How Does a Drip Coffee Maker Work

Most of us, if not all of us, have a coffee maker in our kitchen or at least are planning to get one. One of the most popular, widely available and probably the best coffee makers is the drip type coffee maker. We enjoy our coffee every morning and share it with family and friends sometimes. But how does a typical drip coffee maker work? How does it look like on the inside? Let us take a closer look at our favorite tool to use in the kitchen every morning.

Over the decades we have seen remarkable changes in coffee makers due to changes in technology. A modern coffee maker can actually be the simplest tool you can have in your kitchen. The machine is composed of a few important parts:

  1. the reservoir that holds the water,
  2. the white tube that is connected to the reservoir where the water travels during the process of coffee making,
  3. and the shower head or what is called the drip area.

Every machine also has a basic heating element which is composed of an aluminum extrusion with two parts which are the resistive heating element which is basically a coiled wire and a tube where the water flows.

So, how does the coffee maker make a cup of coffee? We all know we need to add coffee grounds and a filter. Fill the reservoir or chamber with water which will then pass through the hole and into the metal pipe in the heating element. When you switch the machine on, the heating element will heat the aluminum tube thus boiling the water. When the water boils, it creates bubbles that rise up into another tube, which is smaller. This tube lets some water rise atop the boiling bubbles. The water will then flow up into the drip area and onto the coffee grounds. The hot water flows through the coffee grounds all the way to the carafe or coffee pot.

The process of making coffee is simple and very easy. As what coffee maker reviews would say, using a drip coffee maker takes just the push of a button. One of the biggest advantages is that the machine can actually brew as many as 12 cups in one complete cycle. Of course, there are those drip type coffee makers that have more advanced features. So don’t forget to read coffee maker reviews for more information about top rated coffee makers when you’re looking for a new coffee maker.