Whether you like to use the traditional method of hand pouring or prefer a machine to do the work, filter coffee is the coffee of choice for many people in the UK. If you’re of the latter, you might want to know what the best filter coffee machine is and where you can purchase it.

Our coffee aficionados have been on the hunt for the best filter coffee machines and have managed to put together a guide to help guide you through the many many machines currently available.

After (lots and lots of) testing, combined with real customer reviews, here’s our definitive guide.

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Best Filter Coffee Machine Overall: Russell Hobbs 20680 Buckingham

 

Russell Hobbs are ever reliable when it comes to kitchen appliances and their 20680 filter coffee machine ticks all the boxes when it comes to choosing the best filter coffee machine for you.

The fact that you can set a timer for your morning coffee to be ready when you wake up is super useful, especially for those who hit the snooze button a few too many times.

Beyond that albeit not entirely necessary benefit, it’s easy to clean, easy to use and produces great tasting coffee.

Features:

• Made to last – even after using several times a day for months on end your coffee machine should still be in perfect condition
• Russell Hobbs use advanced shower head technology which essentially means the maximum amount of flavour is extracted from your beans
• You can make up to 10 cups of coffee from one brew due to the 1.25 litre capacity
• Up to 50% faster brewing times than other models
• The timing feature allows you to set a time for when your coffee should be ready – ideal if you want to brew a coffee to go

Great Budget Filter Coffee Machine: Geepas

 

 

With a 4.8/5 value for money rating, Geepas has created an easy to use, effective and ultimately cheap filter coffee machine. Geepas has certainly proven that you don’t need a large budget to have a high quality coffee machine and this is perfect for anyone trying filter coffee for the first time.

Whilst it’s not going to win any stars for high end technology, ultimately this machine produces a great coffee (assuming you choose the right coffee for you, of course).

Features:

• 1.5 litre capacity is enough to brew over 10 cups of coffee
• Contains an anti-drip feature for 30 seconds allowing for carefree pouring of liquid
• A permanent filter ensures you save even more money as it eliminates the need to buy costly paper filters

Best Timer Function: Melitta

 

If you’re looking for the best filter coffee machine but having a timer is your priority, look no further than the Melitta. When we came across this machine, reviewers were raving about the timer so naturally, we needed to try it ourselves!

Upon unboxing, we found that it was super easy to set up and indeed, the timer feature is 2 simple buttons which lets you increase by hour and/or minute.

Features:

• Easy to use timing function let’s you pre-prepare your coffee for when you want it
• Contains a calc button which helps you with the descaling process
• Evenly distributes the water over your filter coffee which brings out the most flavour efficiently

If you can afford it: Russell Hobbs Chester

 

 

The Russell Hobbs Chester is an upgrade on the Buckingham in terms of both quality and price.

The one defining feature of the Chester model is that it has the option to actually grind fresh whole coffee beans. With the other models on this list you’d need to specify that you need the coffee ground to filter size. This model gives you that added flexibility.

Features:

What you should look for in a filter coffee machine

If you’ve been through our recommendations but want to do more research, here’s a list of things you should be looking for in filter coffee machines.

Is it anti-drip?

Having an anti-drip feature is important because it means when you take your carafe away to pour your coffee, it stops leakage onto the heating pad.

Why is this important? The heating pad is (you guessed it) very hot so when coffee drips onto it it can burn the liquid and stain the pad.

Capacity

Depending on how you intend to use your coffee machine, look at the capacity. If it’s just you that will be using it, consider something smaller.

If you’re making coffee for your family or office, you’ll want something bigger.

In general, you’ll want to aim for 140ml capacity per cup.

How do you use a filter coffee machine?

1. Measure out the amount of coffee you need and put it inside your filter. If you use paper filters, put this in first. Generally speaking a tablespoon of ground coffee should do the trick for 1 cup.
2. Fill your machine with the right amount of water. The best filter coffee machines will have markings measured out in number of cups and are super easy to follow.
3. Start brewing and be a little patient! Filter coffee is one of the slower but more rewarding ways to brew your coffee.
4. Enjoy your brew. Told you it was worth it, didn’t I?
5. When the machine has cooled down a bit, now’s the time to take out the filter. Empty the ground coffee and give it a good wash ready for your next coffee.

What coffee goes into a filter machine?

Depending on the machine you get, you’ll want to decide which coffee you get according to how finely ground it is. Roasters such as Quirky Coffee Co and Dear Green give you the option to receive your coffee to your specifications. This is a benefit of buying from an independent company.

When buying your coffee from the supermarket, the packaging should tell you whether it’s suitable for a filter coffee machine or not.

If your machine comes with a built in coffee bean grinder, the world’s your oyster. It’s definitely worth grinding the beans yourself if you have the option to. Once they’re ground, they begin losing their flavour.

We prefer using independent roasters for our coffee fill. You get a level of personal customer service you perhaps wouldn’t get from larger stores.

Is filter coffee healthier than instant coffee?

We’ve noticed that some people choose filter coffee over instant coffee because of health reasons. Whilst there may be a tiny bit of evidence to support these suspicions, at the end of the day, filter coffee is in essence still from the same bean as instant coffee. The health benefits of choosing filter coffee over instant coffee is therefore fairly negligible.

The only real difference is that filter coffee has a higher potassium content but again, you’re not going to notice the health benefits of this.