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358
Learning How Ducks Drink Coffee (Epinions Works Writeoff)
Pros
Fresh, hot, good taste in 3 minutes
Cons
I haven't found one yet!
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Anyone who brews more than a pot a day will quickly learn that this appliance's performance justifies its premium price.
#Hold on tight to your dream?#
Remember a younger Bowie and several other celebs exhorting America to join the coffee achievers? Talk about marketing campaigns that work! Not only did he get me to join that generation, but here I sit, a generation later still sipping the acidic brew. As with other comestibles enjoyed after time spent ?acquiring a taste? for the product, coffee is a beverage I took my time learning to enjoy. Starting off with milk and sugar to now using only the occasional sweetener packet for overcooked or muddy coffee, the trip through Javaland has brought me to a fair number of coffee makers.
My wife introduced to me ?round the clock coffee drinking. She would often brew a pot after dinner, and if we had eaten early enough and were going to be up a while, might even brew a second, smaller pot. One goes through a large number of coffee makers when there is always a pot brewing or warming. We were resigned to purchasing a new coffee maker approximately every year because we simply wore out the machines with heavy use.
#You are not alone?#
Market research firm Mintel claims that their research shows that one out of five adults say they drink four or more cups of coffee daily. That?s not just for breakfast, but for the day. What are you other 80% drinking? No-fat, double steam, yadda yadda latte counts as coffee, you know.
Like everything else American, however, portion size continue growing. Coffee, once served in little teeny cups, now has an average portion size of nine ounces. Yeah, that?s more like it ? none of these wimpy little six ounce portions. More coffee means?
Fewer cups to the pot.
Oh sure, you brew the same number of fluid ounces, but mugs have replaced cups according to Mintel?s research. That means the pot I just brewed while I was writing this Epinion does not hold eight cups. It holds maybe five. Kalynda and I each just poured a mug and the pot is half empty.
#With a little help from my friends?#
As folks who buy into the Epinions concept of consumers helping other consumers make smarter choices, we turned to the Home and Garden section when the latest $20 coffee maker died last year. We were on our second cup each of instant and someone was going to be making a Walmart run within minutes for the fifteenth version of Mr. Coffee or one of his brothers.
Luckily, we stumbled across PluckyDuck?s witty and informative review of the Bunn Home Coffee Brewer. Wal-Mart was open on a Sunday morning and we could be drinking real brew in a few minutes. But the Duck?s review disarmed me completely and Kalynda was familiar with the machine from her restaurant days, so the Bunn became Something We Must Buy. After searching the web sites of local retailers, we targeted Target and wooshed away in the JoubMobile, feeling just a trifle giddy.
The Bunn cost a Franklin, you see.
?When I heard nice Bunn, I looked around for the sweet rolls?
So let?s talk about this $100 coffee maker and why 52 of 57 Epinions recommend this particular appliance.
For starters, she?s a sharp looking machine. Yes, I know I?m anthropomorphizing again, but I haven?t named her yet. Ours is a jet black model with a basic carafe. The machine has an aura of Spartan utilitarianism. No fancy gadgets, whistles, buzzes or bells adorn the machine. You get a power switch for the machine and one for the non-metal warmer. That?s it ? no mas. You want fancy-schmantzy, go press your nose to the window at Starbucks and watch the kids there toss burned coffee around machines that look like centrifuges.
The Bunn looks like a machine designed to do one thing. Make a pot of coffee lickety split. And that?s what it does. Even guests notice. ?That?s a serious coffee maker,? a friend told me after last Thanksgiving?s dinner.
You know it, bub. We then, God save us all, began comparing brewing times. Our grandfathers talked about which roadster was faster, our fathers compared the horsepower of their new riding mowers and here we were, two professionals with six kids between us, timing a blasted coffee maker.
Time elapsed from scooping the coffee to fresh pot = ~ 3 minutes, just like the documentation says. No, I didn?t read the manual, my wife did. I just pour coffee in the top and let ?er rip. Rugged is the only description fitting this machine.
The Bunn folks would be horrified to know that we?ve never turned the power off.
