I originally reviewed this brewer’s predecessor in The Coffee Companion many years back. When I received its newest revision of the basic design, I was eager to see if my previous knock against it had been addressed. It has and read on to discover a coffee industry favorite.
When traveling to shoot interviews with eight coffee notables last year, I found a Technivorm (pronounced: Teck-knee-form) in almost every location. Many top coffee honchos have a Technivorm as their primary auto-drip machine. As Ian Bersten said to me, it’s an example of good engineering carried through manufacturing without compromise. Good design, good parts. It all seems so easy it’s hard to understand why most big coffee companies haven’t simply reverse engineered the Technivorm into their standard design.
In fairness, the Technivorm is not the only way to make a good auto drip machine. It is also not the only one made. One company, Presto, all but did build a “cheaper” Technivorm and it came and went in a flash. Apparently, the coffee literati overlooked the Presto, possibly as too good to be true. To be fair it did some things with less aplomb, but others with more, but consumers, even so-called leading edge ones, missed it.
So, we’re back looking at the Technivorm 741. What does it do that’s so spectacular? Well, it quickly heats the water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and sends it through the grounds in less than six minutes, achieving the main technical specs of the Specialty Coffee Association for drip brewing. It does this using a good thermal heating block. Its water tubing is wide and unforgiving. I’ve owned its earlier version since the late 1980s and it’s never “limed up”, even though I use hard water and rarely clean it.
If the Technivorm has a weakness, it is its ability to shower your precious grounds with its perfectly heated water. The earlier version had a single hole the water dripped from, and I noted this in my first review. Technivorm responded by drilling several smaller holes over a still-limited space, but, frankly, it only improves its spread slightly. I still find myself removing the loose-fitting cover and stirring the grounds during brewing in order to ensure all the grounds participation.
Improved multiple sprayhead or not, you still should stir during brewing.
Improved multiple sprayhead or not, you still may benefit from starting the brewer for a full minute, shutting it off for another minute, allowing the grounds to rise and settle. This extra step can make a significant difference in the ability of the Technivorm to fully saturate and extract from your entire grounds bed during brewing.
The first version made 8 4.5 ounce cups — that’s 36 ounces. The current version makes 10 4.5 ounce cups — 45 ounces. Generally, this new amount is about perfect for three or four friends to enjoy a couple of American style coffee cups together. When it’s just two of us, I prefer to use the smaller, earlier version. They brew identical cups. I timed the brewers and the new one is slightly faster, just enough to make 8 cups as fast as the older one made 6 cups. That’s exactly as it should be.
Technivorm added a new feature to the larger model, which indicates an ability to make a 1/2 batch, by partially closing the exit valve at the filter basket’s bottom, slowing the coffee’s release. After playing around with this feature for the past few years, I find it does a credible job allowing you to truly make a 1/2 batch that tastes identical to a full batch. In my tests, you can make a comparable 1/2 batch filling up the the 6-cup water line and using 36 grams ground coffee.
Drip coffee makers are always optimized to make a full batch. With some (Bunn comes to mind) half batches are all but impossible. Most consumers see owning a second machine for smaller batches as a luxury, but if you, like me, often make coffee for just two people, I generally recommend a second machine. Technivorm’s offering a half-batch feature that really works is a significant advantage.
Filling from the bottom up this funnel top makes sure everyone gets an equally full-flavored cup
The Technivorm has a slightly eccentric habit of having a small amount of water remaining after brewing. I’ve never noticed a problem nor any negative side effect, and if it bothers you, simply wait a few minutes for the brewer to cool down and turn if upside down over the sink or a glass and the water will spill out. It’s about a tablespoon’s worth. I used to do just that, but more often I just forget about it.
