Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker
The Bonavita BV1800 is the best choice for the money
If you’re a home coffee enthusiast looking for a great brewer, the Bonavita BV1800 Coffee Maker just might be what you are looking for! I’ve used just about every type of coffee machine you can imagine including commercial tank brewers like the classic Bunn VP and Bloomfield as well as home units by, Cuisinart, Keurig, Flavia and Krups. Our most recent home brewer was the “Cuisinart Grind & Brew” which finally gave up the ghost after 6 years. It was a good machine but was a pain to clean and I really didn’t like the “chop style” grinder.
I already had an idea of the style of machine I wanted but before making a decision, I decided to use the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) as a referral to select our next brewer. Why? Because, the goal is a great cup of coffee, and while you must first have “great” coffee to brew, you also need a “great” brewer. What better place to start than the SCAA.
The Bonavita BV1800 is one of only 4 approved home coffee brewers
To my surprise, there are only 4 home coffee brewers that are currently approved & recommended by the SCAA. Looking at them a bit closer, none of them include a built in grinder. That means I will need to purchase a grinder too. I don’t have a problem with that because I can use it for single pour-overs too. So, the 4 approved and recommended home coffee brewers by the SCAA are:
- Technivorm Moccamaster
- Lance Larkin BE 112 Brew Express
- Bunn HG Home Brewer
- Bonavita BV1800 8 Cup Exceptional Brew Coffee Maker with glass or thermal carafe
My son has the Technivorm Moccamaster and it is exceptional. They only problem is the height; It won’t fit under our cabinets. The Lance Larkin BE 112 is too pricy for a home brewer. It uses a water line and does not meet my requirements. I had never had a good experience with Bunn home equipment; Too much plastic unlike their sisters the commercial units of mostly stainless steel. That leaves us with the Bonavita. Reading the reviews on Amazon confirmed why the SCAA approved this unit. Not only did it meet the stringent requirements from the Specialty Coffee Association but it brews great coffee and is extremely simple to operate and maintain.
I like the Bonavita BV1800 8 Cup Exceptional Brew coffee maker because it brews coffee to ideal coffee standards which include water temperature (205 degrees), contact time, and coffee grounds saturation. I did notice that the Bonavita uses a 5 ounce serving as their standard for measuring and our Cuisinart was 6 ounces. The Bonavia BV1800 brews a total of 40 ounces while the Moccamaster brews 48. If capacity is an issue, the Bonavita gets a lower grade. If brewing time is an issue, the Bonavita BV1800 gets all high marks because it brews fast but not so fast that the coffee saturation is affected. I purchased the stainless steel carafe version because it keeps our coffee hot without the use of hotplates. Two other factors I really appreciated were the trigger top for the carafe and the easy flip lid to pour the water into the brewer. The coffee is brewed perfectly and the auto-shutoff feature is a great safety benefit. Time will tell if this brewer will offer long lasting service but first impressions are very strong.
Stay tuned for my review on the grinder I purchase.