That?s what makes the speed of the brew so amazing. A holding tank functions as a miniature hot water heater and warms the waiting water to just under brewing temperature. Pouring a new pot of water into the reservoir causes the warmed water to immediately begin cycling through the filter, et voila, fresh coffee. Sure, if you only make a pot of coffee every so often, the water would get stale, but not in this household.
Durable also comes to mind. Name any small appliance in your house that hasn?t been turned off since November 5. That?s very nearly a year. We use the de-liming spring every so often, mostly when one of us notices it lying on the coffee cart. Yes, the coffee cart, oh, never mind.
The Bunn brews such a lovely pot of coffee that basic supermarket brands taste like premium blends and the good stuff tastes like a bit of Olympian nectar. Hyperbole aside, I?ve been served worse tasting coffee in some of America?s best restaurants.
#Let your love flow?#
Daily coffee drinkers, particularly those who brew more than one pot a day or who entertain often, will find the Bunn Home Brewer an indispensable kitchen appliance. Is it worth the price of 5 generic coffee makers? Probably ? if only because the Bunn so clearly outperforms other coffee makers.
Shoppers looking for a simple cuppa once or twice a day will find the Bunn overkill. Others are strongly invited to show Mr. Coffee the door.
This review is part of a very clever idea launched by Vormancian called the Epinions Works Write Off. He?s invited many of my favorite writers to tell the story of how an Epinion caused them to make a purchase. A poorly timed illness caused my entry to be delayed, but I?ve read several of the excellent posts already made. Be sure to visit the pages of the following folks to read how Epinions Works:
MrsNormanMaine, Benho, Owling, deaser26, dequebec, Social14, Suehappy, Lisa_J, Epicure, pageclot, kcfoxy, kuuleimomi, robinmichele, Stephen_Murray, Drlolipop, Xeno3998, sumo_rhino, Barnz, mike.holmes, repulsemonkey, KingpinLJC, eplovejoy
URLs of Interest
PluckyDuck?s lovely ?Open Letter to Mr. Bunn? - http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-4B50-8BF3CB0-391B33C7-prod4#ow
Bunn Web Site ? (no, it?s not bunn.com) - http://www.bunnomatic.com/pages/homepage/homeprod/homequip.htm
? 2001 Joubert
Remember a younger Bowie and several other celebs exhorting America to join the coffee achievers? Talk about marketing campaigns that work! Not only did he get me to join that generation, but here I sit, a generation later still sipping the acidic brew. As with other comestibles enjoyed after time spent ?acquiring a taste? for the product, coffee is a beverage I took my time learning to enjoy. Starting off with milk and sugar to now using only the occasional sweetener packet for overcooked or muddy coffee, the trip through Javaland has brought me to a fair number of coffee makers.
My wife introduced to me ?round the clock coffee drinking. She would often brew a pot after dinner, and if we had eaten early enough and were going to be up a while, might even brew a second, smaller pot. One goes through a large number of coffee makers when there is always a pot brewing or warming. We were resigned to purchasing a new coffee maker approximately every year because we simply wore out the machines with heavy use.
#You are not alone?#
Market research firm Mintel claims that their research shows that one out of five adults say they drink four or more cups of coffee daily. That?s not just for breakfast, but for the day. What are you other 80% drinking? No-fat, double steam, yadda yadda latte counts as coffee, you know.
Like everything else American, however, portion size continue growing. Coffee, once served in little teeny cups, now has an average portion size of nine ounces. Yeah, that?s more like it ? none of these wimpy little six ounce portions. More coffee means?
Fewer cups to the pot.
Oh sure, you brew the same number of fluid ounces, but mugs have replaced cups according to Mintel?s research. That means the pot I just brewed while I was writing this Epinion does not hold eight cups. It holds maybe five. Kalynda and I each just poured a mug and the pot is half empty.
#With a little help from my friends?#
As folks who buy into the Epinions concept of consumers helping other consumers make smarter choices, we turned to the Home and Garden section when the latest $20 coffee maker died last year. We were on our second cup each of instant and someone was going to be making a Walmart run within minutes for the fifteenth version of Mr. Coffee or one of his brothers.
