Author: Jesse Raub

Ah, the ramekin—the perfect baking dish for an individual soufflé or crème brûlée. Only, you know, how often are you making personalized French desserts? In my kitchen, the answer is never. Instead, I use my 14-year-old ramekin set on a daily basis for weighing out my coffee and a drip catcher for my pourover brewer. If you’ve ever had to run to the trashcan while your dripper keeps, well, dripping coffee on the floor, take heed.

But, obviously, ramekins aren’t just useful for coffee. As a work-from-homer, I spend most of my writing time resisting wandering to the kitchen for snacks. When I finally acquiesced (and of course I always do, who are we kidding?), I quickly learned that a fistful of cheese crackers is a great way to get crumbs all over your keyboard. A 4-ounce ramekin is the perfect snack holder, letting me wet my whistle and keeping my workspace clean. Plus, it’s a great vessel for making your own snack mix (salted pecans and chocolate chips, anyone?).

A classic ramekin is usually made from white, glazed ceramic with ridges on the outside to give you a better grip. They usually feature a slightly fluted lip for easy stacking. But if you’re not baking traditional desserts in your ramekins, there are plenty of other dishwasher- and oven-safe options available. 

A Few Ramekin Options

• A Classic Ramekin Set: Dowan 4-Ounce Ramekins
• A Rustic Stoneware Set: Mora Ceramic 4-Ounce Ramekins
• A High-End Handmade Ramekin Set: Convivial Handmade Minimal 4-Ounce Ramekins
• A Colorful Ramekin From a Heritage Brand: Le Creuset Stoneware Stackable Ramekin

Decorative options are great for the table, too. Nothing makes green bean casserole more exciting than a bonus sidecar of fried onions. And if you spent time making the perfect fries, the last thing you want is wandering aioli on the plate sogging up the edges. A handsome set of ramekins can keep your dining table tidy and your guests satisfied while blending in with your dinnerware.

But the reason why you might want a whole fleet of ramekins is for prep work—each ramekin holding a separate component of your mise en place, like, say, minced garlic. I personally love using mine for separating scallions for stir-fries, measuring out spices, and having liquids at the ready for crucial moments. They’re also great as mini-waste bowls for things like ginger peels or garlic skin. And since most are dishwasher-safe, clean-up is a breeze. If you’re a panic cook like me who flails their way through every recipe step, your best chance at success is having everything laid out in easily washable dishes. 

I don’t think ramekins have ever improved the actual food I’m cooking, but relying on my trusty set has certainly made me a better cook. They’re small, easy to store, straightforward to clean, and generally inexpensive—but most of all, they keep me organized and my counters clutter-free. And if I’m truly being honest? I never would have made it through writing this piece without a snack-filled ramekin at the ready. Or an extra coffee.

FAQs

What is the purpose of a ramekin?

A ramekin is a small ceramic dish that’s designed for baking traditional French desserts like soufflé or crème brûlée. They have many other uses as well—they can be filled with condiments for dipping, hold snacks, and be used to measure out ingredients for a recipe before cooking. 

What’s the difference between a ramekin and a small cup or bowl?

Technically speaking, there isn’t much difference between a ramekin and a small cup or bowl. Traditionally, however, a ramekin was used as a baking dish, so the circular shape and ridged exterior were designed to assist in baking individual desserts. While most of the time a ramekin and a small cup are interchangeable, it’s highly recommended to use a ramekin for baking small soufflés or crème brûlée.

Can all ramekins go in the oven?

Traditionally, ramekins were used as a baking dish, but there isn’t a strict definition for what is and what isn’t a ramekin these days. If you’re looking for a set, be sure to double-check if it’s oven-safe before buying, though most traditional ramekins are made out of oven- and dishwasher-safe ceramic.

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub is the commerce writer at Serious Eats. He's worked for the site since 2022.
• Previously, Jesse worked for 15-plus years in the specialty coffee industry.

Great pizza needs high heat. Hotter temperatures lead to puffier crusts with more tender crumbs, but they’re hard to achieve at home. Most New York-style pizza ovens bake off their pies at 600ºF to 700ºF while the average home oven tops out at 550ºF (if that). All’s not lost, however—with a good pizza stone, a home pizzaiolo can replicate their favorite slice in the comfort of their own kitchen. 

Pizza stones are usually made from ceramic or cordierite (a type of ceramic with a high mineral content), which contribute to your baking in two distinct ways. To start, they’re great at absorbing and holding onto heat—even as the oven temperature swings up and down when the burner kicks on and off, the stone itself will maintain a consistent temperature. But cordierite is also porous: It absorbs moisture from the dough as it’s baking, helping the bottom crust get crispier. 

Pizza stones aren’t just for pizza either—they’re great for any type of bread baking, with consistent heat helping the yeast create a steady and consistent rise in the dough. We baked 24 pizzas and 24 loaves of ciabatta using 12 pizza stones to find out which models were the easiest to use, had the best heat retention, and baked the crispest crusts.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Unicook stone is 15 millimeters thick, which helps it retain heat when baking pizzas back to back, baking up puffy crusts and crisp bottoms. Its larger size also was more accommodating for a variety of pizzas (like rectangular sfincione) and also allowed us to bake two loaves of bread side by side. 

At 22 inches wide, this stone had enough space to cook two smaller pizzas simultaneously, and because it was only nine millimeters thick, it reached 500ºF in just 30 minutes. It cooked great pizzas and baked big, open loaves of ciabatta. 

This stone performed as well as all the others, but is slightly smaller at 16 by 14 inches. This makes it a great pick for people with narrow ovens, and it’s also more affordable. 

With four individual 8- by 8-inch tiles instead of one large stone, this set allows you to arrange them in the best pattern for your bake. They’re also take up less storage space and, since you can move them one at a time, easier to load into the oven for people with limited mobility. 

The Tests

• Back-to-Back Pizza Test: To test each stone’s heat retention, we baked two New York-style pizzas back to back. We checked the stone temperature with an infrared thermometer at 30 minutes and 60 minutes during the preheat, and then before and after each pizza was baked. We then evaluated each pizza’s crust, looking for deep brown bottom crusts with puffy, soft interiors. 
• Ciabatta Test: We baked two ciabatta loaves side by side on each stone to see if they were large enough to accommodate both. We also checked the temperature with an infrared thermometer pre- and post-bake and evaluated each loaf for its oven spring and even browning.
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: We tested how easy each stone was to move in and out of the oven both with bare hands (while still cool) and while wearing heat-resistant gloves after baking. We also evaluated how well each stone fit on the oven rack, and how easy it was to clean off each stone after baking. 

What We Learned

Why Only Square and Rectangular Pizza Stones? 

When we were researching pizza stones to include in our testing, we had the choice between circular, square, and rectangular models. And while a circular stone certainly makes sense for most pizzas, we found the shape overall to be limiting. As we noted previously, baking stones that are square or rectangular are much more versatile, since there’s extra room in the corners when you’re launching your pizza. At the same time, they’re also more accommodating for other pizza shapes (like the rectangular sfincione) or for baking multiple breads at once (like baguettes). For that reason, we decided not to test any circular stones.

Pizza Stones Really Worked

The biggest takeaway from all our testing is that every single model baked up delicious pizzas and excellent ciabatta loaves. As we noted in our comparison of baking steels versus stones, cordierite pizza stones have a lot of thermal mass, which means they absorb heat and retain it very well throughout the entire bake.

Even after baking two pizzas and two loaves of ciabatta on each stone we tested, the results were so similar that we couldn’t make a judgment based on performance. Instead, we were more swayed by small design details that impacted usability when picking our winners—even though every stone baked just fine, not all of them were a dream to use.

