Do you have to make a large carafe of coffee for your family in the morning? Do you also just need a cup of coffee during the day? Perhaps, it’s time to buy a coffee maker that can do both. Keep reading this post to find out which is the best coffee maker with single serve option.
Contents
- 1 What Are Coffee Makers With Single Serve Option?
- 2 3 Key Benefits Of Using A Coffee Maker With Single Serve Option
- 3 Options Available to Brew a Carafe and Single Cup on the same Coffee Maker
- 4 Top 5 Best Coffee Maker with Single Serve Option
- 5 TYPE 1: Coffee Makers with Single Serve and Carafe sides
- 6 TYPE 2: Coffee Maker With Single-Cup Brew Size Option
- 7 Key Factors To Consider When Getting A Coffee Maker With Single Serve Option
- 8 Which Coffee Maker with Single Serve Option to buy?
What Are Coffee Makers With Single Serve Option?
Just to be on the same page. Let’s define what is a coffee maker with single serve option. Basically, these are coffee makers which can make a carafe and a single serve cup on the same machine.
3 Key Benefits Of Using A Coffee Maker With Single Serve Option
So why would anyone get a coffee maker with a single serve option?
Avoid Wastage
You no longer have to waste coffee when alone, as its single-serve option allows you to brew one cup of coffee. But, when everyone else is around, the carafe will give you and your family enough coffee for everyone.
Fresh coffee
Anyone who loves coffee not only enjoys it when it is hot but also fresh. However, drip coffee makers usually make 2-4 cups of coffee. So if you are the only early riser in your family, then having a single serve option allows you to enjoy fresh coffee without having any leftover turning cold and stale.
Convenience
The single serve option brews directly into your cup or travel mug. If you are just making a single cup of coffee, you can avoid pouring coffee from the carafe into your travel mug. Besides, using the single serve side will brew coffee faster than the carafe side. This factor will be important for any coffee lover who is traveling or running late to work.
Options Available to Brew a Carafe and Single Cup on the same Coffee Maker
There are 2 types of such coffee makers which can brew both a carafe of coffee and a single cup.
One type has these two functions as separate sides on the machine. Oftentimes, you can also use single serve pods or coffee grounds on the single serve side such as the Keurig K-Duo Plus.
The other type simply offers the option to make a single cup of coffee besides a carafe, without splitting them as 2 different sides. And you may even have an integrated grinder as we will see in the Breville Grind Control.
Top 5 Best Coffee Maker with Single Serve Option
Let start with the first type with both carafe and single cup as separate sides on the machine.
TYPE 1: Coffee Makers with Single Serve and Carafe sides
#1 Keurig K-Duo Plus Single Serve and Carafe Coffee Maker [Recommended]
Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker with Single Serve Option
Out of all the coffee makers present in the market today, the Keurig is a popular household name. However, what makes the Keurig K-Duo plus exceptional from other Keurig coffee makers is its single serve and carafe feature.
In addition, you can also use ground coffee and K-cup pods for the single serve side.
Key Features of Keurig K-Duo Single Serve and Carafe coffee Maker
Large Brewing capacity: Its carafe side allows 12 cup of coffee to be made. If you have a large family, you can make a pot of coffee at once for everyone.
Stainless Steel Thermal Carafe: This can keep coffee warmer for a longer period of time. Also you can avoid breakage compared to a glass carafe which is more fragile.
Related:
Best 12 cup coffee maker with thermal carafe
Large Single water reservoir: This coffee maker has a single water reservoir that is shared by both the carafe brewing and single serve. So there’s no need to fill 2 water reservoirs unlike other coffee makers. The water reservoir also has a large capacity of 60 ounces. Thus, you no longer have to worry about constantly refilling your water reservoir after every brew.
Multiple brew sizes: The benefit of a single serve coffee maker is that you do not have to worry about wastage once you make your cup of coffee. However, what happens when you have to serve a large number of people? Combining both the single serve option and carafe allows you to brew up to a 12 cup carafe. If you need less coffee, the carafe offers you options of 6, 8 and 10 cups as well.
