Several years ago, I was attending an SCAA event. Nancy Bloostein, of Oren’s Daily Roast nudged me and suggested I take a look at some new Melitta coffee makers. I ran (literally) over to see what appeared to be Technivorm knock-offs. They were labeled Melitta, but I was then told that they would appear on the marketplace soon under a new name, Bonavita. According to what I was told, Melitta licenses their nameplate to Hamilton Beach in the US. Therefore, although these were Melitta conceived and designed, no mention of Melitta would appear in the US market brewers.
Fast forward to 2014, Bonavita is now a treasured brand. What seems a simple proposition to make an excellent brewer priced to the average consumer, has long eluded most appliance brands. Even though it seems simple, apparently it is not. You need a smart design, one that gets the water almost-instantly hot, a spray heat that evenly disperses that hot water over the grounds, achieving even distribution, and gets the grounds thoroughly soaked, and gets all this done, start-to-finish, within 6 minutes.
So revolutionary was the Bonavita concept that it currently is the leading automatic drip coffeemaker. Bunn, Technivorm, Bodum, KitchenAid and Behmor all have fairly comparable brewers that compete, but somehow the Bonavita just seems to have an edge, when it comes to hitting the consumer sweet spot of price, performance, quality and ease. Remember if it isn’t easy, it isn’t automatic, is it?
So far, I’ve compared the Bonavita only to other automatic drip brewers. But as Third Wave Coffee has emerged, the bar has been lifted, as more consumers who use a Chemex, Hario or other manual brewer for their weekend or other special brews, want an automatic drip brewer to reach higher to match these inherently customized devices.
One interesting change: Bonavita has moved from the Melitta V-filter to the US-cupcake filter. Does this mean that Melitta no longer designs this brewer? Inquiring minds ponder this. Although I have found differences such as filter types to generally be outweighed by other factors, I philosophically agree with the reasoning that the cupcake filter spreads the grounds extraction task more evenly at the bottom, so I consider it a good (if shocking) move. I also applaud their resistance of the metal filter, which I consider overall inferior to paper in its ability to separate flavor compounds from grounds.
There are two things the Bonavita did not do as compared to manual drip. One is vary the brewing temperature. The other is match the intermittent pour that we use when we brew manually, which is especially important near the brew’s beginning when using fresh roasted coffee.
The new Bonavita offers only one brewing temperature, but they have gone out of their way to include a pre-infusion stage, which sprinkles ideally hot water over the grounds, then shuts down in order to allow a freshly-roasted, freshly-ground coffee to rise and fall appropriately, before continuously running hot water over the grounds.
So, how does it perform?
The new Bonavita handily meets every specification of an automatic drip coffeemaker, as did its predecessor. The brewing temperature is within the 196-205°F range. The brewing cycle (without pre infusion) is under 6 minutes. Pre-infusion adds around 30 seconds, as it should.
The ability to match intermittent brewing with your (or your barista’s) best efforts keeping pace with the water’s drip rate during brewing is not able to track as well as manual brewing, in my opinion the goal. Nor is it with the Behmor Brazen or any other yet-invented automatic brewer. What I can say, is I never had an overflow, no matter how fresh the grounds. I inserted a Chemex underneath the Bonavita, which is to be fair, not anything they suggest or offer to accommodate. The brew drip rate was simply too fast, even in the pre-infusion setting. But, this is more about how fast consumer expectations are rising, than any shortcoming on this brewer’s part.
What’s left? Well, the Behmor Brazen offers adjustable brewing temperatures and adjustable pre-infusion time settings. Will this matter to you? I cannot answer that, but I can say the Bonavita does a very, acceptable job with several coffees I’ve been using since it arrived one month ago.
Temple Roasters Panama Don Pepe Boquete Geisha is a light roasted delicate coffee that showed its full colors when brewed in the Bonavita. I was able to closely match what I could achieve in a Chemex.
Kean Coffee’s Nicaragua La Prometido is roasted slightly darker, or is it just the Diedrich roasting imprint? Not sure, but this stellar varietal comes through with its notes intact. This kind of roast is not for the timid (roaster that is). To catch it just before it starts to go caramel on us, is really a test of roasting skill. I was able to taste the full resolution of the coffee with the Bonavita.
Conclusion: The Bonavita took a good idea and made it better. There is not one thing I noted where I said, “Oh, I wish they hadn’t changed that”. Bravo!
is the filter a standard enough size that a metal filter can be used? (old habits die hard….)
Hi Bob,
Yes, you could use a metal flat-bottom filter. It is a standard size.
Warmly,
Kevin
Happy Thanksgiving, I appreciate your website and always learn something new!!
Tim
Nice review. If it is Coffee Kevin approved Anita says it’s ok to buy. 🙂
Thank you, Tim. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
I am always learning myself. Thanks for the feedback!
And of course I would run across a new updated review on the Bonavita; just after choosing & ordering a Technivorm! Haha ^_^
Great site. will likely get Coffee Brewing Secrets dvd as a Christmas gift for my self.
