George Evans—November 20, 2025
There is a reason that many home baristas and coffee magazines and coffee “influencers” consider this the best batch brewer on the planet. There is a reason I own 2 for home and one for the office and have for almost 10 years. It is the best batch brewer on the planet. From the bloom feature to the large shower head and flat bottom basket (my preference) to the thermal carafe, it makes better coffee and is less fiddly than a lot of the brewers out there…for a remarkable price. Don’t be frightened off by reliability rumors…my guess, most people having difficulties simply do not clean their coffee makers on a regular basis. Particularly if you have hard water, scaling buildup can cause thermal and brew issues. Just keep it clean and it will last you a decade or longer. And reward you with better coffee than you can get pretty much anywhere…from anyone. I suggest you spend a little time learning how to make coffee…from the grind to your water to water temperature to the proper coffee/water ratio for the coffee you are preparing…but that effort will be rewarded here with the best coffee you have (or will) ever have. Read more
E. Connell—March 8, 2017
I will hopefully educate some of you into a good coffee maker, through my research and trials. I am just your average consumer looking for the best cup of coffee I can find, without having to go to a specialty store such as Starbucks. I usually don’t write to many reviews but this coffee maker tops them all. I have purchased and have used many coffee makers over time, but I think I found the one. I have used and owned various coffee makers. Here is the list of what I have personally used and tested. I use filtered water through a Pur Led 11 Cup Pitcher and a Capresso 560.04 Inifinity Conical Burr Grinder. With that out of the way, we are off to look at each coffee maker. Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 741 Let’s start out with most expensive coffee maker I have purchased to date. While this is the most sturdy and well-built coffee make I have ever used, and will no doubt last the test of time, it lacked a few options I would like to see. Such as a pre soak feature to allow the fresh coffee grounds to bloom prior to finishing the brewing cycle. I found myself standing by the brewer, with the brew basket shut off, letting it fill with a cup or so of hot water then stirring the grounds to make sure they were all saturated. The shower arm has many holes, but water did not come out each hole consistently. Noticeably coming out just the end of the shower head. I would find myself moving around the basket way too much to get all the grounds wet. This will end up on Ebay. BUNN NHS Velocity Brew BUNN GRB Velocity Brew I loved these brewers! The rich full taste is hard to beat. The con’s on these two is I didn’t have the thermal carafe and the coffee started to lose its flavor quickly. I kept the GRB model for a backup coffee maker, just in case the Bonavita has any issues Keurig B60 Special Edition They got me on the convenience aspect, but the cost of the pods was killing stroke for me. Yes I did have the pods I could load with my own coffee, but they were too messy and time consuming. And I usually drink more than one cup. It was great for making hot chocolate for the kid, but in the end, it made its way to my closet. Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central This coffee maker made excellent coffee minus the richness I was missing from the Bunn coffee makers. I sacrificed flavor and richness for a timered unit. But it did the job, if you’re looking to pre make your coffee the night before. But what I was looking for was overall taste. It is next to the Bunn And Keurig in the closet. I will most likely sell this one eBay as well. Now while this list is an expensive list. And cost doesn’t always equal a good cup. Coming from a farming family I have grown accustomed to the flavor of the Bunn coffee makers and let’s be honest they do make a delicious cup of coffee. The coffee makers are quick and stay within the time frame for the Specialty Coffee Association of America brewing times, but not the water temperature constancy during the brew cycle. Needless say I still love the cup of coffee these makers put out. The Bonavita makes a much better cup of coffee than the Bunn or Technivorm. And for the cost you can’t go wrong. Sure the price in between the costs of the two, but it’s a lot cheaper than the Technivorm. I wish I would have had a review to read that was just made by a plain consumer like myself. So hopefully this helps someone with their decisions. Good luck! Read more
A. Taylor—February 17, 2016
I asked for this for my Christmas present from my husband and I got it. Pre infusion, yes! Hot water, yes, up to 195 degrees! But I was very disappointed, in myself, for not checking details better. It doesn't have a timer to set the night before. Somehow in choosing between products and functions I missed the absence of a timer so I could have hot coffee when I get up! Thermal carafe is there, as I wished, but it holds more then the 8 cups brewed. So when the coffee is finished the carafe isn't full. I think this effects the coffee from staying as hot as it should. Somehow it seems that when they made this model they didn't take the time to design a carafe that fits. I'm also bothered by the need to change out the brewing basket to put on the carafe lid. My old Starbucks model had a button in the carafe lid for the coffee to go through, direct from hot coffee to carafe. Maybe I'm just not a coffee snob, and don't enjoy the details of making a fine cup of coffee, but while this does what it says, its not a great model for a busy working woman. I could have returned it, but hubby destroyed the box Christmas morning, doing the wrapping paper clean up, so I couldn't ship it back. I decided to just get used to it and I will continue to use this, but it still bothers me every time. Yes, it does what it says, pre infuses and gets hot water up to 195 degrees, (I checked it with my instant meat thermometer). So, I fill it the night before, like I would if it had a timer, but I have to wait 7-8 min before its ready to drink in the morning. Come on, for the price I paid for this it should be more convenient; the carafe should be designed to fit the amount of coffee brewed, and I shouldn't have to change out the brew basket for the lid. Oh and don't pour the coffee directly from the carafe before putting on the lid, it will not pour in a nice flow, it will spill on the counter, unless the cup has a nice wide mouth and you pour fast. So I give this a 3 because it does what it says, but the picture doesn't show the carafe lid sitting around or the brew basked looking for a place to be. In my house the brew basked sits up on top of the water resevoir for the rest of the day. Sigh... Feb 26, I've had this Bonavita since Christmas, I'm adding now a deeper disappointment, it stops brewing at 0.8 Liter and I have to depress the start button again, then at about 0.3 it stops again and I have to press the start button again. 3 starts to get a pot of coffee! I need to change my star rating to a two star or possibly a one star. I've unplugged it in an attempt to "reset" it and that doesn't help. Any ideas? Read more
