To help Mr. Coffee brew a faster — and hotter — pot of coffee, we started by deconstructing a variety of coffee makers in order to take a closer look at how we could build a better machine, both in terms of functionality and design.

The breakthrough came when we decided to omit the troublesome heating plate — the standard heating element in a drip coffee maker — and instead heat the water to the ideal temperature in a small boiling chamber right next to the beans.

Crucial factors in delivering the hottest cup of coffee meant eliminating heat loss, while limiting the temperature of brew water going into the coffee grounds to avoid bitter over-extraction. A custom-designed boiler harnesses the force of a small quantity of boiling water to propel a larger volume of slightly cooler water (195-205F) into the brew basket, while a sophisticated system of seals and steam channels trap waste heat to pre-warm the interior of the carafe. The result is piping-hot coffee at 200F in your cup, a performance number that no other sub-$500 coffee maker can match.

Our engineering team's rigorous testing proved that our new internal setup not only made the operation faster, but made hotter, better-tasting coffee as well by not scorching the grounds.