Brew pause: This feature allows you to pause the brewing automatically for 20 seconds, allowing you to pour a cup of coffee while in a rush.
Programmable Auto-Brew: Imagine waking up to a fresh coffee in the morning. This programmable coffee maker allows you to set the time for the coffee maker to brew automatically up to 24 hours in advance.
Auto off: It also come with energy efficient features. It ensures your brewer turns off 1 minute after you finish using the single serve and turns the heating plate off after two hours of your last carafe brew.
Resuable Coffee Filter: Besides Keurig K-pods, you can use ground coffee on the single serve side too with the Keurig’s resusable coffee filter.
Pros
- Single serve and carafe are separate on this machine
- Able to use ground coffee and K-pods on single side
- Comes with a compatible reusable coffee filter
- Multiple brew sizes for both single serve and carafe side.
- Large water tank of 60 ounces
- Programmable auto-brew
- Elegant Design
- Thermal Carafe
Cons
- A bit big
#2 Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Single Serve and Pot Coffee Maker
Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Coffee Maker with Single Serve and Pot Brewing
Hamilton Beach Flexbrew is yet another coffee machine with single serve and carafe as separate parts on the machine.
Flexbrew allows allows you to brew a full coffee pot with your best grounds using the thermal carafe. You can also opt to make a cup of coffee using grounds or a K-cup on the single serve option.
Key Features of Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Coffee Maker with K Cup option
2 Separate water tank: The carafe and single serve sides have their own separate water tanks. Both comes with water level windows to allow you to pour exactly the amount of water needed. This can help to avoid having excess water in the tank for too long. Stale water can affect the coffee taste. Also this save energy as you only heat the amount of water needed.
Fast brew time: The single serve side can brew a cup of coffee in 3 minutes.
Large Brewing Capacity: The carafe side can brew up to 12 cups of coffee at once.
Programmable Auto-Brew: You can set the coffee maker to brew automatically 24 hours in advance.
Auto Shutdown: It will shutdown automatically 2 hours after last brew. No need to worry about powering off as you step out for work.
Strong Bold Option: You have the option to go for a stronger coffee if you need an extra caffeine boost.
Video of this Hamilton coffee maker with single serve and pot brewing capabilities
Pros
- Single serve and carafe are separate on this machine
- Able to use ground coffee and K-pods on single side
- 2 Separate water tanks
- 12 cup coffee maker on the carafe side
- Programmable auto-brew
- Strong bold option
Cons
- Boxish design – not very appealing asthetically.
- Water tank is not removable. Have to press the brew buttons to remove excess water.
Full Hamilton Beach Flexbrew 2 Way Coffee Maker Review
#3 Cuisinart SS-20 Coffee Maker With Single Serve Side
Just like Hamilton Beach FlexBrew, Cuisinart SS20 Coffee Center is yet another single-serve and carafe coffee maker. It is also compatible with Keurig K-cup.
Related: Best K Cup Cuisinart Coffee Maker
Cuisinart Coffee Maker With Single Serve Side
In fact, it looks pretty similar to the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew.
There are, however, two important differences. First, Cuisinart SS20 uses only a single water reservoir for both side and the water reservoir is removable.
Another important differences is Cuisinart SS20 uses a stainless steel thermal carafe.
Key Features of this Cuisinart Coffee Maker with Single Serve Side
Carafe Side: The carafe side is able to make up to 10 cups of coffee at once. It is great when you need to brew a carafe for a large number of coffee lovers.
Single serve side: It provides 3 serving sizes—6, 8 & 10 ounces.
Strong Brew option: A good option to have, especially for those days when you need a stronger coffee after a bad night’s sleep.
Programmable Timer: With this feature, you can program the coffee maker at a set time to brew coffee without having to be in the kitchen. All you have to do is set the time, let the coffee maker brew your coffee, serve, and enjoy.
