Best Grind Brew Coffee Makers

Grinding coffee beans yourself has a number of advantages: You can vary the size of how coarse or fine you want to grind the beans. You can experiment with different types of beans, and different levels of roasting: light, medium, or dark. Also, the taste can degrade over time--in as little as 30 minutes!--as the ground coffee reacts with the surrounding air (which is why coffee is often sold vacuum-packed). Coffee grains also lose their flavor to moisture in the air.

So, if you decide to grind coffee beans yourself, you might want to get a coffee maker that has the grinder included. Having both functions in one appliance will save space in your kitchen. Many grind brew coffee makers allow you to choose exactly how much you want to prepare, whether it’s a single serving or as many as 10 or 12 cups at a time. And, you always have the option of using pre-ground coffee or even instant coffee.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a grind & brew coffee maker. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of grind & brew coffee maker for your preferences,

• See useful tips about that particular type of grind & brew coffee maker,

• Read reviews of some different grind & brew coffee makers, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of a grind & brew coffee maker, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

We can distinguish between grind-brew coffee makers by their grinding method:

• Blade Grinding: This uses a rotating blade to chop up the coffee beans (not much different than if you would put them in a blender). This tends to generate friction, and therefore heat, which can affect the taste. There is also a trial-and-error period until you get the results that you like.

The blade grinder on the Krups F203 Coffee Grinder

• Burr Grinding: These employ a pair of burrs--much like a pair of toothed gears--between which the coffee beans are pressed and ground. There are wheel burr grinders, which grind quickly, generating quite a bit of heat, and do so quite loudly. Conical burr grinders give the best results, in that they grind slowly, don’t produce so much heat, and are not so noisy. The Gevi 10-Cup Drip Coffee Maker employs a spiral cone cutter and fixed grinder and allows you to select from 8 different grind settings.

The conical burr grinder on the Gevi 10-Cup Drip Coffee Maker

• Cleanup: When you grind the beans yourself, you’re going to have more parts to clean. And the grinder has to be cleaned every time! Since the grind brew coffee maker has both the grinder and brewer in one device, some customers were disappointed when the water vapor seeped into the grinder. That made it somewhat harder to clean. But, many versions, such as the Sboly Grind-Brew 2-in-1, have parts that are dishwasher-safe.

• Filter: Most models grind the beans and deposit the grinds directly into a filter basket. Instead of having to buy disposable filters, some grind brew coffee makers have a basket permanent filter, to separate the grains from the coffee. Even though you have to clean the filter out, it saves you the expense of having to buy filters.

• Amount: How many beans do you need per cup of coffee? People who bought the Cuisinart DGB-400 12-Cup Grind & Brew said that 2 scoops of beans (with the scoop that they provide) are sufficient for 6 cups of coffee. But the manufacturer recommends 1 leveled scoop per cup of coffee. It usually takes around 5-6 minutes to prepare a cup of coffee, from the beans to your cup.

• Capacity: You can find coffee makers in a variety of sizes: for single servings, or for as many as 10 or 12 cups at a time.

• Carafe: If you make several cups at a time, you will want to keep the coffee warm, so that it’s ready to serve later. Most grind-brew coffee makers will have a carafe (a glass decanter) to store the coffee, with a heating element that will keep it warm for up as much as 2 hours.

• Strength of the coffee: Finely-ground coffee beans will give a stronger taste, while coarsely-ground coffee beans will not yield so much flavor. Some coffee makers allow you to grind the coffee beans to the consistency of espresso, or Turkish coffee.

• Programmable: Many models, such as the Cuisinart DGB-550BKP1 Grind & Brew can be programmed to prepare your coffee, 24 hours in advance. It will adjust the strength of the coffee to the number of cups of water that you add. It also has an auto-shutoff, to turn off the heating function.

Cuisinart, despite its French-sounding name, was founded in the US by Carl Sontheimer in 1971, when he launched his version of the (French) Magimix food processor. After 50 years of innovation, Cuisinart now makes much more than just food processors: cookware sets, kitchen utensils, toaster ovens, coffeemakers, and grills.

Sboly, based in Zhuhai, China, is a maker of kitchen appliances, including coffee makers and grinders, blenders, milk frothers, and vegetable prep products. They have drip coffee makers, grind-&-brew coffee makers, espresso machines, and more.

Barsetto was founded by Dr. Ceccarelli of Rome, Italy, in 1898, and they have amassed five generations of experience in coffee-making. They sell coffee beans, bean grinders, espresso machines, and grind & brew machines.

Bonsenkitchen is a maker of kitchen appliances, based in Oakwood, Georgia. They make grills, air fryers, juicers/blenders, frothers, and coffee machines and grinders, as well as 2-in-1 devices that both grind and brew the coffee grains.