Best Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker

Quick Answer: The best automatic pour-over coffee maker is the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

This is my roundup of the best automatic pour-over coffee makers.

I own one of these types of machines, namely the Breville Precision Brewer. I also spent a whole day researching people’s experiences with these machines online to put together this roundup.

As well as giving you my recommendations, I’ll also tell you about one very expensive machine that I found to have several fundamental flaws. I don’t want you to end up wasting your money on a pricey dust collector.

Let’s get started.

Top Picks

Best Overall: Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

Best Affordable: Bonavita 8 Cup

Best Possible Coffee: Ratio 6

Best for Single Servings: Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One

Best with a Built-in Grinder: Gevi 4 in 1

One to Avoid: Breville Grind Control

Best Overall: Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

Quality of Coffee

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT makes excellent coffee. Perhaps more importantly its coffee quality stays consistent after years of use.

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT makes one of the best coffees from any pour-over machine.

America’s Test Kitchen tested seven popular models of automatic pour-over machines against each other and concluded that the Moccamaster KBGT made the best coffee of the lot.

America’s Test Kitchen commented that The Moccamaster KBGT’s coffee quality stayed consistently excellent even after brewing dozens of coffees. They said that this machine was the only one that they tested that could maintain this level of quality despite heavy use.

Quality of Coffee Rating: 9/10

Design and Build Quality

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT is very smartly designed and is one of the most durable automatic pour-overs out there.

The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT has a very high-quality brewing system. This is evidenced by two facts:

• It is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). This is only possible if its brewing system can maintain a constant temperature throughout the brewing and if its shower head can disperse water evenly enough to achieve optimal levels of extraction. coffee makers made with cheaper parts will not be able to do this.

• The machine’s coffee quality stays consistent even after making many pots of coffee in succession. This is only possible with a really high-quality heating element.

Technivorm has spared no expense with the core of the machine.

While some of the Moccamaster KBGT’s exterior components are made out of plastic (its brew basket and shower head for example), this is done intentionally with the idea that you can replace these parts cheaply and easily.

I like this design as it maximizes the longevity of the machine because external wear and tear do not negatively affect the machine long term.

The only part of the machine that does not function amazingly is its carafe. 

The carafe has a tendency to dribble down its front when you pour coffee from it. 

This means that you will probably have to give your carafe and counter a wipe after every coffee that you pour out. Not ideal.

Design and Build Quality Rating: 9/10

Value For Money

The Technivorm Moccamaster is one of the more expensive machines featured here, however, it justifies this cost with its high performance and durability.

Technivorm has been making these machines since the 1950s, and people have said online that they still use ones that they bought decades ago.

Value For Money Rating: 9/10

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT Pros

It makes excellent coffee – the best-tasting coffee of all drip coffee makers according to America’s Test Kitchen.

It is very durable and should last you decades.

Its external parts are cheap and easy to replace.

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT Cons

Its carafe can dribble coffee down its front when you pour from it.

Best Affordable: The Bonavita 8 Cup

Quality of Coffee

The Bonavita 8 Cup makes excellent coffee, comparable to the Technivorm Moccamaster and the Ratio 6.

America’s Test Kitchen’s test of popular coffee makers concluded that the Bonavita 8 made consistently excellent coffee. Testers concluded that there was not much between the quality of coffee made by the Bonavita 8 Cup and the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT.

The machine is SCAA certified means that it brews according to best practices for brewing temperature and that it can hold enough ground coffee to brew at the ideal 1:17 coffee-to-water brewing ratio for pour-over coffee.

Overall, you can have no complaints about the quality of coffee that this Bonavita 8 Cup makes.

Quality of Coffee Rating: 9/10

Design and Build Quality

The Bonavita 8 Cup has a high internal build quality and an excellent brewing system. Several of its external parts are quite flimsy, however.

The Bonavita 8 Cup is SCAA certified meaning that its heating system can keep water at a consistent temperature throughout the brewing process and that its brew basket is big enough to allow the machine to brew at capacity and still stay at the ideal brewing ratio for pour-over coffee.

This is only possible if Bonavita spares no expense on the machine’s internal parts.

The Bonavita 8 Cup does have quite flimsy external parts, however.

In particular, its brew basket is made out of very thin plastic. This can melt under high temperatures. Since the brew basket is filled with near-boiling water every time you make a coffee with this machine, this is clearly not ideal.

I was able to find several complaints online about some of the plastic components of this machine melting due to heat exposure. You can find an example of this on Reddit here.

Value For Money

The Bonavita 8 Cup offers excellent value for money as it makes coffee of comparable quality to machines over twice its price.

