Why would we create an entire article about the best thermal coffee maker? Well, we all need a coffee, when we wake up or are at the office doing some critical task. Coffee, for a lot of us, is not just a beverage or a caffeine source to get rid of the drowsiness that we really can do without at that moment. It is a part of our lives, a cup that keeps us going as we move from one lemon to another as life throws them at us continually. You can consider it as something important, and thus something we cannot live without it. That is why exactly we feel so off and become so grumpy when we miss that cup of coffee, which we need so much.
But, these days, nobody has the time to boil some well-roasted beans, ground them, and then make Coffee in the old fashioned way – we barely have time to make our breakfast! But dear readers, you need not worry! Technology has come to the rescue for us by inventing the coffee machine, which is the phenomenal device that can give you your prized coffee at the push of a button. For us, coffee lovers, this machine is a boon – no more do we have to deal with brewing Coffee the hard way. With these machines’ help, we can have our favorite cup of joe anytime at the push of a single button. It is, indeed, a lifesaver at times when we are running late or need a cup but cannot be bothered to go about it manually.
The best thermal coffee maker that you can buy right now (Updated for the year 2020)
Image | Product Name | Product Details | Our Rating | Price - Opens Amazon |
---|---|---|---|---|
CuisinArt DCC-3400 - ( Best Choice and our top recommendation) |
| 5.0 | ||
Zojirushi EC-YSC100 - Provides study build and aesthetically appealing |
| 4.5 | ||
CuisinArt DCC-1150BK (Best value for money) |
| 4.5 | ||
Black and Decker 12 cup (Best programmable maker) |
| 4.5 | ||
CuisinArt THW 14 (Best 12 cup maker) |
| 4.0 |
1. The Cuisinart DCC-3400 – Our top recommendation
The Cuisinart DCC-3400 Thermal Coffee maker is the one that tops our list because it strikes out like the cherry on the top of a delicious cupcake. It is quite famous among coffee connoisseurs and is, therefore, one of the most famous thermal makers in the market – and for a good reason. It comes equipped with a unique, innovative coffee-making technology that maintains the temperature to the optimum levels. The best qualities of your coffee beans brought forward, and the flavor, aroma, and quality of beans are then extracted. The coffee maker has a unique element – it allows us to choose the strength of our coffee.
Whether we need just our regular old cup of coffee or need a stronger one to keep us through the day, we have to choose between ‘normal’ coffee mode or ‘bold’ coffee mode, respectively. It has a 1-4 cup setting. It allows us to select a single-serve or use the carafe that holds a capacity of 14 cups, to serve ourselves or our companions at that moment or later, as the situation demands.
The build quality is nothing short of commendable, constructed out of stainless steel with a highly ergonomic handle built onto it for ease of use. The coffee maker even comes equipped with a convenient LCD screen that can display important information such as the settings and the device’s status. Further, you can also program it to dispense your favorite cup of joe every 24 hours. Thus, after you wake up, you would be greeted by a carafe of fresh, warm coffee without having to move a finger.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Finely brewed coffee.
- Carafe keeps coffee warm for over 2-4 hours.
- It has big cord length of 36 inches.
- Brew pause feature lets you dispense your beverage before the entire brew is complete.
Cons
- Poorly designed dispensing spout.
- Coffee temperature too high for plastic housing, potentially causing melting.
2. Zojirushi EC-YSC100 – One of the best Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker
Why do you even bother to wait in those long queues at the coffee station? You could just get yourself the Zojirushi EC-YSC100 Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker and make your coffee to keep you going the entire day! This machine allows you to brew your coffee to near perfection and dispense it into a custom-designed carafe that can hold roughly 10 cups of coffee. The coffee is maintained at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which is ideal for serving your visitors with a nice cup of coffee. The removal water reservoir incorporated into the coffee machine is conveniently etched with measure lines that indicate the water level necessary for 2-10 cups, allowing you to make exactly the amount of coffee that you need. As far as dimensions go, the EC-YSC100 measures approximately 10.63 x 8 x 14.88 inches and weighs around 9 lbs.
The unique drip prevention system will enable you to avoid spilling and dripping the Coffee all over the place while removing the carafe, keeping things neat and tidy. Additional care has been taken to ensure that all the parts used for brewing and storage processes are BPA-free, which speaks about the quality itself. It is easy to serve from the carafe owing to its convenient thumb-activated pouring mechanism. The carafe is useful in retaining the temperature of the stored coffee for an extended period, allowing you to enjoy a good, hot coffee cup whenever you need it.