Bigger Was Better

The best results came from larger stones, like the Unicook Large Pizza Stone and Sur La Table Pizza Stone. Both took up nearly the entire oven rack, giving us ample room to launch pizzas and side-by-side ciabatta loaves. This meant we didn’t have to be as precise with our peels, and it was much less stressful to complete the day’s bake when we weren’t nervous about any dough sliding off the edge and spilling sauce all over the oven floor. The smallest stone we tested, the Ooni Baking Stone, was still able to accommodate our tests but it was a nail-biter: One of the ciabatta loaves started sagging, and the only thing that saved us from disaster was a quick yank on the parchment paper to recenter both loaves safely on the baking surface. 

Thicker Stones Retained More Heat, but Thinner Stones Recovered Faster

Most stones came in either a 15-millimeter or 10-millimeter thickness, and the 15-millimeter stones were much better at retaining heat between bakes. Both the Unicook and CucinaPro Pizza Stone only lost about 50ºF after the first bake, and each was able to recover to over 500ºF before the next pizza was ready. But even though thinner stones (like the Sur La Table and Outset Pizza Grill Stone Tiles) tended to lose closer to 60ºF to 80ºF after the first bake, they were still able to fully recover in just a few minutes. They preheated faster, too, with 10-millimeter pizza stones reaching 500ºF in 30 minutes, while 15-millimeter stones took closer to 45 minutes before they were ready to bake. 

Handles Got in the Way

As tricky as it can be to pick a handleless pizza stone up off the counter, handles always get in the way. The ROCKSHEAT Pizza Stone has two sets of indented handles, one for either side of the stone, but neither is centered. This made it awkward to carry since the weight was always tilting forward, but it also cut into usable baking space. The Nordic Ware Deluxe Square Pizza Stone With Rack had a stainless steel cage that the stone sat in, but its handles protruded so much that it prevented us from being able to launch our pizzas with the peel. The handles also crowded the ciabatta loaves, preventing them from rising freely. Finally, the Emile Henry French Ceramic Baking handles were comfortable to hold, but they also felt precarious—it was the only stone we tested made from ceramic instead of cordierite, and picking it up by the handles made the whole stone flex slightly, making us worry about cracking. 

The Best Stones Were Two-Sided

While we generally liked the King Arthur Bread and Pizza Stone and Honey Can Do Pizza Stone, both had a pattern of raised lines on the underside of the stone, advertised as “promoting even heating.” In our testing, we didn’t notice any heating advantages of these ridged patterns, but we did find that they prevented both stones from being two-sided. Two-sided stones inherently have an advantage because you have double the baking surface to use—if one side ends up with a lot of stains (which really isn’t that big of a deal; see below) you still have another side to use. 

Stains Were Bound to Happen

Because cordierite is porous, any spills will quickly soak into the surface and turn into permanent stains. And while they may not look very attractive, there’s not much you can do to get rid of them. Most manufacturers encourage you not to wash the stones at all, since moisture can get trapped inside and weaken the stone over time (or even turn into mildew or mold). And you should definitely never use soap on a pizza stone—doing so runs the risk of your stone forever smelling like soap (and potentially imparting off flavors into whatever you’re baking). Instead, stones are best cleaned by wiping them down with a damp cloth after they’ve fully cooled. If there ever is a spill, scrape as much off as you can with a bench scraper and be prepared for the stone to smoke a little on your next preheat—any leftover bits of food will burn off and leave the surface ready to bake your next pie.  

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Pizza Stone

When it comes to pizza stones, size and shape are the most important factors since all the ceramic and cordierite stones we tested performed similarly. The best stones are wide enough to accommodate multiple loaves of bread and have flat, unimpeded baking surfaces. They’re also two-sided, so you can flip your stone between bakes. 

The Best Pizza Stones

What we liked: This stone evenly browned both pizza crusts back to back, producing a tender, open crumb with a crisp bottom. Its 15-millimeter thickness had great heat retention, too, only dropping about 40ºF between the first bake and the second. It was roomy enough to accommodate both ciabatta loaves—which baked up big and puffy—but it’s still small enough to fit into most people’s ovens. And it’s heat-safe up to 1450ºF, which means you can use it on a gas grill, too.

What we didn’t like: At just over 11 pounds, it’s the heaviest stone we tested. This makes it harder to load into the oven, but it also makes it trickier to pick up from a counter if it’s lying flat. 

Price at time of publish: $60.

Key Specs

• Materials: Cordierite
• Weight: 11.22 pounds
• Dimensions: 20 x 13.5 inches
• Thickness: 15 millimeters
• Max temp: 1450ºF
• Preheating instructions: Preheat to at least 500ºF for 40 to 60 minutes
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth, dry fully

What we liked: We loved this roomy, extra-wide stone—it easily fit both ciabatta loaves, and it could likely fit two smaller pizzas side by side, too. It preheated quickly, reaching over 500ºF in under 30 minutes, and even though the temperature dropped about 60 to 70ºF between the two pizzas, its 10-millimeter thick stone recovered before the second pizza was ready to launch. 

What we didn’t like: While it doesn’t weigh as much as our top pick, it’s still one of the heavier stones we tested. It’s also wide enough that it was a little cumbersome to move it in and out of the oven. 

Price at time of publish: $48.

Key Specs

• Materials: Cordierite
• Weight: 9.4 pounds
• Dimensions: 22.5 x 13.5 inches
• Thickness: 10 millimeters
• Max temp: 1400ºF 
• Preheating instructions: Preheat to at least 500ºF for 30 minutes
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth, dry fully

What we liked: This stone matched performance with our top picks, but its 14- by 16-inch dimensions will fit in any oven—even the narrowest efficiency models—and also on most charcoal grills. It’s also slightly deeper than our top picks at 14 inches (instead of 13.5 inches), which means it can accommodate slightly larger circular pizzas. Plus, it’s pretty affordable. 

What we didn’t like: It’s another heavy stone, and in our testing, we found models that were at least 20 inches were more versatile. But if you’ve got a smaller oven, or are looking for a slightly cheaper price, the CucinaPro fits the bill. 

Price at time of publish: $40.

Key Specs

• Materials: Cordierite
• Weight: 9.88 pounds
• Dimensions: 16 x 14 inches
• Thickness: 15 millimeters
• Max temp: 1400ºF
• Preheating instructions: Preheat to at least 500ºF for 30 minutes
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth, dry fully

What we liked: If you’re short of storage space, or think you might have trouble carrying a heavier pizza stone, this set of four individual tiles from Outset might be for you. Each tile is around eight inches by eight inches and just over a pound, meaning you can set them up in your oven however you like. Whether that’s a big square, two rectangles, or some other pattern that works for what you want to bake, the choice is yours. They also heated up quickly and baked nice-looking pizzas and ciabatta loaves. When you’re done, you can stack them all in a pile for easier storage. 

What we didn’t like: It was a little precarious baking a pizza on them, only because there could potentially be space between the tiles that sauce spills can drip through. We also wish the tiles were more rectangular, to mimic the overall size and shape of our top picks.

Price at time of publish: $27.

Key Specs

• Materials: Cordierite
• Weight: 5.72 pounds
• Dimensions: 8 by 8 inches for each stone
• Thickness: 10 millimeters
• Max temp: 1450ºF
• Preheating instructions: Preheat to at least 500ºF for 40 to 60 minutes
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth, dry fully

The Competition

• Honey Can Do Pizza Stone: This stone performed well in our tests but its ridged bottom means it can only be used one-sided.
• ROCKSHEAT Pizza Stone: The off-center handle divots on this stone took up too much of the cooking surface’s real estate, limiting the size of our bakes.
• King Arthur Bread and Pizza Stone: This stone also had ridges that made it one-sided only. 
• Williams Sonoma Pizza Stone: Even though this stone performed well in tests, its higher price point kept it from being a winner.
• Emile Henry French Ceramic Baking: The glazed surface of this stone was easy to clean and crisped up breads well, but it's made from ceramic which is more susceptible to cracking under thermal shock than cordierite. It’s also very expensive. 
• Nordic Ware Deluxe Square Pizza Stone With Rack: The protruding handles on this stone’s stainless steel cradle prevented us from being able to launch directly onto the stone from the peel.
• Ooni Baking Stone: Though it performed just fine, this was the smallest stone out of every model we tested and it had trouble fitting two loaves of bread side-by-side. 
• Pizzacraft Pizza Stone: We actually liked this stone a lot as an alternative to our top pick, but this size has been unavailable to purchase for over a month. 