You do sacrifice some durability for this reduction in cost. Despite this, I still think you can have no complaints about this machine for the money.

Value For Money Rating: 10/10

Bonavita 8 Cup Pros

Makes coffee as well as any pour-over coffee maker available.

Excellent value for money. Can make an as good coffee as machines twice its price.

Bonavita 8 Cup Cons

It’s not the most durable machine with users reporting that its external components can melt under high temperatures.

Best Possible Coffee: Ratio 6

Quality of Coffee

The Ratio 6 makes the best coffee of all pour-over machines because of its incredibly well-insulated brew basket and its brewing more slowly than other machines.

In YouTube barista James Hoffman’s comparison of automatic pour-over machines, he concluded that Ratio 6 made the best-tasting coffee of all the machines.

He attributed this to Ratio 6’s superior coffee to the fact that its brew basket was better insulated than any other machine. 

This better insulation means that there is less of a loss of temperature during brewing and so extraction is as efficient as possible. This results in a richer and more complexly flavored drink.

Ratio 6 also brews much slower than other machines in this article. It pushes water through your coffee bed in long pulses, rather than in a steady stream, to lengthen the brewing time.

This results in more direct contact time between ground coffee and water, therefore resulting in a more flavorful final drink.

Quality of Coffee Rating: 10/10

Design and Build Quality

The Ratio 6 has an excellent external and internal build quality, containing by far the least amount of plastic out of all the machines in this article. Its only flaw is that the measurements on its water tank are incorrect.

Ratio 6 has an outstanding internal build quality, as evidenced by the quality of the coffee it makes. The machine simply would not be able to create as good coffee as it does if the manufacturer skimped on its internal brewing system.

The machine also has an excellent external build quality, with all its components being made of metal, apart from its water tank.

Its carafe is excellent and does not drip or splutter when you pour from it.

The machine’s only design flaw is that its water tank’s measurements are not accurate. 

This means that if you want to use the machine to its full potential then you will have to measure out your brewing water in a separate measuring jug. This is pretty annoying to have to do.

Design and Build Quality: 9/10

Value For Money

The Ratio 6 is more expensive than the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT. While it does offer you slightly better coffee than the Technivorm, these differences are marginal.

I don’t, therefore, think that it justifies this extra cost over the Technivorm.

Value For Money Rating: 6/10

Ratio 6 Pros

Makes the best coffee of all automatic pour-over coffee makers.

It is one of the machines that use the least plastic of all automatic pour-over coffee makers.

One of the best-looking automatic pour-overs out there (I accept that this is subjective).

Ratio 6 Cons

One of the most expensive machines on the market.

The measurements on its water tank are incorrect.

Best for Single Servings: Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One

Quality of Coffee

The Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One makes excellent coffee time after time.

The Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One is one of the few single-serve pour-over coffee makers that brews in compliance with SCAA best practices for brew ratio, brew, time and brew temperature.

Most single-serve pour-overs brew coffee too quickly, resulting in a watery final drink.

The Moccamaster Cup-One has only one tiny hole that water can pass through to exit the brewing chamber. This slows down the brewing, allowing more time for extraction and resulting in a richly flavored coffee.

In short, the Moccamaster Cup-One creates the best coffee of all single-serve coffee makers.

Quality of Coffee Rating: 9/10

Design and Build Quality

The Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One has excellent internal build quality. Although it uses a fair amount of plastic in its external build, this is intentional so these components can be easily replaced.

The Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One is a scaled-down version of the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT.

This means that it has a very high internal build quality and a fantastic brewing system.

While it does have several plastic components in its exterior, this is done intentionally with the idea that exterior components will always suffer from wear and tear regardless of how they were built. 

Its exterior components are therefore designed to be able to be replaced cheaply and easily so you can keep the machine as good as new without having to spend lots of money on maintenance.

I think that this is a really smart design and helps keep the machine functioning as well as new for years, if not decades.

Design and Build Quality: 9/10

Value For Money

The Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One is very expensive for a single-serve automatic pour-over machine.

While the machine undoubtedly delivers on quality, and therefore sort of justifies its cost, it does feel a bit wrong paying this much for a machine when you can get similar results with a manual machine at a fraction of the cost.

Still, if you want to go down the automatic route for a single-serve pour-over, you won’t go wrong with this machine.

Value For Money Rating: 6/10

Technivorm Moccamaster Cup One Pros

Makes outstanding coffee, especially by single-serve standards.

High build quality means that it should last you a long time.

Technivorm Moccamaster Cup One Cons

Very expensive for a single-serve pour-over.