There’s a demonstration of the Technivorm done by TerroirCoffee.com’s George Howell on my Coffee Brewing Secrets DVD. George wets the filter before brewing, as a preventative of any filter taste getting in the way of the coffee taste and as what another friend called good laboratory practice. I met Gerard-Clement Smit, the Technivorm’s designer, who seemed perplexed that anyone would do this. I’ve tried it both ways and haven’t detected any taste difference, and it’s nothing about the Technivorm. If you accept the need to do it, it should be done with any paper filter coffee brewer. This brings us to paper filters. George Howell further mentions, and I agree with this, that paper filters offer arguably the best way to make coffee with the viscosity of wine, with all the important oils, but none of the particulate. If you want to use a mesh filter with this brewer, I’ve seen them from SwissGold and other manufacturers, but I personally find the balance and mouthfeel just right with the paper filter. Don Schoenholt used a metal filter with his Capresso drip brewer and he prefers the slight amount of sediment, which admittedly, is a small amount. If you like French press-style gobs of sediment, you’re not going to get it using autodrip with any filter I’ve tried. Plus, the press brewing temperature and brewing stillness is going to deliver a different tasting cup with or without sediment.
The absolute middle brewing temperature of 200 degrees, the 6 minute contact time and paper filter work to give you an auto-drip coffee brewer that works well over a wide range of coffees. The brew temps are high enough to deliver acidity with lighter roasts, but just about any coffee I tried came out fine. I might prefer a slightly lower temperature for Peet’s aged Sumatra, but Allegro Coffee’s Sumatra Mandheling (ask for the Mandheling, different from the Organic Fair Trade) was excellent.
I used up to 72 grams of medium-fine grind coffee to make a full batch, the rough equivalent of the 65 grams I used in the older/smaller Technivorm. Recently, after a lot of tests with an assortment of friends drinking the Technivorm coffee, I’ve found I can back off to around 60 grams for a full batch, which is my recommended start point.
Conclusion — If you’re looking for a long-lived simple automatic drip coffee brewer that makes 10 4.5 (just shy of 8 regular/6-ounce cups) of coffee, the Technivorm should be at the top of your list. It retails for nearly $300, and its only potential caveat is you might need to stir the grounds to ensure the best extraction.
Thanks for all your work and insight. Have you ever reviewed the coffee maker from “Newco”? We have enjoyed this one quite a lot. The coffee is very hot and according to our picky friends, extremely good. Sadly due to the credit crisis it will be almost impossible to get now. I hope that changes. Thanks again for your site and videos. Best,BER
I’ve never tested it. Newco is a good company but the machine is not widely available to consumers, although it takes very little effort to contact a commercial food service firm to purchase one. Good to know of it. I will ask them next time I run into them if they’re interested in a review. Thanks for posting.
Hi Kevin
I am in the market for a Technivorm and would like any advice on which model would be best.The KBG741 or the KB741
Thanks Tim
Hi Tim. The KBG741 is has the warming plate under the glass carafe. The KBT741 brews directly into a thermos. Both brew 1.25 liters, which matches approximates the 50 oz results of its main competitors. They are both fine and virtually identical brewers. However, the warming plate version has a tube that helps mix the brew which circumvents the usual effect of brew at the beginning and bottom being stronger and the above/later brew being weaker. I believe they’ve now found a way to put this feature in both versions, but I don’t notice a solid reference to it on their website. I prefer the hot plate versions because I don’t keep coffee longer than around 40 minutes and I prefer glass over thermoses. There’s also a KBTS741. That model brews 1 liter of coffee into a thermos. Hope this helps.
Hi Kevin,
There’s two models of the glass craft, could you tell me which one you think is better?
I love the website.
Thanks,
Tim Hanley
Hi Tim,
I’m not sure of the difference. Can you help me? What exactly do you mean? Thanks.
One model has the shut off on the filter basket, but the other model automatically stops the flow when you remove the glass craft.
Thanks,
Tim
Ah, I see. Well I prefer the one with the shut off, because if we’re speaking of the same one, it allows you to slow the flow and extend the contact time to make a half-batch. However, the other one has just entered testing and, so far, it does a wonderful job getting all the grounds wet. If you’re going to make the same 1.25 liter batch time after time, it would be my choice of the two.
Hi! We’re trying to decide between the KB-741 which has the shut off / half batch feature on the filter basket, and the KBG-741 which has the auto stop when the carafe is removed (with the caveat that you can place the basket after the brew starts for a better timed half batch – but kind of a pain). For the easier half batch feature, you recommend the KB, but have hinted that the KBG seems to be doing a better job of wetting all the grounds.
If we want the best coffee with the least fuss, and the ability to brew half-batches regularly, which model would you go for?
Thanks for the 411. Your site is wonderful!
