Coffee done right.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent tasting coffee, made the right way.

Cons: Expensive, but well worth the money.

The Bottom Line: 
I would recommend any of the Bunn line of coffee makers to people who want coffee with great flavor and no bitterness.

Author's Review
My old coffee maker was getting quite tired, it was taking just over 20 minutes to brew a full pot. The flavor was terrible and bitter.

I started to research online to find a good coffee maker to replace it with and everywhere I looked, the largest amount of great reviews kept me coming back to the Bunn line of machines. (Epinions being the first one I checked.)

I wanted to make coffee at home that tasted the same as the stuff you get at coffee shops like Tim Horton's or any other place that serves great coffee. I even researched just general coffee knowledge bases and found out that the optimal way to brew coffee was to do it with water that is around 200 degrees F and to run it through the complete cycle in 3-6 minutes.

I started to realize why the Bunn system was getting such rave reviews, they pre-heat the water to 200 F and they brew the whole pot in 3 minutes...

I was convinced, and I didn't mind putting up the big dollars for a simple Bunn BX-B coffee maker to give it a try.

Well, today I brewed my first pot and I can tell you it tastes great. If you are Canadian, the best way to compare it is with Tim Horton's coffee. I imagine maybe Dunkin Donuts coffee would be a similar comparison in the U.S.

I like to make my coffee strong. The one tablespoon per cup of water is the recipe I use. If you use that much coffee with a slow worn out machine, the grounds are exposed way too long to the bitter oils in the coffee and you get a very bitter cup of joe. That was the first thing I noticed about the Bunn, the coffee was just as flavorful as I like it, but with no bitterness at all.

If you decide to pick one of these great units up, be sure to follow the unit set up directions carefully. You can damage the water heater if you plug it in and turn it on before you put the proper amount of water in it.

I obviously havn't owned this machine very long, but the build quality seems good. I like that it comes with a de-liming tool, so you can properly clean it periodically to make sure it keeps working as fast as it should. (I always hated trying to clean coffee makers with vinegar, it never seems to work that great by the time I actually get around to it.)

This is a simple coffee machine with no fancy clocks, bells, or whistles. But it sure makes great coffee and that's what counts in my book.

P.S. I just wanted to add a few details about the product itself.
The coffee maker keeps the 200 degree F water heated all the time but the tank is well insulated and doesn't use much power to do so. There is also a switch to turn the heater off if you aren't going to use it for a few days, but if you do so, the water will take about 15 minutes to be ready to brew again once turned back on. If left on, you can instantly brew a full pot any time in just 3 minutes, or else just have access to piping hot water too.

There is a separate switch for the warmer plate. I suggest buying a separate thermal carafe to pour your coffee into if you aren't going to use the whole pot in 20 minutes. (It stays much fresher.)

This model (BX-B is the same as BX-W, it's just black.) came with the coffee maker, glass carafe with lid, deliming spring tool for cleaning water line, and a small stack of basket type coffee filters. There is also a detailed quick start up sheet and a more in-depth instruction book. (Be sure to read it BEFORE plugging in, to insure you don't damage your water heater tank.) There is no pause and serve feature, because this thing pumps out a whole pot of coffee way too fast for it. 3 minutes or less... No kidding.

The price was $149.99 in Canadian dollars. Purchased at a regular Home Hardware store. I still thinks it's worth it, because I can keep it working like new with the deliming tool and it has a 3 year warranty.
It also says on the box that it was assembled in the U.S.A., so the build quality is probably very good.

Mmmmmm... This coffee still tastes great!