** Updated for 2017 **
There are some strong contenders in the 10-cup coffee maker segment, with major players like Bunn and Capresso finally delivering mainstream products worthy of their reputations. What can other manufacturers like Zojirushi, Cuisinart and Mr Coffee put on the table? Let’s take a look.
Best 10-Cup Coffee Maker Roundup
This is a strange segment of the coffee machine market, dominated by thermal brewers. Here are the top 5.
Capresso MG600 Plus 10-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker
Capresso is a trusted name in coffee circles, but their lower end products often fall a little short of the mark. With the MG600 however they seem to have made an affordable, quality built programmable coffee machine that ticks all the right boxes.
Quick Features:
– Stainless steel housing
– Fingerprint-proof finish
– 2-hour auto shut-off
– Reusable gold tone filter
– Charcoal water filter
– Drip stop lets you steal a cup while brewing
– Special 3-5 cups setting
The MG600 is a sleek, impressive looking machine. The stainless steel construction gives it a quality feel. A small control panel is well positioned horizontally next to the bottom of the carafe, making the buttons easy to press and the screen easy to read.
It brews fairly quickly, taking about 7 – 8 minutes for a full carafe. The stainless steel lined heating system means the water makes no contact with any aluminum.
The machine delivers a hot pot of flavorful coffee, and the 3 – 5 cup setting is really nice to maintain the temperature and aroma when brewing a smaller amount of coffee.
The reservoir gauge is not the best, and it is hard to accurately fill for 3 or 4 cups.
It’s great to have Capresso quality available in this price range, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the MG600.
The MG600 may not be the fanciest coffee maker on display in this roundup, but at around $30+ less than many of the other machines here and with a good track record over the last few years, it remains my Editor’s Choice for best 10-cup coffee maker.
Consumer satisfaction ratio: 82%
Average User Rating: 4.1 out of 5
Get the Capresso MG600 on Amazon.
Bunn NHS Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer
Bunn is famous for their no-nonsense, high performance coffee makers, and the NHS Velocity Brew continues that tradition.
Quick Features:
– brews a pot in 3 minutes
– always hot internal tank speeds up brewing
– drip-free carafe
– large flat bottom filter for better flavor extraction
– multi-stream sprayhead
– can brew 4 – 10 cups
– 3-year warranty
Right off the bat, I’ll make it clear: this is a straightforward, no frills coffee maker. If you want programmable features and clocks and timers and brew strength selectors, head on past. The Bunn is not a Swiss army knife coffee brewer – it’s much rather a Ka-Bar, made to do one thing well.
The Velocity Brew simply means a really, really fast pot of coffee. This machine brews a 10-cup carafe in around 3 minutes. To do this the unit continually heats the water in the tank, which means no pre-heating time. It also uses a multi-stream sprayhead and a large, specialized Bunn flat bottom filter to ensure better coverage and better flavor. The spray head design on this machine is excellent, properly saturating the grounds in the filter.
Some people complain that the coffee this machine produces is weak due to the speed at which it brews, but the majority of consumers are happy with it.
The lack of advanced automated features and also the unconventional operation (no brew button, brewing is triggered by closing the lid at the top) may not make it a happy choice for everyone, but with a very high customer satisfaction rate, fast brewing and great tasting coffee, this coffee maker begs careful consideration.
Just be sure that you can handle the complete lack of sophistication and absence of any advanced control or features that the Velocity Brew range offers.
Consumer satisfaction ratio: 79%
Average User Rating: 4.3 out of 5
Zojirushi EC-YSC100 Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker
Zojirushi is at the upper end of the price scale, but they always bring a great product to the party. The 10-cup Fresh Brew model is no different, and delivers great results.
Quick Features:
– removable water tank
– guaranteed brewing temperature of 200F+
– automated cleaning cycle
– vacuum insulated stainless steel carafe
– thumb-activated pouring
– easy access swing basket
The Zojirushi is not the most pretty coffee maker out there, but what it lacks in sleek lines and wow looks it makes up for in efficiency and quality.
There are just so many nice touches here. The thumb operated carafe works very well. It also keeps the coffee hot for a long time. The water reservoir is clearly visible, and can also be removed for filling. The filter basket just slides out for easy access.
The coffee comes out really hot and very tasty. This machine does brew some of the best coffee I’ve had from a coffee machine.
You also get a battery backup for the clock and timer, so if you ever unplug the device accidentally (or simply like to leave it unplugged when not in use), you’ll retain your settings.
Now on to the bad: there seems to be a design flaw with this machine. Some users report leakage, which has been tracked to the spring-loaded drip valve on the machine. Reports are scattered, but there are enough to create concern.