FAQs

Do pizza stones really work?

They do! Pizza stones are made from cordierite, which is a mineral-rich type of ceramic that absorbs moisture and transfers heat directly to the crust, helping it crisp up better than a regular sheet pan. Once preheated, they act sort of like a battery for heat, continuously browning the crust even when the oven temperature fluctuates. 

How long do you cook pizza on a pizza stone?

The length of time it takes to cook a pizza on a pizza stone varies by the style of pizza you’re making, the size of the pizza, and the temperature you’re cooking it at. For our New York-style pizza recipe, we suggest 12 to 15 minutes at 500ºF. It’s best to consult the specific recipe you’re making for the right time/temperature combination, but also keep an eye on how quickly the crust and cheese are browning. 

Should I oil my pizza stone?

No—pizza stones are made from a porous material and will absorb any oil that lands on them. This will then burn and smoke the next time the pizza stone is used. It’s also unnecessary to oil pizza stones because they don’t need to be seasoned. If a stone is preheated properly, the dough won’t stick at all, though you can always use a piece of parchment paper if you’re worried about sticking. 

Why is my pizza sticking to my pizza stone? 

If your pizza dough is sticking to the stone, it just hasn’t been preheated enough. As the pizza stone heats up, the pores on the surface stone will start to shrink. When it’s hot, dough will immediately begin to cook and release from the surface. A pizza stone that’s too cool will grab onto the dough while it’s cooking, causing it to stick. We recommend preheating your stone for at least 45 minutes at 500ºF. 

Why We’re the Experts

• Jesse Raub is Serious Eats' commerce writer and spent over 15 years working in the specialty coffee industry. He's our in-house coffee expert and regularly tests baking gear, including reviews of the Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven, proofing baskets, and bread lames.
• For this review, he spent over three weeks testing the pizza stones, dedicating an entire day to each stone and baking 24 pizzas and 24 ciabatta loaves overall.

Life is too short to settle for mediocre coffee, and here at Serious Eats we definitely have strong opinions about the best ways to caffeinate. But there’s no one perfect coffee that can match everyone’s flavor preferences—that’s why we compiled this list of staff-favorite picks from roasters around the United States. We might not all agree on which bags are the best to snag, but there’s one thing we’re on the same page about: The best way to drink coffee is to find your personal faves and never settle for the dregs (unless, of course, that’s what you’re into). 

So, if you're looking for a new coffee to try (or are just curious about what's in our mugs each morning), here's a list of our tried-and-true picks.

Oh boy, where to start? Coffee is a constant in my house, and after 16 years in the specialty coffee industry, I’ve got too many personal favorites—and buddy, you’re going to hear about all of them. I’ve got a standing subscription from Vignette Coffee Roasters in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their green sourcing is top-notch (especially high-elevation Colombias), and I think their roasting style brings out incredible sweetness. My standby is their Rose Glass Blend for a lighter body espresso (Bright! Juicy! Sweet!), but I love being surprised by their roaster’s choice subscription for my morning pourover.

I’m also a big fan of Mother Tongue Coffee, which was founded by a former coworker of mine. They roast on the lighter side of things, which highlights the unique and complex flavors of their single-origin options. My local cafe usually stocks bags from Sweet Bloom and George Howell Coffee, too, and both of those roasters really nail sweet, clean flavor profiles; I’m happy to grab a bag (or two) whenever they’re on the shelf.  — Jesse Raub, commerce writer

My go-to for espresso is Stumptown Hairbender. As I've learned from Jesse Raub, this is a classic espresso medium-dark roast, and I've been using it for my daily latte for years (and so have my parents). It's also widely available, which I appreciate. In my area, I can easily (of course) buy it online, but also find it at Whole Foods and Target (the latter has fairly old roasted-on dates). For drip coffee, I tend to buy whatever looks good locally. I live in Amherst, MA and my favorite local coffee joint is Share. If I'm out of coffee when I swing by, I'll pick up a bag of their Daily Driver. — Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm, senior commerce editor

I've never had a strong loyalty to any one roaster, though my tastes lean medium-to-light on the roast spectrum when drinking my coffee black, which is almost always (I can not tolerate dark roasts unless there's a lot of milk involved). While I have loved beans from many regions, I'm particularly fond of East African coffee. That said, when the pandemic hit back in 2020, I set up a monthly single-origin coffee subscription from Counter Culture just to ensure a regular supply of beans at home, and I'm still receiving those today. They send different beans each month, almost always either African or from coffee-growing zones in the Americas, so I get some variety without having to think about it. I've more recently yearned to branch out a little (I had a couple of excellent special-edition bags from Stumptown a few months ago that I happened to grab at a local shop after running low on my Counter Culture supply at home), but so far I can't muster the energy to go about switching things up, and I'm happy enough with my subscription that I probably won't any time soon. — Daniel Gritzer, senior culinary director

I'm a big Stumptown gal! Anytime I see it in stores, I'm grabbing a fresh bag. On days there is less urgency to my coffee-chugging, I've been into Holler Mountain. Otherwise, when I'm frantic, I, like most of the rest of this team, prefer to take Hair Bender straight to the face. — Tess Koman, senior editorial director

I'm the black sheep here, as most days I brew and drink a crappy cup of coffee (read the merits of this practice here). What can I say, I'm a creature of (my poor college student days) habit. That said, once in a while I will splurge on a fancy bag of coffee from Borealis, one of my favorite local roasters and cafes. It costs a little more than my usual daily coffee, but I really love their Guatemala Huehuetenango, which is nutty and mellow, with a little fruity chocolate note shining through. — Grace Kelly, associate commerce editor

Our coffee life consists of drip in the morning and espressos in the afternoon, and we’ve developed very particular preferences for both. I adore the Japan Blend and the Mexico Oaxaca Blend from Brooklyn Roasting Company, both of which produce wonderful drip coffee. For espresso beans, I walk over to my favorite local coffee shop, About Coffee, and buy a bag of Gimme Coffee’s Leftist Espresso, which is blended from organic, fair trade, single-origin beans from Peru and Guatemala. It’s also a nice bonus that About Coffee gives you a free small cup of drip coffee when you buy a bag of beans. — Jacob Dean, former updates editor

I always love supporting local businesses, especially when it comes to coffee. As a former barista at Weird Brothers Coffee in Herndon, VA, I have to give them a shoutout! They roast their own beans and offer single-origin options, blends, compostable coffee pods, and even sampler boxes. I'm partial to one of their OG dark roast blends called Embrace the Dark Side that I like to brew bold at home.—Yasmine Maggio, associate editor

FAQs

What’s the best coffee to buy? 

Everyone’s coffee preferences are unique, so it’s important to try different options from a variety of roasters to find out what you like. Coffee gets its flavor from how the trees were grown on the farm, how the coffee cherries were processed to remove the seeds, and how those coffee seeds were roasted—with so much variation, it can be tricky to navigate. That’s why also recommend subscription services like Trade Coffee and Beanz which have questionnaires to help match you with the right coffee for your taste preferences. 

What’s the best way to brew coffee?

