors including black, white, blue and Rhubarb

Cons

• A bit noisy
• Needs to stay for a long tile while idle
• Must use K-cups which can be costly and most aren’t biodegradable

3. Keurig K45 Elite

Make great-tasting coffee, tea, iced drink, and hot chocolate in under a minute with the Keurig K45 brewing system. You don’t have to waste time hanging around in a queue at your favorite coffee shop, particularly during the morning rush. Make tasty coffee at home without a hassle with this solidly constructed coffee maker machine.

The K45 is durable, easy to maintain and beautifully designed. It features 3 brewing options (6 oz., 8 oz., and 10 oz.) make it a versatile machine to have in both home and office, plus the dishwasher safe parts make it easy to care for.

The coffee maker also comes with the K-cup reusable coffee filter so you can use your desired coffee or loose leaf tea in.

It comes with a 48-ounce water reservoir so you won’t need to refill it frequently. What’s more; the unit comes with a detachable drip tray and power saving mode (Auto On-Off feature) that turns it off if it has stayed for two hours idle. The K45 is perhaps one of the silent units on the market since it is designed with a Quite Brew technology.

Keurig has a proven track record according to the best single serve coffee maker consumer reports.

Unlike other models of its category, the K45 Elite comes with a starter pack of K-Cups, water filters and water filter handle. That makes it usable out of the box. Just plug the unit, add water to the 48-ounce water reservoir, select your cup size, and hit the “BREW” button. In under a minute you are good to enjoy a cup of tasty coffee.

Recently, Keurig discontinued the K45 and replaced it with the Keurig K55 although there is not much difference between the models. Only that the latest version (K55) has a slight difference in size and weight.

Pros

• Comes with reusable filters so you can use fresh ground coffee or tea leaves
• Easy to clean
• Faster brewing
• Versatile brewing
• Large water reservoir (48 oz.)
• Detachable drip tray
• Easy to use
• Supports any type of K-cups

Cons

• Not programmable
• Needs regular cleaning on the exterior and interior part
• Tends to be a bit noisier

4. Mr. Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Maker

For those who are not keen on frothing and mixing, the Mr Coffee Barista would make the best option for you. This unit comes with a milk reservoir and will do the whole frothing and mixing for you.

It is designed with a one-touch control panel so you can get used to it fast.

Mr Coffee is a household name in the coffee maker manufacturing and in fact, it has been making automatic-drip coffee makers for 50 years now. So you can guess what you get when you buy this model.

On the surface, you can mistake it with other simple and small coffee makers but this unit has incredible features that make the brewing fast and enjoyable.

First, it is an espresso, latte, and cappuccino maker (3-in-1 coffee machine). That makes this machine ideal for you if you love espresso, cappuccino or latte coffees. With this single serve coffee maker, you can get a castle-style coffee drink in just a few clicks.

Did we mention that the Mr Coffee Barista is ideal for people who love espresso but aren’t ready to go through the hassle of learning how to froth milk the right way? Yes, it is. And the interesting part is that you get this unit without blowing the budget.

The unit comes with incredible technical features including the automatic milk frother, milk density adjuster, pre-set beverage buttons, and there are other basic features that make this unit the best option for espresso lovers such as the one-touch control panel, removable milk reservoir, dishwasher-safe parts, and removable 34 oz. water reservoir.

Overall, Mr Coffee Barista makes the best choice for frothy coffee lovers who don’t want to wait in a queue to get a perfect latter. Being a single serve coffee maker for home you can enjoy your coffee at home within a few clicks.

Pros

• Automatic frothing
• One-touch control panel
• Comes with dishwasher-safe parts
• Accepts fresh coffee, reusable pods, and grounds
• Affordable

Cons

• Not programmable
• Tends to have a smaller water reservoir
• Tends to be noisy on high volume

5. Nespresso Pixie – Best Single Serve Coffee Espresso Machine

If you are looking for a solid, stylish, and easy to use coffee maker, the Nespresso Pixie is for you. This best single serve coffee espresso machine by De’Longhi is a high-end model that brews your coffee like the barista in the coffee shop. Many coffee lovers appreciate this unit for dozen incredible things including its compact in size, fast in brewing, user-friendliness, and stylish design.

What’s more; you can program this machine to produce the exact strength and volume of coffee you want. The unit won’t eat your countertop space but will make a great job for you.

With this machine, there is no guessing since it the water reservoir is fixed at the back of the unit and when the tank is empty it will show a red light to signify you it’s time to refill it.

Unfortunately, the tank does not have a filter so you need to use filtered water. For a machine to brew espresso, it must have a certain bar and this one qualifies that since it has a 19 bar pressure. That means the machine has enough pressure to do a proper shot of espresso. You will have to buy a separate frothier such as Nespresso Aeroccino if you want to make cappuccino and macchiatos from the lungo shots since it does not come with built-in milk frothier.

