BUNN My Cafe Commercial Pod Brewer

[Jason Perlow]

First thing that comes to mind after using the Bunn this evening...

<heavy, forced mechanical breathing>

AND NOW, YOUR HIGHNESS, WE SHALL DISCUSS THE LOCATION OF YOUR HIDDEN REBEL BASE. BUT FIRST, I SHALL HAVE A MONSTER POD. YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE WHEN I HAVEN'T HAD MY MORNING CUP.

Lord Vader and My Cafe.. Separated at birth.

Even the lighted BUNN logo is the same color as Darth's light saber.

It's a mean looking machine and it makes a mean cup of coffee -- no doubt about that. I tried it so far with Baronet French Vanilla and Baronet "Monster" 12 gram Kenya AA pods -- nice extraction at 8oz, although the "Monster" can easily brew at 10 or 12 oz and still give you a -really- strong coffee. The blue illumination while the system is brewing is really cool, and I like the manual selection switch for brew volume. I will say this, the sucker is -really- loud when the brew pump is going. Its powerful and it means business.

Is it as high tech and sexy looking as the Simplehuman? Nope. I really like its Sith Lord appearance, though, and it does the job it's supposed to do. Really nice construction too. Its definitely a BUNN and true to its Bunn-o-matic heritage, no question about that. Its pricier than the Simplehuman or the Senseo, but this thing is clearly made for battle -- you could bring this into a small office and have no problem with this thing being constantly on -- its designed to power down into a hibernation mode after a few hours of inactivity and switches itself off automatically after two weeks. The re-prime is extremely fast -- you can do mug after mug with this thing, with maybe only 30 seconds wait time between mugs.

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On Amazon you can get this unit for $25 off ($175) and are entitled to free shipping if you use the checkout code "HOHOHOHO"

[Double 0]

I'm waiting to receive one for my office. You've had it for a couple of months now. What do you think.

[Rachel Perlow]

It's the one we keep in the kitchen* and use the most. It seems to brew the water the hottest and is therefore the best one to use for tea. I like the blue glow it emits while brewing, but the water/beverage comes out under pressure and can spatter a bit as it rises to the top of the cup. Also, the volume indicator isn't consistanty accurate. Use a larger mug than you need and aim for the volume you want for the stength indicated for the pod size. The 12 oz seems pretty accurate, but 10 oz brews 9 or 11. Check the accuracy of your unit with a measuring cup.

It comes with two pod holders. I recommend you clearly label the one for tea and use it exclusively for that. I can't break Jason of the habit of leaving the used pod in until the next cup, and the coffee taste permeates the pod holder. So, I rinse it every time right before using it.

* The others are in the basement next to Jason's office, in a coffee central set up. The Melitta One:One has already been passed on to my mother. The other unit that gets used frequently is the Keurig.

[Jason Perlow]

It's a great unit. If I could only have one pod coffeemaker, that would be the one to own. Excellent construction, very quick heat up time (especially when in idling mode), and very hot water output.

[phaelon56]

Also, the volume indicator isn't consistanty accurate. Use a larger mug than you need and aim for the volume you want for the stength indicated for the pod size. The 12 oz seems pretty accurate, but 10 oz brews 9 or 11. Check the accuracy of your unit with a measuring cup.

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Is it unpredictably off the mark (i.e. does it sometimes release 9 oz and at other times 11 oz) or is it predictable?

[Jason Perlow]

"Relatively" predictable, Owen. 8oz seems dead accurate as does 12, the highest setting. 9 and 10 seems to be what it has most problems with.

[Rachel Perlow]

I just ran extensive tests. Pouring at each volume setting, with an empty pod chamber. First on the "tea" setting, from lowest to highest setting, then from highest to lowest, then random. Then on the coffee, but only randomly.

9 oz seems the most accurate, hitting 9.0 dead on three out of four times. It seems more accurate when the setting is changed randomly, than when it is moved one increment at a time. In fact, when it I ran the pour from highest to lowest, it was pretty regularly a full ounce over. The only time the 9 oz pour was off was after I ran the 10 ounce pour going from highest to lowest. So, I would say run your own tests occasionally and find a setting that works for you and the pods you choose to brew.

In addition, I sampled the temperature, which ranged from 180-188F (measured with my instant read meat thermometer. I don't know how accurate it is, come to think of it, the top glass is cracked. But it is lower and less consistant than I think would be desireable.

When I feel up to it, I might test the SimpleHuman, which has a temperature control, to see how hot it gets.