Customer Reviews

BUNN BT Velocity Brew 10-Cup Thermal Carafe Home Coffee Brewer, Black

5 star:		(211)
4 star:		(58)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I bought this brewer in October. At first I was very happy with it. Then the carafe started leaking so bad it was ridiculous. I called Bunn a couple of days ago and the lady told me to wash the spout and the seal around the rim with Dawn dishwashing soap (she specifically said Dawn which I happened to have on hand) and the carafe would perform much better. She said that after a number of uses the oil from the coffee keeps the seal from sealing well. I hung up fully expecting to call her back in a few minutes. I washed the carafe as she suggested and it works like new again... no leaks!! If you have this pot, try it, you'll be amazed at the difference. Now I love this brewer again!

We purchased this to replace an aging Mr. Coffee. The Mr. Coffee was programmable, which was nice when I remembered, but when I didn't it could take nearly 20 minutes to brew a pot. That is a long wait in the morning. We considered this or the Braun programmable, which appeared to be rated well, but I couldn't determine how long it took to brew. I knew I wanted speed.

I got speed. This thing is fast. By two and a half minutes its down to waiting on the last drips to come out of the basket. The coffee's flavor is excellent, but a little weaker than I like. I upped the amount of coffee to the recommended tbsp per cup (which would yield very bitter coffee on other machines I've had) and its back to where I like it. A darker roasted coffee would also add a lot of strength. I enjoy the fact that the coffee doesn't sit on a burner and cook too. The carafe has done a great job of keeping the coffee hot for hours at a time. I've had no real trouble about the carafe dripping.. this may be because the Mr. Coffee trained me to go slower to avoid such drips.

Another point: I checked and the Bunn filters ARE taller than my others. The coffee grinds do get pretty high on the filter, so I can imagine that getting off-brand filters would get you grinds in your coffee. Just buy the Bunn filters at your local megamart. They're not that expensive. Also, decaf and/or finely ground coffee does sometimes overflow the filter anyway. The manual mentions this and offers a free replacement sprayhead to improve this. We don't drink a huge amount of decaf, so I don't think we'll ask for it.

I've tried some premium coffees again, and am happy to report that they are worth it now. A good coffeemaker does make a difference in the quality of the coffee.

Pros: Very fast. Coffee tastes very good. No burning the coffee on the carafe warmer. Keeps the coffee hot. Did I mention fast?

Cons: Coffee seems a tad weak. Very finely ground coffee, and decaf, sometimes overflow the filter a bit. I wish it had a button to press to brew instead of closing the top.. I foresee a big mess if company is up before me (It starts pouring coffee out the basket as soon as you close the lid, you HAVE to have the carafe in place).

Would I have been happy with the Braun? Probably. But I bet its not as fast, and after years of inadequate coffeemakers, I'm happy to have one this quick, and making coffee this good.

****Update 10-5-11****Unit has died (heating element apparently went out). Now out of warranty since it has been 4 years. On the one had I hate to spend $135+ to get a new one, but on the other hand, once you've had one of these things, it's hard to go back to the traditional coffeemaker. It did make great coffee for 4 years, and I loved having my coffee ready in just a minute or two. Despite the fact that I would have liked to get more than 4 years out of my original purchase, I will probably buy another one.

****Update 2-27-09****
My coffee maker developed a leak. I dusted off my original paperwork, and was very happy to see that this unit comes with a 3 year warranty. I sent it back to Bunn, and they sent me a brand new unit. Painless and relatively quick (less than a week). Yet another reason to buy a Bunn. The only thing I would mention is that I had to pay to have the old unit shipped back to them. Cost me $13 UPS, so it's not really that big a deal, but I just have this old fashioned notion that if something is covered by warranty, it shouldn't cost the consumer a penny to get it fixed or replaced.

****Original Review****
I don't see why anyone would buy a traditional glass carafe coffeemaker. The heating element scorches the coffee after about 15-20 minutes, so if you haven't finished the pot by then, you end throwing the rest away. At least I used to, until I discovered thermal carafes years ago.

I really like this coffeemaker. I am a big coffee drinker, and I usually make 1 pot in the morning, 1 pot in the afternoon, and 1 pot at night. The quality of the coffee that it brews is excellent, and I like the fact that the coffee is ready in 3 minutes.

