Brazen Coffee Maker, 8 cups, Stainless Steel

This review will be updated over the months (and hopefully years!) that I will have had and used this coffee machine. If performance goes down as time goes on, I will let you know. If performance stays the same as it did today, my first day of usage, I will make sure to come back to this particular review and update it, to keep prospective buyers aware of the quality, or lack thereof, of this coffee maker.So, today on 11/28/2017, was my first usage of this machine. I followed the instructions for calibrating the machine, and setting the altitude for my region. Some people complain on how long it take to brew a pot of coffee (about 10 minutes), but I am NOT bothered in the slightest by that. and the water gets HOT! So please, be careful with your little ones. I know this is advisable for all coffee machines, but I never had a machine where you can actively see the water boiling at the top of the machine. But I am a complete safety freak when it comes to my little one...but I digress. On to the machine itself....So, I used the pre-infusion feature, and oh my, do I now love pre-infusion! I hear that hot water heating up, and begin drip-drip-drip onto the unsuspecting ground coffee beans... and then just stop....and steep, and soak...boy oh boy... daddy likey. And after my pre-programmed 1.5 minutes of pre-brew action, it starts to actually brew my coffee (calm down, Anthony...its just coffee)! Either way, I like not having a hot-plate for my carafe, and this is the first machine I have used to have a thermal carafe instead of glass one. I will never, ever, ever have my coffee in a carafe for very long, so I may never really be able to give a good review of the thermal capacities of the carafe itself. I know some reviewers complained about it cooling to quickly, but when I read that, I scoffed at their utter lack of coffee-consumption skills, and made a remark about caffeine-lightweights, and let out a resonating, low-pitched laugh. Something like "bwaaa-hahaha". I mean, does it really takes hours for people to drink 8 cups of coffee!Either way, I am so excited about brewing some yummy, caffeinated goodness at least twice a day....maybe thrice. For my coffee regimen, I plan on using only filtered and/or distilled water. No tap water. I may actually invest in a water filter system for my home, but either way, that is the plan. And I will descale this machine every 2 or 3 months. But for today, my first full pot was really, really good. I am SUPER picky when it comes to coffee. I am known in my company as the coffee-bean. I have seriously converted many non-coffee drinkers into enthusiastic coffee drinkers. I wear that badge with honor. And the Behmor did me right today. And if it begins to fail, this review will tell the tale of truth about this machine. Shoot, put a comment on this review, and I will answer all the questions I can about this machine. I am very sure no one else will experiment with this machine like I am going to!1st update, 11/29/2017 (one day later, tee-hee): So, a thermal carafe review. I left the coffee in the carafe for an hour and 30 minutes. 90 minutes people! The coffee was steaming hot! It was 8 cups of coffee. I think the people that complaining about the coolness of the coffee might be leaving like 1 or 2 cups of coffee left in the carafe for an hour or 2 at a time. But, for the the entire 8 cups, it was perfect! Another thing I noticed, is how smooth the coffee tastes. I taste no bitterness at all. I am not used to this. You don't realize it until you actually experience it, but a lot of us are used to drinking bitter coffee. And we are accustomed in having to tame that bitterness with creamer and sugar. It's so smooth that I'm tempted to brew another pot and try it with no creamer and sugar, because it may not need it anymore. Very interesting.2nd Update, 01/09/2018: Love it more as I begin to experiment. I have the temperature I like, the pre-infusion I like, and amount of grounds I like, the coffee I like. And I NAILED my perfect cup. This machine has really started me on a journey of learning what coffee is supposed to be. I know people may think I am blowing smoke here, but I am truly enthusiastic about coffee more than ever before. It's like a guitarist that has had mediocre instruments, and then buys a Jimmie Vaughan Stratocastor, with upgraded pickups (I have one..tee-hee). The right instrument can really make all the difference in the world. Likewise, it is the same with getting the right machine. With this machine, I could learn what a really outstanding cup of coffee could be. This is what I learned these last few months:1) Temperature matters. I went from the hottest it can get to lower, and I am telling you, I can taste the difference. I like 205. It hits the mark for my coffee.2) Thermal Carafes really do make a difference! I would have never known. I now understand how a heated, glass carafe can degrade the fine balance between good and bad coffee rather quickly. I have the coffee in the thermal carafe for an hour, and partake of it's caffeinated goodness, and it just tastes so much better than my former coffee machine. I can never go back to glass carafes after this.3) The shape of the filter or cone makes a