Way back when, I had this. When I wanted to upgrade, it was about a year of buying and returning or selling different machines. There were about 5 between this and the Bonavita 1500 that didn't work out. Ultimately I sold the Bonavita and got a Moccamaster purely because the design wasn't for me, but it made good coffee. The Bonavita 1500 is a really great option worth waiting a few days or saving for. A new one will go for about $80 when they're on sale but you can find one used for less (around $60). That is, if you are willing to up the budget a smidge and hold off a few days. I only mention this because of my experience with equipment and longevity; sometimes the budget machine ends up not being worth it when you have to replace it in a year.

The worst was the Zojirushi Zutto, unless you primarily do dark roasts it's not a good machine. The average temp coming out was 185 to 190F. I wouldn't even recommend buying it used for $50, it's just not worth it.

Hate to admit it but the Black and Decker was the most consistent and best budget machine. Got mine for $15 at Walmart. Runner up was the Krups 5 cup. I test every machine with my Fluke meter and various different beans/grind sizes before making a final decision. An honorable mention is the Mueller, it was just too large for me being the only coffee drinker in my house so I decided to stick with 5 cup or less machines. Hope this helps!

Edit: I know you mentioned programmable and available I store today, but I just figured I'd share my experience incase going without the feature or waiting a few days was an option for you... or if it helps anyone else reading this that's thinking about a new budget friendly machine.

if you can find anymore on eBay, a refurb Bonavita BV used to sell for $30-45.

There’s no difference at these price points besides maybe more timing features (e.g. programming it to go off at 6am, though you need to fill the basket the night before). Just pick one with decent reviews for longevity. If you decide you want better coffee stick a few dollars away for a few months and maybe you can splurge on an SCA certified brewer down the road.

Beyond that this is the wrong place to ask. It sounds like you and your wife have a much different ask from your morning cup of coffee than most posters here.

Walk to the store, see what is in the range, and purchase. Not really much anyone else can help with here.

Just buy the one with the features your want that's on your budget.

If you want to keep it dead simple, what about just a simple Mr. Coffee switch (on/off) drip brewer? Twenty bucks on amazon (or your local big box) at and you can put the rest into nicer beans, grinder, filters, and water.

Don't forget you can pre-heat the water (i.e. cycle it through sans coffee grounds) to get it up to a more optimum temp.

Best drip coffee I've ever had is from a Bunn. It uses more pressure and better temperature control than a Mr. Coffee.

You should look into the clever coffee dripper it seems to be cleaner compared to the French press while producing more coffee than the Aeropress.

Most autodrips in that range are pretty similar. Closest "quality" one would be the Bonavita 1500 at $70. It only makes ~25 oz though or about 2 12-oz mugs.

I'd probably look at a used Bonavita or Bunn or anything used from this page, or maybe one of these (this is what I had for a while, but then sold it to a friend for $20 -- so it's like 10 years old and still works "fine" -- I say fine, because it's not as reliably hot or well build as something like the Bunn or Moccamaster).

Does a kurig count?

Some more options: Aeropress. Moka pot.

Boiling water, 2 coffee ☕️ cups and 1 strainer basket.

Put 1 spoonful of ground coffee into 1st coffee cup. Pour the boiling water. Wait 3-4 minutes. Strain the coffee into the 2nd coffee mug ☕️. Add creamer and you’re done lol

All paths lead to Chemex

Hario V60

I would advise getting a French Press from a thrift store (or online), you could pick one up for less than $5 and in the long run will be much cheaper because there will be no repairs, additional items for brewing or electricity to buy. You can also use the French Press to make cold brew, which is great over Summer. Dismantling and cleaning after each use (takes 2 mins) will ensure every coffee you have is awesome. As for pre ground coffee, I would recommend again hunting around second hand for a coffee grinder. The quality will be increased with the freshness of the grind and whole beans are cheaper and store for longer (in an airtight container) than pre ground beans.

You can get a quality 16oz French press on amazon for under $15. I would look for course ground coffee for a French press if you are going that route

Get an Aeropress! Here's why... https://coffee-brewing-methods.com/coffee-maker/aeropress-review/

Aldi sells the cheapest whole bean I can find. It's about $5 a lb. The ground varieties are more abundant and cost the same.

