Our Drew Barrymore Coffee Maker Review (2024)

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Summary

Beautiful 14-Cup Programmable Drip Coffee Maker by Drew Barrymore

✔ What We Liked

• Good drip coffee
• Competitive price point ($59)
• The machine has many quality-of-life features (brew strength, water filter, gold-tone reusable filter, cleaning function, etc.)
• Beautiful by Drew Barrymore makes an entire suite of kitchen appliances and cookware in the same style and colors
• Removable parts are top-rack dishwasher-safe

✘ What We Didn’t Like

• No water measurements on the reservoir (you must use the carafe to measure)
• You can’t open the tall lid under low-hanging kitchen cabinets
• Not ideal for tight spaces
• Carafe could have better ergonomics

Buy on Walmart

The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14-cup programmable coffee maker is a pretty attractive coffee maker that makes good drip coffee and has many useful features. There is also an entire Beautiful line that spans kitchen appliances to utensils to cookware. This is a good coffee maker if you want a set of matching appliances or kitchenware.

For its price of $59, the machine has a lot of features. It has some standard features like delay brewing and a keep warm function. It also has auto-pause (so you can remove the carafe while brewing to pour yourself a cup), brew strength, and a small brew function. The coffee maker has a reusable gold-tone filter and a charcoal water filter.

We only have a few qualms with this coffee maker. It’s not the best option for tight spaces as it’s deeper than other machines. You also can’t open the lid under low-hanging kitchen cabinets. Finally, we didn’t love that the water reservoir doesn’t have a measurement meter. You need to use the carafe to measure water for the reservoir. The carafe could also be more ergonomic in its design.

Taste Review

We tried a couple of different roasts in the machine over a couple of weeks.

Light Roast

The first roast we tried was a light one: Trader Joe’s Organic Mexico Chiapas. We ground the beans to a medium grind just before brewing. The machine has a brew strength selector. We brewed our coffee on the strongest setting (called “bold” in the user manual). We used a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio. After brewing, we tried the coffee black and with oat milk.

After trying the coffee, we consider “restaurant-quality” drip coffee. The taste was very smooth and supple. There was a slight acidity when the coffee first hits your tongue, but it dissipates quickly. The brew had a hint of bitterness during the aftertaste, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The light roast on the strongest brew setting produced a light to medium body. Adding some oat milk diminished the hints of acidity and bitterness and made the cup effortlessly drinkable.

Dark Roast

The second roast we tried was a dark roast from La Colombe called Corsica Darker Roast. We ground the beans just before brewing and used a medium grind. La Colombe recommends a 1:17 coffee-to-water ratio, which is what we used. We brewed on the lowest strength setting (called “regular” in the user manual). Again, we first drank the coffee black and then tried it with oat milk.

This brew had moderate bitterness that hit at the first taste and lasted into the aftertaste. It was otherwise smooth and had a medium body. Adding oat milk reduced most bitterness, but you could still taste hints of it. Overall, it was a drinkable cup, albeit not our favorite since we typically don’t favor dark roasts.

We also tried different brew strengths and the 1-4 cup setting. You can taste the difference between the brew strengths on the machine. In general, we'd recommend doing a stronger setting for light roasts and a weaker setting for dark roasts. The 1-4 cup setting takes longer to brew so the beans aren't under-extracted (or so the coffee isn't watery or sour).

Ease of Use

Like most drip coffee makers, this machine is easy to use. One thing we appreciated is how in-depth and informative the user manual is. It goes over all of the different functions of the machine and even gives you tips for how to brew the best cup of coffee in the coffee maker. Make sure to save it if you buy the machine.

The machine has a touch-activated display that is intuitive to use. The user manual has detailed step-by-step instructions if you have trouble with any settings. The coffee maker comes with a coffee scoop. We think this is a nice touch, especially if you’re buying a coffee maker for the first time.

The water reservoir in the coffee maker does not have measurements on it. The lack of glass or clear plastic on the water reservoir likely reduces manufacturing costs and helps keep the machine at a low price point. Instead, the carafe has two measurements: one for water and one for coffee.

As the user manual explains, the amount of brewed coffee will always be less than the amount of water you put in the machine. The grounds and filter may absorb up to 10% of the water. The measurement meter on the carafe reflects this difference. The measurement meter for water is higher than the measurement meter for coffee. For example, if you want to brew four cups of coffee, fill the carafe to four cups using the water measurement. You then pour the water into the reservoir.

We did not love that there aren’t measurements on the water reservoir, but at this price point, it’s not a deal breaker – especially given how many features the machine has.

Some reviewers on Walmart noted that the carafe leaked from the handle. It seems the Beautiful team resolved this issue in the spring of 2023. During our tests, we didn’t notice any leaking from the handle. However, the handle design could be more ergonomic as it’s awkward to hold. We also didn’t like that the carafe is triangular shaped. You have to angle the carafe a lot to pour the coffee out. It makes it feel like you will drop it.

