You just moved into a new house. You decided to replace that old small drip coffee maker you had for years. You love to drink coffee and you are just an average coffee lover who is not really into the world of coffee. It has been so long since you bought a small drip coffee maker and there are so many types out there in the market. Upon entering an electrical store, you are confused by the vast array of small drip coffee makers available on the shelves. You just cannot decide on which to get.

Does the scenario sounds familiar to you? There are quite a number of people out there who loves coffee but just not really into the subject on coffee. This means that these people just want to drink coffee and are not that much concerned on how a particular coffee maker can impact on the coffee brewed by it. They simply want a brew a decent pot of coffee at anytime of the day.

To those who are buying small drip coffee makers, here are a few down-to-earth tips that may help you in deciding which type to buy:

The first thing you may want to do, is to plan on your budget.
Think about how much you are willing to spend and come up with a range of price that you are comfortable with. You have to keep in mind about this basic rule in electrical appliances: the more expensive it is, the more functions it has. In some cases, these functions provide very useful purposes.

Secondly, you have to determine how many cups required.
Small drip coffee makers can brew from 1 to 4 cups of coffee. This is easily decided based on how many coffee drinkers in your household. Do not forget to take guests into consideration too.

Thirdly, you may also want to think about the color and design.
You may want to consider this factor as well if you are particular about matching with the color of your kitchen or any room interior in your house. You can also decide the favorite color of your choice, for example, black. Color is specially important if you are getting it as a gift for a friend or relative.

The design of the small drip coffee maker is also very important because some of them do not suit in some kitchens or rooms due to a number of factors like space. You may want to confirm this before buying by ensuring enough space for storage and operation. On top of this, make sure that you are comfortable with the hardware design of the small drip coffee maker itself. Different models have different hardware designs. Some have filter compartments either the slide out type or the swing door type.

Fourthly, the pot warmer function.
Everyone loves a hot cup of coffee so this is the essential function to look out for. Pot warming function is related to the "Determine how many cups required" factor discussed in (2). Why? In the case if more coffee is brewed than necessary, the remaining coffee can be kept warm for later consumption. Although it is rarely seen nowadays at time of writing, there can still be some small drip coffee makers with no pot warmer function.

Fifthly, the Auto Shut Off function a must feature for small drip coffee makers.
Like the pot warmer function, there are still a minority of them without auto shut off function. Auto shut off is a must for safety reasons. At times, you may have forgotten to switch off the small drip coffee maker after use, which may lead to shattering of coffee pot or even fire.

Not to forget, the small drip coffee maker must be of easy maintenance.
This is also essential because you would want your small drip coffee maker to be clean and maintained for use for a long time. This includes parts that can be dismantled for washing and easy to clean surfaces.

Next, ensure easy replacement of parts.
Worn out filters? Accidental breakage of coffee pot? More breakages? It is better to check out whether these parts are available and easily replaced. There is no point getting a small drip coffee maker that has parts so rare you cannot find them in your nearest dealer or you have to go through great lengths to get them.

Additional functions which may be useful and handy to you.
As mentioned in point (1) of these series of tips, some of the higher end models have additional functions that may or may not be useful to you. Some of the examples of these functions are:

i) Programmability, where you can set a stipulated time for the small drip coffee maker to brew coffee.

ii) Aroma adjustments, where you can choose the strength of your brewed coffee.

iii) Coffee pods compatible, where brewing coffee can be easy and convenient without much mess at all.

iv) Anti-drip, where it enables you to take out the coffee pot to pour coffee before the end of a brewing cycle.

The above mentioned are just some of the added functions on top of your average small drip coffee maker. There can be more interesting and useful functions available in other models but all these increases the price of the coffee maker. You should check out with the salesperson in your local electrical store for more details.

After considering the above eight factors, you should head out there to do a little homework before deciding on which small drip coffee maker to buy. You should inquire more with the salesperson and clear any doubts you may have. With all these, comparisons must be done if necessary and to consider what is really needed for you; not just because it has the latest function and after buying it home, you find that you hardly make full use of this particular function and you feel that your money spent is wasted.

To conclude, the tips in this article serves as a guide to an everyday coffee drinker or lover who wants to buy a new small drip coffee maker. These are more on the practical side and may help you in knowing what you want, what to expect and what to look out for without the expense of spending unnecessary money, wasting precious time and energy.