Best Grind and Brew Coffee Maker – Our Top Picks and Buying Guide

There are many reasons you might want to opt for a coffee machine with a built-in grinder. First amongst these is usually space. In smaller kitchens there simply may not be room for a grinder and a coffee maker on the countertop. 

Care should be taken, however, particularly with cheaper models, as grinder quality can suffer compared to stand-alone equipment. 

If you want great coffee from a machine with an integrated grinder without doing a ton of research, we’d recommend going for the Gevi 4-in-1 Smart Pour-Over. In terms of coffee quality, the biggest influencer from an equipment point of view with an integrated machine is likely to be grinder quality.

The Gevi Smart Pour-Over features a very high quality grinder. In addition to this, the relatively small footprint compared to the super-automatic options will probably be a desirable selling point. As you’re shopping for the best grind and brew coffee brewer, space is likely to be an issue.

With so much scope within the grind and brew market for different styles of machine, the best grind and brew coffee brewer is going to come in different shapes and sizes. Mainly it will depend on the style of coffee that you enjoy most, and your requirements in terms of convenience.

One great feature of many grind and brew machines is that they can be set up to brew your coffee automatically without having to settle for stale beans like most automatic programmable coffee makers. Be sure to look out for that programmability if that’s what you need, as not all machines will feature this.

A Closer Look at the Best Grind and Brew Coffee Maker

So what’s the difference between all of these machines? Keep reading for a clearer idea of some of the advantages and disadvantages of each as we see it.

The Gevi 4-in-1 Smart Pour-Over may perhaps not be the most obvious choice when weighing up what exactly your needs are from an integrated grind and brew coffee maker. However, there is a good chance that this may well be the best grind and brew coffee brewer for you. It is compact, it is a complete setup with no need for peripheral equipment, and it brews excellent quality coffee.

The Gevi Smart Pour-Over boasts probably the best quality grinder of any of these machines. It features two 60mm flat stainless steel burrs and has a 51-step wheel well capable of grinding across the full range from coarse cold brew grinds right down to espresso grind. It will function perfectly well as a stand-alone grinder.

In addition to this, it has an integrated brew scale at the base which can be used independently for weighing out for espresso and other drinks. But of course, where the Gevi Smart really shines is as an automatic pour over solution. It has a grinder, kettle, scale, and automated pour over robot all in one.

You simply add water and beans and then program the brew recipe you would like to follow into the machine. Alternatively, you choose from a range of competition winning recipes, or even from the community uploaded options. The facility to upload your recipes to Gevi’s proprietary social network for their users is a great feature.

With all the flexibility of manual brewing, paired with the convenience of an automated machine and the space economy of an integrated coffee maker, there is a lot to like about the Gevi Smart. Even for espresso drinkers who like the occasional filter and want a grinder that can serve both, this is a gadget worth considering.

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The Breville Grind Control is a solid example of an automatic drip machine on its own, with the added benefit of a large, stainless steel flat burr grinder. The grind quality is fairly even and decent for batch brew, with six stepped adjustments so you can customize depending on the style of beans you are brewing with.

The grinder won’t go fine enough for espresso though, and there probably isn’t enough precision adjustment for pour over either. If you were hoping to make this your go-to grinder in the kitchen for all your coffee needs and you like to brew in a variety of styles you may need to think again.

As far as batch brew goes, though, this is a lovely machine. Breville has a very solid brand reputation and has been producing good quality domestic coffee equipment for a long time. The build quality is good and, actually, the added weight from the integrated grinder is quite reassuring here.

The star of the show with this machine, though, is its ability to brew freshly ground coffee at a pre-programmed time. Unlike other automatic programmable machines that don’t feature an integrated grinder, there is no trade-off between freshness and convenience. With a grind and brew batch brewer, you can have both.

One area where this brewer does fall down a little in comparison to others at a similar price point is in its lack of a pre-infusion phase or the level of control. You would get that with something like the Breville Precision Brewer, but for the extra control you are sacrificing the convenience of the built-in grinder.

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The Breville Barista Express has become a mainstay of the mid-range domestic espresso machine market in its own right, and the inclusion of an integrated grinder may be a desirable addition for some users. Featuring the same 40mm conical burr set as the Breville Smart Grinder Pro, the integrated grinder performs similarly well for espresso.

