Bonavita Exceptional Brew 8 cup coffee maker with thermal carafe

Rated 5 out of 5

Posted By:
Barry Speer

10/28/2012

Every morning for about a year. Quick and easy. Check brew temp it is perfect. Brews fast. Make the amount you want. I make four cups for two of us daily. I weigh and grind making our on the strong side with 7gr per cup. Grind on coarse side. About one min. per cup brew time. A little expensive considering how simple it is. Keeps coffee fairly hot but I microwave after a couple hours. Coffee good and strong enough to substitute for espresso since it is so simple. Seriously doubt you would be disappointed except the price which is well above the average drip brewer but taste is excellent.

Rated 5 out of 5

Posted By:
Eric Straavaldsen

10/19/2012

I've owned it for 2 weeks now and have been thrilled. Super fast brewing and an excellent cup of coffee. Looks like the SCAA certification really helps identify good coffee makers. One thing I like about it in particular (though it is a bit of pain) is that you have a brew top and a pour top. So you brew with a 4 cone shape filter once done remove that and put the lid on. Seems to help the coffee stand in the thermal caraffe longer, but a few times I have gotten distracted and let it stand like 15 min or so with out the lid to close in the coffee goodness.

Rated 5 out of 5

Posted By:
Tracy Roof

10/06/2012

We're very happy with this coffee maker. It's simple, so there is no chance of not fitting the carafe in correctly and brewing coffee all over the counter and no little parts to break. It brews quickly for a coffee maker that doesn't have the always on reservoir tank. The coffee is better than my previous Cuisinarts. My only quibble is that it is only 8 servings, so you have to make multiple pots when you have company.

Rated 5 out of 5

Posted By:
Cheryl Gajowski

08/03/2012

Perfect for my use! I recommend it to anyone who wants to be able to make good coffee, by the pot. The first reviewer covered its idiosyncrasies. The main one for me was - where do you put the top/ drip cone when using the other... but I really am fond of i's simplicity - and a glass lined carafe! And one on/off switch, period. The only difficulty so far was having my significant other use it for the 1st time and try to find a more complicated means of use. I used to have an old Capresso and broke the carafe. It had served me well - but this brews hotter,so better.

Rated 5 out of 5

Posted By:
Jon Bogert

03/01/2012

The need for this product is obvious: a reasonably priced, reasonably sized drip coffemaker that can actually heat water up to the temperature required for making good coffee. I’m not sure why this is such a big hurdle for mainstream manufacturers, but thankfully Bonavita came to the rescue. This unit is dead simple, brews quickly and makes great drip coffee. That said, there are a bunch of “Version 1.0” design issues that take aways from the pleasure of using the Bonavita. I’ll detail them here in the hopes that when it comes time to release an updated version, they’ll pay a bit more attention to details: - The filter sits right on top of the carafe, and must be removed quickly after brewing so you can put the insulated top on the carafe. On the one hand it’s simple and elegant, on the other hand it’s a cheesy cop-out. - The carafe can only pour very slowly. With the insulated top on, only a thin trickle of coffee comes out. With the insulated top off, any fast pouring sloshes on either site of the shallow spout onto the counter. If you use the carafe to fill the reservoir and don’t pour very slowly, water splashes all over. - The carafe lid retains liquid. First time I used it, the valve on the carafe lid retained a tsp or so of wash water that was then dumped into my fresh carafe of coffee. Need to hold the valve open by hand and really shake it out when washing. - The stainless steel does not have a no-fingerprints coating, so you have to frequently wipe everything down to keep it looking clean.