Single Serve Coffee Makers

A single serve coffee brewer (single serve brewing machine) is a coffee maker designed to produce a single cup of coffee (single serve coffee) or other beverage.

Benefits of Single Serve Coffee Makers

The advantages of single serve coffee brewing systems include a guarantee of freshly-brewed coffee, a variety of coffee selections, less waste of brewed coffee and less mess as well as consistency of brewing.

While there’s less chance of making too much coffee and having to throw some out, there is a higher environmental impact with most single serve coffee products using far more plastic than a typical bag of coffee beans. Almost all of this plastic ends up in landfills and creates a huge negative impact on the environment.

Types of Single Serve Coffee Makers

Single serve coffee systems have been developed by various companies and may include coffee pods or pre-packaged coffee K-Cups.

More recently, single cup coffee makers have emerged on the market that used a variety of interchangeable drawers so that you can make coffee with ground coffee as well as k-cups, giving you more flexibility in terms of variety and price. Models such as the Bunn My Cafe MCU also have a drawer for tea and a drawer simply for hot water, making it a 4-in-1 multi use system.

Who Makes Single Serve Coffee Systems

Prominent companies that produce espresso machines (commercial espresso machines and home espresso machines) and single serve coffee brewers (single cup coffee brewers), pod coffee makers, and pod espresso machines that may brew coffee pods , espresso pods, or coffee K-Cups include Keurig (Keurig coffee K-Cups), Saeco (Saeco espresso), Braun (T-Disc Single Serve coffee maker), Illy (Easy Serving Espresso Pods), Tassimo (Suprema single serve system coffee makers and espresso makers using T-Discs), Gevalia (Signature blend T discs), Gaggia (Gaggia espresso; Gaggia espresso machine), Cuisinart (single serve brewing system), Tassimo (single serve coffee and espresso makers) Timothy’s World Coffee (Timothy’s K Cups), Lavazza (Lavazza espresso), Krups (Krups espresso machine) DeLonghi (DeLonghi espresso machine), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Green Mountain coffee k cups), and Senseo which offers Senseo coffee pods and the Senseo coffee pod system.

Manual Single Serve Coffee Makers

An automatic machine doesn’t need to be used when you want to make just a single cup of coffee – many coffee makers exist in formats allowing anywhere from 6 to 12 ounces of coffee to be made at a time. French presses, pour over coffee makers, moka pots and the aeropress are all examples of equipment that can make a single cup of coffee.

Coffee and Espresso Brewing Tips

For tips on brewing a wonderfully delicious cup of coffee see our section on Coffee Brewing. You can also read detailed coffee flavor profiles of Gourmet Coffees and instructions on preparing Espresso Drink Recipes. Don’t forget to keep your equipment clean to enjoy the best possible drink! See our guide on how to clean a coffee maker.

For step-by-step instructions see Pulling A Perfect Espresso Shot as well as How to make a Latte.

For detailed definitions of espresso and coffee terminology see the Coffee Terms.  Also check out the World’s Best History of Coffee.