When finding the best coffee machine for your home, start by asking yourself some questions. Do you enjoy specialty coffee drinks, like a latte or a cappuccino, or is a standard cup of coffee more your style? What about setup and cleanup? Do you want to enjoy a little coffee in the morning or just grab your travel mug and get on the road? If you are choosing a coffee maker for an office or similar setting, you’ll want to factor in capacity and versatility.

If you’re in need of a small coffee maker, a single-serve coffee machine offers a wide range of drink options without taking up valuable counter space, including hot cocoa and cider, with very little prep and cleanup. If espresso is your preferred beverage choice, then an automatic espresso machine can offer similar convenience and speed for espresso-based drinks.

If you have the time and prefer the rich flavor of freshly ground beans, consider investing in a drip coffee maker, a French press or a semi-automatic espresso machine. These options allow you to choose the amount of coffee and to grind the beans right before brewing. To make the most of these coffee machines, you will want a home coffee grinder and maybe a milk frother.

You can get the most out of your new coffee machine by understanding all it’s capable of doing. Utilizing all of the features or your coffee maker is particularly applicable to a programmable coffee maker. With a programmable machine, you can control when brewing begins, so you can set up your coffee the night before and wake to a freshly brewed cup. Some programmable coffee makers offer further brewing controls and options as well.

Useful accessories are also key to making the most of your machine. Good ones to have on hand include coffee grinders, milk frothers and selection of versatile coffee mugs, including travel mugs and smart mugs. If you’ve never heard of smart mugs, you might want to read about the benefits of smart mugs. They are great for keeping your drink at the perfect temperature from the first sip to the last.

To keep your coffee machine clean, remove both coffee buildup and mineral buildup (called scale) from your machine. The mineral buildup comes from the water you use, and you can decrease the amount of scale and improve the taste of your coffee when you use filtered water from a water purifier for brewing.