There’s no one right way to brew coffee, but there are some key factors to keep in mind. To start, you need a consistent grind size that’s only achievable with a high-quality burr grinder. You also need a brew method that can heat water to 200ºF, like a high-end drip coffee maker, but if that’s out of your price range, manual coffee methods like pourover, French press, or moka pots give you direct control over brew temperature as well. Finally, you need the right ratio of coffee to water, which you can achieve by using a coffee scale.

Why We’re the Experts 

• Jesse Raub is Serious Eats' commerce writer and spent over 15 years working in the specialty coffee industry. He's our in-house coffee expert and regularly tests coffee gear for this site.
• He’s spent many hours chatting with the Serious Eats team about their daily brewing habits so he can dole out tips and tricks for better coffee at home. For this piece, he surveyed the Serious Eats team about their favorite coffees.

In my decade as a coffee educator, I regularly gave tours of the roasting floor so folks could see coffee turn from green to yellow to brown. Each machine was about as big as a car, could roast 200 pounds of coffee in 10 minutes, and had specialized probes that tracked the ambient temperature inside the drum and the surface temperature of the coffee. The roaster could then monitor the roasting progress and make minute adjustments to the flame. I was convinced that coffee roasting was best left to the pros. 

However, for this review, I mustered up the courage to try roasting at home. For guidance, I reached out to Chris Kornman, the roaster I used to give tours with and now Director of Education at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room. But even with all his professional experience, he wanted to introduce me to a customer of his, Dave Borton. An avid home roaster for 18 years, Borton assured me that anyone could roast coffee at home and started off with some sage words: “Be patient. Use this as an opportunity to have fun, to learn, to expand your experience in food.” He also told me to make sure I had a fire extinguisher handy, just in case. Armed with those two tips (and plenty more technical advice), I selected eight home coffee roasting machines and set out to find which ones roasted the best coffee and were the easiest to use and clean. 

The Winners, at a Glance

This air roaster was easy to set up, had customizable settings for fan speed, heat, and time, and roasted great coffee. Its settings were easy to tweak for better-tasting brews, and its catcher kept counters clean from papery silverskin chaff, while its glass roasting chamber was easy to clean. 

Modeled after classic popcorn makers, Popper has settings for time and temperature so you can make easy adjustments based on your flavor preferences. I also really liked its automatic cooling cycle, which meant you didn’t have to babysit your coffee. 

If you’re looking for a straightforward air roaster, the JAVASTARR only has three buttons: medium, dark, and cool down. It roasted coffee well, and I liked that the fans rotated the coffee from the sides rather than from underneath.  

The Tests

• Roast Tests: I roasted two batches of coffee with each machine—one following the manufacturer’s instructions and the second with slight tweaks based on time, temperature, and color to improve the flavor profile. I also took note of different settings, how easy they were to adjust, and how long each machine took to roast a full batch. 
• Taste Tests: I tasted each roast side-by-side to compare flavor quality between each batch and between each roaster. I evaluated each coffee for tasting notes, sweetness, balance, acidity, and aftertaste. I also took notes on how the adjustment to the second roast with each machine showed in the coffee’s flavor profile compared to the first. 
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: I evaluated how simple each roaster was to set up, how easy it was to load in green coffee, and how straightforward each was to operate. I also looked at the different settings on each roaster and how clear they were to adjust, as well as how easy each roaster was to clean. 

What We Learned

Why Roast Your Own Coffee?

With so many great coffee companies out there, roasting your own at home might feel unnecessary. At the same time, home roasting lets you pick from a much wider selection of green coffee options (through sellers like Sweet Maria’s or Royal Coffee) than any one coffee company can ever offer roasted. You can also dial in the roast profile that matches your exact flavor preferences. And while buying green coffee is around half the cost of buying roasted coffee, roasting your own takes a dedicated amount of time and effort. That is to say, it’s a better hobby for an aficionado than it is a cost-cutting measure—but if you’re ready to take the dive, it lets you fully customize your morning coffee experience. 

The Basics of Roasting Coffee

When we brew coffee, we’re using the roasted seed of the coffee cherry, which grows best at high elevations around the equator. The flavor of a particular coffee comes from a variety of factors on the farm, how the seed was processed from the cherry and dried, and how the roasting process develops sweetness and complexity. Green coffee is full of starch and, as you apply heat, that starch breaks down into sugars that then begin to caramelize. “You’ll want to listen for the first crack,” Kornman says. “That’s when the last bit of moisture finally evaporates and the coffee pops open, kind of like popcorn.” The first crack, he explains, signifies the moment coffee begins to rapidly caramelize. Keep roasting, and coffee will experience a second crack when the caramelizing sugars begin to burn (which is where you get dark roasts). While professional roasters have access to high-end temperature probes and roast tracking software, Kornman’s best advice was to listen for the first crack and aim for about two more minutes of roasting. After that, the best way to tweak your settings would be to taste the coffee and then change the roast time or temperature to try to hit the flavor profile you’re looking for. 

The Two Main Types of Roasters

There are two main types of roasters for home and professional settings: air and drum roasters. Air roasters, like the Fresh Roast, Popper, and JAVASTARR, use a high-powered heating element and fan just like air poppers for popcorn; they roast coffee purely through convection. Drum roasters, on the other hand, feature a horizontal rotating drum with a direct heat source applied to the outside. The Dyvee Coffee Roaster was the only drum roaster I tested, as most drum roasters for home are quite expensive. Most coffee roasting companies use large drum roasters and the roasting process comes from direct conductive heat from the drum itself as well as convective heat from the coffee being tossed into the air by the rotating drum. 

Roasting Good Coffee Takes Practice 

It took over 15 roasts before Borton was happy with his results. “Coffee roasting is both art and science. Learning never ends with coffee and that makes it fun,” Borton says. “You are going to drill through the same coffee, roasting it time and time again, to learn your roaster and begin to learn coffee.”

Tasting (and Tinkering) Were Key to Better Results

Both Kornman and Borton were clear on one thing: The only way to understand your roast profiles is to taste your results every time you make an adjustment and note how it affected the flavor. Along with cupping my roasts (a standardized way of tasting coffee), I also brewed pourovers of my top coffees to see how the results changed between brew methods. Though I never ended up with perfect results, it was clear that the Fresh Roast and Popper machines were the easiest to adjust, and I also saw the biggest improvement in flavor between the first and second roast on each. Even though I had decent results from using the Presto Poplite Air Popper, its lack of settings made it easy to rule out. I was surprised at how drinkable the coffee from the Nuvo Eco Ceramic Handy Coffee Bean Roaster was, but having to manually rotate the coffee over an open flame meant there was a lack of repeatability in the process (plus my arms were tired).

Air Roasters Were More Practical (and Tidier)

Not only did the best-tasting results come from air roasters, they were also faster, generated less smoke, roasted more evenly, and were easier to set up and clean—all I had to do was wipe them out with a damp cloth, and they all had filters that caught chaff and kept my counters clean. While most of my air roasts only took around seven minutes, the Dyvee took over 25 minutes to complete a batch, and the Nuvo Eco required 12 to 15 minutes of hand-tossing the coffee to make sure it didn’t burn. I wasn’t even able to finish roasting batches with the JIAWUNSHUNN Electric Coffee Roaster and Great Northern Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Maker. Both scorched the coffee due to direct heat and poor coffee circulation and generated so much smoke that I had to cut the roasting process short. 

Don’t Forget Proper Ventilation

Roasting coffee will always generate some amount of smoke, so be sure that you have proper ventilation set up over your roaster. This could be an overhead vent hood, open windows with a fan blowing, or even roasting in a garage with the door open. I thankfully never set off a fire alarm during my testing, but if you’re going to roast at home, be sure to follow all safety precautions. 

