Hamilton Beach Dual Coffee MAker
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Best Dual Coffee Maker Reviews and Guide

Introduction

The coffee world is sometimes divided into two: those who swear by single-use machines like Keurig and Nespresso, and those who prefer filter coffee machines. But what if you need both? Let’s get to know the best dual coffee maker that also uses K cups (aka 2-way coffee makers). Dual coffeemakers are ideal if you’re the type of person who loves filter coffee but your spouse prefers a single-serve machine (or vice versa).

Instead of having to buy two separate machines, this one machine will work for both of you. I personally prefer drip most of the time, but there are times when I need a quick jolt of java and when I’d rather not wait 5 minutes before my coffee is ready, I can just open a single serving pod, and in less than a minute vape.

A dual coffee maker reduces waste by keeping your freshly brewed coffee warmer for longer. Save time with features that let you set your coffee maker to brew at specific times. Save money by enjoying bistro-quality coffee in the comfort of your own home. A necessity in the office and an excellent treat for visitors at home, a dual coffee maker is a must in a modern household. There are many other benefits of owning a dual coffee maker, especially one with additional features that you can read about further down in our article. First, you might want to read about our top duo coffee makers in 2022.

Best Dual Coffe Makers of 2023

Cuisinart SS-20 Thermal Single-Serve Brewer
  •  Energy Save mode
  •  Three serving size options on the K-Cup side
Hamilton Beach 49976 FlexBrew
  •  Separate water reservoirs
  •  24-hour advanced brew setting
Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System
  •  The smart basket recognition system
  •  Five selectable brewing styles
Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker
  •  12-cup glass carafe
  •  24-hour advanced programming
Hamilton Beach 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker
  •  Multi-level cup rest stacks
  •  Select-A-Brew function
DeLonghi BCO430
  •  Manual frother
  •  24-hour programmable brew setting
Cuisinart CHW-12P1 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker
  •  Self-cleaning system
  •  Hot water system
SharkNinja CF085Z 2-Way Dual Coffee Maker
  • Includes a large double-wall carafe

Cuisinart SS-20 Thermal Single-Serve Brewer

At the top of our list is the Cuisinart SS-20 Thermal Single-Serve Brewer. This single-serve brewer is the best duo coffee maker because of its versatility. It’s K-cup compatible, has a removable drip tray, and offers three serving-size options. In other words, it works just like every single K-Cup machine – simple, light, and efficient when you’re on the go or just need to wake up.

Prefer to pour from the pot instead of brewing K-cups? In this case, the carafe page gives you some brewing options. On the carafe side, you get a thermos that can make 10 cups of coffee. This site is fully automatic with a number of handy controls: brew-strength control, 24-hour brew start, ready alarm, and self-cleaning function. If 10 cups are too small, there is an option for a 12-cup glass carafe.

There is a gold-colored filter for the coffee on the carafe side. The single-serve side has an anthracite-colored filter for the water. This affordable dual coffee maker comes with a BPA-free warranty and a three-year warranty in case anything goes wrong or an accident happens.

Pros

  • Easy-to-use control panel
  • Quickly brews coffee
  • Variety in sizes
  • Brew strength variety
  • Removable drip tray and reservoir

Cons

  • Amazon buyers report problems with leaks
  • Taller coffee cups might not fit the single-serve side

Hamilton Beach 49976 FlexBrew

If you’re looking for an inexpensive double coffee maker, the Hamilton Beach 49976 FlexBrew might be a good choice. This two-way brewer packs a lot of really useful features into a relatively small, space-saving package.

Made from BPA-free plastic, the FlexBrew is distinguished by its numerous stainless steel accents. But if stainless steel isn’t your thing, there are pure black, silver, and white options. The user interface is designed for easy use. There’s even a digital clock so you know exactly what time it is.

You can decide whether you want to fill up fresh coffee grounds for a single cup or a whole 12-cup glass jug with coffee. There’s K-Cup compatibility here, so you can put some loose soil in a reusable K-Cup pod. This helps prevent unnecessary waste from clogging up our planet’s landfills.

