If you love coffee, I'm sure you've had to buy a coffee maker at some point or another. If you are new to the world of coffee makers, then you are in for quite a surprise when you run to your local department store in search of the latest coffee maker for your coffee drinking pleasure. There are many types and varieties to choose from. So many in fact, that it might take a couple of trips in order to decide which maker best suits your needs, wants, and budgets.

While pretty much everyone would like the fresh brewed flavor of their favorite gourmet coffee or espresso each and every morning that process can be costly in both time and money. Here are a few things about several different types of coffee makers that might help you make your decision.

First, there's the basic ordinary drip coffee maker. This coffee maker is generally the most affordable as well as the easiest to use and maintain. It operates by heating the water and letting the water drip through filtered coffee grounds (you can grind your own or buy coffee grounds). You can find drip coffee makers that will make anything from one cup to those making as many as twelve and they come in all kinds of price ranges but are generally much more affordable than specialty coffee makers. With this type of coffee maker your biggest decision rests in how much coffee you think you will need to brew at a time. If you are single and rarely have guests, it might be a good idea for you to get one of the one or two-cup makers rather than a 12-cup pot but that is a matter of choice as you can elect to only brew two cups in the larger pots.

Next there are the specialty coffee makers. These machines allow you the greatest variety of options as well as a greater degree of prep work and expense up front. An espresso machine offers the options of semi automatic, automatic, and super automatic. While the semi automatic is the cheapest, it is also the most time consuming. You must ground your own coffee in addition to manually beginning and ending the brewing process. If you aren't going to be hitting the snooze until the last possible moment this might be a good bet. If your time is going to be limited but you still want the more flavorful coffees, you might want to try a more expensive automatic machine.

With many automatic makers you have the option of using your own grinder, which is actually what I would recommend. Some machines come with grinders but they are very basic grinders and you would do better to invest the money in a separate apparatus for grinding. Once you load the grounds and set the water level, this machine does the work for you. This is a much simpler option than the semi automatic machine but not nearly as convenient to own and operate as the super automatic machine. The super automatic machine is by far the most expensive. It is also by far the best. All you need to do for this machine is load the beans and it takes care of everything else, in the morning that is. You need to make sure at night that there is plenty of water and the grounds have been removed.

When it comes to coffee makers it is important that you understand your requirements of the machine, the time you have available, the amount you're willing to spend, and the features that are most important to you. This knowledge will help you quickly narrow down your coffee maker purchasing decision to only a few machines to select from rather than the entire store.