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Home Coffee Roaster

The best home coffee roasters are easy to set up, have multiple settings to control the roast profile, and are also easy to clean. They are also able to roast coffee evenly and quickly and improve the flavor of the coffee when adjustments are made.

The Best Home Coffee Roasters

What we liked: The Fresh Roast SR540 comes in three parts: a base that houses the fan and heating element (along with the control panel), a glass roasting chamber, and a lid that has a mesh basket designed to catch any chaff that flakes off of the coffee during roasting. It has three control options: fan speed, power, and time, which gave me the most control over the roast cycle than any other machine I tested. The suggested settings produced a coffee that was sweet, with some caramel and milk chocolate notes, and that had a clean finish. For the second roast, I increased the fan speed, lowered the power setting, and prolonged the roast. That cup showed more brightness and flavor clarity, with light fruit notes to balance out the body and sweetness that still came through similar to the first roast. I also really liked that at any time during the roasting process you could kill the roast and start a cooldown cycle by pressing the Run/Cool button—that way if a coffee is getting darker than you’d like it to, you can catch it before the roast starts to scorch. Otherwise, the cooling cycle will start automatically when the timer runs down. The detachable glass roasting chamber was also really easy to clean, too—just wipe with a damp cloth or wash with warm soapy water if the coffee oils start to build up. 

What we didn’t like: The fan is narrower than other air roasters I tested, so during the early part of the roasting cycle when the coffee was heavier, it didn’t rotate thoroughly and some coffee roasted unevenly. However, once the coffee hit the first crack and started browning, all the coffee seemed to catch up, and there were no traces of unevenly roasted coffee in the taste tests.

Price at time of publish: $209.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic, glass
• Weight: 5.64 pounds
• Dimensions: 14.1 x 8.5 x 8.4 inches
• Capacity: 114 grams
• Settings: Fan speed, power, time
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth

What we liked: Popper was designed after classic air popcorn poppers, only with a touch more control. It has two fan speeds (though they recommend you only use high), a continuous dial for the heat level, and a programmable timer. Instead of a chute, Popper has a cage to catch the chaff (though a fair amount still snuck through). But the thing I really loved about it was the automatic cooling cycle. When I started a batch with Popper, I added the coffee, set the heat dial, and then set a time—but no matter what time I set, the last three minutes were a built-in cooling cycle. That meant I didn’t have to babysit the roaster towards the end of the cycle or worry about the coffee scorching. The recommended settings from the manufacturer roasted a coffee that was sweet, and had some red apple and milk chocolate flavors, but tasted toasty in the finish. For the second roast, I shortened the overall roast time and increased the heat slightly, which brought out more fruit qualities and a distinct sweetness (though there was still a hint of smokiness). The roast chamber was easy to wipe out with a cloth (once it cooled) and, overall, I think it offers great roasting capabilities at a reasonable price.

What we didn’t like: I wished that the roaster had more fan speed settings, especially since the low setting isn’t recommended for use while roasting since it’s not powerful enough to fully rotate the coffee. The chaff catcher also let a fair amount of chaff through, and I had to wipe down my counters afterward. 

Price at time of publish: $79. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic 
• Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Dimensions: 7.5 x 7.5 x 15.5 inches
• Capacity: 90 grams
• Settings: Fan speed, heat, time
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth

What we liked: With only three buttons, the JAVASTARR was a straightforward air roaster. I liked that the roasting chamber fans were horizontal so that the coffee spun in a circle instead of being rotated up and around by a vertical fan. The medium and dark settings seemed to change the temperature slightly while roasting. When the first batch roasted on a medium setting tasted a little sour and underdeveloped, I tried the dark setting. I monitored the roast time and color, and the second batch had some fruitier flavors balanced with chocolate and caramel notes but was still a little bitter and dry on the finish. If you’re curious about roasting coffee at home and want a very simple machine to try it out, the JAVASTARR is a good option, as the only variable you’ll need to track is the time of the roast. 

What we didn’t like: There’s no countdown timer so you’ll have to watch each batch carefully during roasting. I also wish it was a little more powerful so it could roast batches in a shorter timeframe, which would give the user slightly more control over the flavor development. 

Price at time of publish: $100.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic
• Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Dimensions: 6.89 x 8.27 x 9.25 inches
• Capacity: 100 grams
• Settings: Medium or dark 
• Care instructions: Wipe clean with a damp cloth

The Competition

• Dyvee Coffee Roaster: Setting a rotating electric glass drum over a gas burner felt precarious. Ultimately it was too big to efficiently roast a batch of coffee without a high-powered, standalone burner, with batches taking over 20 minutes and the resulting coffee tasting flat. 
• Nuvo Eco Ceramic Handy Coffee Bean Roaster: This roaster required the user to rotate the coffee over an open flame by hand, which was tiring for its 12- to 15-minute roast cycles. The coffee from this roaster was tipped, meaning the edges of the beans were scorched and added bitterness. 
• JIAWUNSHUNN Electric Coffee Roaster: A cross between a crock pot and stirrer arm popcorn maker, this machine roasted extremely uneven coffee that tasted like vinegar and smoke.
• Great Northern Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Maker: Though stovetop popcorn makers can be used to roast coffee, the stirring arm passes over the coffee instead of evenly rotating it. It also created a lot of smoke compared to air roasters. 
• Presto Poplite Air Popper: Without any control over the settings, coffee roasted unevenly in this air popper, though the end results were passable in taste tests. It also had a fan that was so powerful, it blew unroasted coffee out of the chute onto the counter. 

FAQs

Is it cheaper to roast coffee at home?

Roasting your own coffee at home can be cheaper, but it also requires a lot of time, care, and effort to get the results you want. Heavy coffee drinkers might appreciate buying green coffee in bulk for a fraction of the cost of roasted coffee but fine-tuning a roast profile to match the quality of your favorite coffee roasting company can take a long time to perfect. We think it’s best for enthusiasts rather than people looking for a cost-saving measure. 

How easy is it to roast your own coffee?

Roasting coffee at home can be easy—our two favorite home roasters use a set-it-and-forget-it timer with customizable fan speeds and heat settings. We had relatively good results with the manufacturer-suggested settings out of the box, though tweaking roast profiles to bring out the flavors you’re looking for can take some time and experimentation to perfect. 

What is the best way to roast coffee at home?

While there are a variety of different coffee roaster styles that we tested, the most consistent and easiest to tweak were air roasters. These machines use a high-powered fan and heater to roast coffee, and our top three picks had settings to adjust fan speed, heat, and time, allowing you to easily tweak roast profiles to bring out different flavors. They also tend to be less expensive than drum roasters, which feature a heat source (like a gas burner) applied to a rotating drum and require more practice and coffee roasting knowledge to get good results. 

Why We’re the Experts

• Jesse Raub is Serious Eats' commerce writer and spent over 15 years working in the specialty coffee industry. He's our in-house coffee expert and regularly tests coffee gear for this site, including reviews of espresso machines, drip coffee makers, and moka pots.
• He tested eight roasting machines and went through more than five pounds of green coffee over 30 batches of roasting. 
• For this review, Jesse interviewed Chris Kornman, the Director of Education at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room, as well as Dave Borton, an avid home roaster with over 18 years of experience.

I love making pizza at home—especially for guests—but trying to hack my home oven with various stones and steels always took longer than I’d like and with less desirable results. On top of that, no matter how good the pizza tasted, it always lacked that “wow” factor professional pizza ovens deliver: I’m talking about puffy crusts, leopard-spotted char marks, and a tender crumb. Luckily, a new class of home outdoor pizza ovens can do just that, and Solo Stove has a new model that’s competitively priced. 

The Solo Stove Pi Prime promises blistering hot temperatures from its gas-powered burner and a demi-dome ceiling that can cook a 12-inch pizza in under 90 seconds. It’s the second standalone pizza oven Solo Stove has launched, and we put it to the test by cooking back-to-back pizzas to see if it could deliver the same great results as the Solo Stove Pi (which costs $150 more).