difference too! Who woulda thunk it?! A flatter filter versus the conical filter does change the characteristics of the coffee. The flat filters make a smoother cup. The conical one makes a more bold or even bitter cup. I never knew. I actually would love to have an option of going back and forth from 2 types of filters. Another coffee enthusiast on Amazon actually had stop-piece made that would sit on the flat coffee filter, and divert water to the edge of the filter, to force the drip-brew to mimic the characteristics of a cone filter. I would like to experiment with that one day.4) Pre-infusion can make a big difference. Wow, a new one for me. I actually a method of pre-infusion that i do in conjunction with the Behmor's already included pre-infusion step. I actually take about half a cup of hot water, take out the filter holder, filter, and coffee grounds, and poor the water into the coffee-grounds as I am holding it. Once the water in the Behmor is going to start brewing, I place the coffee filter, and filter holder back into it's place, and then the brewing starts. BE CAREFUL AND USE THIS METHOD AT YOUR OWN RISK!5) The drip surface area makes a difference. A lot of coffee makers drip the water onto the grounds in a very narrow stream, so all the coffee does not get equally wet, and you get grounds that are not fully brewed. Terrible, terrible. The Behmor drips coffee very evenly and gets ALL he grounds equally soaked. Big Deal people.ok...it's 3:30 am, and I need to finish my resume for another job. Wish me luck!02/28/2018...I found a flaw. It's not a deal breaker, but I can see how it may be a problem in the future. I included 3 extra pictures in my review to show what I am n taking about. The display gets moisture inside the plastic window where the time and settings read. Is this a problem? I am not sure. But my common sense is tingling like a Peter Parker, and my guesstimation is that moisture-buildup in any area where electronic components are is not a good thing in the long run. In my reasoning, there may be moisture in areas we can not see, and that may be why some people are complaining of their Behmor going on the fritz after a couple of years. And just so you know, the condensation you see in my pictures are INSIDE the display, not outside. So, I am reaching out to Behmor, and asking them what they think about this. But also, you guys that know a thing or two about coffee machines, what say ye? Is this a valid concern of mine, or is my conundrum but the ramblings of an overly critical coffee connoisseur, and should be laid to rest as such? What say ye?!09/28/2018Constant usage from this machine! I make AT LEAST 16 cups a day, and sometimes 24 cups. No problems so far. Almost a year since I bought it. I noticed that Amazon only has one more, as of today's date, for sale. And it is selling for $350?! Crazy. It has not disappointed, other than the condensation on the little display. Coffee is GREAT, GREAT, GREAT! If it makes it 2 years, on how heavy I use it, I will be impressed.My advice to Behmor: Don't reinvent the wheel with future designs. The Wifi version, that one is hit or miss. The Plus (non-wifi) has a GREAT design and aesthetic. This is your niche. So, fix the small issues people have had:- like maybe make it 10 cups instead of 8- make a glass carafe with heated plate (i prefer the non-heated version, but I am just giving ideas)- Figure out a way to divert the steam from any electronics,- Make the steeping feature actually hold the water in the coffee grinds before releasing the liquid. So it would be a true steeping experience. I would suggest a button that you can push to keep it from releasing the liquid. It would not be automatic, because you are ASKING for trouble if it was automatic, and it malfunctioned.- Serious consideration would be to have different shaped containers for the coffee grinds. The shape of the cone and filter makes a difference in flavor. If you want a really bold taste, make the filter and container conical, like the Ninja. If you want smoother, use the flat filter. Just something I have noticed, but very few people have talked about.Either way, see you guys in a few months when I am at the 1 year mark. COFFEE!!!02/26/2019:Still going STRONG! And the coffee is SO YUMMY GOOD! I do not know why Behmor doesn't make this machine anymore. It is almost pointless to continue to review this machine, but I will. If anything, I want to see how long this baby lasts. Either way, I make about 16 cups a day, sometimes 24. Every day. Never do I skip a day. It simply has not failed. IT BLOWS AWAY MY OLD NINJA! We will see if it makes it to 2 years. Either way, as of today, their are only 3 of this model that you can buy online. One is a severely used one for $55, one for $117, and one for $198. Man, Behmor. You should have done small upgrades to the unit, and continued to make them, because this is one great machine, IMHO.Edit: 09/22/19Almost 2 years. Not one hiccup. Carry on!Edit: 12/22/19Over 2 years! Delicious!Edit: 07/12/2023Hi there! You still here? Well, I am too! I stopped using this machine for a couple of years during the pandemic, because the local grocery store would run out of distilled water. I just started using this machine again.....SO DELISH!!!!