Best with a Built-in Grinder: Gevi 4 in 1

Quality of Coffee

The Gevi 4-in-1 can make excellent pour-over coffee if you select the ideal brewing options (it gives you a lot of flexibility with brewing options).

The Gevi 4-in-1 gives you control over:

• Brewing temperature
• Brewing speed
• Coffee to water ratio
• Bloom time

Its measurements of these variables are very accurate, meaning that you can get amazing coffee from it that compares to any of the machines in this article. You do have to select the ideal brewing variables for the machine to do this.

The machine automatically doses coffee and water for you, so as long as you select the right brewing variables you can make cup after cup of amazing coffee.

Quality of Coffee Rating: 9/10

Design and Build Quality

The Gevi 4-in-1 has unparalleled design and build quality, giving you very precise brewing control and being very durable and reliable.

The Gevi 4 in 1 has an amazing internal build quality as evidenced by the fact that it can dose out coffee and water to the nearest gram/millilitre and heat water accurately to the nearest degree Celsius.

It is controlled by a touch screen that is both very responsive and has an intuitive workflow. Many of Gevi’s users say that the way it guides them through the coffee-making process has taught them about the nuances of making excellent coffee.

The machine’s external build quality is also really high, being made almost entirely of stainless steel. Gevi clearly took inspiration from Macbooks in the way that the machine looks.

The machine has a glass carafe. While a thermal carafe would be nice, I can see why they opted for glass since the machine is only designed to make smaller (less than three cups) servings of coffee.

Design and Build Quality: 10/10

Value For Money

The Gevi 4-in-1 is a very expensive coffee maker – far more expensive than any other machine in this article.

While its quality is undeniable, you can (with a lot of practice, admittedly) make just as good a coffee with a manual pour-over that costs around 5% of this machine.

Therefore I don’t think it offers great value for money.

Value For Money Rating: 4/10

Gevi 4-in-1 Pros

Gives you the highest degree of brewing control of any automatic pour-over.

It can make consistently excellent coffee.

Its touch screen is a joy to use.

Excellent internal and external build quality – the machine should last a long time.

Gevi 4-in-1 Cons

Very expensive.

Cannot make large portions of coffee.

One To Avoid: Breville Grind Control

While the Breville Grind and Go have some redeeming features, it is fatally flawed because its built-in grinder has a bad tendency to block up.

If this grinder blocks up, the whole machine is out of use.

While you can usually unblock it with a bit of work, this isn’t always possible.

You’d expect a more reliable machine, especially considering its price tag.

Unless you are desperate for a machine that has both a built-in grinder and a thermal carafe (the Breville Grind Control is the best machine with both these features) then I would not recommend this machine.

What Should I Look For When Buying an Automatic Pour-Over Coffee Maker?

I’ll now go through the important features that affect the overall quality of an automatic pour-over coffee maker. Look out for these when shopping around for this type of machine.

Does It Have a Built-in Grinder?

I’d recommend opting for a machine without a built-in grinder. If you have to go for a machine with a built-in grinder then make sure it is one that does not clog up easily.

Some automatic pour-over machines have built-in grinders whereas others do not (the majority of automatic pour-overs do not have a built-in grinder).

I’d recommend choosing a machine without a built-in grinder if possible for two reasons:

• While machines with a built-in grinder mean that you do not need to buy a separate grinder, these machines are so expensive that it is cheaper to get a grinder-less machine and a separate grinder of equal quality.

• Grinders are likely to get clogged up at least once in their lifetime. Grinders that are built into machines are harder to unclog as you cannot easily take them apart. If a machine with a built-in grinder’s grinder gets clogged then the whole machine is out of use. 

If you still want to get a machine without a grinder then check out whether there are mentions of the machine’s grinder clogging up online.

This is a massive red flag that you should avoid the machine.

The table below shows whether the machines featured in this article have built-in grinders and if so whether I could find many reports online of their grinders clogging up:

Machine name	Does it have a built-in grinder?	Are there reports of its grinder clogging up?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	No	N/A
Bonavita 8 Cup	No	N/A
Ratio 6	No	N/A
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup One	No	N/A
Gevi 4 in 1	Yes	No
Breville Grind Control	Yes	Yes

What is the Machine’s Brewing Capacity?

You want a machine that can brew the maximum and minimum amount of coffee that you will conceivably need to make.

Automatic pour-over coffee makers vary in both the maximum and minimum quantities of coffee that they can make in one go. 

You want to choose a machine that can comfortably make the largest and smallest portions that you will ever want to make.

