I just want a good pot of coffee.  Recommended automatic brewers and motorized grinders to make a great cup of coffee at home.

A lot of my coffee making is pretty involved and manual, but great coffee at home doesn’t have to be.  In fact, a number of great automatic brewers have been debuted in the last few years, making it more accessible than ever.  Today, we are going to cover recommended automatic drip brewers and what is needed to get the most out of them.  This is Buying Coffee Equipment: Selecting and Using an Automatic Drip Coffee Brewer.

What you’ll need: 

1.      Good quality, freshly roasted coffee (ideally used between 3-20 days post roast)

2.      Good quality, fresh, tasty, filtered water

3.      A quality burr grinder

4.      An SCAA approved automatic drip brewer. 

We touched on coffee quite a bit and why it’s important in this post, and if you’re looking for recommendations on where to get coffee, you can always follow along with the weekly #WhatsCTpulling posts, or reach out to me via the contact page or twitter, I’m always happy to make a recommendation.

Water is another aspect that is all too often overlooked, and is very deserving of its own post in the future.  It’s not a sexy topic, but the simple terms in my mind are, if it doesn’t taste good, how will it make good coffee?  Use fresh, good tasting, filtered water.  There are recommendations as to the hardness, acidity, and dissolved solids to optimize taste and reduce scale buildup in your equipment, but we will keep it simple for now. 

I hope you’re noticing a pattern by now:  I’m not going to overlook the grinder.  It is going to control the flow rate of the water through the bed of coffee, so having a consistent grind to achieve your desired results is key.  I’m going to make an assumption that most people looking for an automatic brewer are also looking for a motorized grinder.  I would say the minimum grinder I would recommend is that Capresso Infiniti, and the more recommended would be the Baratza Encore, both covered in "Buying Coffee Equipment Part 3: Grinders.  A grinder like the new Baratza Sette, which is replacing the Preciso, or the Vario/Forte would be an even better choice for all of your brewing methods, as they will deliver a higher degree of grind consistency, and offer more micro adjustment to really dial things in. If you’re seeking a dedicated a brew only grinder, this might be where I would favor the “W” versions of the Sette/Vario/Forte, as you can simply keep the hopper full and select the amount of coffee you would like to grind by weight.

So now that the necessities of harping on quality coffee, water, and grinder are out of the way, let’s get to the brewers, and why you should buy an SCAA recommended brewer and not just settle for the wedding registry Mr. Coffee.  The Specialty Coffee Association of America has a program for testing submitted coffee makers that meet their “Golden Cup” standards, that is, these brewers meet their requirements for delivering water at proper temperature, achieving a recommended brew time, achieving a uniformity of performance and extraction, providing the proper beverage clarity and taste, and that the holding receptacle is of the correct temperature and the unit has the proper instructional materials to allow the user to achieve these results.  What this means to you is that these brewers are going to properly extract the coffee by delivering water of the correct temperature, that will be evenly dispersed, and at the correct flow rate.  Although there are brewers that might be able to meet these requirements that haven’t been submitted for testing, my general recommendation is to follow this list.  And sticking to the SCAA’s recommended brewers doesn’t have to break the bank either.   Without further ado, the fantastic and reasonably priced:

Bonvaita BV1900TS: 

Available everywhere from Target, Sur la Table, Bed Bath & Beyond, to the major coffee equipment suppliers, this brewer simply makes a great pot of coffee.  There’s only one button on the machine, so ease of use and little to go wrong are the name of the game here (although they do offer a digitally programmable model as well.)  The 8-cup coffee brewer evenly delivers water at optimal brewing temperature (195-205*F) in about 5 to 6 minutes from a large and even showerhead.  There is an optional pre-infusion mode, which pre-wets the bed of coffee to better allow it “open up” or degas any excess carbon dioxide before brewing – this will generally bring out a bit more flavor in the coffee.  The only thing you need to do is adjust your grind fineness to control the brew time.  If the coffee is tasting too burnt, bitter, or harsh (assuming it’s not a roast that’s burnt) it’s also probably brewing too slow, and you need to coarsen your grind setting as to not over extract your coffee.  If the coffee tastes too acidic, bright, or intense, you might need to grind finer to extract more from the coffee.  The amount of coffee used can also be manipulated, but in general, Bonavita recommends using about 10 grams of coffee per cup being brewed. 

I can say first hand that this machine is easy to use and make a great cup of coffee.  One of my very good friends was looking to make a great pot of coffee and went with this brewer and a Capresso Infiniti, and last time I was at his place we made some amazing coffee using an Equator Kenyan Single Origin.  I was blown away by how nuanced, complex, and balanced the coffee was. 

