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Product Description
Amazon.com
Lots of folks dislike the burnt flavor that coffee gets when it sits in a glass pot over a heating element. To avoid this, coffee shops often brew right into large thermal pots to keep the coffee warm without it becoming overcooked. The Zojirushi Fresh Brew does that, too, but in home-sized batches. It looks great, too, with a glossy black body and stainless steel carafe and brew basket.
To brew, lift the lid and swing the water outlet spout to one side while the filter is being loaded; the spout will return to its proper position when the lid is closed. A small red ball in the water gauge makes it extra simple to read. And an electronic clock module also serves as a timer that will start the brewer at a specified time. The carafe's lid is designed to be on during brewing, with a small cap to help keep the heat in after it's ready. The Fresh Brew also has a pause-and-serve function that stops the flow for 30 seconds while a cup of coffee is served.
To clean the brewer unit, use a solution of white vinegar and water, following the instructions in the accompanying booklet. The unit is not immersible. The exterior can be wiped with a damp soft rag; do not use abrasives or scouring pads. The filter reservoir is removable; clean with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly. The coffee brewer measures 15 by 12 by 9 inches (includes carafe handle when unit is completely assembled), and it uses #4 cone-shaped disposable paper filters. The Fresh Brew comes with a detailed instruction booklet. Zojirushi guarantees its products with a one-year limited warranty. --Garland Withers
Product Description
Zojirushi's EC-BD15BA 1.5 Liter Fresh Brew Coffee Maker with Vacuum Stainless Steel Carafe is gorgeous and functional and will look spectacular on your countertop. It has many wonderful features.
Available Extended Warranties for This Appliance
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1,316 of 1,353 people found the following review helpful
By Doug Cadmus
Amazon Verified Purchase
I've spent several weeks week getting to know the Zojirushi Fresh Brew... and for the most part, I'm quite pleased. It has some foibles [which I'll get to in a moment] but on the whole it's a very capable coffee brewer. More, it's one of the very few home models I know that can brew 8 cups of just-roasted coffee at a proper 2 tablespoons per cup ratio without fuss, and - this is important! - maintain proper brewing temperatures throughout the entire brew cycle.
The details...
Zoji has been making vacuum pots and the like for nearly 100 years, and they've been making an assortment of rice-cookers, tea brewers and hot water dispensers for decades. While this is, I believe, their first home coffee brewer, they've got more than a little experience in kitchen electrics. They've put that experience to good use.
If you've ever brewed up a thermos full of coffee using a big Melitta filter cone then this setup will look pretty familiar. For all intents and purposes, the Fresh Brew simply adds an automated hot water delivery system to the mix... with a few improvements.
Improvement number one: not only does this system brew into an all-stainless thermal carafe [no hot plate here, thankyouverymuch] but it also insulates the brew basket. What good is it, after all, to heat up all that water if it's just going to get cold while you're brewing? This is huge! This is important! This is... well, I'm excited about it, okay?
Improvement number two: the Fresh Brew features an accurate gauge of water volume. When it reads that you've got 8 cups of water in the brewer's reservoir, it means it. Mind you, we're talking 6 oz. cups of water -- that's the way the coffee world measures a cup [unless you're Bodum and then it's 4 oz.].
Improvement number three: the Fresh Brew is patient. The biggest pain about the manual pour-over method is that you've got to wait to add more water, especially if the coffee is really fresh. Fresh coffee blooms with its charge of CO2! Faced with a full basket of coffee that was literally fresh from the roaster the Zoji didn't overflow, nor did it heave grounds into the water dispensing shower-head. More, the grounds were thoroughly saturated; no dry spots.
So where's the foibles?
Like a great many autodrip brewers the feeder tube that comes from the Zoji's heating element to the shower-head takes a straight path right through the water reservoir. For most brewers this is a game-over situation... the heating element simply can't overcome the heat exchange that occurs en route to the brew-head. On the Zoji, the heating element *does* get hot enough... provided that the water you've placed in the reservoir is not *too* cold.
Example A: In the office using the "unchilled" spigot on the water cooler, I draw off 48 ounces of water for the reservoir and brew a pot. Throughout the brew cycle water temperatures in the brew basket range between 195 and 200 degrees F. The result is a lovely pot of Ethiopian Yrgacheffe that is sweet, floral and lemony.
Example B: At home I draw off 48 ounces of water from the water filter in-line with the refridgerator. The temperature of the water in the reservoir is about 40 degrees F. and the resulting temperature in the brew basket never tops 185 degrees F. The result is an icky pot of the very same Yrgacheffe that is bitter, murky and flat.