Related: Check out complete JURA E6 review here.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It provides a steady brewing temperature of 200 degrees.
- It can be programmed to dispense after delays for up to 24 hours.
- Removable water tank, which makes it easy to clean.
- All utensils used for making your brew are BPA free.
- Excellent design.
- Convenient thumb-activated pouring system.
Cons
- Excessive noise while brewing.
- Bitter coffee obtained occasionally.
- The Time required for brewing is more.
3. Cuisinart DCC-1150BK
If you are a person who travels a lot and needs to carry his or her Coffee through the trip, or if you are just a professional worker who wishes to sip on some good homebrew coffee during the break, the Cuisinart DCC-1150BK Coffeemaker is your perfect companion. The fully-automated coffee machine allows you to bring out the best of each bean, and savor some of the most excellent Coffee a tool could make for you. The Coffee created is so good, you’ll feel like you just had that carafe filled by your favorite coffee shop! The carafe that comes with the coffee maker is double-walled, ensuring maximum heat retention and can let you take about 10 cups’ worth of Coffee with you.
It is also very ergonomic and comes with an innovative dripless spout with a knuckle guard that keeps things stable as you serve the coffee, thus avoiding any mess. The DCC-1150BK features dimensions of approximately 8.07 x 10.23 x 14.17 inches and weighs 7 lbs. Besides filling up the carafe, the coffee maker allows the option for single-serve, ranging from one to four cups. It features a “Brew pause” function too, as one might guess, pause the brewing for some time, and also comes with convenient self-cleaning abilities. The dependable charcoal-based water filter and the gold-toned coffee filter ensure that you always have the perfect coffee cup every time.
Pros
- User-friendly controls which make it ideal for beginners as well.
- Double-wall insulated carafe.
- It features a brew-pause function.
- Easy to remove the cone-shaped filter holder.
- It can provide steady and stable brewing temperatures, resulting in a great cup of coffee.
Cons
- Condensate is collected on the lid and is retained there.
- Poorly designed carafe spout, which makes it challenging to serve.
4. Hamilton Beach (49966) FlexBrew (Best choice)
Hamilton Beach (49966) FlexBrew Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe is a coffee maker that serves two different purposes with a single consolidated unit. The thermal carafe allows you to carry around ten cups of coffee or help yourself to a single cup from the machine itself. Besides being loaded with features that one would expect from any good coffee maker, it also comes with a carafe explicitly built to keep the coffee inside hot over an extended period. This Hamilton beach machine has approximate dimensions of 13.60 x 14.50 x 15.13 inches and weighs around 8 lbs.
You could say that it is a 2-in-1 coffee maker with a single-serve brewer and a separate brewer meant for the carafe side, each of which is assigned a water reservoir. Thus each part functions almost independently, and both produce excellent fresh and hot coffee. The carafe is made out of stainless steel and is highly capable of retaining the coffee’s temperature, making it ideal for later consumption. Thus one can savor the delight of a cup of rich, aromatic, and tasteful coffee even if the coffee maker is not anywhere close to him or her.
Pros
- Smooth operation and setup procedures.
- It is a programmable machine and can be programmed to dispense coffee for up to 24 hours.
- It includes a gold-tone filter.
- Provides two ways to brew – use your favorite grounds or Keurig K-pods.
- It comes equipped with a useful program timer.
- Individual parts are detachable for intensive cleaning.
Cons
- Slow brewing.
- Regular and constant cleaning required.
5. BUNN BT Velocity Brew with thermal carafe
If you are a person who barely has time for anything and needs a coffee machine to churn out a nice cup quickly, the BUNN BT Velocity Brew Thermal Carafe Home Coffee Brewer is the perfect companion for you. The coffee machine is so fast in operation that forget about a single cup; you can have even 10 cups for carrying around in a mere three minutes! Furthermore, the coffee is stored in a double-walled carafe, vacuum insulated, which can maintain its temperature for up to two hours. As far as the dimensions go, it measures about 9.25 x 2 x 14.25 inches and weighs about 9.2 pounds.
The coffee comes with a stainless steel hot water tank mounted internally that can achieve temperatures of up to 200 degrees that allows for the perfect brew. It comes with an innovative spray head that can even spread out the water to sufficiently bring out the flavor and aroma of the ground coffee beans, thus ensuring that every cup generated is a great experience.