Street price of about $180, though many department or big box store have coupons that might apply: 

Amazon

http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/bonavita_8cup_stainless.html 

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/bonavita/bv1900ts

OXO Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker

Packing a few more bells and whistles than the Bonavita, the OXO On series coffee makers are well-received new comers to the market.  This/these brewer(s) also delivers precisely temped water at the proper flow rate and has built in pre-infusion, but does so in with a cone shaped filter, instead of a flat bottomed filter basket like the Bonavita.  I haven’t gone hands on with this one to know how much of a difference that makes in the cup, but the additional features such as the digital selection of the how many cups to brew make it easier than measuring out water quantities, and the machine will automatically adjust flow rate based on the number of cups selected.  Additionally, this unit has a digital timer so you can easily monitor brew time and wake up feature to have it start automatically.  Overall, this is a very well-priced and attractive kit that is jam packed with features.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, and look forward to using it in the future. 

Widely available at $199:  Amazon link here.

http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/oxo-9-cup-coffee-maker.html 

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/oxo-on-barista-brain-9-cup-coffee-maker

Behmor Brazen Plus

For the gadget geek, tech junky, or someone that wants a lot of control and ability to adjust settings, the Behmor Brazen Plus is the brewer for you.  The Brazen Plus is good for those that want a more involved and controllable approach to their brewing.  It also features a manual release option to make it easier to brew into other vessels or release specifically temped water.  The brewer requires calibration upon setup, which is definitely more involved than the others, but not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you live at altitude and have different boiling points.  It also takes a little longer overall for the start to finish brewing process, but does offer more precise control over brew temperature and pre-infusion (or pre-soak) time.  CNET provides a pretty good review of this unit here, http://www.cnet.com/products/behmor-brazen-plus/ pointing out that there are some weak points, but I think the feature set would outshine those weaknesses for those looking for this level of control.  The brewing process is also slightly different in more of a pulsing distribution of water more closely simulating manual pour over brewing.  I also like that this unit comes with a reusable, gold mesh filter to get your running right away.  Reusable filters are a little more messy to clean up, but won’t require pre-wetting/rinsing like a paper filter will and won’t absorb any of the coffee’s oils, providing a very rich flavor. 

Street price for this tech packed brewer is $199, and Amazon has it as low as $154. and it’s widely available at coffee equipment suppliers.

Technivorm Moccamaster

And last, but not least, the long standing king, the Technivorm Moccamaster.  For years, the Moccamaster was the only SCAA recommended automatic brewer.  It really hasn’t changed for years, speaking to the point, when you do it right, you don’t need to do it again.  Today, it’s available in just about every color and finish you could possibly want as well,  

The Moccamaster definitely has a presence on the counter, and it’s built like a tank.  It meets all of the SCAA requirements and does it well.  Not much more can be said of this rock solid icon, it just works.  It does not have many of the electronics and program features like many of the others, but build quality is high.  My only criticism is the price.  I get the impression that Technivorm basically owned the market as the only quality automatic brewer for so many years they set their standards high and had not been forced to change.  Many of the newer SCAA approved brewers have been in use long enough to prove their reliability and credentials, all at a much lower price.  I don’t think you can go wrong purchasing a Moccamaster, it will most likely last you a very long time, but it’s not clear in my mind if the price is truly justified. 

Widely available at $309:  http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/technivorm_kbg741_glass_slvr.html 

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/technivorm-moccamaster-coffee-brewer-kbg741-polished-silver 

http://www.1stincoffee.com/technivorm-kb-741-coffee-maker.htm

or from Amazon as low as $289 here.

KitchenAid Custom Pour Over Brewer

Honorable mention goes out to the KitchenAid Custom Pour Over Brewer, widely available at $179 from most department and box stores.  KitchenAid doesn’t necessarily carry the coffee specific credentials like the others, but this brewer has been approved by the SCAA, and I’m sure with the coupons and one-day sale like opportunities, it can be had for a reasonable price.    http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/countertop-appliances-1/countertop-appliances-2/coffee-products-3/-[KCM0802ER]-5666096/KCM0802ER/ 

TL:DR

The "Too Long : Didn't Read" or better yet, what I'd do with my money of it all?  For the performance, price, and reputation, I would go with the Bonavita BV1900TS.  I think the Bonavita products are made well, do what you need it to do, should last for years, and will make a great pot of coffee.  If this was my only method of brewing, I'd pair it with a Baratza Encore and call it a day.  

Thanks for reading, if you have questions, feel free to reach out via the contact page or twitter.