This Splurgy OXO Coffee Maker Makes Cafe-Quality Brews and Saves Me So Much Money in the Long Run

It might sound like a cheesy Instagram caption, but I really couldn’t live without coffee. It’s one of my favorite things, since it combines my love of nerdy cooking projects with my equally nerdy love of all things “gear” — plus, it tastes great and it’s a great morning ritual. (And, of course, I am hopelessly beholden to the whims of caffeine.) However, as much as I love pulling espresso, using an Aeropress, and firing up a Moka pot, I find myself coming back time and again to pour-over and drip coffee. I’ll still stand by my love of a simple Mr. Coffee machine for outfitting your first apartment, but once you’ve graduated from that, splurging on a high-end, programmable drip machine can be a total game-changer. Since my girlfriend would kill me if I brought home another bulky piece of coffee equipment into our tiny apartment kitchen, I figured my parents — who have been stubbornly refusing to replace their broken coffee machine for years — could use an upgrade. That’s why I was so excited to test out the OXO 12-Cup Coffee Maker with Podless Single-Serve Function on them, since if it could win them over, it has to be top-notch. 

For me, the look of the OXO 12-Cup Coffee Maker nearly won me over at first sight. In classic OXO fashion, the machine is made with gorgeous stainless steel — which makes for a particularly sleek-looking body —  and a glass chamber for water, which is a nice upgrade from coffee makers that use plastic carafes. There are also two swappable baskets for different brew sizes (each comes with included filters) and an option to make a single cup, so you don’t have to worry about wasting coffee if you’re home alone. The heavy-duty stay-warm carafe also keeps your coffee hot for hours, so you don’t have to pop your mug in the microwave if you’re itching for a second cup later in the day. The display is also easy to read and easy to use, with just a few simple buttons and a dial — perfect for even the most technologically averse people in your life. There’s also a built-in cleaning cycle, which lets you descale your coffee maker with the push of a button. (The instruction manual gives ratios for descaling solution or vinegar, depending on which you decide to use.) 

So yeah, it looks great — but how does it perform? Well, like pretty much everything OXO makes, it’s top-tier. I brewed a single cup (programmed to start brewing five minutes in the future) to test it out, and it worked great. It started brewing right at the five-minute mark, and all you have to do is just pour as much water into the reservoir as you want to brew, and it’ll spit out that exact amount (minus a little lost to saturating the grinds and evaporation) right into your cup. The taste was phenomenal — sort of like a cup of pour-over, thanks to the Rainmaker shower and the BetterBrew Precision technology, which controls water temperature and brew cycles for a smooth end product. The full pots are equally delicious, and if you don’t take my word for it, take my folks’. “I can vouch for the excellence of the OXO coffee system — tasty brew and the coffee stays hot,” my dad explained. “Coffee is excellent and cleanup is easy!” according to my mom. 

• The setup was easy. No joke, this thing was brewing coffee within 10 minutes of me opening the box. (It would have been five if it were just me, but my mom insisted we do the water-only cleaning cycle that the instructions recommend, which you should definitely do as well.) But seriously, you just remove the protective plastic, plug it in, and you’re off to the races. 
• Coffee stays hot for hours in the carafe. My dad is a big-time microwaved coffee man, in that he’ll brew a pot in the morning, then come back later in the day, fill his mug with lukewarm brew, whack it in the microwave, and knock it back. With the insulated carafe, he told me, those days are over. 
• You don’t have to make a massive pot every time. The dual baskets and single-serving option make this a great choice for large and small households alike. Having the choice to make one cup of coffee or enough for an entire family comes in handy more often than you’d think. 
• It looks great on the countertop. You really can’t beat glass and stainless steel — these neutral colors are timeless and match pretty much any kitchen aesthetic. 
• The controls and display are easy to use and intuitive. Even though my folks are very technologically savvy, this would be a cinch for pretty much anyone. If you can program a digital alarm clock, you can use this coffee maker.

Look, this isn’t a cheap coffee maker, obviously, but after having to replace a few mediocre machines in the past, take it from me: Snagging the OXO 12-Cup Coffee Maker will save you money in the long run. Another thing to note is that the carafe has a smooth pouring action — as long as you don’t totally invert it, in which case it can get a little splashy. Just take it slow. 

I can give a full-throated recommendation for this machine, as long as you: 

• Drink coffee (duh) 
• Have more than one person in your household or frequently have guests
• Love drip coffee, since this is the only brewing style the machine makes
• Have space on your countertop for an average-sized machine
• Enjoy hot coffee, since there’s no iced coffee function 

• OXO, $299.99 
• Amazon, $299.99