The table below shows the largest and smallest portions that each machine featured in this article can make:

Machine name	Minimum serving size	Maximum serving size
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	8.5 oz (250 ml)	42 oz (1250 ml)
Bonavita 8 Cup	20 oz (600 ml)	44 oz (1300 ml)
Ratio 6	16 oz (450 ml)	44 oz (1300 ml)
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup One	10 oz (300 ml)	10 oz (300 ml)
Gevi 4 in 1	5 oz (150 ml)	20 oz (600 ml)
Breville Grind Control	5 oz (150 ml)	60 oz (1800 ml)

Can the Machine Maintain a Consistent Temperature When Brewing?

You want your machine to brew at 195-205 Fahrenheit throughout the entire brewing process in order to create the best possible tasting coffee.

The ideal brewing temperature for pour-over coffee is 195-205 Fahrenheit according to the SCAA.

Any hotter than this and your brewing water will burn off some of the flavorful compounds in your coffee beans. Any cooler than this and those flavorful compounds will not extract into your coffee efficiency. Both of these can create a bland final drink.

While many machines reach this temperature by the end of your brew, only a few brew at this temperature throughout the entirety of your brewing process.

Your machine needs a powerful and sophisticated heating element to keep this consistent temperature throughout the entire brewing process. Therefore cheaper machines are unlikely to do this

Since keeping a consistent brewing temperature is necessary for a pour-over coffee maker to make good coffee, all the machines featured in this article do this.

Can the Machine Brew According to the Ideal Brewing Ratio?

You want your coffee maker to hold enough coffee in its brew basket that it can brew to its maximum capacity while still maintaining the ideal brew ratio of 1:16.5 – 1:18.5 parts ground coffee to water.

The SCAA recommends that you should brew with a ratio of between 1:16.5 and 1:18.5 parts ground coffee to water.

Not all machines allow you to do this, however.

For machines that cannot brew to this ratio, their limiting factor is the size of their brew basket. Some machines have such small brew baskets that they cannot hold enough ground coffee to brew to their full capacity and still stick to this brewing ratio.

You should avoid machines that have this problem, especially if you plan on making larger servings of coffee with them. These larger servings of coffee will always end up watery as they are not made with enough ground coffee.

The table below shows whether the machines featured in this article can brew to the ideal brewing ratio for drip coffee:

Machine name	Maximum serving size	Can it brew at the ideal brewing ratio for drip coffee?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	42 oz (1250 ml)	Yes
Bonavita 8 Cup	44 oz (1300 ml)	Yes
Ratio 6	44 oz (1300 ml)	Yes
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	10 oz (300 ml)	Yes
Gevi 4 in 1	20 oz (600 ml)	Yes
Breville Grind Control	60 oz (1800 ml)	No

Is the Machine SCAA Certified?

Machines that are SCAA certified are always a safe bet that achieves a minimum level in their quality of coffee. If in doubt, opt for an SCAA-certified coffee maker.

Between 1952-1972, the Specialty Coffee Association of America conducted large-scale taste tests on different coffee brewing methods. 

Their findings were that people prefer coffee that is brewed:

• At a temperature between 195-205 Fahrenheit
• At a brewing ratio of between 1:16.5-1:18.5 ground coffee to water
• An extraction of 1.15% – 1.35% of the coffee dissolving into the water

Machines that can consistently achieve this can become SCAA certified.

While all machines that are SCAA-certified make good coffee, not all machines that make good coffee are SCAA-certified. The SCAA criteria are rough guidelines, not fine-tuned rules.

There will therefore be some coffee makers that are not SCAA certified but which still make excellent coffee (the Gevi 4 in 1 for example).

The table below shows whether the machines featured in this article are SCAA certified or not:

Machine name	Is the machine SCAA certified?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	Yes
Bonavita 8 Cup	Yes
Ratio 6	Yes
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	Yes
Gevi 4 in 1	No
Breville Grind Control	No

Does the Machine Automatically Bloom Your Coffee?

You want a machine that automatically blooms your coffee prior to brewing. While being able to customise this bloom time is a bonus, it is not ideal.

Blooming your ground coffee, that is soaking the coffee bed in a small amount of hot water prior to brewing, improves your final coffee’s flavor in two ways:

• The coffee grounds release carbon dioxide when bloomed. This carbon dioxide needs to be released in order for the flavorful compounds in the coffee to become soluble. This means that if you do not bloom the coffee prior to brewing then the first 30 seconds of brew time are wasted.

• Wetting the coffee grounds makes them stick together and become more compact. This helps your water get better coverage with the coffee, resulting in more even extraction.

Your coffee maker should have automatic bloom functionality. 

Some machines have the ability to customise your bloom time. While this is a nice bonus, it is not necessary to create outstanding coffee.

