If you want to minimize your investment while you learn to sweep and steep, the $17.99 OXO Single-Serve Pour-Over Coffee Maker is a perfectly priced place to start and the best budget buy. Once you feel more comfortable with a steady pour and accumulating accessories, the Chemex is an iconic investment for a reason. But if your favorite place to begin is the trailhead to the path of least resistance, the xBloom and Ratio Eight are expensive but effortlessly expressive, pleasingly painless pour-over machines that do the work automatically for you.