Hi Holly and thanks for the kind words. I’d go for the KB-741. I loaned mine out for a while and I really miss the half-batch feature. It’s just a wonderful way to enjoy that Technivorm quality and conserve when you just want a small batch. I know I said that later model, but it’s not worth fretting about. The KB-741 is a wonderful brewer.
Hi Kevin,
Have you reviewed the new 64 oz Technivorm
Thanks,
Tim Hanley
Hi Tim. Not yet, but it’s on the agenda. Exciting, though isn’t it? Technivorm doesn’t do a lot of new things, so it’s really news!
I hope that you will review the Technivorm Grand as soon as possible and make an observation on its ability to make 10 cups. Looks as though it has an improved spray head. Your observation on the basket vs the cone filter. Look forward to your thoughts. Tony Santa Fe NM
Just got the grand as bday gift. Not sure I like it.
Two things:
1. The nine hole spray head is gone. Back to a single hole. Seems like saturation will take a huge hit.
2. Flat filter basket vs cone.
Combine those two, small spray area, flat basket and that seems like a huge step backwards.
Thoughts?
(FYI the manuals and literature still show 9 holes, but customer service confirmed the are all moving to single holes)
Hi Aj,
The Technivorm’s strength is its unique (according to my tests) ability to get all the water to a ruler-flat 200 F, perfect for brewing a majority of the world’s coffees. I do not think the difference between one hole, the original, and nine very closely spaced holes makes much of a difference. I have had many stellar batches of coffee brewed in Technivorms of both filter styles. Some claim other brewers’ sprayheads are better at distributing the water over the grounds. I would agree this is so. The question that remains is if that is a) necessary or b) desirable. I notice baristas making Chemex pourovers who stay decidedly over the center of the coffee in order to maintain a certain flow. Apparently if the flow rate is correct, the water automatically spreads. I’ve confirmed this in my own tests. Without doing a post-brewing grounds analysis to see what extracts remain, I’m not sure we can answer this definitively.
Thanks Kevin.
I hear mixed reviews from my friends on the Technivormm. I’ve always been, mainly, an Aeropress or pour-over person. We have a Melitta for when the wife and I want coffee at the same time (does an ok job).
Thoughts on the flat/basket vs. the cone? The other Technivormm models are all cone. The grand for some reason is flat. Find that odd. Most higher end coffee machines seem to have cone (at least as far as I can tell).
Second, thoughts on thermal vs glass? They gave me the glass one, and I tend to avoid these due to the hot plate. I realize it is a different hot plate, but śtill is a hot plate nonetheless.
Thanks!
AJ
AJ, every coffeemaker in the world gives a different flavor profile. Even the same coffeemaker offers taste distinctions due to brewing different amounts. The Aeropress offers quite a range of user controllable variables. The question becomes whether an automatic brewer, even one as fine as the Technivorm, is able to match any of the Aeropress manual brewer profiles, rather than it either is decidedly superior. My thinking is likely not. The Technivorm’s virtues are rock steady temperature, and a quick brew cycle – just under 6 minutes in my tests. In its category it is just a wonderful machine. It lasts forever (mine have). It does not offer customization. The way I’ve commonly used and seen others use their Aeropress brewers is quite different from the Technivorm’s brewing M.O. The Aeropress makes the most of steeping, tends to be operated using low brew temps, and allows the user to intuitively customize such things as preinfusion times and agitation with its stirrer. If I were to invest in a Technivorm for larger batches I would use it on its own terms. It will produce an industry standard cup of coffee, but it will be a different cup than you likely brew with your Aeropress. If you’re looking to match the Aeropress with an automatic drip machine, I’d consider the Behmor Brazen, but to be totally candid, I still doubt you can modify either to completely match. BTW, that is also a flat filter machine. I’ve heard flat v. v filter adherents argue their side’s virtues for decades but neither has a lock on great results in my opinion. As far as glass versus thermal, I’m a glass guy. I don’t think thermoses do such a better job storing coffee, plus they develop odors quickly that I find difficult to remove. Again my opinion. Hope this helps.
Great feedback Kevin.
Definitely agree that the Aeropress allows for many different outcomes. My wife and I use it completely different.