The Tests

• Gas Burner Pizza Tests: We followed the recipe for Outdoor Pizza Oven Dough and made three Neapolitan pizzas with fresh mozzarella and pepperoni back-to-back. We noted the recovery time needed between pies, the overall cook, and the contrast between the char and chew of the crust. 
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: We tested how easy the oven was to set up, how quickly it got up to temp, and how easy its heat dial was to adjust. We also tested how simple it was to clean and break down for storage. 

What We Learned

So, What’s New?

There really aren’t that many differences between the Solo Stove Pi Prime and the Solo Stove Pi. One is that the standard Pi is available in wood-fired or dual-fuel heat sources while the Pi Prime is gas-powered only. The Pi Prime also has its flame adjustment knob on the front of the pizza oven (the Pi has it on the back), making it easier to adjust the flame on the fly—we found this was key to a good cook (more on that in a bit). Finally, the Pi Prime comes with a cover to protect it from the elements, which is a nice bonus considering that adding a cover to the Pi is an extra $40. Overall it would cost $540 to have a gas-fired Pi with a cover compared to the Pi Prime at $350. 

It Brought the Heat

After just 15 minutes of preheating, the Solo Stove Pi Prime’s dome was over 1100ºF. As Kenji noted in his Neapolitan pizza recipe, a true Neapolitan pizza needs a 1000ºF dome temperature, yet most home ovens can only reach 550ºF. After 25 minutes of preheating, however, the stone read 811ºF in the back and 705ºF towards the front—a little too hot for the pizza to cook evenly without burning (in fact, we literally set the crust on fire on our first pie and had to blow it out like a birthday candle). It was an impressive showing from a modest-looking burner, easily matching the performance of the Solo Stove Pi in gas mode. 

Adjusting the Flame Was Key for a Perfect Cook

The demi-dome ceiling of the Pi Prime does an excellent job of redirecting the flame up and over each pizza—but sometimes it does too good of a job. We found that unless we turned the flame down after launching, it could easily scorch the tops of our pies before the bottoms crisp up. But with the gas dial on the front of the pizza oven, it was easy to drop the flame on the spot for a more even cook. After a little practice, we were able to develop a system of charging the heat and then dialing it back that gave us evenly charred pies with a tender crumb and a nice, puffy crust. 

The Panoramic Opening Made It Easy to Cook 12-inch Pies

Because the opening flares out at the edges, it’s easier to fit a full 12-inch pizza peel in it without having to line it up just right. It was also easy to turn pies mid-cook, even without a dedicated turner. We were able to get the peel under each pie, rotate it slightly, and re-center the pizza without too much hassle. One of our issues with some other pizza ovens is that their opening is the exact same size as the stone, meaning that you can only cook a 10-inch pizza in a 12-inch oven. With the panoramic opening on the Pi Prime, we could easily cook a full 12-inch pizza (and could even cheat the dough a little closer to 13 inches, too). 

There Was Almost No Recovery Time Needed

We made three pizzas back-to-back to test the Pi Prime’s temperature latency, but every single time the oven was back to temp when we were ready to launch the next pie. The dome has incredible heat retention due to its thick, dual-wall stainless steel construction and, with a powerful flame, the stone was able to recover in just a few minutes—the same amount of time it takes to stretch and top another dough. 

The Stones Were Easy to Clean

The stone for the Pi Prime comes in two pieces, which makes it easy to remove and clean. Though we didn’t have any disasters like the last time, there was still a fair amount of burnt semolina left over. When a brush couldn’t quite get into every corner, we simply let the stones cool, reached in, and removed them for a more thorough cleaning. After wiping with a damp cloth, both sides looked good as new and were ready for another bake. 

The Pizzas Tasted Great

To truly test out its crowd-pleasing abilities, we threw an impromptu lunch backyard pizza party. With pizzas cooking in just 90 seconds, it was easy to keep everyone satisfied and the next pies were ready before the first ones were eaten. While there were some comments about the blackened crust that we set on fire (whoops), the feedback was overwhelmingly positive—the crumb was tender and chewy and the cheese was nicely browned, even in such a short cooking time. The pizzas were a great example of a Neapolitan-style pizza, and with how easy the Pi Prime is to set up and use, we could deliver pro-style pizzas even at noon on a Wednesday. 

The Verdict

The Solo Stove Pi Prime is an excellent pizza oven that is easy to set up, heats quickly, cooks great pies, and is priced very competitively at $350. 

Pros

With a gas burner that can heat the dome over 1100ºF and the stone up to 800ºF, the Solo Stove Pi Prime can cook true Neapolitan-style pizzas right in your backyard. It has a conveniently located gas knob for on-the-fly adjustments, and its demi-dome ceiling directs heat perfectly over the top of your pizza while the dual-wall stainless body retains high temperatures even with the flame turned low. It’s also very moderately priced and comes with an all-weather cover.

Cons

Like the standard Pi, the burner juts out into the back part of the stone which can easily burn your pizzas if you launch them too deep. It can also be tricky to get the flame dialed in just right, so expect some practice (and some burning) before you’re able to declare yourself a master pizzaiolo. 

Key Specs

• Overall dimensions: 20.5-inch diameter; 15.5 inches high
• Weight: 30 pounds
• Material: Stainless steel, ​​cordierite stone
• Opening dimensions: 13 inches wide
• Stone dimensions: 12-inch diameter cooking surface
• Stone thickness: 13 millimeters
• Accessories: All-weather cover
• Price at time of publish: $350
  

FAQs

Is the Solo Stove Pi Prime worth it?

The Pi Prime is a great pizza oven that can hit high temperatures, is easy to set up, and is also easy to clean. It’s priced at the lower end of the outdoor pizza oven market and comes with an all-weather cover, making it a great value for anyone looking to have a backyard pizza party. Heads up: It has a gas-only burner so you’ll have to get a propane tank to run it.

How long does it take to cook pizza in Solo Stove Pi Prime?

The Pi Prime can cook a whole 12-inch pizza in under 90 seconds, but we recommend dialing the heat down a bit and aiming for a two-minute cook. That way you can make sure the crust has a nice char, a crisp bottom, and a tender crumb. 

How hot does the Solo Stove Pi Prime get?

The Pi Prime advertises it can reach temperatures in excess of 950ºF, but in our testing, we found that the dome reached over 1100ºF, even with the gas dial set to the Solo Stove’s recommended range. While this temperature can cook pies super quickly we found it was better to dial the heat back a bit so the crust had more time to develop before it burned.

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub is the commerce writer for Serious Eats.
• Jesse spent 15-plus years in the specialty coffee industry. He's also an avid baker, having written our reviews of pizza peels and proofing baskets.
• We made multiple pies in the Solo Stove Pie Prime and also evaluated how easy the oven was to operate and clean.
  

If you're going to invest in one type of skillet, make it stainless steel. While we recommend buying affordable cast iron and nonstick pans (expensive ones just aren’t worth it), quality stainless steel will cost you more.

Stainless steel—specifically tri-ply with an aluminum core—transfers heat quickly and is great for searing and sautéing. And an aluminum core distributes that heat so everything browns evenly. Now, it’s hard to beat All-Clad’s stainless steel skillets’ quality and longevity, but they’re undeniably pricey. That is, except when they’re on sale for October Prime Day. 

Why They Won Our Review

When we tested 29 stainless steel skillets, The All-Clad D3 model was one of our top picks. It was extremely responsive to temperature changes (so your pan sauce won’t break), seared skin-on chicken breasts well, and browned crepes evenly. Its flared lip helped moisture evaporate quickly, and its angled handle offset its weight and made it easy to toss food and move the pan from the stovetop to the oven. 

