Customer Reviews

BUNN BTD Velocity Brew High Altitude 10-Cup Thermal Carafe Home Coffee Brewer, Black

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I live in Pescott Valley which is 5,300 above sea level and I like my coffee HOT! With other coffee makers, I have to put the first cup in the Microwave to heat it up. Not the Bunn BTX-B(D)Hight altitude brewer. The first cup is on the verge of boiling. (My kind of coffee) It also only takes 3 minutes to brew, and reach that temperature. Even after a few hours the coffee is reasonably hot. It doesn't have a warmer, but a tank on the rear of the unit that keeps the water hot if you turn on the 'vacation switch'. I bought a $1,500.00 Espresso maker, but I find that I use the Bunn more often. It's much faster, and easier to clean. Everything is metal, no glass. The pot itself is Stainless steel. If you can afford $160.00 for a coffee maker that'll last a lifetime. This is the one to buy. Amazon has a great selection of coffee makers, and the price is right!

I thought I wanted a Technivorm, but had trouble with the concept of a $300 coffeemaker. I am a coffee geek who reasoned that if the best coffee comes out of a $20 French press, which is my considered opinion, how could I justify spending that much? Well, there is something to be said for speed and efficiency to get the family up and running first thing in the morning. My priorities were: ease of use, speed, quality of brew, and closely related, that the machine actually makes hot coffee. A carafe is a big plus, because I can't always get to the typical hot plate setup within 3 minutes, and after that the coffee tastes overcooked to me. This machine isn't cheap, but it is half the price of a Technivorm, and actually produces coffee at the correct temperature. If you preheat the carafe, it will keep it acceptably hot for at least a couple of hours. This machine is different from the average discount store drip brewer, and there is a definite learning curve involved, but isn't there always work involved in getting something right? My observations after playing with it for a week:

You can make the coffee as strong as you like. I went with the low-flow head (free from Bunn), and grind a little finer than I typically do for a drip maker. Many mistake bitterness from the typically over-extracted coffee with strength, character, richness, etc. You will not get a bitter cup from this machine. We have all become a little too familiar with the over-roasted, generic-tasting, bitter Starbucks brews as the new coffee standard. This machine will allow you to enjoy the varietal subtlties of the coffee in a way that for many will be a new, but enjoyable experience.

Given the speed of the brewing process, you will either need to work with a pre-ground coffee, or invest in a quality burr grinder. It will not tolerate the mixed pixie-dust to french press chunks that my old spinning blade grinder produced as it will clog the filter and overflow. You want a uniform, relatively fine grind and you will have to play with it to optimize this. The other big variable would be which brewing head you use. I like the restricted flow head (see above), but others who like plain old Folgers, etc. may be happier with the stock head.

I use a little more coffee per cup than I did for my old Krups, Braun, Cuisinart, Mellita, etc. I settled on about 15 Tbs/10 cups of water, but it depends on the coffee bean, roast, etc. This is about right for the Sumatra Grade I Mandheling that I roasted to Vienna level-- with this I am enjoying all kinds of subtle floral, cocoa, etc. flavors that I didn't appreciate before.

There are not a lot of bells and whistles; no timer, flow interruption, buzzers, etc. You don't need them because this machine is always ready to go and fast. It appears to be built like a tank. No leaks from the new carafe. As noted in many of the reviews above, not a particularly "green" machine as water is always kept hot. This is a plus if you brew multiple pots in a day, and you can have hot water available for tea on a moment's notice. This feature is terrific for a large family of coffee drinkers like us, or in an office setting. You can turn it off if this bothers you, and it will still be ready to go in 20 minutes or so. The actual cost of this is said to be around 12 cents/day- I will happily pay it.

It produces OMG hot coffee-- everyone in the family got scalded on the first pot because we approached the cup as if it came out of our old Cuisinart. It is the only carafe-brewed coffee that we have produced that approached this temperature, so be careful out there.

The machine is assembled in the USA, and with so many of us out of work that has to be a good thing. My brief experience with their customer service was painless,quick and efficient. And by the way, I found this machine at my local Wal Mart (after my purchase, of course) in the low altitude version for $10 cheaper than the online pricing. They also carry the proper Bunn filters which you will need.

We live 8,000 ft above sea level in the Colorado Rockies and this coffee pot was the best investment we've ever made. Finally threw away our last disappointing Mr. Coffee and bought this high altitude Bunn 6 months ago. It makes the perfect cup of coffee every time. Since it is specifically designed for high altitude we find we use less than half the amount of coffee to brew a pot than we used to use and the results are far better. We live in a hard water area and elected to use distilled water to make coffee so the pot never gets a buildup of nasty minerals. Be sure to buy Bunn filters as they are taller than usual coffee filters and are designed to avoid splashing of grounds above the level of the filter. Would buy this pot all over again and highly recommend it for anyone living at altitude. Bunn rocks!!!

My husband and I are totally happy with our new BUNN BXT Thermofresh coffee brewer. We can have coffee left in the pot when we go to bed and it's still hot the next morning (I have to ask when the last pot was made!). The second best thing is the new design of the carafe DOESN'T drip... life can't get any better (at least as far as a good, hot cup of coffee allows).

I had high hopes after reading the other reviews. Maybe it works better below 8000 ft? My coffee still needed to be microwaved to be considered "hot." And the "vacation switch" is a deal-breaker for energy-conscious types. It keeps a potful of water hot ALL the time, and the insulation is not that great. That rear cylindrical part you see in the picture is pretty warm. I guess that's is OK in the winter, but a real waste in the summer. Yes, it would be hard to measure less than a full pot. And yes, much less coffee is required. I over-ran the large filter my first pot. The good news nobody has mentioned is the pouring is great! No drips. Worth the extra money? No.

This coffee pot is fast, but has a couple of problems. Very first impression was there isn't a way to measure the water you are putting in the top, it would be if I had the clear pot, but really like the thermal. I do preheat the thermal pot by making a pot of hot water just before I go to bed, it's still hot in the morning. I heat my coffee cup with that water,go brush my teeth and the coffee is ready when I am done. I love that it doesn't beep in the quiet of the morning. My other issue is that it is so fast it takes more coffee for that perfect cup. I would buy this pot again, it makes a a great cup of smooth coffee.

This is a coffee maker that I would recommend buying - once you get the coffee water ration right ! I love the fact that I can have a hot cup of coffee in under 3 minutes ! We only have coffee in the mornings so we have it on a timer to have the water heated by the time we get up - that way it is not running all the time. the downside to this is that if visitors drop in we need to remember to turn it on.

We are big coffee drinkers in the Rocky Mtns. and we get the best tasting and fastest brewing coffee now. We have burned through so many Mr.Coffee $50 Brewers we felt the expense was worth it. Just be sure to get your larger filters, as Bunn really utilizes the whole basket area to produce a great tasting cup.

This coffee maker makes a great cup of coffee and stays hot for several hours without the burnt taste you get from coffee makers with the warmer.

If you 're in a hurry to make a pot of coffee, you can't beat this cofee maker. It will actuall make a steaming hot pot of coffee in 3 minutes. Its easy to use. Cleans nicely. I was pleasantly surprised. It may be a tad pricey but the convenience makes it worth it.