Mr coffee & order from San Francisco cooffee company, organic ground

Have cleaned it and descaled your coffee maker? That makes a major difference in the quality of coffee it brews. I have basic ninja coffee machine and when I change the type of coffee I brew I clean it thoroughly as to remove as much of the residue and oils away to have a clean cup of coffee when I swap the type of grounds I brew.

One of the best coffee makers is the $5 melitta pour over cone and a kettle. Easy to use and find filters for.

Automatic drippers I'd recommend would definitely be the Bonavita Connoisseur, if you can find it on sale or use the 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond. The Metropolitan version is a little less.

Breville Bambino done.

How about a Classic Gaggia, it has a good rating.

And as always - grinder is as important as the Maschine itself and is sadly also expensive

I have got a Bambino plus paired with a DF 54 which I have slowly upgraded to over time as I save more for the setup. Would recommend you to do the same if you are serious about espresso. Otherwise a Nespresso would be perfectly serviceable.

My budget-friendly setup: De'Longhi Stilosa paired with a 47mm Italmill burr hand grinder . I’m very satisfied with the price and the delicious coffee it produces.

I'd give a different answer if we were on r/coffee or something, but since we're on r/frugal, honestly the $20 Mr. Coffee basic filtered machine from Walmart or Target. Ours has lasted years. My parents use theirs twice per day and usually get 5-6 years out of them.

I've tried them all, and I have settled on a Moka pot. They cost about $35 and they make excellent coffee.

I recommend going to thrift stores or garage sales and look for a French press

A french press, or aeropress + metal filter would be viable, paper filter-less options.

A moka pot is also filter-less, but is a bit more fiddly and yields a stronger coffee.

A simple pourover cone is, in my view, the simplest, but does use paper filters. I've never had luck with metal pourover filters.

If it's iced coffee you want, cold brew is perfect. There are cold brew pitchers available, but you really just need a container - jar, jug, pitcher, whatever - and something to strain it through. Cold brew is less acidic and smoother than any hot method I've tried, and is great for iced coffee.

An aeropress.

As someone who has been blessed enough to put way too much time and money into it...

I've always found myself going back to the Hario v60 and the Aeropress. I've used just about every pour over imaginable, and those two just about always stand out to me. Honestly my Kalita, Chemex, Ibrik, French and Clever Dripper all haven't been touched in months. The reason I list both the Hario and Aeropress is that I've found for coffees that taste bad on the Hario, the Aeropress makes them shine, and vice versa. The filters are dirt cheap also, which is a huge bonus.

Always buy whole beans. A cheap hand grinder will get you a long way. The next step would be a USED Baratza grinder, ideally off of the Home Barista forum or a refurb from their website. If space and time isn't an issue, look for an old Bunn G1 that you can take off of someone's hands. You can get them used for dirt cheap if you look long enough and the grind quality is leaps above anything else in the price range.

My last bit of advice is to make sure you use a cheap gram scale. It can seem meticulous, but 100% worth it. I think a gram scale is equally important as the grinder. Use something with a 0.X resolution. I personally do my Hario brews with 30.8g coffee and pour a total of 490g water. Yields a 16oz cup every time.

If you're trying to really have fun, look up coffee roasting with an air popper. Again, meticulous, but it's a lot of fun. That's how I started roasting coffee. Bought the popper from a thrift store for $2, and a pound of green coffee from Sweet Maria's shouldn't ever run more than $7, so you will save some big money there. Technically the roast quality isn't the best, but for pour over it's good enough that the freshness and price beat out the roast quality. Roast quality really counts with espresso so you can't do this method for pulling shots, but I had a ton of fun and some of my favorite coffee doing this a few years ago.

Hope this helps!

Just snag a cheap hand grinder off amazon. Read a few reviews and get the lowest cost but best rated.

I used a hand grinder for over a year and still keep it around for camping.

I sometimes make chorreadors which is this brewing method that is like a pour over but you can build it out of wood and then just buy the reusable baggy that hangs in it. If you have tools this is a great affordable pour over method.

Even a cheap generic Melitta pour over filter set up will make great coffee with reasonably fresh beans.

A French press or Aeropress are pretty cheap and easy to use. If you want a automatic drip brewer the Bonovita line starts at 65$. I wouldn't recommend anything cheaper because it won't heat the coffee hot enough.

Buy a home roaster and enjoy fresh coffee for $4 or $5 a pound. You can also roast coffee with a popcorn popper or frying pan. Here is a good roaster: https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Roast-SR540/dp/B07RT6S5YH/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=fresh+roast+sr540&qid=1562363464&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Hey, sorry for the late response. I've been away from reddit the last few days.

