Single-serve coffee makers can get a bad reputation for making same-y, stale coffee, but Morning's coffee maker is changing that. Their high-tech, premium machine has caught the eye of baristas, coffee experts, and expert reviewers, setting 'the new standard in the home coffee experience.'
At Homes & Gardens, we can't resist putting bold claims on the biggest and best single-serve coffee makers like this to the test. The Morning Coffee Maker was originally funded through Kickstarter, aiming to offer more precision and control over your coffee. If you want to, you can have precise control over the temperature, degree, and extraction of your pods. There's even a snazzy app for it too.
If you want to know whether the Morning Coffee Maker is as revolutionary as it claims to be, you're in the right place. We've tested the Morning on a range of different coffee drinks and coffee pods. Here's everything you need to know.
Specifications
Unboxing
This machine comes in a sleek modern box. There’s no unnecessary polystyrene to deal with, just a little plastic wrap. It also has a handy quick start guide and a few capsules included so you can get started right away.
First impressions
The Morning Coffee Maker feels high-end even as you set it up. It looks incredible on a countertop, and it will especially suit modern, understated Scandinavian kitchens. It might look a little too sci-fi in more traditional, country kitchens, but I think it fit our test kitchen perfectly. You have to run a cleaning cycle to flush it out before the first use, but this is simple and quick, if a little noisy.
What is it like to use?
This machine is an absolute joy to use. One of the first things I noticed was the futuristic OLED screen. This is controlled with a dial that surrounds the screen, which is easy to use — think back to the wheel on old iPods. You can pick from 10 different preset types of coffee and precisely control the temperature, amount of coffee and water.
There’s even more versatility on the app, where you can control the flow of the coffee as it leaves the machine. Morning has partnerships with a range of roasters from around the world. Not only can you buy your pods from them through the app, but the app also has customized coffee profilers from each roaster, so you can drink their coffee exactly as intended.
The Morning is a relatively quiet machine, too, which is a welcome feature when making coffee in — well, the morning. I also love the width of this machine. It's perfect for fitting snugly between cereal boxes or other appliances, so this is a good option if you're short on counter space.
However, there are two minor criticisms. The water tank has an average capacity of 28.7 fl oz, and could be a little bigger. I also found the capsule bin a little small. If you drink as much coffee as my family does, that bin will fill up quickly.
Coffee flavors
Compared to the mediocre coffee from other, cheaper machines, the short black espresso produced by the Morning was simply in a different league. This was my favorite of the many, many espressos we tried on our testing day. After about 10 seconds, we had deep, indulgent, strong black coffee with none of the nasty burning or acidity that you often find with single-serve coffee. It was great fun to play with the settings and turn out even more coffees exactly as I like it. I genuinely had to pull myself away from this thing and get back to work.
Cleaning, storage, and maintenance
As I mentioned above, this machine needed cleaning on the first use, and this was a quick and easy flush through the pipes. It doesn’t mark easily, but a few of my colleagues had given this machine a look by the time I got my hands on it, and the corners of the drip tray had already picked up some little coffee stains and debris. There’s also some dripping once the machine has finished pouring.
How does it rate online?
The Morning Coffee Maker reviews really well online. The people who get the most out of it are those who enjoy techy features. I spoke with lots of baristas who use and love this. In fact, Ashley Palmer-Watts, founder of Artisan Coffee Co, said 'this is easily the best single-serve machine out there. I love scrolling on the app, you can just swipe through some incredible features and make a really delicious brew.' It's true, everyone says that the adjustable settings can make a truly stand-out brew.
People also love how slick and smart the Morning Coffee Maker is. Although the ultra-modern aesthetic was a little too space-age for some homes, most people loved it. The only criticisms that I could find were that the techy features are a little too much for people who just want something simple. If you don't like apps and you just want a quick coffee, investing in a Nespresso will save you a lot of stress and money.
How does it compare?
The adjustability of this machine blows other single-serve machines out of the water. I’m a big fan of the Nespresso Vertuo Next — it’s the coffee machine I use at home — but while the Vertuo pods deliver great coffee, you’re stuck with whatever size and roast Nespresso sends you. With this machine, you can use original Nespresso pods (or pods from other roasters, as these pods are now something of an industry standard) and personalize the length, temperature, and even pour profile of your coffee. Because you can save these recipes on the app, you can have your morning coffee exactly as you like it every day. However, that functionality doesn’t come cheap. It’s about $200 more than the market average for a single-serve machine.
Should you buy it?
Yes, if you’re nuts about coffee but don’t have the time or money to invest in a full espresso machine. The Morning makes it simple to hone your coffee and get it exactly as you like it without the need for all the grinders and tampers and filters you usually need for proper espresso. It was my standout favourite on the last round of testing.
However, if you aren’t chasing the perfect coffee, this machine might be overkill. When it’s 6am and you’re desperate for a little something to perk you up, you probably won’t care about the drawdown phase on your short light roast, and being able to adjust it might not be worth an extra $200.
How we test
At Homes & Gardens we take how we test coffee makers seriously. Before we call a model into our kitchen, we do our research, looking for the best models on the market. Once we've found one that we think you'll like, we make sure to get at least a week's experience of making coffee with it.
We'll use a range of different pod flavors, coffee drinks, and brewing styles to test how quick the machine is, how loud it is, how easy it is to use, and how good it is at extracting coffee. Once we've finished drinking coffee, we'll clean-up the machine, making notes on the maintenance, cleaning, and storage that comes with the model.
We'll also let you know how the coffee maker compares to other models on the market. We look at other reviews and consider where it sits in the market for value, style, and versatility. That way, when you're choosing whether to buy it or not, you'll be able to make an informed decision.