I’m not looking to match it. I just want a really good, consistent cup of coffee. I think the Technivormm (and others) offer that. I just found it interesting that the company decided on two very different filters styles. How much does it make a difference? Hard to say unless I buy both. I do know that all the reviews and ratings are for the regular Technivormm, not the grand. And the SCA certification seems to be on the brand? not the individual maker, which again makes me think it’s the original and not the grand.
All and all I’m sure it makes a fine cup. But if I have the option (which I do), I want to pick the best one. I’m sure it is subjective, but all info helps.
Against thanks for the great feedback!
Hi AJ,
I have not tested the flat-filter Technivorm model in question. You’re right that the certification appears to be for the brand, not the brewer. Therefore I have to say I cannot know without trying it, no matter how much we might be inclined to speculate. What argues for it is Gerard Smit, Technivorm’s inventor/owner. I’d rate his certification as high as any third party.
An important question is how much do you brew? This is a large batch brewer. I would want a brewer that’s maximum (almost always the optimum) brew size is approximately what I want most times I use it. It minimizes waste and maximizes taste.
I think this is too big for us honestly. I don’t think the wife and I wouldn’t drink all this in an hour. I’d have two cups, she the same. And in the morning, I’m brewing and heading out for work. That seems to indicate this is a waste on us.
Combine that with the design differences between this and the standard machine, the lack of any info on the grand (reviews, ratings), think I’ll return it and look at the other version (or something else). If I’m going to own something this nice, why waste it on something with no info.
Thanks!
Kevin, thanks for all the help.
I returned and went with the KBT741.
Mainly for the size factor, but the manager did tell me they are discontinuing the Grand glass carafe (she didn’t know if they were going to get a new model). That helped solidify my decision.
Used it today. Great coffee.
Thanks!
My pleasure, AJ! Enjoy!!
I just reluctantly returned my “Wilfa Precision” to Williams-Sonoma as the paint was peeling near the drip spout. This made the best coffee EVER! I did not get a replacement as they are no longer available in the US…bummer. Went out and bought a KBG741 Technivorm, and it makes a very weak 1/2 pot of coffee..Although it is the best made machine I do not like the coffee it makes…Any way to “slow it down”, or any suggestions…Ratio Coffee Brewer?
Please reply…thanks!
Hi John,
Yes, simply grind finer. Even “automatic” drip machines depend upon grind fineness to control contact time.
Let me know if that solves the problem. The Technivorm machine should be able to brew nice, strong coffee.
Warmly,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
We’ve had the Technivowm 741 with stainless carafe for 5 years now, and loving it. I have always gone the extra mile of turning the brew basket and swiveling the pouring arm (be careful, very hot!) to evenly distribute the hot water over the grounds. That, or your method of stirring the grounds with a spoon is labor intensive, especially when you’re barely awake at 5:30AM 🙂 – but it is a labor of love that pays off in flavor!
I always thought that paper filters trapped the essential oils that make for that great cup of coffee. We’ve been using the SwissGold cone filter and I get complaints about the sediment. Are you saying that paper filters don’t rob the coffee of the oils, and therefore the best flavor?
Please advise, thanks!
C.G.
Hi Coffee G. Sorry for the delay. I need to reset my alerts.
Okay to your question. This question really comes down to preference. Obviously the paper hold back something or it wouldn’t taste different. BTW, I’m sipping a metal filtered cup right now as I write this! So, I’m not a dogmatist. I do not believe it holds back most of the oils and flavor. I do believe it holds back a bit, plus it definitely hold back sediment, including micro grounds called “fines” that are the powdered result of grinding. Generally I would like all the oils and none of the powder. Since it is likely impossible at this time in history, I err on slightly weaker coffee, although I use plenty of grounds. The distributor of Technivorm demonstrated to me that the Technivorm does pretty well without stirring. I think I really irritated her. During our sit down discussion and tests she was able to brew some fine coffee. I do think it’s a good idea to hit stop 30 seconds into the brew cycle for a minute, then start it up again. This way, ultra fresh coffee (the kind your and I drink) has a chance to rid itself of the overwhelming Co2 foaming up and settle before most of it is brewed.
One day I predict Technivorm will add a preinfusion stage. Meanwhile, we fans need to console ourselves on owning likely the best made coffee appliance in history, that brews a fine cup with a little tweaking!
Warm regards,
Kevin