A few other observations:

-I have not had any problem with the carafe. No spills or dribbles, and it keeps the coffee piping hot for a good 90 minutes, and then drinkably hot for another 2 hours. I especially like the fact that you don't need to open and close the lid to pour the coffee. The lids stays in the closed position while the coffee is brewing and it stays in the closed position when you pour it from the carafe.

-I have not had any problem with the basket overflowing or grinds in my coffee, but I have noticed that the grinds rise up to the tippy top of the filter, and I use Bunn filters which are a little taller than most. Although I have not had a problem myself, I can see where someone who likes an extra strong brew and adds a little more coffee might have an issue. For me it works, and I use about 10 tablespoons of coffee per full pot.

-I don't particularly like the automatic feature that starts the brewing cycle as soon as you close the lid to the water chamber. I would prefer to have a button to press, but its not a huge deal for me. Like another reviewer, I can see potential disaster if I have company or overnight guests and they want to make the coffee, and I haven't briefed them on how the machine works.

-Price is high when compared to the Mr. Coffee type machines with glass carafes, but I really do notice a difference in the taste of the coffee when I visit friends and they break out their $30 coffee maker after dinner. I think the price is a fair price for what you get, and although I haven't had it long enough to comment on its durability, Bunn typically makes products that stand up over time.

-The entire machine does have a rather large footprint, and it is bit taller than many coffeemakers. I have alot of counter space and my cabinets are high, so its not an issue for me, but do yourself a favor and take 30 seconds to measure the space where you intend to put the machine to make sure it will fit nicely.

Overall, if you're into good coffee, and you're willing to spend the money, and you're willing to overlook a few very minor flaws (see above) I would highly recommend this machine.

This brewer surprised me a little when I received it. First of all, it is fairly difficult to figure out because it holds two pots of water at a time. For most of us, this is a strange concept. However, it works well because one pot's worth of water stays hot all the time and the other that you pour in, replenishes the hot water in the lower chamber. It seems like a waste of enrgy to me so I put it on a timer to keep it from sitting there at 170 degrees or so all the time.
It brews a great pot of coffee at the proper temperature unlike many thermal carafe units.
All in all a great unit. But if you don't do well at programming VCRs than this isn't the unit for you. This is unit is probably geared more toward commercial or constant use. It brews a pot of coffee FAST as in three minutes because the water is already hot.
The carafe itself is very well made if not a bit tricky at first. You use your thumb to push the top part of the handle counterclockwise while holding the handle in your hand to get the top started so you can open it. Again, a little counter intuitive at first but very well made.
I like the Bunn better than any coffee maker I have owned, ever, but be prepared to have to give multiple lessons on its use to other family members.

I love this coffeemaker, but the carafe didn't just drip - it poured coffee down the front and onto the counter every time I poured a cup. I had to keep a towel on the counter to soak up the mess.
I called Bunn Customer Service and they gave me the story about cleaning it properly. I assured them that no amount of cleaning kept it from leaking. I was then informed that the carafe, or maybe the lid, had been "re-tooled" and that they would send me a new one. It took several weeks (they said it was backordered) but it finally came, and I have had absolutely no problems with it. The lid seems to fit much tighter than the original, but not a single drop goes where it's not meant to.
They also sent me a shipping label to use to send the old carafe back at no cost.

We needed a new coffee maker, and I decided to finally buy a good one, instead of the $30-$40 models I usually bought at Walmart or Target. My husband has a Bunn at work (commercial type) and liked it, so he recommended getting a Bunn home machine. I read the reviews here and was concerned about all the complaints of the leaking carafe. Then one of the reviewers mentioned that Bunn changed the carafe design in Feb 2007 and it no longer leaks, so I decided to give it a try. We've had the coffee maker for a few weeks now and I've never had a problem with the carafe leaking. I love the machine; it's amazing how fast it brews the coffee (3 minutes for a full pot). We use filtered/bottled water for better tasting coffee. I'd definitely recommend it!

I've had this coffeemaker for a couple of months now. I'm experiencing the same issue with the carafe spilling as the other reviewers have. For a $150 coffee pot, I'm very disappointed in the poor quality of the carafe. I'm glad I did some research before I ordered another carafe, considering another reviewer did the same and got a new carafe with the same problems. The quality of the coffee is fantastic, but it's really annoying to have to poor a cup of coffee out over the sink because the pot drips all over the place.