In all other respects this is a great coffee maker. However, at around $120, you expect perfection. While most people get great long-term service from this machine, the same issue encountered by multiple users points to a design flaw. Zojirushi’s after sales service also doesn’t seem all that inspiring.
If you choose to get it, take special care around that drip valve and you’ll find plenty to enjoy.
Consumer satisfaction ratio: 81%
Average User Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Get pricing for the Zojirushi EC-YSC100 Fresh Brew.
Cuisinart DCC-2750 Extreme Brew Thermal Coffee Maker
Cuisinart has produced a very good 10-cup coffee maker with the DCC-2750 Extreme Brew.
Quick Features:
– 10-cup thermal insulated carafe
– adjustable brew strength
– gold tone permanent filter
– charcoal water filter
– 1-4 cup setting
– 24-hour programming and auto-shutoff
– brew pause
As with most thermal coffee makers, the carafe here is double-wall insulated stainless steel. This carafe pours really well, without any dribble. It also doesn’t seem to keep coffee hot for as long as I’ve seen the thermal carafes on other coffee makers do, hard to open and is not as well designed with regards to pouring as, for example, the Zojirushi carafe.
Cuisinart has stacked the DCC-2750 with essential features. You have your 1-4 cup setting for when you don’t want to brew a full carafe, you get a reusable gold tone filter, a scoop for easy measuring and a charcoal water filter.
The Extreme Brew designation in the model name refers to Cuisinart’s brewing technology that’s supposed to speed up brewing by 25% over most coffee makers. You can expect to brew a whole pot on the regular setting in about 4-5 minutes.
On the left of the machine you have a water level indicator, which is nice. The machine offers you the option to brew regular or bold coffee, although I don’t find a big difference in taste between the two.
Finally you have your standard 24-hour clock and programming functions. It’s disappointing the the display is digital and not LED, so you can’t read it in low light or darkness.
As always with Cuisinart, I have reservations about durability. Overall this looks a solid machine that produces good coffee, but a fiddly carafe and too many reports of heat issues. Despite having a thermally insulated pot, the machine still has a heating plate as well. Not sure why, and you have to keep in mind that with a stainless steel carafe you can burn yourself on the heated bottom if you’re not careful.
Consumer satisfaction ratio: 74%
Average User Rating: 4.1 out of 5
See latest pricing for the Cuisinart DCC-2750.
Mr Coffee Optimal Brew PSTX91
Mr Coffee, the king of budget coffee makers, comes to the party with the PSTX91, a fully featured thermal coffee machine.
Quick Features:
– removable water reservoir
– delay brew timer
– Grab-A-Cup auto pause system
– cleaning cycle notification
– 2-hour auto shutoff
– stainless steel thermal carafe
– built-in water filtration
As you can see, the PSTX91 packs quite a punch feature wise. Also included is a Fresh Brew timer, which emits a beep when the coffee is two hours old to remind you that you perhaps need to make a fresh brew.
The removable water reservoir is always a big plus and I love coffee machines that include this. Just makes refilling that much less of a hassle.
The PSTX91, much like the Cuisinart Extreme Brew, features brewing technology that speeds things up considerably. You can expect to brew a 10-cup pot in under 7 minutes. I do get the impression this influences to strength of the coffee somewhat, although that might be my imagination.
The thermal carafe does a decent job of keeping the coffee hot for between one and two hours, but it pours a little slowly.
The controls are easy to use, and the control panel is well laid out.
Overall, the Mr Coffee PSTX91 is a pretty good coffee machine, not without its flaws. If you take care using it, you should get some good service from it.
Consumer satisfaction ratio: 69%
Average User Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Get the Mr Coffee Optimal Brew PSTX91 on Amazon.
Conclusion: Best 10-Cup Coffee Machine
The Capresso MG600 is the winner here on a price/performance basis. For around $70 – $80 you get a reliable machine that delivers excellent coffee.
The Bunn NHS (and all the other Velocity Brew variants) fills a sort of niche market. They’re bare bones on/off brewers that go like hell, without even the slightest hint of advanced features. Not for everyone, but there is definitely a market that swears by them.
The Zojirushi Fresh Brew lets itself down with a possible design flaw, but if you’re lucky enough not to run into that particular drip valve leakage issue, you’ll get a wonderful coffee machine with just about every feature you’ll ever need and then some. It is pricey though, which makes it lose out to the Capresso MG600 on a dollar for dollar value scale.
The Cuisinart and Mr Coffee models fill out the bottom part of this roundup, with the Cuisinart at over $100 probably being the least impressive machine in this roundup. The Mr Coffee at around $60 – $70 delivers good value.