The moral: mind your initial water temperature and you'll do just fine.
All in all, the Zojirushi Fresh Brew is capable of making 8 cups of coffee that's on a par with manual pourover methods. Better, really, as it insulates the brew-basket to better maintain water temperatures.
The details...
Zoji has been making vacuum pots and the like for nearly 100 years, and they've been making an assortment of rice-cookers, tea brewers and hot water dispensers for decades. While this is, I believe, their first home coffee brewer, they've got more than a little experience in kitchen electrics. They've put that experience to good use.
If you've ever brewed up a thermos full of coffee using a big Melitta filter cone then this setup will look pretty familiar. For all intents and purposes, the Fresh Brew simply adds an automated hot water delivery system to the mix... with a few improvements.
Improvement number one: not only does this system brew into an all-stainless thermal carafe [no hot plate here, thankyouverymuch] but it also insulates the brew basket. What good is it, after all, to heat up all that water if it's just going to get cold while you're brewing? This is huge! This is important! This is... well, I'm excited about it, okay?
Improvement number two: the Fresh Brew features an accurate gauge of water volume. When it reads that you've got 8 cups of water in the brewer's reservoir, it means it. Mind you, we're talking 6 oz. cups of water -- that's the way the coffee world measures a cup [unless you're Bodum and then it's 4 oz.].
Improvement number three: the Fresh Brew is patient. The biggest pain about the manual pour-over method is that you've got to wait to add more water, especially if the coffee is really fresh. Fresh coffee blooms with its charge of CO2! Faced with a full basket of coffee that was literally fresh from the roaster the Zoji didn't overflow, nor did it heave grounds into the water dispensing shower-head. More, the grounds were thoroughly saturated; no dry spots.
So where's the foibles?
Like a great many autodrip brewers the feeder tube that comes from the Zoji's heating element to the shower-head takes a straight path right through the water reservoir. For most brewers this is a game-over situation... the heating element simply can't overcome the heat exchange that occurs en route to the brew-head. On the Zoji, the heating element *does* get hot enough... provided that the water you've placed in the reservoir is not *too* cold.
Example A: In the office using the "unchilled" spigot on the water cooler, I draw off 48 ounces of water for the reservoir and brew a pot. Throughout the brew cycle water temperatures in the brew basket range between 195 and 200 degrees F. The result is a lovely pot of Ethiopian Yrgacheffe that is sweet, floral and lemony.
Example B: At home I draw off 48 ounces of water from the water filter in-line with the refridgerator. The temperature of the water in the reservoir is about 40 degrees F. and the resulting temperature in the brew basket never tops 185 degrees F. The result is an icky pot of the very same Yrgacheffe that is bitter, murky and flat.
The moral: mind your initial water temperature and you'll do just fine.
All in all, the Zojirushi Fresh Brew is capable of making 8 cups of coffee that's on a par with manual pourover methods. Better, really, as it insulates the brew-basket to better maintain water temperatures.
113 of 113 people found the following review helpful
By Saracen
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have owned A LOT of coffeemakers over the course of my 50 years (alright I didn't own many the first 15 years or so,) and I even sold them back in 2000 when I worked in the housewares department of my local Filene's department store. As I stated in the title of this review, I believe that the Zojirushi Fresh Brew is better than any of those other brands; not because it has more bells and whistles (it doesn't), not because it's better looking (it is), but because it makes the best cup of coffee I have ever had.
The unit heats the water to a near perfect brewing temperature of 185 to 190 degress. The brew time is also just about ideal; it brews a 50 ounce carafe in 9 1/2 minutes (Zojirushi calls it a 10 cup carafe, I call it 2 1/2 cups, but I use a 20oz mug). The coffee comes out nice and hot, and neither too weak from too short a brewing time, nor scalded from too long a brewing time.
The Fresh Brew uses either #4 paper filters or a #4 gold filter. The original design used a #3 filter, and the filter holder is a little small for a #4. If you moisten the filter (as you really ought to anyway) before putting it in the holder, it fits perfectly. I've tried brewing coffee in this machine with both a gold filter and an unbleached paper filter; personally I prefer the coffee brewed with the paper filter (the gold filter allows more particulates to get into the coffee).
To get the best cup of coffee possible, you will want to grind your coffee finer than you probably have been. I have found that one step up from Espresso gind gives me the best flavour. Also, the single biggest reason people get a bad cup of coffee out of any coffee maker is that they don't use enough coffee. In this machine, I use 1 3/4 scoops of coffee for every 6 oz of water, so for a full pot I use 14 scoops.
