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Not what I expected.
Pros
Speed. Ease of use after set-up.
Cons
Coffee tastes awful. Needs double the amount of grounds.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Way too expensive. Coffee brews in 3 minutes but you have to sacrifice the taste.
I bought my Bunn home coffee maker about three years ago. I had used it in a residential care facility in which I worked at the time and was very impressed with the speed of brewing.
I am one of those finger-biting, toe-tapping, can't-wait-for-the-coffee in the morning kind of persons. As a matter of fact, my ex-husband used to remark (often) that he wished there was a way to introduce caffeine to my system intravenously. BEFORE getting me out of bed in the morning. I suppose he was insinuating that my personality was less than pleasant upon awakening. Of course he was wrong. He has also graduated to ex-status!
I was taken aback a bit when I saw what the price was in the store. $100.00 for a coffee maker? That was too much for me but then, lucky me, found one at a yard sale. Brand new for $5.00. Unbelievable! The only problem was a missing pot which I found that same day at our local Am-Vets thrift store.
My first impression as I assembled the unit was that, wow, it's BIG! It measures 7" across and is about 14" deep. Add another 14" in height and it takes up quite a bit of space.
Since I had used one at the res-care facility I knew that the unit had to be warmed up for a good while (at least 15 minutes) before you used it and also that the tank that holds the water had to be left on at all times. There is a switch you can use to turn the unit off completely if you need to leave for a vacation or such. As most of you know, it operates with a hot water reservoir that keeps water hot so when you add a carafe of fresh water, it replaces what is being rushed thru the filter basket. Rushes it does. It has what they call an advanced spray head design. What it does is blow a circular spray of water onto the coffee in the basket. Often only wetting the outer rim of the grinds and leaving a pile un-touched in the middle. It brews a full pot in three minutes. The coffee is done by the time I've completed my potty-run in the morning and I can enjoy my coffee right away. The warmer plate is a separate unit and can be turned off and on as needed.
But, wait a minute! Sip-sip-sip... something was wrong! I've been making coffee since I was 12. I know how I like it. How come it tastes like brown water? I pulled the filter basket out, put a new batch of grounds in and added the water to the tank. Watched with rising dislike as the coffee poured like a waterfall into the pot. A muddy waterfall. I like my coffee DARK. This stuff was bland and yellow, didn't even smell good. I experimented further and realized I was going to have to double my coffee budget in order to enjoy my brew from this machine. Phhooey!
The very feature that attracted me to the pot also ruined it. Coffee needs that time to swell and release it's flavor to the hot water in order to reach optimal taste.
Me and the Bunn stuck it out for about a year. I spent tons of money on espresso ground coffee until I relented and got another drip coffee maker. I'm back to tapping my toes, watching the pot for long, unbearably long minutes in the morning.
The Bunn is still sitting in my special cupboard for forgotten appliances. Maybe I should have a yard sale. Think I can get my $5.00 back?
I am one of those finger-biting, toe-tapping, can't-wait-for-the-coffee in the morning kind of persons. As a matter of fact, my ex-husband used to remark (often) that he wished there was a way to introduce caffeine to my system intravenously. BEFORE getting me out of bed in the morning. I suppose he was insinuating that my personality was less than pleasant upon awakening. Of course he was wrong. He has also graduated to ex-status!
I was taken aback a bit when I saw what the price was in the store. $100.00 for a coffee maker? That was too much for me but then, lucky me, found one at a yard sale. Brand new for $5.00. Unbelievable! The only problem was a missing pot which I found that same day at our local Am-Vets thrift store.
My first impression as I assembled the unit was that, wow, it's BIG! It measures 7" across and is about 14" deep. Add another 14" in height and it takes up quite a bit of space.
Since I had used one at the res-care facility I knew that the unit had to be warmed up for a good while (at least 15 minutes) before you used it and also that the tank that holds the water had to be left on at all times. There is a switch you can use to turn the unit off completely if you need to leave for a vacation or such. As most of you know, it operates with a hot water reservoir that keeps water hot so when you add a carafe of fresh water, it replaces what is being rushed thru the filter basket. Rushes it does. It has what they call an advanced spray head design. What it does is blow a circular spray of water onto the coffee in the basket. Often only wetting the outer rim of the grinds and leaving a pile un-touched in the middle. It brews a full pot in three minutes. The coffee is done by the time I've completed my potty-run in the morning and I can enjoy my coffee right away. The warmer plate is a separate unit and can be turned off and on as needed.
But, wait a minute! Sip-sip-sip... something was wrong! I've been making coffee since I was 12. I know how I like it. How come it tastes like brown water? I pulled the filter basket out, put a new batch of grounds in and added the water to the tank. Watched with rising dislike as the coffee poured like a waterfall into the pot. A muddy waterfall. I like my coffee DARK. This stuff was bland and yellow, didn't even smell good. I experimented further and realized I was going to have to double my coffee budget in order to enjoy my brew from this machine. Phhooey!
The very feature that attracted me to the pot also ruined it. Coffee needs that time to swell and release it's flavor to the hot water in order to reach optimal taste.
Me and the Bunn stuck it out for about a year. I spent tons of money on espresso ground coffee until I relented and got another drip coffee maker. I'm back to tapping my toes, watching the pot for long, unbearably long minutes in the morning.
The Bunn is still sitting in my special cupboard for forgotten appliances. Maybe I should have a yard sale. Think I can get my $5.00 back?
