Gear Reviews

Kevin Sinnott

Braun has always been an unusual player. Known for electric shavers as much as coffee brewers, they always seem somehow overshadowed by Krups, although in ingenuity, they are equal if not more innovative. However, both these companies release so many products, I might easily miss either’s best designs, so I’ll refrain from any sweeping judgments. Let’s just say that Braun is a company that sometimes surprises me. Some years back, they introduced a water bypass that I thought cleverly dealt with the problem most consumer coffee brewers have of too long contact times between the grounds and water. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott and Frank Chambers

I want to preface this review by pointing out that I am a paid consultant to Bunn. My contract does not make me a paid endorser, in fact if excludes it, but Bunn has paid me to provide articles for their web site (they’re kind of hard to find there actually: here’s a link). I mention this because, it’s a widely known (or should be) problem with modern business. Whether it’s advertisers or consulting, all industries are rife with conflict. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

The Chemex is both a coffee brewer and an artwork. Few coffee brewers have the ability to show to an audience like this brewer. It’s even earned a place at the Smithsonian. It’s so delightful to look at that it’s easy to overlook that it’s a fine coffee brewer that offers a unique flavor profile. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

Back before automatic drip dominated the coffee scene, the most common brewer in kitchens, diners and doughnut wagons was the vacuum percolator. While the vacuum seems like a complicated method, it is actually quite simple, although it’s hard for me to imagine how anyone thought it up. more {/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

I was excited to try a Cuisinart after their recent grinder triumph. And, fourteen cups? WOW! That’s a lot of coffee. I’m sure Cuisinart was proud of the engineering triumph of putting so much yield into a fairly small size footprint. Ever a value champ, the Cuisinart adds a permanent filter, which I used. Not only does Cuisinart brew the largest size brew, it offers a special 4-cup setting. Cuisinart’s fit and finish is not quite up to Saeco’s — I had to jimmy the filter door to close properly. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

This is one unusual drip machine. A look at it makes you wonder where the carafe is. It is built into the unit. This is all the more impressive due to the machine’s low profile. It is not higher than many other drip machines. Cuisinart specifies SCAA-recommended grounds in its instruction book. For this machine, that means 60 grams coffee for twelve five-ounce cups, which is as it should be.more

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Kevin Sinnott

This machine advertises itself as a machine easy-to-use, even having its cover model claiming she looked for a machine she could operate one-handed as she holds her baby. It is easier to use than some machines, but I fail to see how it’s much easier then any other brewer. Hamilton Beach recommends a small coffee amount, which we followed, especially since it seems like any more coffee and the brew basket might overflow. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

Once in a while I try a product that is just too good to be true. It might be a car that just has a great road feel, a stereo that outsounds its specifications. In this case it’s a small coffee brewer that just happened to make four perfect cups of coffee. I got a prototype. Early production runs were done in Portugal; later in China.more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

Here’s a classic case where the marketing department tried to get a basically very good machine to do something it was not designed to do. The packaging indicates it as a way to make an espresso beverage for several people at once. Meanwhile, the product styling makes it look like just another automatic drip machine, which it definitely is not.more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

Mr. Coffee used to make brewers that used flat bottom filters and try to achieve brewing within a fairly short amount of time. As outsourcing became their norm, they began importing all kinds of brewers. There is virtually no trace of the original Mr. Coffee “house sauce” in this brewer. It has a reasonable fit and feel, but is not distinguished. more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

This coffee brewer almost got past me, as it did too many. It comes close to being a cost-effective knock-off of the famed Technivorm. It even outperforms it in a few ways, but let’s not go too fast. While it’s gone from the market, someone might bring it back. Meanwhile, eBay ensures that no product is truly out of your and my reach.more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

The Saeco is a stainless trim model that looks more expensive than it is. Most noteworthy is its tight fit and finish. It is a 10 cup coffee brewer using 5oz cups. Unlike many others in the survey, it does not come with a metal permanent filter, an advantage in my opinion. Metal filters allow sediment through that is best trapped and thrown away.more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

This delightful coffee brewer is commonly called a flip-drip, but actually it is probably mistakenly called a stovetop espresso machine or Moka just as often. It’s a rare animal in American, and, I suspect, most kitchens worldwide.more{/slide}

Kevin Sinnott

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. more{/slide}