Cheers, Ethan
I appreciate your good humor, Ethan. But, seriously, I don’t think you erred. The Technivorm is the best made brewer in the world, according to me. Enjoy it. BTW, no less an expert than George Howell instructs his personal method of using the Technivorm.
Warmly,
Kevin
This looks like a great recommendation Kevin. And mama likes the look for the counter.
I think you’ll be happy, Don. Let me know how it works out.
Warmly,
Kevin
Bonavita Automatic Drip Coffee Brewer 2014 Version (BV1900TS)can I special order one for 220 volts?
If using a step up transfer from 110 volts to 220 does the voltage affect the brewing time and taste since going from 110 volts 60 cps to 220 volts 50 cps? I really don’t think so?thanks,
sapparot
Hello, Sapparot,
I’m not really sure whether or not they make one in your electrical voltage. But, if they do, I would expect it to meet the same specs.
Warmly,
Kevin
Thanks
Thanks for the review Kevin. Now I just need to figure out how I can justify replacing my excellent and still perfectly functional BV1800TH!
Despite the Behmor Brazen’s better spec sheet, I’ve been reading quite a few reviews with some quality control issues. Any thoughts? I think Bonavita deserves the top spot.
Hi Alex,
If your current brewer is functioning well, more power to you. It’s still a fine machine. The Behmor is perhaps slightly “tweakier”. To be fair, it’s got a lot more flexibility, and for its fanbase, it’s worth it. I have not noticed specific quality control issues though, just the risk of more features means more potential failures. Inventor Joe Behm also keeps refining and improving it, as does the Bonavita’s.
A brand new roaster just opened close to my work, and the coffee has been outstanding! So, my husband and I have been looking to replace our age-old Mr. Coffee with something a little newer where we could get the maximum benefit of freshly roasted beans. I had been on the fence between the Bonavita 1800 and 1900. I have now placed my order online and we are eagerly awaiting our new machine. Thanks for taking the time to post your review. It helped tremendously! Cheers!
My pleasure, Lauren. Enjoy your new brewer and stay in touch!
Warmly,
Kevin
…obviously when one who is a late weekend sleeper arises at 7, it is because they are obsessing…
In this case I even dreamed about coffee makers, what to choose…
the Thermal Carafe Bunn or Bonavita’s 1900???
Help, please and thanks
Hi Judy,
Those sound like nice dreams. In this case, either brewer is a good one. Both meet industry brewing standards. Both feature flat-bottom filters. Both have thermal carafes. The Bonavita is able to start brewing right away. The Bunn Phase Brew works by heating all the water to ideal brewing temperature, but this adds several minutes to the time it takes to brew the same volume of coffee. The Bonavita also features a pre-infusion feature that dribbles a small amount of water, enough to cause a rise and settling of ultra fresh coffee, and then brews a full pot. If you use freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee, it’s a valuable feature. I think both their fast-start brewing and pre-infusion features give the edge to Bonavita. However, the Phase Brew can currently be had for around 100 dollars, making it the bargain of high-performance brewers.
Warmly,
Kevin
Hi Kevin
Thanks to your website and others I am learning so much
About drip coffee makers.
When my Krupa went I hurried to replace with the new savoy ec113050 model I am retinitis g it asap the poor quality and plastic
Taste was not worth the price $39,00
That is when I giggled for coffee makers with no plastic
Taste and discovered a whole wonderful world of coffee
I decided on bonavita 5 cup. I am wondering about the
Cone filter vs cupcake filter
I am also learning a lot from coffee companion
Thank you
I
Hi Tina,
Thank you for the appreciative words. I haven’t yet tested this coffee maker, but I really have not had any but positive experiences with Bonavita products to date. As far as cone versus cupcake, I must say I overall prefer the cupcake filter on philosophic principles. If nothing else, it spreads out the waiting liquid over a larger area. That said, there are brewers I’ve tested that make good coffee utilizing the cone filter and others that don’t utilizing cupcake filters, so it’s not a deal maker or breaker. Let us know how you like that five cup.
Warmly,
Kevin
Dear Kevin:
Thank you so much for your response. Also for putting up
With my type o’s which I only have an I phone and it seems
To have a mind of it’s own
I am looking forward to my 5 cup but I also would like to
Explore bunn phase brew if it no longer is available
What other bunn would be good
Thank you so much
Tina
Hi Tina,
No problem with the typos. If they get too bad, we’ll fix ’em here. Bunn is kind of a sleeping giant. They practically own cafe machine brewing due to their national network. As I’ve written over the years, their machines are often very good and they have always danced to their own tune. They err on underextraction, a good thing in my opinion. That three-minute brewing time is just awesome. I have and tested The Phase Brew. It was an excellent machine, but it took forever to heat up, because Bunn was trying to try from-cold-water-brewing instead of their longstanding tradition of always-gently-heated water. Looks like they’ve returned to that design. The Bunn Velocity gives you your coffee in 3-4 minutes. You want to make a full batch. They perform less well (as do most automatic drip brewers) when trying to brew half-batch sizes. Note: Bunn is one of the few manufacturers that makes a special high-altitude version if you live above a certain altitude.