The PID temperature control, which allows you to govern the water temperature at the groupheads, is very useful if you enjoy tinkering with your variables to get the best out of specialty light roasts. PID control is not a feature that comes with many machines in this price bracket straight out of the box and is more commonly an aftermarket modification.

From a user experience point of view, adjusting the grind size fine enough for a non-pressurized basket can be frustrating. It is easily achievable with no tools, but you do have to open up the machine and manually adjust the top burr position. 

The machine is set up to work with the supplied pressurized baskets, which don’t produce the high quality achievable with traditional baskets. To get the best extractions you need to be able to grind finer than pressurized portafilters will allow.

Another area of frustration is that the grinder is not stepless, meaning that micro-adjustments to fine grinds are not possible. Sometimes it is easier to achieve precision when dialling in your shots by finding the closest grind setting to your requirements and then adjusting the extraction by dose instead.

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Jura is one of the higher-end manufacturers of bean to cup machines and the quality shows in the Z10. It does take up a little more countertop space than some, with quite a large water tank. Therefore, if you have a small kitchen or just don’t need the capacity it may not be the right machine for you.

The user interface is well designed and easy to operate with the Z10, featuring a responsive touchscreen and a spin wheel. Until you are familiar with the machine, though, things like the grind size adjustment (manual on most machines) being hidden in digital menus can be challenging. 

In terms of drink quality this offering from Jura is fairly good, and at the top end as far as bean to cup machines go. The extractions won’t quite match up to a bona fide espresso. But, they are a good facsimile with no need for any user training, patience, or competence whatsoever. You just put beans and water in and press a button.

The automated milk steaming works quite well here too. Perhaps not as velvety as expertly textured, manually steamed milk, but certainly better than an inexpert job on a cheap manual steam wand. You will get something very like a proper cappuccino out of this at home without having to basically train as a barista.

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This grind and brew automatic drip brewer is fairly comparable in terms of performance to the Breville Grind Control but comes in at around $100 less. If you spent the price difference on better quality coffee beans over the course of a year, arguably you would see better results in the short term.

With a very reasonable quality burr grinder for the money and fairly respectable brew temperatures, the Grind-and-Brew from Cuisinart produces decent coffee. 

It’s not going to be the best cup you’ve ever had, and it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of precision control over your brew. The casual user, however, will be very satisfied with this machine. Like the Breville, it is fully programmable for a fresh carafe of coffee to wake up to. The thermal carafe, also, will keep your coffee tasting fresh for upwards of an hour.

For those that are into dialing in their seasonal, light roast, single-origin beans this machine may frustrate a little. If, however, you want a jug of fair quality coffee ready for you when you wake up, or when you get in from work, and you are not overly enthusiastic about the process — this could be the option for you.

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Another machine from Breville, the Oracle Touch is a fully automatic coffee machine in a class of its own. It is marketed as a bean to cup machine, however, there is a little too much human intervention required to really satisfy this. Where a true bean to cup does just that, turns coffee beans into cups of coffee with the addition of water, the Oracle Touch doesn’t.

The main reason that bean to cup machines fail to produce the best extractions is that the process of moving ground coffee from grinder to brew chamber, and then dumping it, is fairly difficult. Breville’s answer to this is to get the human (you in the event that you buy one) to do it.

Having good grounds distribution inside your coffee bed in the portafilter and a nice even tamp are vital to prevent uneven extractions and channeling. If you want great coffee this sets the Oracle Touch well above true bean to cup machines and allows it to produce “proper” espresso. 

Because the puck prep is better, the machine can run at higher pressures and flow rates without blasting the coffee bed, as tends to happen with finer grinds in bean to cup machines.

The user interface, automatic milk steaming, and even shot quality are all very good on this machine. If you are prepared to sacrifice control of most of the variables and dial in by grind size alone, this is a very convenient answer to quality espresso at home.

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The Dinamica Plus from De’Longhi is one of the cheaper bean to cup offerings, but actually produces fairly good shots. Without a particularly premium price tag for the technology included here, the build quality does feel like it may have paid some of the price. It is quite lightweight and feels like cheaper plastic.

It does, however, produce coffee quality equivalent to far more expensive bean to cup machines. It has a remarkably small footprint for a machine of this type, which if you have a smaller kitchen and want something with an integrated grinder will likely be helpful.

The milk steaming function is ok with this coffee maker, but only ok. It doesn’t really produce the sort of milk quality a barista could achieve with a steam wand. The foam is a little towards the dry, stiff end of the spectrum, and there will be some large bubbles present.