Pros
- Stainless steel, double-walled carafe capable of retaining the coffee’s temperature for up to two hours.
- This machine provides hot water as well, which can be used for preparing tea.
- It features a unique spray head, which ensures complete flavor extraction.
- It has a fast operation that allows you to get one cup in merely a minute or entire carafe in under three minutes.
Cons
- Excessively loud spray head, which causes overflow.
- Coffee brewed is mild and stays so regardless of the number of beans fed into the machine.
Related: Best bean to cup coffee machines for uk.
6. Cuisinart DCC-2750 Programmable espresso maker
The Cuisinart DCC-2750 Extreme BrewThermal Programmable Coffeemaker is a feature-packed coffee maker that everyone would love. It comes bundled with several favorable characteristics that help brew some of the most elegant coffee cups that you would have tasted. And all that too from an automated machine. This machine has dimensions of 9.5 x 11 x 16.25 inches and weighs around 9 lbs.
The coffee machine is built ingeniously and helps you brew an excellent old cup 25% faster than most other coffee machines in the market. Besides being fully programmable, granting you access to every small nuance of the device, from automated brewing times right down to how much coffee powder goes into each cup. The ‘Brew Pause’ feature is a useful element that allows you to interrupt the machine and obtain a coffee cup even while the device is busy trying to dispense coffee worth around ten coffee mugs into a stainless.
Additionally, Cuisinart has designed water reservoirs to be quick and easy to refill and even has a transparent window through which you can gauge the water level. It comes equipped with a 60-second reset timer, which allows you to recall the settings and progress of the brewing after interruption.
Pros
- Thermal carafe capable of retaining coffee temperature for 2 hours.
- It can be programmed to dispense your brew for 24 hours.
- Includes strength settings for espresso as well (regular or bold).
- Silent operation.
- Easy to use with reliable controls.
Cons
- Insufficiently warm coffee.
- Basket is so close to the lid that the coffee powder gets into the lid.
- Brew Pause does not provide a wide enough time window to get a full cup of coffee.
7. ZojirushiEC-YTC100XB – Best thermal coffee maker
Is it hot coffee that you want? Do you want to carry your coffee with you everywhere to drink it later and still expect it to remain just as hot? Well, I’d say that the Zojirushi EC-YTC100XB was made only for you! Having dimensions of 8 x 10.6 x 14.8 inches and weighing around 9 pounds, this is ideal for compact kitchens. The ground coffee is brewed to near-perfection at a constant 200 degrees. Once that is done, it is dispensed into a stainless steel flask capable of retaining the heat for hours.
The carafe is suitable for 10 cups, ensuring that no matter how long the day is, you have enough coffee to go through it. If you prefer iced coffee instead of hot ones, the coffee maker can serve you with an iced coffee cup. The water lines etched onto its water reservoir allows you to mix the water and beans in the perfect ratio and obtain that perfect cup of your favorite beverage. Also, to remove the need for replacing filters, it has a permanent, washable filter. This coffee maker ensures that you can get a cup of good coffee anytime, any day.
Pros
- Smooth operation and maintenance.
- The carafe is capable of retaining the coffee’s temperature for a good few hours.
- Features removable water tank, which makes it easy for maintenance.
- Includes a drip prevention mechanism so that the drink doesn’t drip after you remove the carafe.
- The filter basket is detachable, allowing for easy removal of waste coffee powder.
Cons
- Coffee produced is just not hot enough.
- The front display is a pain to read since it is not inclined.
8. BLACK+DECKER brewer
Enjoy a cup or two of your favorite coffee right out of bed with BLACK+DECKER 12-Cup Thermal coffee maker. It’s customizable and programmable, allowing you to select strength and cup settings (1-4 cups). You can then store this in the 12-cup thermal carafe. It’s double-walled and vacuum-sealed to keep the coffee hot even for a few hours. This carafe has ‘No-Drip Perfect Pour Spout,’ so you don’t need to worry about the spills. The thermal carafe comes with wide-mouth faster and easier clean up, filling and pouring. A cup is equivalent to 5oz. So, if you brew a pot full of coffee, you can still share it with your colleagues and friends. This affordable machine has dimensions of around 8 x 11 x 11.5 inches and weighs approximately 4 pounds, which makes it compact among the entire list.
