Coffeemaker

Hate to admit it, but I use a Mr Coffee coffee maker. It has a timer & a thermal carafe. You can set it up in the evening & wake up to fresh hot coffee...mmmm...The carafe keeps the coffee hot for most of the morning.

To add something new to the conversation: try a chemex. Not only is it charmingly attractive, it makes some fantastic, clean tasting coffee. It is similar to an old-fashioned manual single cup drip contraption but has the advantage of larger capacity. Since it is made only of glass, you get no tainted coffee/plastic taste (so they say, I wouldn't know but I definitely taste some difference) and unlike french presses, you don't have to deal with silt. We switched a little while back- this coming from a house that already had 3 french presses, an espresso maker and an electric drip machine in the closet- and I have to say I'm pretty won over. It makes great coffee!

I'm a Nespresso partisan, too. The espresso is rich and frothy. I was bummed when I realized I'd have to buy all the pods from Nespresso - but their service is blindingly fast (order today, delivered tomorrow, even though it's only supposed to be 2-day FedEx). They also have excellent regular customer service - my machine seized up and they replaced it immediately without any hassle.

I love my Jura Capresso (I have the F9 model). It grinds the coffee and brews with a pressure system and produces a layer of "crema" on top of the coffee. You can set the grind, the intensity of the brew, the size of the cup and it has a built in frother/steamer for milk to make lattes, cappucinos, etc. It produces the best coffee I have had and it makes one or two cups at a time (not a pod system), using your beans. It also has a hopper for preground beans, which we use in the evening when someone wants decaf (that way you don't have to empty out beans in the grinder compartment). High end in terms of $ but worth it in my opinion (and they have a great customer service dept. if you have questions/problems).

The Technivorm by Moccamaster. It makes wonderful coffee.

Thanks for all of your responses! It's fabulous to get personal reviews from people who I feel like I know. Keep the recommendations coming! I may end up with more than one machine or device though!

Oh that is so cool, love the homemade pod.

Just found this on making your own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jITYcusn68Y

unfortunately .. I think YES!

Do you HAVE to use a pod with the pod machines? I've flirted with the idea of a machine for a couple of years, but I don't like being anchored to a pod.

the nespresso from williams sonoma... although its also a single pod machine...

I agree you should check out the Nespresso, Here is a link : http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/nespresso-pixie-espresso-maker/?cm_src=hero
They take up very little counter space and are super easy to use making the perfect espresso.

I love my nespresso www.nespresso.com They sell them at Williams-Sonoma so you can taste the product and compare models. I love it because it is pre-measured, the coffee is wonderful, there is no mess.

I very much enjoy the Eva Solo Cafe Solo; it's kind of like a reverse French press:
http://amzn.to/kNWaXc

Another device you might enjoy is the Aeropress:
http://amzn.to/iJ5BqE
It does single cups of very strong espresso-like coffee, which is also delicious when diluted with hot water. The result is a lot like an Americano. It also takes about 1 minute to make, and 5 seconds to clean up. At work, we recently got a metal filter for this, so now we don't even need to buy the disposable paper filters!

A single ceramic drip cone (Hario V60) makes delicious coffee, especially when you're brewing high-end specialty varieties:
http://bit.ly/9GFVwA
This is one of my favorites, because the method encourages you to take just a few minutes to meditatively brew your cup. I find that high-end coffees really bloom with this method and you'll enjoy their full flavor profiles, which can sometimes get lost when brewing for espresso or with a French press.

Have fun shopping! I highly recommend these sites for quality coffee equipment:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php
http://www.espressosupply.com/
http://www.visionsespresso.com/

I have an automatic espresso maker. It is one of the most used kitchen appliances I have, and has dramatically cut down on the amount of money my husband and I spend at coffee shops.