Because FlexBrew is such a budget-friendly option, it offers a lot of programmabilities. You have the ability to program brewing up to 24 hours in advance, and there are regular and heavy brewing options. Would you like to steal a cup from the carafe before it’s finished filling? Just press the pause button and serve. If you’re forgetful like me, the two-hour auto shut-off feature can give you some peace of mind.

Pros

  • Includes a reusable K-Cup pod
  • Water reservoirs are easy to fill
  • Keep-warm carafe hot plate
  • The auto pause and serve
  • Programmable to fit four different schedules

Cons

  • Not as quick to brew as a Keurig
  • The keep-warm plate does not have a manual shut-off

Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System

If you’re on a bigger budget, the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System is a well-rounded coffee maker. Whether you want a carafe or a single mug, or would rather switch from coffee to tea, the Ninja Hot and Cold can do it. If you want a frothy cappuccino, this machine can make it happen.

The Ninja coffee maker is made from ABS plastic and features two different baskets – one for ground coffee and another for packaged or loose tea. This intelligent basket recognition system preserves the final taste as it automatically recognizes which drink you are preparing.

The customization options are extensive, so you can play around with the settings to your heart’s content. There are five brew styles and strengths: Classic, Rich, Cold Brew, Over Ice, or Specialty. You can also choose from six sizes, ranging from the size of a travel mug to a full carafe.

The foldable platform makes it easy to switch between sizes. The display is intuitive to use, and there’s even a smart shovel that you can store inside the machine.

Pros

  • Five brewing styles
  • A user-friendly interface
  • Self-cleaning system
  • Can brew loose or bagged tea
  • Can make specialty drinks like chai lattes

Cons

  • The cost
  • Amazon reviewers report difficulties contacting Ninja Customer Support
  • The taste of coffee in the carafe might diminish quickly

Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker

Looking for a compact coffee maker with a K-cup option? The Keurig K-Duo Plus coffee maker offers a space-saving design that keeps your countertop looking neat and clean. This is one of the slimmest dual coffee makers on the market, so it really fits perfectly in any size kitchen.

With the K-Duo Plus, you can prepare a K-cup and a glass carafe for 12 cups. The heating plate under the pot keeps the coffee warm long after it has been brewed. You can choose from multiple brew sizes: 6, 8, 10, or 12-cup carafe, or in a 6, 8, 10, or 12-ounce mug for the K-cup portion.

Although you must purchase this separately, the K-Duo Plus is compatible with a reusable gold-colored Keurig mesh filter accessory, resulting in a grounds-free carafe.

There’s a programmable auto-brew feature for the carafe, and the 60-ounce water reservoir can be removed and placed in a variety of positions. You can pause the carafe draining for 20 seconds during the brewing process to pour and serve. After the 20-second mark, the drip will resume and continue until it is finished.

This machine comes with a 12-cup glass carafe, suitable for serving a large household of coffee drinkers. The carafe sits on a programmable heating plate that can keep your coffee hot for hours.

Don’t forget to mention that Keurig gives you hundreds of different K-Cup pods and coffee beans to choose from. Don’t feel like coffee? Then go ahead and brew yourself some tea, cocoa, or even hot cider.

Pros

  • A chic, space-saving design
  • Can accommodate K-Cups and coffee grounds
  • Has a 12-oz glass carafe
  • 24-hour advanced programming
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • No temperature control feature
  • Cannot program for a single cup

Hamilton Beach 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker

The Hamilton Beach 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker is a machine that allows you to brew either a single cup or a full 12-cup carafe. Although it is not compatible with K-Cup pods, you can choose your favorite coffee to brew in this drip brewer.

The one-cup brew setup is extremely easy to use. If you’re not interested in a high-tech double coffee maker, this straightforward user interface should make you feel right at home. Simply brew a single cup of loose-ground coffee and scoop it with the included strainer. That’s right, all you have to do is scoop, place, and brew.