This pot delivers: great coffee, MUCH faster than any drip pot I've ever used. I love this machine for that.

The design is simple and efficient- not beautiful, but it grows on you. Lack of interrupt feature is no big deal because of the brewing speed. Lack of a clock is less important for the same reason- you can brew quickly after you wake up

But it exasperates me every day. To fill it without spilling water all over your counter, you have to lock the carafe lid in place before you pour the water in- otherwise it dribbles all down the carafe and onto the countertop, unless you pour VERY slowly and carefully. With the lid on, there's a tiny pour hole, so taking that safe route takes 35 seconds... just to pour in the water! This could be reduced to a couple of seconds, if the carafe had a larger pouring lip-instead of the stingy little lip that they provided.

If you fill the brewer from the carafe, abide by the fill line! The fill line looks like a seam, well down inside the carafe. It is unlabelled (!) If you fill past that line, you can expact a dramaic overflow, and puddle the counter and the floor with coffee.

The carafe lid is hard to use, because the twist-lock mechanism requires that you acatuate a tiny, recessed handle to twist the lid. This could easily be a nice big tab sticking up.

The carafe does an OK job of keeping the java hot, but as I noted above pours slowly, because there is no pour valve- so the pour hole has to be tiny to retain the coffee's heat.

So, pour slowly, or get a big measuring cup with a real pouring spout. Then don't overfill it. Your coffe will be ready in three minutes.

Length:: 4:25 Mins

There is a saying that you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. This has been our experience with other coffee makers....from Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Cone Coffeemaker, Black to Black & Decker to everything in-between. Finally we decided to bite-the-bullet and buy a Bunn. The Bunn BXT-B is not for everyone and if you don't plan on brewing a pot every few days you may shun the fact that the Bunn is always on - it really is an expense.

One thing to recognize - please follow the initial set-up guide (I briefly describe it in the video) if you do NOT follow the initial set-up you will likely ruin your Bunn and void your warranty.

Things that I like

- Brew coffee fast.... like 3-minutes fast - I have time to brew a *few* pots in the morning prior to going to work.
- Great Taste - much better than the traditional drip-through method.
- The thermal carafe is awesome - Bunn states that it will keep the coffee hot for 90 minutes, but I find it drinkable for much longer than that.
- Doesn't steam while brewing - makes it much safer for my cabinets
- Hot water on Demad - just pout the desired amount of water into the top and catch the hot water at the bottom (great for tea..... although it may be a touch warm for hot chocolate).
- Bunn quality - I expect to own this thing for 10 years

Things that you should know PRIOR to purchasing

- Again, this thing is always on... always pulling electricity
- Requires Bunn filters
- You probably will want to buy whole bean coffee such as Batdorf & Bronson Kenya AA, Whole Bean Coffee, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 3) and using a burr grinder. I use a cheap one Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill but it works well
- You may want to use filtered water
- Does require an occasional cleaning
- It is higher/taller than a standard coffee maker - save yourself some grief and make sure that you have a minimum of 16" clearance
- The tank remains warm o the touch..always
- I would HIGHLY recommend in spending the extra $$$ and buying the thermal carafe - absolutely worth the extra expense
- Not programmable at all - no clock or fancy electronics on the Bunn BTX-B. It simply brews coffee

Final Verdict - If you make at least a pot a day of coffee this is likely to be an investment that will pay major dividends. Easily the best coffee maker that I have ever used.

5 Stars

I always purchase Bunn coffee makers. However, I am extremely disappointed with this Thermofresh model. There are 2 primary problems with this model... problems that eliminate any advantage for buying it.

1) The coffee temperature at brew time is not as high as it should be, therefore creating "warm" coffee that is supposed to stay hot in the thermofresh carafe. Rather pitiful.

2) The carafe leaks unbelievably. No joke, if you don't pour over the sink you will be spending time cleaning up. I promise. ...and I hate seeing coffee poured into the sink.

Please think twice before you waste your money on this high-priced junk.

If you want a Bunn, and I usually recommend them, buy a different model.