On other machines I've owned (Krups and DeLonghi in particular), the water reservoir was so long and narrow, that it was difficult to fill it without flooding the counter top. Not so with the Zojirushi, the reservoir has a nice, wide, opening.
Also, unlike some other coffee makers, the thermal carafe of the Fresh Brew has a pouring spout, so the coffee goes in your cup/mug, not all over the counter. The carafe itself is an insulated, double-walled, stainless steel, thermal carafe. Absolutely no heat is transmitted to the outer surface of the carafe, which of course means your coffee stays hotter. Also, since it is a thermal carafe, there is no heating element in the base of the Fresh Brew. This means that there is no chance of the coffee being "burned" from sitting on a heating pad for too long. Don't leave the carafe on the Fresh Brew if you plan to leave coffee in it for any length of time. The carrafe has a top which you can put on, closing the opening where the coffee runs into the carafe. Sealed like that, the coffee will stay hot and fresh all day, but the top prevents the carafe from sitting on the coffee maker.
As for the bells and whistles, the Zojirushi only has a digital clock and a programmable auto brew feature.
On top of everything else, the Zojirushi sells for about half to two-thirds the suggested retail price of the other brands. How can you go wrong? With the Zojirushi Fresh Brew, you get the best possible cup of coffee (in my opinion) for about half the price of other coffee makers.
The unit heats the water to a near perfect brewing temperature of 185 to 190 degress. The brew time is also just about ideal; it brews a 50 ounce carafe in 9 1/2 minutes (Zojirushi calls it a 10 cup carafe, I call it 2 1/2 cups, but I use a 20oz mug). The coffee comes out nice and hot, and neither too weak from too short a brewing time, nor scalded from too long a brewing time.
The Fresh Brew uses either #4 paper filters or a #4 gold filter. The original design used a #3 filter, and the filter holder is a little small for a #4. If you moisten the filter (as you really ought to anyway) before putting it in the holder, it fits perfectly. I've tried brewing coffee in this machine with both a gold filter and an unbleached paper filter; personally I prefer the coffee brewed with the paper filter (the gold filter allows more particulates to get into the coffee).
To get the best cup of coffee possible, you will want to grind your coffee finer than you probably have been. I have found that one step up from Espresso gind gives me the best flavour. Also, the single biggest reason people get a bad cup of coffee out of any coffee maker is that they don't use enough coffee. In this machine, I use 1 3/4 scoops of coffee for every 6 oz of water, so for a full pot I use 14 scoops.
On other machines I've owned (Krups and DeLonghi in particular), the water reservoir was so long and narrow, that it was difficult to fill it without flooding the counter top. Not so with the Zojirushi, the reservoir has a nice, wide, opening.
Also, unlike some other coffee makers, the thermal carafe of the Fresh Brew has a pouring spout, so the coffee goes in your cup/mug, not all over the counter. The carafe itself is an insulated, double-walled, stainless steel, thermal carafe. Absolutely no heat is transmitted to the outer surface of the carafe, which of course means your coffee stays hotter. Also, since it is a thermal carafe, there is no heating element in the base of the Fresh Brew. This means that there is no chance of the coffee being "burned" from sitting on a heating pad for too long. Don't leave the carafe on the Fresh Brew if you plan to leave coffee in it for any length of time. The carrafe has a top which you can put on, closing the opening where the coffee runs into the carafe. Sealed like that, the coffee will stay hot and fresh all day, but the top prevents the carafe from sitting on the coffee maker.
As for the bells and whistles, the Zojirushi only has a digital clock and a programmable auto brew feature.
On top of everything else, the Zojirushi sells for about half to two-thirds the suggested retail price of the other brands. How can you go wrong? With the Zojirushi Fresh Brew, you get the best possible cup of coffee (in my opinion) for about half the price of other coffee makers.
384 of 401 people found the following review helpful
I really wanted this machine to work - nice design, good features, good price.
The first one I got had the little carafe cap broken. Not a big deal, I emailed the company and they promised to send me another one. About a week later, the unit simply stopped brewing. I called the support line for troubleshooting and they told me to send the unit back for replacement.
I sent it back and Amazon shipped another one out promptly. Everything was fine the first day, but when I picked up the carafe the next day, the bottom came right off in my hand exposing the innards of the seal mechanism for the thermos. The spot welds all along the rim hadn't taken and the carafe literally came apart in my hands.
