Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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208 of 217 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
VERY HIGH energy costs, August 16, 2008
Bunn Coffee Makers are very high quality coffee makers, and one typically needs to spend money to get this kind of quality. However, there are a few costs you should be aware of before you purchase a Bunn Coffee Maker. I'm not saying that it may not be worth it to you, but you may as well know all of the costs before purchasing.
They both have to do with how Bunn delivers such a fast pot - 3 minutes as opposed to 4-8 minutes of other makers. The first way they do it is to have what amounts to two sets of water tanks: one you fill, and the other is preheated. The preheated water tank is delivered to the spray head, and because it is preheated, it doesn't require any time to heat it up. The problem is that it is preheated 24/7, and that can be costly. I'm guessing they use a 100 watt heater. If it takes 15-30 cents per day in energy costs, you are looking at $50-$100 per year. You can, after you are done brewing for the day, shut off the "vacation switch" which is the switch to the tank heater, and this will save the cost and energy, but if you forget to turn it back on at least 15 minutes ahead of when you need it, you are looking at a 15 minute wait for the tank to reheat before you can brew.
Furthermore, if you are having guests, if you brew a pot of caffinated, followed by a pot of decaf, you may need to wait 15 minutes between pots. The Bunn commercial brewers keep three preheated tanks, so this isn't a problem for them. But the consumer models keep only one tank preheated.
Note that they work on gravity: the water you put in pushes the preheated water out. Some of the preheated water will evaporate, so you have to put in more water than you want out.
The second thing they do to get a fast brew is to increase the amount of water that pours in to the filter basket, far greater than other coffee makers. The amount of water would collapse other filters, but because these filters are taller and sturdier, they stand up. But that means you are stuck with their filters, which, if you don't have a supply nearby, and few stores carry them, means paying for the filters plus shipping.
Bunn builds coffee makers to last, unlike other coffee makers that will wear out after a year or two. Virtually all programmable models seem to only last a year or two. So by buying this brand, you'll save money on coffee makers, to partly make up for the extra energy and filter costs.
You'll have to decide whether the extra energy and filter costs (which can be dealt with, but might be troublesome) are worth saving the cost of buying a new machine every couple of years.
Next, the carbon footprint of a machine that consistently wastes energy is somewhat (but not all) counterbalanced by the fact that it is made in America, and does not require shipping halfway around the world like some of the better brands. Additionally, these coffee makers will easily outlast 5x other coffee makers, and that's a lot of plastic you save buy buying something only once.
Finally, the quality of coffee from a flat bottom filter is generally not as high as that you can get from a cone filter, though the differences will be subtle, and if you are used to the flavor of a flat bottom filter, then you may never care. This brand is considered the best of the flat bottom makers, so there may not be as much of a difference as there are for other brands.
As for the heated base keeping your coffee hot, it is also *ruining* the flavor from almost the very first minute. Any real coffee geek will immediately take the pot off the heater and pour it into a thermal carafe or thermos or will order a model with a thermal carafe to start with. Ideally, there is no heated base at all. So people complaining that it doesn't keep the coffee hot should invest in a thermal carafe or buy a model that comes with one.
In summary, the design of these coffee makers is suited to the standard donut shop, where they are brewing coffee around the clock and it is worth it to them to keep extra tanks of water heated so that they can shave 1-3 minutes off the brew time during their peak buying periods. Whether it is worth it for a consumer who makes one or two pots of coffee in the morning to do something like this is something only you can answer for yourself. They are very good coffee makers: well built and they make good coffee. But they cost a lot in terms of energy and filters, though partly balanced by the reduction in number of coffee makers you'll buy over the life of this product and the local nature of the product that reduces the energy required to ship them. It's one thing to have a high cost, but to have the high energy waste these coffee makers will generate for most consumers is something everyone should think about.
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Consider the long term cost AND coffee quality, August 5, 2007
We just bought this Bunn coffee maker to replace one that had been in use for almost fifteen years. We average two pots of coffee per day. Prorate $100 over 15 years. Not real expensive per year. Our old Bunn failed because I didn't use common sense when handling it. I picked up the unit by the upper plastic portion of the coffee maker when moving it for cleaning, etc. With the water in the reservoir there's too much weight to pick it up that way. This broke some of the internal joints and caused leaking. Be smarter than me...pick it up by the base or vertical center section when its full of water. That's the main thing I wanted to say to those owning this coffee maker.
The other reviewers have stated all the great features of Bunn coffee makers, so I won't detail them again. This is our third Bunn and I wouldn't consider anything else. Well.....to be honest, I was tempted to buy a Bunn commercial coffee maker like the VP17-1. Good luck.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply amazing - fast, March 26, 2007
It was that time again; time to search for our next coffee maker. Being tired of replacing the coffee maker every 6 months we set out to look closer at build quality and read more reviews this time. We purchased three other coffee makers by a company that's been around forever, Mr. Something. Nice looking, fancy green LED dial display with a timer, 12 cups, programmable, 2 hour auto shut off etc. for around $40-$50. Those machines only lasted around 6-7 months.
I always wanted a Bunn but was hesitant spending $100+ for a coffee maker again. Actually, I don't recall seeing a BUNN for around $100 the last time I shopped. It's not that spending $100+ was something new for me; I purchased other machines over $100 before but was also disappointed.
This coffee maker purchasing was beginning to be a regular thing for us so the line of thought was purchase a cheap one and replace it. So that is what we did but its costly doing that too. Buy a new machine in Jan. then June then again around Christmas time, that's $150 right there! I remember thinking the last time; we should buy two so when it breaks we have a backup.
So anyway, we have the BUNN NHBX. The experience setting this machine up was unlike any other coffee machine in the past. I actually had to follow directions, 5 simple steps but IMPORTANT STEPS. It's not like you just plug this machine in and go, 3 minutes later - drink coffee. It does require some initial setup, approximately 20-30 minutes from opening the box. Bunn includes a quick setup guide in addition to a nice manual and a deliming tool. Adding 3 pots of water to the machine seemed odd at first not fully understanding the hot water reservoir design.
This machine makes the best tasting pot of coffee of all the machines I owned in the past. It's also the hottest pot! The warmer plate seems unnecessary. This machine made coffee as quick as 2 min 35 secs up to 3 mins.
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