So, I used to hate the v60. I bought it, used it about 5 times because every coffee forum recommended it, then shelved it. I went back to my Chemex and Clever Dripper and used those pretty religiously.

Three things brought me back to the v60 that I viewed as game changers.

1. My water. I now buy R.O. water from Walmart. I just fill up those 5 gallon jugs from the water dispenser thing and add some minerals back into it. I found that this water change lowered all of my brew times by a minute and that the flavor was phenomenal. I think that the v60 is the least forgiving because what you put in is exactly what you get out. Other techniques, like the french press, Chemex, etc. all are more forgiving since they're great at bringing out that particular brew method's signature flavors. The Chemex is super clean and clear, but lacks body imo. The french press has a ton of body, but comes at the cost of clarity. The water I was using was nearing 400 ppm, according to my TDS meter. The higher the PPM, the more flavor it tries to pull out, since it's mineral content that is the primary catalyst of extraction. All of my brews came out bitter and muddy. However, when I swapped over to the bottled R.O. water that I added minerals back to to 140 ppm, I found that the brews were very clear, clean and had great body. I don't think the v60 does any one thing extremely well--like the Chemex with bringing out clarity--but it does everything pretty well, making it a great overall device.

2. I roast my own coffee. My journey with this went from an air popper, to a converted toaster oven that behaves like a Behmor 1600, and now onto a Kaldi Fortis, which is a 600g professional batch roaster. I've started roasting to about 404F according to my roaster, which lands my coffee somewhere between medium and light roast. I also mix a large amount of bright, African beans, like Ethiopian, with a small amount of Brazil or Guatemala bean. This mellows out the flavors, making it to where you extract to many perceived acids, making the cup sour. The Chemex, French, Clever, Turkish, etc. were all good at making this type of mix taste good, but the v60 was phenomenal. I found myself with an extremely balanced cup.

3. Upgrading from a Baratza Preciso to a Bunn G1. The v60 is extremely "fines" sensitive. I try to keep my brew time for a 16oz cup under 3:00, including the bloom. I've got it down well enough now that I can typically get within 10 seconds of 3:00 every time I brew. With the Bunn G1, flow rate is a breeze. With the Preciso, that's not so true. To combat this with the preciso, I would place my grounds in a damp cotton bag (one that came with some sheets I bought at Walmart). I'd shake the grounds around for a bit and then pour them in my filter. I found that I'd lose about 7% of my weight in grounds to the bag due to the fines sticking to the damp cotton. This dramatically improved the flavor, but was a big pain in my book, so I didn't keep doing it. The Bunn G1 tends to be good enough that I don't need anything like that anymore.

​

Hope this is informative!

The issue with pregrinding is that an expensive grinder is needed or you get meh coffee (at least for pour over coffee). I have a Hario Skerton Pro (around $50) that is just okay at grinding. I’m seriously considering buying a $170 grinder and keeping the pro as a travel grinder.

A pour over device (Hario V60, Kalita, Mellita, etc.) can be bought for under $20. A bag of filters, maybe $10. I assume you already own a kettle. A scale is useful but not a necessity.

Until you can spend $150 on a grinder, I would say stick to preground, either prepackaged or freshly ground by your roaster.

Bambino seems to be good but long term I'm not sure how well it will hold up.

Gaggia classic and rancillio Silvia seem good options too.

Levers are my gig but I understood the challenges of them and are a different ball game lol.

As said in the other comment, Bambino, Gaggia Classic and Silvia are good options. Lelit PL41TEM is also a good choice depending on your local pricing of each of these.

But: you said coffee machine, these would all be espresso. You are talking espresso, correct? Non-pressurized brewing methods would be easier and cheaper, but then again that’d be no espresso if that’s what you are looking for.

As espresso machines don’t really work without an actually decent grinder, did you account for that? Not trying to be a dick, I actually tried it for nearly a year with preground coffee and it’s not really worth it as you don’t have full control over the result.

Kinda depends on the grinder you're pairing with it.

Gevi is worth a shot. This C-maker isn't the best, but I didn't want bells and whistles. It doesn't shut off by itself, so if that's important to you, you might be disappointed. I like it this way because it stays on longer than the old one did, which was automatic.

https://office-turn.com/trep?depo=B0B3SY5GBQ