Again, for us more forgetful folks, the auto-shutoff feature (which kicks in after two hours) gives some peace of mind. With the advanced 24-hour programmable timer, you can program the machine to brew your coffee before you wake up in the morning.

Program the time you want the machine to start brewing, fill it up with water and add your coffee grounds. The machine will turn on at the selected time and begin brewing.

Select-A-Brew is a feature that allows you to set your own brew strength. Want your coffee regular? Or do you prefer it bold? Regular works well for standard coffee with a medium grind, while Bold works well for decaffeinated coffee, premium roast, or a dark blend with a richer flavor.

To top it off, you can store your cups and mugs of different sizes with the multi-level bowl racks. Cups are of course not included.

Pros

  • Affordably priced
  • Easy to use
  • Comes with a mesh filter
  • A few brewing options
  • A huge water reservoir

Cons

  • Hard to clean
  • Not compatible with K-Cups
  • Some Amazon buyers report a dark layer at the bottom of their cups

DeLonghi BCO430 Dual Coffee Maker

If you are looking for a combo coffee maker with both drip and espresso functions, the DeLonghi BCO430 offers the best of both worlds. The only thing you need to consider before deciding to buy is that any espresso maker combo machine will be slightly more expensive than the one without.

But if you need espresso to get you going, it may well be worth the investment. The DeLonghi BCO430 comes with a front-loading filter coffee maker and has a removable 40-ounce water filter for easy filling. If you want to set your brew time in advance, simply use the 24-hour programmable timer.

On the espresso side, you get a machine that makes authentic 15-bar espresso, latte, and cappuccino. There’s a manual frother that lets you mix milk and steam to create a creamy froth over an evenly textured drink. It’s like having a coffee shop right in your own home.

This coffee maker has been designed to extract the maximum aroma and flavor. An advanced activated carbon filter helps to keep impurities out and the water fresh for a long time. The design is complete with a 10-cup glass carafe for the brew.

Brewing your coffee takes just a few minutes, as does serving a delicious drink from the espresso side. Using the timer is helpful when you’re trying to stick to multiple schedules in the morning and need to get your drinks ready quickly.

Pros

  • Brew Pause lets you get a cup before the brew finishes
  • An easy-to-use display panel with a digital clock
  • The espresso side’s ability to make15-bar espresso, cappuccino, and latte
  • The 1-4 cup feature delivers strong coffee

Cons

  • Amazon buyers report problems with leaks a few months after purchasing
  • Espresso does not heat past lukewarm

Cuisinart CHW-12P1 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

The Cuisinart CHW-12P1 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker is one of the dual coffee makers that has integrated hot water on demand into its design. The 12-cup carafe has a drip-free spout for clean and safe pouring, which is what you should expect from such a reputable brand.

This coffee maker and its hot water system deliver coffee that tastes fresh and delicious. The CHW-12P1 comes with a long list of features. The brew pause is included on this list for a quick grab and sip. Of course, there’s an advanced 24-hour programmable timer that will start and brew exactly when you need it.

There is temperature control for the carafe. The heating plate has multiple settings so you can keep your coffee in the carafe at your preferred temperature.

And of course, with the hot water system, you can make drinks like tea and hot cocoa in just a few minutes. You can even use it to heat water to add to your favorite soup. When the water for the hot water system is running low, an indicator will sound to let you know it’s time to refill.

This system is fully automatic with a programmable 24-hour timer, automatic cleaning function, and a 1-4 cup setting. Setting the system to the 1-4 cup setting will give your coffee a stronger, richer flavor and aroma. The blue backlit LCD screen features a digital clock and is programmable. The display is bright so you can see everything from a few meters away.

Pros

  • 12-cup glass carafe
  • Made from strong material by a reputable manufacturer
  • Multiple brewing options
  • Programmable functions

Cons

  • Does not keep warm for long enough
  • Some Amazon buyers report leaking from a rusted bottom panel after only a few months

SharkNinja CF085Z 2-Way Dual Coffee Maker

The SharkNinja CF085Z is a premium model that has many benefits, but for the price, it might not be worth it for most people. This model includes a hot and cold water travel mug, so you don’t have to bring your own to make coffee.