Features

This machine has a ton of features. The number and quality of the functions feel thoughtful on a machine at this price point.

Let’s start with the most standard features that this machine offers. These are “keep warm” and delay brewing. You can postpone the start of brewing for up to 24 hours – this is standard on most drip coffee makers these days. The machine will also keep your coffee warm for up to four hours. One thing we love about the keep warm feature is that you can set the length of time. It adjusts in 15-minute increments to keep your coffee warm from 15 minutes to four hours. When the time is up, the machine will shut off.

Beyond these features, the coffee maker also has an auto-pause function. You can remove the carafe mid-brewing to pour yourself a cup without waiting until the machine has finished. This feature is relatively standard on most drip coffee makers, but it’s still great for those busy days when you need to grab a cup to go.

You can select from three different brew strengths on the machine: regular, gourmet, or bold. We cover the taste differences between the brew strengths in the taste section above.

The coffee maker also has a small brew function. You can brew one to four cups using this setting on the machine. The setting adjusts how the coffee maker brews. The coffee maker won’t measure the water quantity for you. If you pour in six cups, it will brew six cups on this setting. It only changes how it brews.

Filters

The machine has a reusable gold-tone filter. A gold-tone filter is a stainless steel filter with a thin layer of gold over the mesh. Gold-tone filters are better than regular stainless steel filters because gold doesn’t affect the taste of your coffee the way that stainless steel can. Of course, if you prefer paper filters, you can use them in this machine.

Another feature of this coffee maker is the charcoal filter in the water reservoir. The machine comes with one filter. The filter helps to remove any impurities or certain chemicals that can make water taste or smell poorly (which can also cause your coffee to taste foul). The machine will also display “Filter” on the touchscreen when the filter needs to be changed.

The machine also has a special clean setting, which we cover in the cleaning section below.

Cleaning

For day-to-day cleaning, you can either handwash the carafe, gold-tone filter and filter basket or place them in the top rack of your dishwasher. The coffee scoop is also dishwasher safe, but you should put it in the cutlery basket in your dishwasher.

The coffee maker has a “Clean” function that you can run to thoroughly clean and descale the machine. The user manual goes into step-by-step instructions for how to do this. One convenient aspect of the coffee maker is that you don’t need to buy a descaling solution to clean it. You can clean it with a mixture of white vinegar and water. Many coffee makers cannot tolerate white vinegar as its acidity can damage parts of the machine.

The cleaning function takes about 45 to 50 minutes to run. After running it, you should brew two to three carafes of water through the machine. Brewing water ensures that no vinegar is left behind, which can affect the taste of your coffee. Overall, expect about 80 to 95 minutes to clean the machine.

The user manual recommends you clean the machine after 300 brew cycles. The touchscreen will remind you and flash “Clean” after you’ve brewed 300 times.

Appearance

The machine is a great countertop piece. It comes in six colors: black, white, grey, sage green, lavender, and cornflower blue. We got the sage green. The color is less saturated in person than in the pictures online, so I suspect the other colors will be less saturated in person. Personally, I preferred that it was less saturated as the sage green looked too twee for me in the online pictures. All of the models have a gold handle on the carafe. We liked that the gold isn’t overly bright or yellowy.

If you want matching appliances, Beautiful by Drew Barrymore has a cornucopia of appliances to match the coffee maker. Some other household items you can get include: a slow cooker, kettle, blender, toaster, popcorn maker, mixer, and more. The list seems endless. The company also makes matching cookware and cooking utensils. You can have an entirely matching kitchen from your air fryer to your Dutch oven.

I couldn’t find information in the manual or online about what the machine is made from. But it seems to mostly be made of plastic. The appliance has a mixture of matte and glossy finishes, giving it a sense of depth and visual interest. All said it’s a good-looking machine.

Measurements

The machine measure 8.5 inches wide, 14.75 inches tall, and 7.3 inches deep. It’s not as slim as other machines, like the Haden Dorchester, which measures just over six inches deep. In our tiny New York City kitchen, it noticeably stuck out on our kitchen counter.

If you have a tight space, it would be hard to cede valuable countertop real estate for this coffee maker. We recommend looking into a manual coffee maker, like a Chemex or French press, that can be easily stored in a cabinet when not in use.

With the lid open, the height of the machine is 22 inches. If you have low-hanging kitchen cabinets, you won’t be able to open the top under them. We don’t believe this is a deal breaker if you have low-hanging cabinets. However, moving the machine back and forth when I used it was annoying.

Cost

The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore coffee maker costs $59. It’s available at Walmart. Some third-party sellers sell this coffee maker on Amazon, but it’s more expensive, so we don’t recommend buying from Amazon. Because of its good-tasting coffee and quality-of-life features, we think this is a great value coffee maker.

The only supplies you might want for the machine are charcoal water filters. If you plan on using filtered water in the coffee maker, you don’t need these filters. You can purchase charcoal filters on Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other retailers. They are generally sold in packs of 12 or 24 and range in price from $0.65 to $1.00 per filter.