Pros

• Super easy to clean
• High-pressure pump produce barista-style results
• The unit is programmable- In just 25 seconds you will have your drink ready
• Efficient and energy saving Espresso maker automatically turns off after 9 minutes.
• Comes with button controls with indicators to tell you whether it’s time to refill the water tank

Cons

• It tends to produce noisy
• Small water reservoir
• Requires Nespresso capsules.

How to Choose the Best Single Serve Coffee Maker- Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

If you are wondering what is the best rated single serve coffee maker, you’ve come to the right place. A single cup coffee maker makes the brewing easy and fast for coffee lovers who want to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee fast.

Similar to your other appliances at home, a coffee maker is an essential investment. That means there are certain things you need to put in mind so that you get the best of the best on the market.

In this short single serve coffee maker buying guide, you will learn the important factors to consider when buying yours.

Let’s take a look at what they are.

Types of Single Serve Coffee Makers

There are different types of single serve coffee maker machines on the market that brew different types of coffee. For that reason, you need to check the type of beverage a machine can brew before buying it.

The known coffee maker brands include Keurig, Nespresso, De’Longhi, and Tassimo. Ensure to research thoroughly to know the type of coffee each unit produces so that you don’t end up buying a machine that does not brew your favorite coffee.

In addition, some coffee maker machines are a single scoop. That means they can accept regular grounds or come with capsules, K-cups or pods. Other units make espresso only. Decide the type of beverage you want to make and then buy a unit that is designed to brew it.

Water Reservoir Capacity

Also known as water tank capacity, water reservoir capacity represents that amount of water the tank can hold.

If you intend to use the single serve coffee maker in an office environment or you have a big family, then you need to buy a unit with a big water reservoir.

The good thing about units with big water reservoirs is that you don’t need to refill it regularly. You will also enjoy your coffee for a long period, perhaps the whole day. If you are the only one who will be using the machine, then this shouldn’t be something to bother you.

The best water reservoir capacity for a large family is 40oz to 50oz. The K250, K55, and K45 are all ideal single serve coffee makers for a large family and office settings since they come with water reservoirs that are more than 40oz.

Brewing Sizes and Controls

Not all the time you will need the same quantity of coffee. For that reason, you want a single serve coffee maker that allows you to make coffee at different quantities (for instance, 4, 6, or 8oz).

You can also buy a unit with adjustable brewing sizes.

Cup Size

As the name suggests, a single serve coffee maker is meant to brew one cup of coffee. That means if espresso is your favorite, a unit that allows you to brew 5 to 5 fl oz., is enough. But if you want to brew more coffee at once, then you need a unit that can brew up to 12 fl oz.

Ease of Use

Single serve coffee makers are made to get you a hot cup of coffee fast and without a hassle. Well, there are units that are not easy to use but their complexity of use isn’t something to worry about. Most coffee maker brands understand that people want simple and convenient machines and so they prioritize convenience when manufacturing their products

Ease of Cleaning

After using the machine, you will want to clean it. Some single serve coffee makers require regular cleaning both outside and inside.

The more complex the unit is the more time it will take you to clean it.

Thankfully, most of the coffee makers we’ve reviewed here come with detachable dishwasher-safe parts. They are easy to detach and clean.

Noise

There are silent and noisy single serve coffee makers out there. Some people will not worry about the noise so long as the machine can brew great-tasting coffee. A good rule of thumb, whether you don’t care about noise or you care is to go for a machine that doesn’t produce a lot of noise. The Keurig K45 Elite qualifies in the category of single serve coffee makers with less noise.

Filtration System

Well, this isn’t a huge factor to consider but it’s worth mentioning. Remember the water you use for brewing coffee can affect the flavor. Some units come with filters while some may require you to buy them separately.

Size

There are big and small single serve coffee makers on the market. Although the bigger the unit the bigger the capacity for water and coffee will be you need to put into consideration your counter space. If you intend to use the machine in the office, you definitely want a bigger unit.

Flavor Strength Control

If the machine allows you to adjust the brewing, you may consider picking it if it satisfies the above factors as well. A good rule of thumb, in this case, would be choosing a unit with buttons that allows you to control how strong or light your coffee should be. Luckily, most single serve coffee makers come pre-programmed.

Another factor to consider is the price, although you should not base your purchase decision solely on the price.

Final Words

The best single serve coffee maker is one that is simple to use, versatile and does not take up too much space. The coffee machine you use will determine the quality of the coffee you get.

Therefore, you should read everything about the unit before buying it. You should ensure that you are fully convinced that the single cup coffee maker will suit your needs. As we conclude this post, we would like to declare the Keurig K250 as the best single cup coffee maker.

Lastly, we hope our best single serve coffee maker reviews will help you choose the best one for your needs.

Sources:

• Buying a Single Serve Brewer or Coffee Maker
• Single-serve coffee container
• How to make Single Serve Pour Over Coffee
• Which Single Serve Coffee Machine Makes The Hottest Coffee?