All-Clad pans have a great reputation for durability, but they also come with a lifetime warranty—a big perk when you’re investing in high-end cookware. This set includes a 10-inch and 12-inch skillet, which we think are the two most useful sizes (think: searing a steak while sautéing broccolini on the next burner).

Good to Know

• Materials: 18/10 Stainless steel, aluminum core
• Oven-safe temperature: Up to 500°F
• Induction compatible: Yes
• Warranty: Lifetime

FAQs

Why do chefs like stainless steel pans? 

Stainless steel is great at transferring heat, so chefs like cooking with stainless steel skillets for their ability to sear. Stainless steel doesn’t have great conductivity though, so the best skillets will have an aluminum core to distribute heat evenly throughout the pan. It’s also very durable—stainless steel can go from the stovetop to the oven and can take a hard scrubbing to remove stuck-on bits. 

Are tri-ply stainless steel skillets worth it?

Yes—stainless steel on its own is a poor heat conductor, which means it heats up inconsistently. By adding an aluminum core to the tri-ply skillet, heat is then evenly distributed throughout the cooking surface, making it one of the best pans for searing and sautéing. Even though they’re a little pricier, we think they’re a must-have for any serious home cook.

Great kitchen towels lead you fearlessly through messy spills and allow you to dry off every pot and pan in your dishrack. However, they’re also useful for much more. In a restaurant, a kitchen towel over your shoulder can help keep your fingertips dry and can replace a potholder. This means restaurants need tough-as-nails towels that are still soft to the touch, like the Zeppoli Classic Dish Towels. 

Why They Won Our Review

No other dish towel was as absorbent in our tests (we evaluated 17 of them!). The Zeppoli towels boasted an incredible 141% absorbency rate and dried every dish without leaving lint behind. They were sturdy and tough while being a bit on the smaller side, making them easy to double up as a potholder. And while they did take longer to dry than most, the Zeppoli towels come in a big pack. That means you can toss used ones in the hamper with abandon and not worry about running out. Arguably, though, the best part about them is the price—already inexpensive, this deal puts them at about a dollar per towel.

Good to Know

• Material: 100% cotton
• Dimensions: 14 x 25 inches
• Care instructions: Machine wash warm; tumble dry low
• Hanging hook: No

FAQs

What’s the difference between a dish towel and a kitchen towel?

In short, nothing—the two terms are generally interchangeable. To get more specific, kitchen towels are generally a broader category of towels used in the kitchen that includes tea towels, dishcloths, and washcloths, but the key factor for all of these types of towels is that they’re absorbent and study. 

How do you choose a kitchen towel?

There are a few important things to consider when picking out kitchen towels. You’re going to want towels that are absorbent, sturdy, dry quickly, and aren’t too large. A good kitchen towel should be able to mop up a spill, dry off pots and pans, and double as a potholder in a pinch without unraveling.

When it comes to coffee makers and espresso machines, Breville strikes a balance between user-friendly design and serious tech. With easy-to-read displays, multiple settings, and precise temperature controls, Breville has made cafe-quality coffee more accessible at home. (We’re particularly big fans of their espresso machines.) 

Right now, some of their brewers are 20% off for a limited time. Here’s what’s worth buying (and why).

Breville Barista Express Impress Espresso Machine

Why we love it: By adding automatic coffee portioning and an assisted tamping lever, Breville streamlined the trickiest parts of pulling an espresso shot with this machine. The Barista Impress Express uses the tamp piston to double-check the dose of coffee: If it’s too high or low, the machine will make its own adjustments. Right on the money, and a green smiley face pops up letting you know your espresso puck is good to go. Its precision temperature controls are accurate to a single degree Fahrenheit so your shots always pull consistently, and its steam wand is powerful enough to create microfoam for latte art. All in all, it’s our top espresso machine with a built-in grinder (and a personal favorite of many Serious Eats staff members). 

 Good to Know

• Dimensions: 13 by 15 by 16 inches
• Weight: 24 pounds 
• Capacity: 2 liters
• Grind settings: 25
• Features: Automatic coffee dosing, assisted tamping lever, precision temperature control
• Warranty: 2-year repair, replacement warranty

Breville Precision Brewer with Thermal Carafe

Why we love it: No other drip brewer offers as much control as the Breville Precision Brewer. While it used to be our favorite coffee maker, (it was dethroned in our latest round of testing for not saturating the coffee as well as our winners) we still think it’s a great brewer and worth buying. It has settings for adjusting brew temperature, bloom time, and even three different flow rates to customize your brew speed. The coffee maker features both cone-shaped and flat-bottom filter baskets (we like the flat-bottomed one for more even extraction), and you can even use your own favorite pourover dripper with an extra adapter kit. If you like customizing your brew settings, you can’t go wrong with this brewer. Plus, the thermal carafe keeps coffee hot for hours. 

Good to Know 

• Materials: Stainless steel and plastic
• Dimensions: 9 x 14 x 16 inches
• Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Water reservoir capacity: 60 ounces
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker

Why we love it: While we’re not huge fans of drip brewers with built-in grinders in general, the Breville Grind Control was by far the best model we tested. It was the only model that had a high-quality burr grinder, and you can calibrate how much coffee it delivers based on the number of cups you select. We were impressed with its smart reservoir that lets you brew smaller pots even if you fill it up to the top, and it has a number of grind and strength settings so you can dial in the perfect balance for your own taste preferences.

Good to Know

• Materials: Stainless steel and plastic
• Dimensions: 13 x 9 x 17 inches
• Weight: 16 pounds
• Water reservoir capacity: 60 ounces
• Number of grind settings: 6
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

Breville Precision Brewer with Glass Carafe

Why we love it: As much as we love the temperature stability of a thermal carafe, stainless steel interiors can pick up old coffee flavors over time if they’re not thoroughly cleaned. This version of Breville’s Precision Brewer features the same adjustable settings for brew temperature, bloom time, and brew speed, only with a glass carafe that’s easier to clean.

Good to Know 

• Materials: Stainless steel and plastic
• Dimensions: 7 x 12 x 16 inches
• Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Water reservoir capacity: 60 ounces
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
  

FAQs

How long will the sale last? 

There are no stated dates for this sale, so act fast if you want to snag a deal—$180 off the Breville Barista Impress Express put it in the same price category as other Breville espresso machines with built-in grinders and fewer features. 

Where is the sale happening? 

The sale prices can be found at amazon.com, williams-sonoma.com, and directly at Breville.com.

Forget the impeccable celebrity kitchens you see on TV home tours—a serious cook is more likely to prioritize access to their favorite kitchen tools over photogenic, styled counters. But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice aesthetics entirely in the name of workflow: The humble utensil crock can be a personalized touch that keeps counters cute and wooden spoons handy when the—oh no, the shallots are burning!—happens.

We wanted to peel back the curtain a bit to show off how Serious Eats staffers store their gear and which of our winning kitchen utensils have become everyday can’t-live-withouts. So, buckle up (or put your tongs in the locked position), because it’s time to take a peek at the lifestyles (read: utensil crocks) of the rich (stock-making) and famous* (*unsubstantiated claim).