Pros
- It can produce a strong cup of coffee.
- Includes customized settings to brew regular or strong drink.
- The thermal carafe has a wide mouth, which makes it easy to clean.
- A small footprint fits countertop corners and kitchen storage.
- Recalls the selected strength setting for more convenience.
Cons
- The thermal carafe is not reliable enough to keep the coffee as hot as the initial temperature.
- May have coffee ground spills and overflows as it brews so fast.
9. Cuisinart CHW-14 Thermal Programmable coffee maker
Cuisinart CHW-14 Coffee Plus Thermal Programmable Coffeemaker is also a great coffee maker that comes with a lot of fancy features, making this coffee maker worth a try. It doesn’t matter what you need – whether a perfect cup of coffee or some hot water, this programmable coffee machine can do your bidding with no effort. It can even perform multiple tasks together, allowing you to obtain some warm water for your cereal or tea while it is brewing. This CuisinArt model has dimensions of 10.25 x 9.5 x 14.3 inches and weighs approximately 9.25 lbs.
The machine can be programmed such that it prepares a cup (or carafe) of coffee every morning autonomously. The coffee machine offers to let us choose between two modes – regular or bold – to alter the strength of our coffee as we please. It can also be conveniently asked to self-clean itself, thus massively reducing the maintenance needed on it. It comes with a Brew Pause functionality that enables us to pause the brewing at any time to obtain a single coffee cup for ourselves. The brewing process will continue once you place back the carafe.
Pros
- It comes with a thermal stainless steel carafe with a comfortable handle.
- Fully automatic machine, with auto shut off.
- There is a self-cleaning feature.
- It has a massive 56-ounce water reservoir, which can be used independently or while brewing your drink.
- There is a hot water dispenser as well, with a maximum temperature of 185 degrees.
- User friendly and ease of operation.
Cons
- Sometimes if the red light turns on, the water is not heated anymore, even on a full tank.
- Occasionally the coffee tastes like burnt plastic.
10. Bonavita BV1900TS coffee maker
With Bonavita BV1900TS coffee maker with thermal carafe, you can experience the rich aroma and delightful taste of a good coffee cup at the push of a single button. The maker brews at temperatures of 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit, adjustable as needed. The coffee machine produces a perfect cup of rich coffee every time without any trace of bitterness, thanks to the 1500W heating element that ensures constant brewing temperature is maintained. As far as the dimensions go, it measures to be 12.4 x 6.8 x 12.2 inches and weighs around 6.1 pounds.
The double-walled carafe can store a couple of cups’ worth of coffee. While the coffee loses its temperature once you remove the carafe from the machine, one can still savor a hot cup of coffee as it is always between 175 to 185 degrees. For the extraction and optimum saturation of the ground coffee powder, it comes with a flat-bottomed filter with a showerhead.
Pros
- BV1900 TS provides a one-touch operation with an automatic shut off function.
- It maintains cooking temperature within the range of 195 – 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Can churn out cups of delicious coffee.
- Convenient lift up lid for easy access.
- Maintains the uniform temperature while brewing.
Cons
- The build of the water reservoir is not sturdy.
- No Pause brew function.
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Buyer’s Guide – How to choose the best thermal coffee makers
If you want to experience the best Coffee that machines could create for you, you must take into consideration a few things before you invest in a coffee machine. A lot of coffee machines equipped with a carafe float around the market, and even with the presentation of the best among them in this article, there are always hiccups while putting your money on one. Below are the two main things that you should look for in a coffee maker before you out your hard-earned money on it.
1. Brewing temperatures
The brewing temperature is one of the essential factors that majorly affects the taste and aroma of the coffee produced by the machine. If an optimum temperature is maintained, a rich, aromatic cup of coffee is obtained, which is deeply satisfying and can keep us going through a hard day. However, anything below or over that will result in negative impacts on the coffee, possibly causing it to become bitter, and thus, undesirable. If the machine can maintain a brewing temperature of 195-205 degrees and keep it consistent throughout the brewing process, it is a right brewer. Two hundred degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which the majority of good coffee machines brew their coffee.
2. Thermal carafe capacity
Of course, in a thermal coffee machine, the carafe is one of the most critical features. It is the single feature that sets it apart from regular coffee machines. The size of the carafe must be kept in mind while making a purchase, particularly if you intend on sharing the coffee among co-workers and friends or purposing it to prepare some morning coffee for the entire family. It is also vital if you want to carry your coffee around and drink a few cups from the carafe now and then.