The table below shows whether the coffee machines featured in this article automatically bloom your coffee prior to brewing and whether you can customize how long this blooming period lasts:

Machine name	Does it bloom your coffee automatically?	Can you customize the blooming time?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	Yes	No
Bonavita 8 Cup	Yes	No
Ratio 6	Yes	No
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	Yes	No
Gevi 4 in 1	Yes	Yes
Breville Grind Control	Yes	Yes

Carafe Quality

You want a machine that has a thermal carafe with a spout that does not drip or splutter when you pour from it.

Carafes vary in quality in two ways:

• Whether they are made out of glass or insulated metal (I am going to refer to the latter as “thermal).

• Whether they have a spout that allows you to pour from it without it spilling and spluttering coffee.

Thermal carafes are better than glass carafes for two reasons:

•  You can remove thermal carafes from the body of the machine and still keep your coffee hot. Glass carafes cannot do this.

• Glass carafes need to sit on a hot plate to keep your coffee warm. This hot plate literally cooks your coffee which means that your coffee will become very bitter if it sits on your hotplate for more than 20 minutes.

You’ll also be surprised by how many carafes cannot pour out coffee without spluttering or spilling coffee. This is annoying because it means that you have to clean up spilt coffee after every time you pour it from your carafe.

The table below shows whether the machines featured in this article have thermal or glass carafes and whether their carafes can be poured out without spilling coffee:

Machine name	Does it have a glass or thermal carafe?	Can you pour from its carafe without spilling coffee?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	Thermal	No
Bonavita 8 Cup	Thermal	No
Ratio 6	Thermal	Yes
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	Thermal	No
Gevi 4 in 1	Glass	Yes
Breville Grind Control	Thermal	Yes

Quality of Brew Basket

You want a machine with a brew basket that is durable enough to handle high temperatures without melting and insulated enough that your water does not lose heat during the brewing process.

Remember how I said that drip coffee should be brewed at 195-205 Fahrenheit?

Well, machines that better insulate their brew basket (the part of the machine where the ground coffee sits and where brewing occurs) are less likely to suffer a loss of temperature during brewing.

This means that machines which better insulate their brew basket will make a richer flavored coffee.

Brew baskets come into contact with near-boiling water regularly. They should therefore be made out of materials that will not melt under temperatures of around 212 Fahrenheit (100 Celsius).

While I could not find out precisely how well the machines featured in this article fared in terms of their brew basket’s insulation and durability, I did find two important pieces of information around this:

• The Ratio 6’s brew basket is significantly better insulated than all other coffee makers tested (according to this video). This is probably a big contributor to why it is the automatic pour-over that makes the best coffee.

• The Bonavita 8 Cup has several complaints online about its brew basket melting. You can find an example of this on Reddit here.

Water Tank Quality

You want your automatic pour-over machine that has a water tank with clear, accurate measurements.

Almost all automatic pour-over machines have non-removable water tanks. 

The vast majority of these machines also use all the water that you put in it for every brew that it makes.

Therefore you need to measure out the water yourself for every coffee that you make.

You, therefore, want a machine with water tanks that have:

• Accurate measurements (I’m amazed by the number of machines that do not have this)

• Easy-to-read measurements: white or black markings on clear plastic ideally

The table below shows whether the machines featured in this article have easy-to-read and accurate measurements:

Machine name	Does it have accurate measurements?	Are its water tank measurements easy to read?
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	Yes	Yes
Bonavita 8 Cup	Yes	Yes
Ratio 6	No	Yes
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	Yes	Yes
Gevi 4 in 1	N/A (doses water automatically)	Yes
Breville Grind Control	Yes	Yes

Customizability of Brewing Variables

Ideally, your machine allows you to control its brewing time and temperature. This is a bonus rather than a necessity, however.

Automatic pour-over machines have the potential to control the following:

• Brewing temperature
• Brewing time (also called “flow rate”)
• Blooming time
• Water dispersion

Since there are long-established best practices for making pour-over coffee, it’s more important that your machine meets these best practices than if it allows you to play around with brewing conditions.

Being able to play around with these brewing conditions is therefore a luxury rather than a necessity.

The table below shows:

Machine name	Can you customize brewing temperature?	Can you customize brewing time?	Can you customize bloom time?	Can you customize water dispersion
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT	No	No	No	No
Bonavita 8 Cup	No	No	No	No
Ratio 6	No	No	No	Yes
Technivorm Moccamaster Cup-One	No	No	No	No
Gevi 4 in 1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Breville Grind Control	Yes	No	Yes	No

Final Verdict

The best automatic pour-over coffee maker is the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT. It can make consistently excellent coffee and should last you decades.