The grinder is actually capable of grinding quite fine, unlike a lot of grinders in bean to cup machines. But, unfortunately, the rest of the machine can’t cope with the finer settings. With finer grinds the pressure inside the group head increases and will blast the coffee puck, causing channeling.

All in all, with a couple of tweaks this machine represents very good value if you are shopping for a bean to cup and don’t want to spend the money on a Jura Z10. It is worth noting that out of the box the water temperature is set too low, but once turned up to maximum brews good coffee.

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This bean to cup from Miele is something of a behemoth. If you have a smaller kitchen this probably won’t be for you. For an office environment or a large household though, this could be a good choice. 

The extra size means an extra-large cup warmer, and it does include multiple hoppers for different styles or decaf. They do all run through the same grinder though, so cross-contamination could be an issue. 

The build quality feels nice, although at the price point you would expect it to. This machine probably isn’t for specialty coffee drinkers. It won’t grind fine enough to get the most out of a good, dense, high-altitude, single-origin, light roast. But if you need a solution for multiple users this could be it. 

The quality of the textured milk it produces is actually surprisingly good for a bean to cup, making it a good fit for an office full of not particularly fussy latte drinkers. It is worth noting that the water dosing is a little inaccurate, so you should weigh the output when dialing in rather than trust the displayed volumes.

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Buying Guide

Hopefully, this has given you a lot to consider in your quest for the best grind and brew coffee brewer. With ample thought about your personal requirements, and enough knowledge about the factors you need to bear in mind, choosing a grind and brew machine should be enjoyable.

Grinder

Probably the most important piece of equipment in your coffee brewing setup, it is important that your grind and brew coffee maker includes a decent grinder. As it can sometimes be more expensive than the value of the machine to repair or replace an integrated grinder, you should choose wisely.

Also, consider your needs and how well a given grinder will fulfill them. If you want something you can use almost like a standalone grinder that you can use for your pour overs as well, something like the Jura Z10 won’t be appropriate for you.

Hopper Capacity

If a lot of people are going to use the same machine it may be helpful to consider choosing something with a larger hopper, or even multiple hoppers.

If you are just using the machine for a few coffees a day at home, there are better ways to preserve freshness than your precious beans sitting that close to machinery that probably gets quite hot. A smaller hopper will take up less space and may suit you better.

Carafe

With the drip coffee brewers, choice of carafe will be an important factor to consider. All of the machines we have featured here come with a thermal carafe as standard, although glass options are available.

If you are hoping to hot hold your coffee for any length of time these thermal carafes will serve you a lot better. We have a full post on the benefits of thermal carafes if you are interested in learning more.

If you are going to drink all of your coffee fresh off the brew and just brew some more when you want more this won’t matter so much. If you prefer the aesthetic of a glass carafe, which does feel more traditional, this would be a fine choice.

Drip vs Espresso

When choosing the best grind and brew coffee brewer for you, you need to consider whether you would prefer something that serves drip coffee or espresso, or at least espresso-style drinks. 

The grind and brew functionality works nicely with filter if you want to program a jug of fresh coffee ready for a particular time. But if you are an espresso drinker this won’t give you what you want. You could always get one of each, although there are probably more sensible workarounds for most people. 

Of all the machines we have featured the Gevi probably offers the most flexibility and doesn’t take up too much space. Pairing it with a standalone espresso machine would satisfy all needs fairly well.

Customization

The level of control you have over your extractions is going to be a key area of consideration for some users. If you are a hobbyist or are into specialty grade coffee in a serious way you are likely to want a good level of control over your brew variables.

This is something that isn’t offered by all grind and brew machines. If this is going to change your experience with a machine, is it well worth checking out first. 

At the opposite end of the scale, for users who just want simplicity too much control may be daunting. In this case, something like the Breville Oracle Touch will suit you a lot better than the Gevi Smart Pour-Over.

Summary

Ultimately it is most important to consider what exactly you want out of a machine when shopping for the best grind and brew coffee brewer. More so even than in other categories, there is a lot of variance in the grind and brew market.

For our money, the Gevi 4-in-1 offers a compact, complete solution to fantastic quality coffee with an integrated grinder. 

While this option does take a little more knowledge to get the best results, it does have several pre-programmed brew recipes for beginners. It is also lacking the automatic programming function but, taking just 4 minutes to heat up, we’d suggest that’s a price worth paying.