Best RV Coffee Maker

Best RV Coffee Maker

The answer to the question what is the best RV coffee maker can depend on many things. What is important to you? Do you want to make a lot of coffee or is a single cup all you need in the morning? Can it take up a lot of space, or do you want a compact coffee maker for your RV? Do you want to make coffee while boondocking without electricity? Here are 5 great models, which is the best RV coffee maker for you?

BUNN My Café MCU Review

I have been using the BUNN MCU for about a year now. Other than a slight problem due to a missing seal when I first got it, this little coffee maker hasn’t let me down. 

My Café Features

This single cup coffee maker can do it all.  You can brew K-Cups, pods, ground coffee, tea bags or dispense hot water.  This unit has a simple 1 button design and a clean black and stainless steel design.  The single cup design is perfect when you don’t want or need to brew a full pot of coffee.

In use

Fast Brewing

The first time you use the BUNN My Café your need to fill the internal water reservoir.  Then you can plug the machine in to start heating the water.  After the first use all you do is plug the machine in and it will start heating up.  The initial heating process takes about 2-3 minutes then the light around the brew button will turn solid green.

When you’re ready to make your coffee you simply add coffee grounds or a K-Cup then pour in the desired about of water and press the brew button.  The brewing process begins almost immediately.   Your cup of coffee will be ready to drink in under a minute. 

While your cup is brewing the water you added is heating up, so by the time you have added more grounds or another K-Cup the machine is ready to go again.

Determining the about of coffee brewed

The amount of coffee brewed is determined by how much water is added before pressing the brew button.  I usually just fill my coffee mug up with water and then pour it in, that way I know I will get the perfect amount every time.  If you want to measure out the water, the water bowl on the top of the machine has marks at 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 oz.

I had a Mr. Coffee BVMC-KG5-001 Single Serve K-Cup machine before the Bunn and it took much longer to brew because it did not have an internal water reservoir and had to heat the water for each cup.  Another complaint I had about the Mr. Coffee machine is that it never gave you the same amout of coffee.  With the Bunn My Café I always get the exact amount of coffee I expect, and it brews very fast.

Coffee Grounds, K-Cups, Pods, or Hot Water

One of the great features is the versatility of this small machine.  When using the My Café you select one of the 4 “drawers”.  Each drawer used for a different type of brewing.

• K-Cup, used for Keurig and compatible cups
• Ground Coffee, used for coffee or loose tea leaves
• Pod, used for soft coffee or tea pods and tea bags
• Water, used for dispensing hot water for tea, hot chocolate or a baby’s bottle

I have tried all the drawers and they each work well for their intended purpose, but I only keep 2 of them in my RV.  I keep the K-Cup and ground coffee drawers in the camper and leave the other 2 at home to save some storage space. 

Ground Coffee Drawer

The ground coffee drawer works great and comes with a measuring spoon that is labeled to use 2 scoops for 10 oz of coffee.  This drawer has a built-in mesh filter, so you don’t need to worry about disposable paper filters.  I only use this drawer when we have full hookups though.  The mesh filter is hard to clean out without running it under water.  So, to conserve water when I don’t have water or sewer hookups I use the K-Cup drawer.

K-Cup Drawer

The K-Cup drawer works great when you don’t want any cleanup.  It’s quick and easy, just pop in a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate cup, add water and press brew.  When it’s done just pull the cup out and throw it away.

I did have a problem with the K-Cup drawer when I first got the machine.  When brewing coffee, I would get a stream of coffee as well as a stream of water pouring from the bottom of the drawer.  I would also end up with some coffee grounds in my cup.  I called Bunn customer service and found out that I was missing a seal around the nozzle that punctures the top of the K-Cup.  They sent me a new seal free of charge.  After pressing the seal around the nozzle, the machine has worked great.

I found that if I wanted to brew a cup of hot water for tea or something else.  The K-Cup drawer can be used without a cup and then I don’t have to take the water dispensing drawer with me. 