The Double Utensil Crock

I used to have two mismatched utensil crocks but decided I hated that look and bought a matching pair of cream ones (the ones I have are hard to find, but the Williams Sonoma ones are pretty close). I've had them for a couple of years now and they haven't chipped, though I do wish they were larger. I've divided the utensils by crock: The right crock holds wooden utensils (including ones with wooden handles) and the left holds, well, non-wooden things—whisks, silicone spatulas, spiders, ladles, etc etc etc. Across the two, some of my favorite, most-used utensils include the following: Earlywood flat spatulas for general stirring/sauteeing, GIR silicone spatulas (I love the colors, like the speckly Barcelona), numerous fish spatulas, a balloon whisk (the diamond-shaped texture on the GIR is truly wonderful and grippy), a spider (I have the Rosle model), and a pair of kitchen tweezers. — Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm, senior commerce editor

The Jam-Packed Utensil Crock

I just have one big white ceramic utensil crock in my kitchen (I have a second one for all my overflow utensils in a cabinet in my dining room). The crock in active use is fairly wide, which I like since I jam so many things in it…without a doubt, too many things. There are my sauce spoons and serving spoons and slotted spoons, my ladles and spatulas (two slotted offsets for me, the lefty, and my wife the righty, plus a silicone one for nonstick skillets), whisks in varying sizes, a microplane, cooking chopsticks, a potato masher, tongs, etc. Having it so jam-packed isn't ideal—often I end up pulling things out by accident when they get caught on each other—but it works, I guess. — Daniel Gritzer, senior culinary director

The Utensil Crock Upgrade

My husband bought me this utensil crock a few years ago, and it was a big upgrade from the narrow, glass flower vase I was using as a stand-in crock prior to this. I love that it is sturdy and feels secure, with no risk of it tipping over when I quickly reach into it for a whisk or spatula. It's wide by my standards, about six inches in diameter, so I can fit all of my daily go-to utensils into it without feeling like I need a second crock taking up my precious counter space. Must-haves in my stove-side crock are a sturdy wooden spoon, a thin metal fish spatula, a rubber spatula, a metal whisk, and at least one set of tongs. I have a drawer full of other kitchen utensils that I don't use regularly. Items like a potato masher or silicone whisk, or backup wooden spoons I keep tucked away and off my counter, but still in my kitchen ready to use. Tip: Clip your tongs onto the side of your crock to keep them securely in place and take up less valuable real estate in your crock. — Leah Colins, senior culinary editor

The Heritage Brand Utensil Crock

I have a lovely Marseille blue Le Creuset utensil crock that is displayed in a place of prominence in my kitchen. And, while undeniably classic and beautiful, I’ve gone and made it look rather like Medusa’s head with spoons, spatulas, whisks, wok chuan, spider, handheld Microplanes, and more sticking out of it. What can I say? I like having my coterie of cooking utensils within easy arms’ reach, particularly wooden spoons, which I grab with great frequency (to stir aromatics, mostly), and kitchen tongs (I LOVE my pair from OXO so much that I have two, and have to really shove them both in my crock to get them to fit). I do wish my crock was slightly larger so I could cram it with even more stuff, but perhaps I should just invest in a second crock. — Grace Kelly, associate commerce editor

The Not-a-Utensil Crock Rack

Counter space is at a premium in our house (what with the stand mixer, soda maker, toaster oven, and dish rack hogging all the space), so we decided to ditch the crock for a magnetic hanging utensil rack. Because our stove is crammed right next to the fridge (old house problems), everything we need is within reach. I’m a huge fan of my OXO tongs and the FAAY wooden spoon, which get used every time I cook anything, but it’s also a great place to store my fish spatula, fine-mesh strainer, ladle, and this oversized slotted spoon that’s basically a mini-colander. Look, it’s not perfect—anything with a metal handle gets blazing hot when you’re boiling water for pasta—but the immediate access is worth a few singed fingertips. Everything we cook with that’s more prep-focused (like a bench scraper) fits nicely in a drawer, out of sight. — Jesse Raub, commerce writer

The Practical and Aspirational Utensil Crock(s)

While I have enough tools to fill at least four utensil bins, our minuscule NYC kitchen requires I cram them all into a mere two. One is a heavy porcelain number of unknown make and model, and the other is a decent-sized stainless steel bin made by All-Clad, which came bundled with several silicone-tipped spatulas I'm quite fond of.

The contents of my utensil bins are as practical as they are aspirational, holding both tools I use quite often and some that see almost no regular action. The collection includes a vintage fish spatula with a cracked (and superglued) bakelite handle; balloon whisks and flat whisks, both large and small; ladles, both European and Japanese; a wooden Rancho Gordo machacadora (a sort of utensil-sized wooden stick with a blunt end, used in Mexico for mashing beans); all manner of silicone spatulas; some rather dull rasp-style graters; stainless steel spoons and spatulas; a potato masher; bar spoons; tongs; long tweezers (which are incredible for a wide range of tasks); bamboo spatulas; a deep-fry thermometer; a Danish dough whisk; spiders and strainers; wok ladles and spatulas; and one silicone spatula from Williams-Sonoma featuring a caricature of Jeff Bridges as The Dude stirring a bowl, emblazoned with the phrase "Let's Go Bowling." — Jacob Dean, updates editor

FAQs

How do you store cooking utensils?

There are a lot of different ways to store cooking utensils, but a utensil crock keeps your go-to tools handy when you need them most. There are a variety of styles of utensil crocks, but the most common version is a round, glazed ceramic container that’s heavy enough so it won’t tip over, even when it’s jam-packed. They’re best kept by the stove just in case you need to grab some tongs mid-cooking. 

Should utensils be stored handle up or down?

We think it’s a mix—utensils like wooden spoons take up too much space if the spoon end is stored down, and the handle is usually long enough to grab no matter which way it’s oriented. Tongs, on the other hand, are best stored with the handle side up and the two ends of the tongs straddling the lip of the crock so they take up less space. Either way, the goal is to find what works best for storage and for grabbing tools when you need them. 

How do you organize utensil crocks?

The best way to organize utensil crocks is by putting the tools you use most frequently towards the edges. That way they’re easier to grab in the moment and you don’t have to fumble through, say, a potato masher when your sauce is burning and needs to be stirred. You can also organize your tools in multiple crocks to make it easier to sort. 

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub is the commerce writer for Serious Eats. He's been at the site for about a year and previously worked in the specialty coffee industry for the past 15 years.
• This piece gathered feedback from the majority of the Serious Eats team. Not only do we review kitchen equipment professionally, but we cook every day—developing some of the most rigorously tested, best recipes around.
  

Picture this: the table is set, wine in every glass, and a delicate filet mignon has been placed beautifully at the center of each plate. Next to each setting, however, is a mishmash of paring knives from the utensil drawer. Or even worse: butter knives that just don’t cut it (literally). If you’re willing to invest in high-quality cuts of beef, then it’s probably time to get a great set of steak knives to elevate the experience, like our favorite ones from Messemeister. 

To buy: Messermeister Avanta Steak Knife Set was $70, now $50 at amazon.com.

Why They Won Our Review

When we tested steak knives, the Messemeister Avanta set was the sharpest of the bunch, outperforming knives that cost five times as much. They cleanly cut through paper from top to bottom before and after our testing, and they sliced through steak with ease. Aside from their outstanding performance, they’re also well-built with a full-tang construction giving them a solid weight and beautiful, durable pakkawood handles (which are resin-enforced, adding to water resistance). In our original tests, we were blown away by how affordable these steak knives were; now that they’re on sale for $20 off, it’s an even better deal.

Good to Know

• Handle material: Pakkawood
• Blade material: Stainless steel
• Blade type: Straight
• Blade length: 5 inches
• Number of knives included in set: 4
• Dishwasher-safe: No

FAQs

What is the best steak knife?

Our favorite steak knives are the Messemeister Avanta four-piece set. They’re incredibly sharp, handsome to look at, and comfortable to hold. They’re also durable with a water-resistant wood handle and a full-tang construction that adds strength and heft to the blade.

What’s better, straight-edged or serrated steak knives?

During our tests, straight-edged blades fared much better than serrated or micro-serrated blades—as long as they were sharp. Sharp straight-edge blades gracefully sliced right through each steak while serrated blades tore and ripped through the muscle fibers. Duller straight-edged blades, however, struggled to make incisions without extra elbow grease.