Brew pause feature: With this feature, you can pause the brewing process for a quick coffee, especially on those days when you are in a rush.
Travel Mug Friendly: You can easily fit any cup or travel mug despite its height thanks to its removable drip tray.
Charcoal water filter: This feature ensures that the water you use is filtered at all times, guaranteeing you a fresh flavorful cup of coffee.
Pros
- Able to brew 10 cups carafe and single serve
- Strong brew option
- Single removable water tank of 40 ounces
- Comes with a charcoal water filter
- Programmable auto-brew
- It has simple straight-forward buttons, so it’s easy to use.
Cons
- Water tank capacity slightly small
TYPE 2: Coffee Maker With Single-Cup Brew Size Option
Unlike the previous coffee maker which separate carafe and single serve into separate parts, we shall now look at 2 very impressive coffee makers which combine both carafe and single serve brewing together.
#4 Breville BDC650BSS Grind Control – Dual Coffee Maker with Grinder Inbuilt [Highly Recommended]
Breville BDC650BSS Grind Control Coffee Maker
If you are looking for a coffee machine that is user-friendly, then look no further.
Breville BDC650BSS Grind Control is coffee maker that combines carafe and single cup brewing together. When you only need to make coffee for yourself, you can use the single cup with variable brew size options available.
When you need to make coffee for your family, you can brew up to 12 cups of coffee in a carafe.
In addition, you can enjoy coffee brewed directly from fresh coffee beans on the same machine as this is a coffee maker with burr grinder integrated.
Also, it comes with Breville’s technology to making good coffee such as the “Steep-and-release” & water temperature control.
Key Features of Breville BDC650BSS Grind Control
Integrated Burr Grinder: This is a grinder with high quality stainless steel burrs. This ensures that the coffee beans are grinded into particles of uniform sizes. Otherwise, any non-uniformity will lead to a poor coffee extraction.
8 Grind size options: This gives you more options to vary the coffee taste since different grind size gives a different taste.
Pre-Ground coffee option: This option allows to use ground coffee.
Stainless Steel Thermal carafe : This keeps the coffee warmer for a longer time up to 3 hours so that you don’t have to taste stale coffee.
Programmable auto-brew: This allows you to set a time for the coffee maker to brew your coffee up to 24 hours in advance
Intuitive Colored LCD screen: Besides making the coffee maker look really good, it also shows you real-time feedback on the water level, grind size, strength selection, and brewing and grinding time of your cup of coffee.If you like control over your coffee brewing process, this is an excellent feature.
Steep & Release Technology : this is the key to Breville’s solution to having both carafe & single brewing together, without affecting the coffee taste. Whether you are making just one cup of a whole carafe of 12 cups, this technology will adjust to ensure that you get a balanced flavor profile.
Pre-brew Temperature Control: This allows you to control the temperature of the water before it starts soaking the coffee grounds, thus giving you control over another factor to vary the coffee taste.
Compact: Since its carafe and single serve functions do not exist as separate parts, the machine is also more compact than the previous coffee makers.
Large water tank : It can hold up to 60 ounces of water.
Travel Mug Friendly: It can accommodate up to 7.5 inches travel mugs
Video of Breville Single Cup and Carafe Coffee Maker in action
Pros
- carafe and single serve functions do not exist as separate parts
- Comes with integrated high quality burr grinder
- Able to use coffee beans or coffee grounds
- Compact & Elegant
- Programmable Auto Brew
- Able to fit 7.5 inches travel mugs
- Stainless steel thermal carafe
- Large water tank of 60 ounces
Cons
- More expensive, given the more sophisticated brewing technology & integrated burr grinder
Full Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker Review
#5 Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System, Auto-iQ Tea and Coffee Maker
Ninja Hot And Cold Brewed System is also able to make anything from a travel or single-cup size to a full or half carafe.
In addition, this is also a coffee maker with milk frother. So you can make frothy cappuccino and latte.
If you also happen to like tea, you can also make tea on this Ninja coffee maker.