Pulse Brewing Option

The Bunn MCU also has a pulsed brew option that is supposed to brew a stronger cup of coffee.  You press the pulse button before pressing the brew button.  Then the pump will cycle on and off during brewing to allow the water to spend more time in contact with the coffee grounds.  While this might make a stronger cup, it takes about twice as long.  I would suggest just adding more coffee grounds and using the standard brewing cycle

What I do if the machine hasn’t been used in a while

If it’s been more than a week since I used the coffee maker I like to get the reservoir filled with fresh water before brewing a cup of coffee.  To do this I will plug the machine in and fill it all the way to the 14 oz. line and press the brew button with no coffee in the drawer.  I’ll just dump that water out and then I’m ready to brew a cup with fresh water.

Summary of the BUNN My Café MCU

If I could only have one coffee maker in my camper it would have to be the percolator because it doesn’t require electricity, but if I can plug in somewhere I’ll take the Bunn.  I love how fast it brews and the compact size.  If you want to check out some other users reviews or pricing click here to see them on Amazon.

Compact Coffee Maker for RV

The Kuissential SlickDrip – Collapsible Silicone Coffee Dripper is probably the smallest coffee maker on the market. This silicone coffee maker is only 4-1/2” in diameter and when folded up is less than 1” thick. To make your morning cup of joe just open it up add a #2 coffee filter and your ground coffee. You place this coffee maker directly on top of your mug and pour in hot water. If you don’t have electricity this one is perfect for you because the water can be heated over a stove or campfire. The downside of this coffee maker is that it only makes 1 cup at a time.

Primitive 8-Cup Coffee Maker

The Farberware Classic Stainless Steel Yosemite 8-Cup Coffee Percolator is a great coffee maker to take camping if you need to brew a whole pot and don’t have access to electricity. The percolator design has been used by campers for decades and is guaranteed to make a good cup of coffee. The stainless-steel construction is durable and should last a long time. This coffee pot can be used on a stove-top, grill or campfire so finding a heat source will never be a problem. The only downside of this coffee maker is that brewing your morning coffee can take up to 25 minutes. If you decide this percolator isn’t right for you, but you still want a percolator style try to avoid very low cost models. Some of the cheapest models are not designed properly and will boil the water without perking so you will just end up with a pot of hot water.

French Press

A French press is a great compact coffee maker for your RV. With the Bruhen Stainless Steel French Press you can brew 3 to 4 cups at a time.

How to use a french press

• Add ground coffee to press
• Pour hot water over coffee (195 to 210 degrees)
• Allow to sit for 3 to 8 minutes depending on desired strength
• Press plunger / filter down to separate coffee from grounds
• Pour and enjoy

The Brehen French Press is made entirely of stainless steel making it a great choice for your RV. Many other models are made from glass that can easily shatter. This french press has a double wall construction to keep your coffee hot longer. The design uses double steel mesh filters and a quadruple layer filter basket to ensure no coffee grounds make it into your cup. Another great thing about this french press is that you will never have to purchase or store disposable filters again. The pitcher can also be used to keep drinks cold, making this a great multi-purpose item for your RV.

Under Cabinet Coffee Maker

If you are looking for the ultimate in convenience for brewing a lot of coffee and would like to save counter and cabinet space look no further than the BLACK+DECKER SCM2000BD SpaceMaker. This 8-cup programmable coffee maker mounts under the cabinet keeping that limited counter and cabinet space free for other uses. It includes stainless-steel thermal carafe. The stainless-steel carafe will keep your coffee hot longer than glass and if it were to come loose and fall out it won’t shatter. The water reservoir is removable to make filling easy. This RV coffee maker can be programmed so your coffee is ready for you in the morning. If you can’t wait for the pot to finish brewing the SpaceMaker will stop brewing while you pour your cup and resume once the carafe is back in place. With all the great features the SpaceMaker seems like it was designed for RVs.

Which is the best RV coffee maker for you?

As you can see there is a coffee maker that will fit just about any situation. Now you just have to decide which RV coffee maker is right for you. I would like to note that there are a few 12V powered coffee makers available. These may seem to be a perfect solution for an RV when you don’t have access to 120V power. Most 12V coffee makers have bad reviews because there just isn’t enough power available to heat the water fast enough and hot enough to make them work well. I would suggest avoiding the 12V coffee makers if you can.
Good Luck, I hope you start your next morning out in nature with nice cup of coffee.