There are many types of coffee makers available on the market, so the type of coffee maker you use will depend on what type of coffee do you drink and how strong you want it to be. Different coffee makers also require coffee beans to be ground to different consistencies.

Drip Coffee Makers

There are two types of Drip Coffee Makers: Automatic Drip and Manual Drip. Automatic Drip is the most commonly used coffee maker all over the world for the reason that it takes matter into its own hands and decides how much water and coffee is needed for a perfect cup of coffee. They are extremely simple to use and make a pot of coffee quite quickly. So as long as you have a good model and the water hits the coffee grounds at the right temperature, drip brewers can make a great cup of coffee. The process to make the coffee is simple. All you need to do is pour water into the reservoir and the grounded coffee in its designated area, usually a cone-shaped funnel lined with a paper filter. Hot water runs through the ground coffee which is placed in the filter in the cup of the coffee maker. The hot water drips through the grounds and get to the pot but don’t allow any coffee grounds to get into the brew. For drip coffee makers, the grinding average of the coffee beans must be neither thin nor very raw.

Drip coffee makers have a warming plate under the coffee pot so you should limit the amount of time the pot sits on the warming plate because the longer the coffee pot sits there, the stronger the coffee will be. A medium drip coffee maker can brew up to 4 or 6 cups of coffee at a time which is enough for the whole family or for some friends and also taste quite good. However, if you want to brew only 1 or 2 cups, this is usually a problem for most drip coffee makers. The coffee will come out too watery because the water doesn't have the time to reach the adequate temperature before the brewing process begins. Coffee brewed with this device is generally more diluted than coffee brewed with a French press or espresso machine.

The Manual Drip is very different from the automatic Drip. It requires the water to be heated separately and then to be poured in small amount over the ground coffee. This act allows the beans to open up to release the flavor. After this, you can pour the remaining heated water to make your cup of coffee.

Espresso Machines

There are two types of Espresso Machines: The stovetop models and the electric ones. Stovetop Espresso Machine or Mocha pots allow you to make the strongest brews without spending the amount of money you would on a larger designer espresso machine. The device comes in two parts: a lower metal base with a metal basket and a top chamber with a spout and lid. You place cold water in the metal base and pack the coffee grinds tightly into the metal basket. Screw the top chamber onto the metal base and put the machine on top of a stove on medium heat. Once enough pressure builds up in the base, the hot water will force upward through the ground coffee and collect in the top chamber. Once all the water has risen, you can pour yourself a cup of strong espresso. For the best-tasting coffee, use the finest grinds available.

The Electric Espresso Machine makes you one of the strongest coffees you can drink. The quality of the coffee produced with this coffee maker is probably one of best. This machine is meant for those who are not regular coffee drinkers but definitely like their cup of coffee to be strong and intense. The water runs through the milling under high pressure, thereby giving a full and dense brew. There is a pump inside the machine that is connected to a water supply. The pump draws, heats and pumps water from the reservoir through the ground coffee.

Vacuum Style Coffee Makers

It can probably brew the most tasteful coffee. It has strength, flavor and a rich taste. This type of coffee maker consists of two carafes. You fill one carafe with grounded coffee, and the other one, which is fitted under the first one, with water. The bottom carafe is then heated and the water is forced into the upper carafe so that the coffee and the water can mix together, this is called as steeping process. After few minutes of steeping, turn off the water heater and let the filtered coffee back to the lower carafe so that you can serve the brewed coffee.

The French Press

This is one of the traditional ways of making coffee in which the ground coffee and the water is put together in one single container. Invented in France in the 1850s, the French press usually consists of a glass cylinder and a mesh-filtered plunger. Ground coffee is placed in the plunger and then water that is almost at the boiling point is poured over the grounds into the cylinder. The coffee steeps for several minutes and then the plunger is pushed down to the bottom of the cylinder, which forces the coffee grounds to the bottom and out of the coffee. The coffee grinds used for a French press are coarser than grinds used for drip brews because the fine grain could damage the filter. Because the coffee mixes directly with the water, coffee brewed this way retains more of the coffee bean's essential oils so after the ground coffee is separated from the brewed coffee it will leave behind a tasty fragrant cup of coffee. This method is good for making 3 to 4 cups, but there are also smaller models for single-cup servings.

Percolators

You are probably already familiar with this type of brewing. It just pours the boiling water over the ground beans again and again. The disadvantage of this method is that the coffee looses its flavor due to boiling of water again and again leaving behind a slightly bitter, flavorless brew. If you like this kind of coffee just make sure you don’t use an old stove-top percolator because the water boils and spoils the coffee. Use a new electric percolator. They control better the water temperature.