Luckily, we stumbled across PluckyDuck?s witty and informative review of the Bunn Home Coffee Brewer. Wal-Mart was open on a Sunday morning and we could be drinking real brew in a few minutes. But the Duck?s review disarmed me completely and Kalynda was familiar with the machine from her restaurant days, so the Bunn became Something We Must Buy. After searching the web sites of local retailers, we targeted Target and wooshed away in the JoubMobile, feeling just a trifle giddy.
The Bunn cost a Franklin, you see.
?When I heard nice Bunn, I looked around for the sweet rolls?
So let?s talk about this $100 coffee maker and why 52 of 57 Epinions recommend this particular appliance.
For starters, she?s a sharp looking machine. Yes, I know I?m anthropomorphizing again, but I haven?t named her yet. Ours is a jet black model with a basic carafe. The machine has an aura of Spartan utilitarianism. No fancy gadgets, whistles, buzzes or bells adorn the machine. You get a power switch for the machine and one for the non-metal warmer. That?s it ? no mas. You want fancy-schmantzy, go press your nose to the window at Starbucks and watch the kids there toss burned coffee around machines that look like centrifuges.
The Bunn looks like a machine designed to do one thing. Make a pot of coffee lickety split. And that?s what it does. Even guests notice. ?That?s a serious coffee maker,? a friend told me after last Thanksgiving?s dinner.
You know it, bub. We then, God save us all, began comparing brewing times. Our grandfathers talked about which roadster was faster, our fathers compared the horsepower of their new riding mowers and here we were, two professionals with six kids between us, timing a blasted coffee maker.
Time elapsed from scooping the coffee to fresh pot = ~ 3 minutes, just like the documentation says. No, I didn?t read the manual, my wife did. I just pour coffee in the top and let ?er rip. Rugged is the only description fitting this machine.
The Bunn folks would be horrified to know that we?ve never turned the power off.
That?s what makes the speed of the brew so amazing. A holding tank functions as a miniature hot water heater and warms the waiting water to just under brewing temperature. Pouring a new pot of water into the reservoir causes the warmed water to immediately begin cycling through the filter, et voila, fresh coffee. Sure, if you only make a pot of coffee every so often, the water would get stale, but not in this household.
Durable also comes to mind. Name any small appliance in your house that hasn?t been turned off since November 5. That?s very nearly a year. We use the de-liming spring every so often, mostly when one of us notices it lying on the coffee cart. Yes, the coffee cart, oh, never mind.
The Bunn brews such a lovely pot of coffee that basic supermarket brands taste like premium blends and the good stuff tastes like a bit of Olympian nectar. Hyperbole aside, I?ve been served worse tasting coffee in some of America?s best restaurants.
#Let your love flow?#
Daily coffee drinkers, particularly those who brew more than one pot a day or who entertain often, will find the Bunn Home Brewer an indispensable kitchen appliance. Is it worth the price of 5 generic coffee makers? Probably ? if only because the Bunn so clearly outperforms other coffee makers.
Shoppers looking for a simple cuppa once or twice a day will find the Bunn overkill. Others are strongly invited to show Mr. Coffee the door.
This review is part of a very clever idea launched by Vormancian called the Epinions Works Write Off. He?s invited many of my favorite writers to tell the story of how an Epinion caused them to make a purchase. A poorly timed illness caused my entry to be delayed, but I?ve read several of the excellent posts already made. Be sure to visit the pages of the following folks to read how Epinions Works:
MrsNormanMaine, Benho, Owling, deaser26, dequebec, Social14, Suehappy, Lisa_J, Epicure, pageclot, kcfoxy, kuuleimomi, robinmichele, Stephen_Murray, Drlolipop, Xeno3998, sumo_rhino, Barnz, mike.holmes, repulsemonkey, KingpinLJC, eplovejoy
URLs of Interest
PluckyDuck?s lovely ?Open Letter to Mr. Bunn? - http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-4B50-8BF3CB0-391B33C7-prod4#ow
Bunn Web Site ? (no, it?s not bunn.com) - http://www.bunnomatic.com/pages/homepage/homeprod/homequip.htm
? 2001 Joubert