Again I called the company asking if this was normal. Again they told me to return it and "give them one more chance". So I tried to - like I say, I really wanted this machine to work.
Unfortunately the response I got from Amazon was:
"As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread
than we originally thought, we are not able to send another
replacement."
Probably just as well, after going through 2 units in under 2 weeks, the chances of the third one lasting anywhere near as long as I'd want it to are about nil.
So you can roll the dice and perhaps get yourself a good one - I did it twice and unfortunately got 2 lemons in a row.
Buyer beware.
(I never did get the replacement cap from the first one. When I called about that, the rep I spoke to told me that they get so many calls that it's impossible for them to follow up on each one to make sure it was resolved. I can see why they're overwhelmed with support calls and it's even more disturbing that customer service lets things slip through the cracks like this...)
(about a month later)
I replaced this with a Braun KF600... the choice is obvious having had both machines: the Braun is simply a better designed and better constructed machine for about the same price. Save yourself the hassle and buy it instead. It takes up less counter space, has a gold cone filter instead of the ill-fitting #4 paper filters, there's no twist cap on the carafe to fight with...
To be fair, it doesn't have a timer. Not a big deal for me.
The first one I got had the little carafe cap broken. Not a big deal, I emailed the company and they promised to send me another one. About a week later, the unit simply stopped brewing. I called the support line for troubleshooting and they told me to send the unit back for replacement.
I sent it back and Amazon shipped another one out promptly. Everything was fine the first day, but when I picked up the carafe the next day, the bottom came right off in my hand exposing the innards of the seal mechanism for the thermos. The spot welds all along the rim hadn't taken and the carafe literally came apart in my hands.
Again I called the company asking if this was normal. Again they told me to return it and "give them one more chance". So I tried to - like I say, I really wanted this machine to work.
Unfortunately the response I got from Amazon was:
"As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread
than we originally thought, we are not able to send another
replacement."
Probably just as well, after going through 2 units in under 2 weeks, the chances of the third one lasting anywhere near as long as I'd want it to are about nil.
So you can roll the dice and perhaps get yourself a good one - I did it twice and unfortunately got 2 lemons in a row.
Buyer beware.
(I never did get the replacement cap from the first one. When I called about that, the rep I spoke to told me that they get so many calls that it's impossible for them to follow up on each one to make sure it was resolved. I can see why they're overwhelmed with support calls and it's even more disturbing that customer service lets things slip through the cracks like this...)
(about a month later)
I replaced this with a Braun KF600... the choice is obvious having had both machines: the Braun is simply a better designed and better constructed machine for about the same price. Save yourself the hassle and buy it instead. It takes up less counter space, has a gold cone filter instead of the ill-fitting #4 paper filters, there's no twist cap on the carafe to fight with...
To be fair, it doesn't have a timer. Not a big deal for me.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Coffee Maker Hard to Open Lid
We bought this Coffee Maker because we needed a new one and we wanted to replace with the Carafe style. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Rich Olson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best coffee maker I've ever had
This was a replacement for my first Zojirushi of the same model, which, at 10 years old, finally just expired from old age. Read more
Published 3 days ago by JP
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works as advertised
The only mistake I made was to try to use my old gold filter from my Starbucks drip maker. Did a great job of filling the drawers with coffee. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Carl
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bought this 18 months ago
Still works great! The lid can be difficult to get on and off, but a dish towel helps resolve that issue.
Published 4 days ago by S. Crangle
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
I would give this coffee maker only one star were it not for the metal carafe. After using it for only one week, I gave it away. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Ann
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very poor quality and design
Don't believe the positive reviews. You can go get a cheap $30 coffee maker and it would perform better than this. Read more
Published 7 days ago by D. Scher
3.0 out of 5 stars
Easy basic coffee maker
In terms of ease in use this coffee maker would get 5 stars. Unfortunately, the thermal carafe doesn't keep the coffee very hot. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Donna Turay
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very pleased with the Zojirushi Fresh Brew
When my old Cuisinart coffee maker decided to unexpectedly die, I spent the next several days researching various brands with various attributes selling at various prices. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Jean Hoyt
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is my second Zojirushi Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker
I continue to buy this product specifically for the "Thermal Carafe"; but, I must say that the coffee I use in it brews very good. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Constance Murphy
2.0 out of 5 stars
It does leak under certain conditions
I was puzzled by some of the reviews saying this coffee maker leaked after I made my first pot with no problem. I chalked it up to people that cannot follow simple directions. Read more
Published 12 days ago by a guy in U.S.A.
