George Howell from Terroir is pushing the Bonavita brewer in an email today. 8 cup w thermal carafe. Didnt know that one.
alan
By the way, Alan…I was looking at a Youtube “blind” tasting this week of Brazen vs. Technivorm…a draw…and this issue came up. Apparently, the 5 oz. is a traditions “European” cup; the larger the American cup…they explained that in comparing the tank sizes which had different capacities printed on them: 8 vs. 10, but were more or less the same capacity.
The Brazen seems to have addressed and incorporated solutions to may issues with other coffee makers we’ve discussed: timer, adjustable temp (acc. to sea level), the ability to automatically let the grinds “bloom” as part of the brewing (which is a pain to do manually)…that’s what excites me about it…all those options done by the machine itself…like James Bond’s cars. Golllllld-fil—ter…the machine with the midas touch…
Alan, that is what we have - the only other SCAA aproved drip brewer on the market after the Technivorm, but half the cost. My brother is as much a coffee geek as I am a wine geek and he prefers the Bonavita over the Technivorm. I just followed his advice and have not been disappointed.
And grind your beans 8 or more hours before brewing? Gasp.
Gasp, people can sleep that long these days? I would be lucky to even get 4 hours of sleep these days.
Geekish perhaps, but like Tim, I grind right before brewing. The deterioration in flavor of beans ground hours before brewing is quite discernible. Works just fine in a pinch of course, but not as a morning ritual.
I also grind right before brewing. Only takes a minute or two to get the coffee started in the morning.
-Al
I agree on the “deterioration” issue…
We have a cabin in Maine; one of the bedrooms is next to the kitchen, so, when we have guests (or our kids are there), grinding beans early in the am can be an unwelcome wakeup call. So, we bought an airtight cannister to grind beans the night before and store them (our Newco there doesn’t have a timer). There is clearly a difference in the quality of the coffee that results.
On a related subject, has anyone practiced allowing the dripping to stop to allow the grinds to “bloom”? (One of the reasons the Brazen is so impressive to me is that it can be variably programmed to do this and re-start the dripping.) I do this when I can, though doing it manually can create a dripping mess. I think it really adds to the result, a la aeration of wines, but am not sure. There’s little downside and all the real coffee “geeks” (I’m not, really) say it really helps.
I do this all the time when I’m brewing. It is a PITA with the Technivorm. I usually have to hover over it in the kitchen until the cone is full and sometimes I keep the lid off so I worry about water temp during extraction. It’s most unwelcome when I am trying to get ready for work in the AM and don’t really want to have to stand in the kitchen to watch the coffee brew. Sometimes I get distracted and come back to a mess. However I prefer the results, so it’s worth it.
Thanks, Brent…exactly why that Brazen sounds so great…Also, my wife, who makes the coffee at least half of the time, refuses to bother with the blooming issue…I suppose I could convince her…but, as I said, I’m not totally convinced myself.
Yep, but generally with a Chemex or Hario pour over. I do it more sparingly with the Technivorm because
It is a PITA with the Technivorm.
Yep!
My Capresso is on its last legs and I am going to order the Brazen. One question . . . my Capresso has a conical burr grinder built in so I just load whole beans, set the timer and wake up to freshly ground brewed coffee. I understand that these machines like the Technivorm and Brazen are a huge step up in terms of quality of the coffee made, and I’m excited about that, but what do you do about grinding the beans, especially considering the Brazen seems to have a longer than usual brewing cycle? Do it the night before?
Sherri…
Not sure what your question is…I think we are unanimous that beans, when ground, go down hill…as it is the gasses they release when water hits them that makes coffee what it is. Unless you can keep the old grinder and have someone transfer them to your Brazen, I’d guess that it would be worth the extra effort on your part to grind them fresh in the am. But, as you point out, the Brazen’s brewing cycle is pretty long vis a vis the others…so…you might have to have extra special patience while you’re devouring your Star-Ledger.
Don’t forget to calibrate the feet above sea level for SH…it’s probably not the same as Newark or South Orange…higher? ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
Please report back on your experiences with Brazen…so we can at least have the vicarious experience.
Yes, Stuart, I was basically asking how important it is to grind the beans immediately before brewing . . . in our house, my husband gets up very, very early to catch a crack of dawn train to the city and therefore the timer on our current capresso (that grinds and brews in one machine) is super convenient and a real time saver. He definitely isn’t going to be willing to get up extra early to grind beans and get the brew cycle started before his shower LOL. I’m sure he wishes it was a matter of leisurely perusing the paper while he waits (WSJ in his case, not the Ledger), but I think he has his race to the train timed to the second and there isn’t much cushion for making coffee! (And I’m unwilling to get up 2 hours before I need to wake the kids!)
Tradeoffs galore here, Sherri. Sounds like grinding the beans the night before…and using the Brazen’s timer would work best for you. I guess keeping the Capresso to grind beans by a pre-set time and having your husband then dump them into the hopper before his shower…wouldn’t be any more appealing? It does sound like a convoluted solution…unless the coffee’s only for you?
Luckily, my wife beats me to the kitchen most days, grinds the beans and puts the water in the Technivorm…except on weekends, when I do have time to read the paper while it brews (not the WSJ; I don’t like it).
Looking forward to hearing about the Brazen, anyway.
The wi-fi version of the Behmor Brazen, called the Behmor Connected, is on sale at woot for $170.00. Appears to be the same machine but controlled from the app. Just wondering what current users think of their Behmor.
the control freaks coffe msker. I like my non-wifi version. The machine is very sensitive to dissolved solids and clogs easily without filtered water. I use the recommended Zero water filter that reduces our 200 ppm water down to zero.
My first machine clogged within 6 months and Bemor replaced it. I had been using a Brita filter. Most filters don’t remove particulate matter, so you need to use a Zero water or equivalent. Once it’s clogged you can’t fix it. If it clogs again I’ll probably buy something else.
I was mad when it first clogged and then it “forced” me to test the water. 200 ppm seems unacceptable.
Interesting and good to know. I’m in the market for something and this piqued my curiosity. May give it a whirl.
Melitta, after all these years~