It also comes with a very large double-walled carafe, which isn’t the best on the market but will keep your coffee warm for around two hours once brewed. This model also offers the option to choose between rich and classic brews, allowing people who really love coffee to maximize the strength of their brew.

However, this model costs almost five times as much as the top model on our list. At such a price, one would expect this model to offer far more features and much higher quality in some areas.

It’s not clear that this model works better or makes better coffee than some less expensive models. It also has an ongoing software issue that causes the clean light to come on and stay on. Overall it’s not a bad machine, but for most people, it won’t be worth the price.

Pros

  • Includes hot and cold tumbler
  • Includes a large double-wall carafe
  • Rich and classic brews

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Software issues

Dual Coffee Maker Buying Guide

We hope our reviews have already helped you find the best dual coffee maker for your needs. If you’re still not sure which model to buy, be sure to check out our buyer’s guide. We cover everything you need to know about these models so you don’t have to decide without having all the facts. We’ve also included some tips on how to get great value for your money. So if you’re looking for the best deal on double coffee makers, be sure to check out this guide.

Kinds of coffee brewed

The main idea behind a dual coffee maker is that you can brew more than one type of coffee with a single machine. Which types of coffee can be brewed should be one of your main deciding factors here. Most of these machines use filter coffee by default. So if you’re looking for one of those, the ability to make filter coffee is definitely on your list.

The second type of coffee will help you choose. Do you want a dual coffee maker with K-cup brewing capability? Or do you just want to be able to brew a single batch from a regular filter? Or would you also like espresso? These questions will help you decide which of these is the best option.

Amount of coffee brewed

The next thing to consider is the amount of coffee you want to brew. Most of these machines brew single servings as well as up to 10 or 12 cups. For most households, the difference between 10 or 12 cups won’t be such a big deal, but if you have a lot of people in your house, or they all drink a lot of coffee, or you’re shopping for an office, this can be a deciding factor for you. The ninja machine we tested offers the most options in terms of size. So if the size is the deciding factor, then it may be worth checking out.

Ease of use

One of the most important things to look for when buying a dual coffee maker is the ease of use. Some models make you jump through many hoops to brew a single cup of coffee, which ends up wasting a lot of time. One of the weird things about some dual coffee makers is that some come with different water reservoirs for the single-serve and carafe sides.

That means you have to be careful how much water you add, although the plus side is that you never have to top up the other side because you used the opposite. Models that come with reusable filters can also bring you big bucks in the long run. They usually need to be cleaned by hand, but you won’t be going through paper filters in the meantime.

Reserving system

As the name suggests, this signals how much coffee the dual coffee maker can hold and keep warm. A respectable amount is around the 40-ounce mark. But of course, that depends on how much space you have on your countertop and how much you are willing to spend.

Thermal carafe or glass carafe?

This is actually a really interesting debate. Glass carafes are really widespread and we see them often, they are the quintessential coffee pot in restaurants and offices. However, glass carafes are not very effective for keeping the good taste of coffee for a long time. Glass carafes sit on a heated plate that heats the coffee from the bottom up. The problem with this is that the coffee ends up tasting overdone and stale.

Thermos flasks, on the other hand, are built in such a way that the coffee does not get cold, so the initial heat is retained. The result is a much fresher cup of coffee at the end of the day. You can even come back in an hour or two and still enjoy a decently warm cup of coffee. As it is, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to drink near-boiling coffee.

Automatic

If you choose a fully automatic coffee machine, you will save a lot of time and energy. At the push of a button, you often get a shot of coffee with frothed milk or your chosen type of coffee, be it a latte, cappuccino, or americano.

Conclusion

Dual coffee makers, or 2-way coffee makers, whatever you want to call them, are super useful for brewing multiple types of coffee while saving money and space. If you want to have a variety of coffees readily available in your household, you cannot go wrong with one of these machines.

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