Whether you like your beverage hot or cold, Ninja has the functions for them too.
Key Features of Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System:
Tea and coffee brew settings: Its brewing technology allows you to choose an array of tea and coffee settings. You get to enjoy your coffee as you like it without worrying about changing its flavor or coffee bean strength.
Cold and hot brew options: This is another feature that takes your tea or coffee experience to a whole new level. With this option, you can easily brew your coffee at lower temperatures with ice, and this will give you a naturally smooth and sweet flavor. You can also opt for the hot brew option and have your coffee, as you like.
Separate baskets for Tea & Coffee: There is nothing quite annoying like using the same basket to brew tea and coffee. However, Ninja coffeemaker takes this into consideration and provides different tea and coffee baskets. This helps keep the flavors separate.
Smart Basket technology: With the coffee maker being able to make both tea and coffee, you may think that you need to navigate a confusion menu to start brewing. However, it’s not the case, thanks to its basket recognition technology. With this technology, it is able to recognize coffee or tea and show the menu for the respective beverage on its LCD screen for your choosing.
5 brew styles: You also get to choose how you want to make your coffee or tea. There are 5 different style options – classic, over ice, rich, specialty, or cold brew.
6 brew sizes: You can brew anything from a travel or single-cup size to a full or half carafe with the Ninja coffee maker.
Integrated Milk Frother : you can froth the milk for your speciality drink with the attached frother
Pros
- Able to make single cup and carafe of coffee
- Comes with integrated milk frother
- Able to make tea and coffee
- Hot & Cold brew options
- 6 brew sizes
- Separate tea and coffee baskets
- Simple controls – no need to navigate any menus
- Thermal Carafe
Cons
- A bit big
Full Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System Review
Key Factors To Consider When Getting A Coffee Maker With Single Serve Option
1. Options on the Single Serve Side
There are a number of options to make single cup of coffee on the single serve side. You could use pods or coffee grounds. So it’s important to know what are your options for the coffee maker you are getting.
Pod-wise, there are many pods available in the market. The more popular ones are Keurig K-cup and Nespresso pods. If you like any particular pod brand, this could affect the coffee machine you picked.
Nespresso pods, K-Cups, and other coffee pods are quite expensive compared to purchasing your coffee beans in bulk. It will be a good idea to be able to brew from ground coffee on the single cup side.
Also, most single-serve side offer the option of using reusable or pre-packaged pods, which you can fill yourself. If you do not like the plastic pods, you can select a coffee maker with a reusable mesh filter.
2 Size
Coffee makers come in different shapes and sizes. And, the size you select should depend on your counter space. So, if you have a small kitchen, make sure you buy a coffee maker that fits the size of your home.
3 Brewing strength
The brew of your coffee is essential, and it depends on the brewing strength of the coffee. Therefore, make sure you choose a machine with different brewing strength.
4. Programmable Timer
Do you have the patience and time to wait for your coffee every morning? Well, having a coffee maker with timer could make your mornings less stressful. You can wake up to a freshly brewed carafe of coffee by setting the brew time the night before with the timer.
5 Water Reservoir
The water reservoir is another crucial factor. A coffee maker with removable reservoir is most ideal. With a removable reservoir, you can avoid water spills over the kitchen counter when pouring water into it. Also it is easier to refill directly from the tap, compared to having to transfer cups or jugs of water over from the tap. Not to mention, you may have spill over onto the floor and could become a hazard.
Moreover, a removable water reservoir is also much easier to clean.
Which Coffee Maker with Single Serve Option to buy?
We are all different. And what I prefer might not be necessarily what you need.
However, if you ask me, I would prefer Brevile Grind Control as it gives me control over the brewing process. Also, it comes with a high quality grinder so that I can have a direct bean to cup brewing for the best coffee taste result. In addition, it is really elegant with its stainless steel housing & carafe.
Breville BDC650BSS Grind Control Coffee Maker
I hope this post has helped you make your decision on which is the best coffee maker with single serve option to buy!
