<p>Make sure you get decent coffee. The best coffee maker on the planet cannot turn bad coffee into good coffee. I have found that most coffeemakers make a decent cup of coffee if the right coffee is used. However…it is the other features that I think make a maker worth purchasing…or not. E.g. I have never owned a Mr. Coffee brand that didn’t drip like crazy when you poured from the pot into the cup. Some coffeemakers simply do not keep the coffee hot. Others take a LONG time to brew. Some of these features are things you would never notice in a taste test at a coffee shop. </p>
<p>I recently used a coffee maker with a thermal carafe. It had no heating element but once brewed, the coffee stayed piping hot in the carafe for several hours. I would have bought it…(it was on loan) BUT when I picked up the thing to return it, there was a puddle on the counter (no wonder the owners did not use it daily).</p>
<p>We had a Farberware percolated for years that we loved. It died…and stupidly we replaced it with a line of drip coffee makers. That was dumb.</p>
<p>I now have a Hamilton Beach that makes single cups (but with regular coffee). It’s fine for one person. </p>
<p>Ask a neighbor if you can borrow one…many have purchased Keurigs and the old ones are not in use.</p>