3. Do you really need thermal carafe?
If you don’t expect to use the maker in the above way, you don’t need to look into the carafe much. You would be just fine with a cheaper regular single-serve coffee machine as well. Besides the capacity, the carafe’s heat retention capabilities must also be ascertained to be adequate for your needs. The carafe’s real job is to ensure that your beverage stays warm for a considerable amount of time. If it cannot even do that properly, what use is it?
No one likes a cold cup of coffee (unless it is iced, that is). So the carafe’s heat-retention capabilities are essential when you intend to keep your coffee warm. Or icy cold, if you plan on using it to store iced coffee. Of course, besides that, the purchase also depends on a variety of other factors, as listed below.
4. Budget
You usually get the quality depending on the price you pay. If you spend a handsome amount, you will undoubtedly get the right product that ticks all boxes. Spending more for a better product isn’t right for the features, though. Certain high-end products still lack essential functions. But you don’t need to worry about build quality in that case. In the case of cheaper products, the spare parts used are of low quality most of the time. The price to performance is not valid in 100% scenarios. For instance, a $30 device can fulfill the primary purpose of brewing a single cup of coffee. You cannot go wrong with that. Even if it works for over a year, that will be money well spent!
5. Durability
If you are planning to buy a thermal coffee machine and what if it stops working within a week? So, you should make sure that you are purchasing a highly durable product. There is no point in buying cheap products over and over again. Checking for the reliability of the machine is an essential aspect while making your purchase decision. Buyer reviews are an excellent source of information for this purpose. As a rule of thumb, avoid buying products with less/ poor reviews. You can avoid a lot of bad products with this one small step.
Are these brewers right for you?
Sometimes though, conventional machines do not do the trick. If you are late and cannot wait until the device pours, what do you do? Carrying the cup in your hand and rushing to work isn’t possible, is it? You will, in all probability, spill the contents even if you tried. You can no doubt dispense the drink one cup at a time. But it becomes a hassle to do it every day, though.
Sometimes you need a couple of cups ready for drinking at your workplace or the camping trip. At times, you might want to have the coffee ready without having to wait, but ordinary makers aren’t capable of doing this. They serve you a cup of coffee when you press a button, and that is all they can do. However, for times when you need to prepare a couple of cups for binging on some time later or want some made beforehand in case you have guests, a thermal coffee maker can come to your rescue.
What are thermal carafe coffee makers?
First, what are thermal brewers? How is it any different from a regular coffee machine? Thermal machines are just regular coffee machines that come with a thermal carafe. Coffee is brewed and dispensed into the carafe, which can keep it warm for a couple of hours. Thus, the coffee prepared can, besides immediate consumption, be used later and may be shared with co-workers and friends. Therefore these machines offer a lot more benefits than their regular counterparts.
However, thermal coffee makers are a bit hard to get by. Even if you manage to find one, it does nothing more than pouring coffee into a vacuum flask. Finding good thermal coffee makers can be a challenge and cumbersome. To save you from this taxing task, we have researched and curated a list of top coffee makers.
Recommended Read: You cannot go wrong with these electric pour over coffee makers.
What are the challenges faced with them?
Each of these devices has enough features to earn a place in your kitchen and provide your favorite beverage. Despite their sets of flaws, they are all capable machines that are worth a try. So you will never go wrong with them, its money well spent. The suggestions provided here are based off on the features and reviews of the ones available in the market. Do you have any better models that you came across? You can drop us a line or comment below, and we will be happy to add your recommendation! How long will a thermal carafe keep coffee hot?
How long will a thermal carafe keep coffee hot?
Well, that depends on the type of carafe that comes along. The normal ones can keep it warm for around 2 hours. On the other hand, double-walled carafes can keep it warm for approximately 5-6 hours. I have noticed that they can keep it warm even after 6 hours. So, if you get an excellent quality carafe (or the bundled with your brewer), you can expect it to keep warm for over 5 hours easily.
Conclusion: Final Verdict
Having a perfect coffee cup early in the morning is something that brings up freshness to our mood. If you are a true coffee lover and cannot prepare an ideal drink, just go ahead with any of the options above. I bet you cannot go wrong with these.