I was looking for a used Bunn commercial machine, but many of them have to be tapped into the water lines. And I don't have the counter room for one. I also looked at the Ninjas, but their brewing temps are lower than the ideal (they are at 175° - 185°.) So many daggone choices. I like the Bunns (and some of the Ninjas) because they have the water chamber off to the side, or they go back to the old was of having the coffee filter basket outside of the water chamber (the water chamber up top, the basket in the middle,and the pot underneath) rather than the style that puts the basket under the lid where the water chamber is and perk the water up and over the grounds. If you spill grounds or if something bad happens, you get grounds down in the water chamber, and then the water inlet (back-check valve) gets clogged. The things becomes useless. It's a bad design. The next thing I'm playing with is making "the perfect coffee water." Apparently there is an ideal mineral content and ph level for coffee brewing water. You can buy pre-measured packets of the elements, or just make your own: You start with a gallon of distilled water, because it's a clean slate. To that you add: .94 grams of Epsom salt .64 grams of Baking Soda .55 grams calcium chloride (used in canning) The website (Tinker Coffee) says that the calcium chloride might be difficult to dissolve in a small batch consumer (non-restaurant) environment, and offers this alternate formula for that gallon of distilled water: .75 grams of Epsom salt .26 grams of Baking Soda I have the calcium cholride on order (don't know why this basic canning supply is not in stock around here.) We'll see if this special water makes a difference. It all reminds me of being on pizza making forums. At some point, all the joy gets wrung out of it and you just gotta stop reading.
I had a Cusinart that I really liked I had the opposite experience with. It also brewed into a carafe that I would take with me out onto my deck in the morning. The whole pot stayed hot. But I'm steering away from the thermal carafe models because others have had your experience...and there';s been some goofy manufacturer responses to that concern. At the time, I did not realize how very hard my water was in my then-new place, and the thing got trashed (the water also brought back my kidney stones, but that's another story.) I took it apart and found the thermal fuse had blown, but could not find a replacement. No one on the web had it, my local Radio Shack did not have it, and Cusinart Customer Service told me it was not "user serviceable." I ended up throwing the thing out. Made me angry.
I have owned several Bunn coffeemakers over the years and was "this close" to buying one about this time last year, but I talked myself out of it. We have been Keurig users since 2007 or so and that seems to suit us. If we have a power outage I dig out my vintage pyrex stovetop glass percolator or I use my Chemex pot (from the 70's). It's basically a laboratory flask that uses paper filters, and makes really good "pour over" coffee. I'm not very choosy about coffee as long as it is strong enough. I just can't stand weak coffee. Now this discussion will have me looking at that Bunn I was wanting last year. I'm pretty sure my husband will continue to use the Keurig and there's no point in wasting kitchen real estate on another machine. Ack.
So which Bunn are you looking at? I drink way too much coffee to consider a Keurig. Did you have an "always ready" model that kept water hot all the time? Did you like it? I recall the Chemex pots. Probably got rid of mine around the same time I finally threw away my Uncandles
This is the one I was considering. (And it's on sale...gah.) I have had a few Bunn machines; all of them had the heated tank for rapid brewing. I never had any complaint with the Bunn, though newer models don't seem as sturdy as the old ones were. (A lot more plastic-y or something.) I was just watching this video and now I'm looking at a Bonavita machine. (Also on sale.) Oh, and that Breville looks great but I'm not spending that much $$$. That woman has several good coffeemaker reviews on Youtube.
@Beth Gallagher Yeh, I looked at that Breville after reading some review sites, but I'm already hesitating to spend $100. 4x-5x that (or more) ain't gonna happen. But as the lady said: "Temperature, temperature, temperature." Ken was mentioning Ninja, but even at those prices (some are $180) the ones on Amazon are 10° below the minimum 195° mark. I see that Bunn you are looking at has the stainless steel water reservoir, so while there are complaints of a plastic smell, there are no complaints of a plastic taste. In reading some of the Bonavita reviews, I see some folks have the same carafe complaint I saw on another high-end machine: it's so tough to get any volume to pour, you have to take off the lid every time you get a cup, thus defeating the functionality. But it does the pre-infusion that the Bunn does not. Decisions decisions.
I feel the same way. I hate to lose the warming plate, but when I make a 6 cup pot, I'm resetting the plate on my Mr Coffee when it times out at 2 hours because I've not finished drinking it all. So that Bonavita's smaller pot would be no big deal...I'd just brew a second batch. But reviewers complain that the carafe is not very good. And I would be doubling the number of times I brew a pot.
Coffee snobs would probably clutch their pearls, but I used to make a pot of coffee and just turn off the warming plate. Later I'd pour a cup and microwave. Tasted fine to me... not boiled to sludge on the hotplate.
I would imagine those same snobs also crapping their pants at having a cup that's sat in a hot pot for an hour. As I read about the glass carafe Bonavita, reviewers say the carafe is fragile. That's a no-go for me, since I have a stone under-mount sink that has taken its toll on anything that's remotely fragile.
Okay, I just ordered the Bonavita you liked to earlier. The price-point is saner than the Bunn I was looking at. And I was on the verge of throwing away yet another Mr. Coffee because the grounds got into the water reservoir, plugging it up. The Bunns and Bonavitas have the filter basket and water canisters set apart from each other. I hope this lasts.
I've never owned a Bonavita so I'll be curious about what you think. I'm thinking I'm going to go with this Bunn; it is made in the USA and has a 3 year warranty. It's available from Walmart.com for $102. Says it can brew a 20 oz travel mug or 10 cups. I'll probably enjoy the travel mug setting.
I see that Bonavita has 1100 watts versus the Bunn's 900, so I imagine that will make the water temperature more precise. I'm annoyed that the ridiculous Bunn website doesn't have a "compare models" feature. Still trying to decide if I want a glass or stainless carafe. It's nice to glance at the glass and see how much is left in there.
This Bunn I was initially looking at is 1,300 watts. It does not have the "always ready" feature...you gotta wait for the water to heat every time. But I understand that the Total Brew Time is no longer than a regular coffee maker, it's just that the sequence of events is shifted (in other words, it releases the water after it's all heated, rather than streaming-bits-as-heated.) This one does not have the stainless steel tank.
I also understand that the above Bunn does not have a "poach" feature. But the brew time once the hot water is released is very fast, so you would gain very little by grabbing a cup.