If you're looking for great coffee, you have probably been looking at these two machines, and trying to choose between them.I have both the Bona Vita coffeemaker and the Behmor Brazen Plus now, so I will review these on a comparative basis.SUMMARYBoth of these machines will make great coffee. The Brazen does better at very high altitudes but has roughly double the brewing time of the Bonavita. The Brazen has a lot of flexibility with electronic controls, the Bonavita is simple and fast. If I lived at low altitude, I would probably give the nod to the Bonavita because of that simplicity and speed. If you want flexibility in brewing temperature and pre-soak makes a difference for your coffee, or you live at high altitude, then the Brazen will be a better choice.I live at 6400 feet, almost 2000 meter elevation. This creates challenges for automated coffee makers since the boiling point of water is about 200 degrees F. The usual Mr. Coffee type coffee makers simply don't get hot enough to make great coffee at this altitude.MECHANICSThe Bonavita is a nice, compact machine. I have a shelf 17" over part of my counter which my Kitchenaid just fits under. The Bonavita shares that space perfectly with room to open the top and pour water into it. The Bonavita takes up about 7" deep by 10" width of counter space, the Brazen takes up 9" square. A bit deeper, and similar on the width. The big difference is the height. The Brazen is tall. It can not be kept under a shelf. With the lid up, the Bonavita is just over 15" high - and the top of the water tank is just under 12" high. The top of the Brazen is about 16", and that is the top of the water tank. You will need to have a minimum of 21" height to be able to fill this machine. Open space above is better! The distance from the shower head to the base is 9 7/8" on the Bonavita and 9" on the Brazen (with the filter holder removed).The carafe on the Bonavita is significantly larger than the carafe of the Brazen, although the capacity is almost the same - the Bonavita having a very little extra room inside after 8 cups brewed, while the Brazen is completely full. The Brazen carafe is completely stainless steel, interior and exterior, with no warnings other than to not wash in a dishwasher. The Bonavita interior is glass, and has warnings to not use abrasive cleaners or brushes. It comes with a foam sponge on a handle for cleaning. The Brazen carafe brew-through lid stays on while brewing, the Bonavita lid is put on after brewing and has a spring-loaded sealing lever. Both will dribble if you pour too aggressively, but are fine if you pour at a modest speed.HOW THEY BREWThe Bonavita works just like the regular Mr. Coffee type drip machines, only better. The Bonavita essentially is an automated pour-over system.. The conical (Melitta #4) filters are placed in a separate filter holder which fits on top of the carafe. If you wanted to, you could use that filter holder on top of the carafe as a manual pour-over with water heated from your kettle. The carafe and filter holder combination is placed under the showerhead on the machine. Water is heated in a fashion similar to almost all other drip coffee makers using the geyser principle, using steam pressure to bubble up to the shower head and pour through the filter. At the end of the process, there may be some steam, but it's not too much. The system uses a higher power heater than most coffee makers, so the water heats faster and brews faster. This also keeps the temperature higher than the more garden-variety coffee makers. When the brewing is done (you'll know by the lack of bubbling noise), take out the carafe with the filter holder on it, dump the filter, rinse the filter holder, put the lid on the carafe and you're finished. The only real difference between this and a manual pour-over is that you do not have to hold the kettle and slowly pour into the filter.The Brazen machine is completely high-tech by comparison. Water is heated to exactly your desired temperature in a stainless steel reservoir on the top of the machine. When it reaches the programmed temperature, it is slowly released through the filter holder and down into the carafe. The filter holder slides out, and will accommodate the supplied gold-mesh filter or paper basket filters, depending upon your preference. The carafe sits under the filter holder. You need to use the Brazen carafe if you are using the built-in filter holder, since the filter holder has a spring-loaded anti drip valve that is opened by the carafe underneath. There is a manual water release mode so that you can use the Brazen to shower the heated water into a different carafe or a French Press, but you must remove the filter holder.CONTROLS and PROGRAMMINGThe Bonavita is pure simplicity. It has a single ON switch that turns the heating element on. There are no moving parts to this system - water is pumped via steam pressure up to the shower head. After 15 minutes, the switch pops to the OFF position. There are no electronics so no programmed start time. For me, this isn't a problem since the machine brews quickly, I prefer fresh coffee and I am not so accurate on my morning schedule down to the minute!The Brazen is a mini-computer with many options. First, it requires calibration for temperature and altitude. The MODE button cycles through automated start time, clock time, brewing temperature, pre-soak time and calibration. I suspect that the calibration is ensuring that the temperature sensor is accurate at brewing temperatures. In calibration mode, you set your altitude and it takes the water in the reservoir to boiling, holding it there for a short time. Since boiling temperature is very predictable vs. altitude, this calibrates the temperature sensor very accurately. After calibration, the front-panel readout and a separate thermometer in the reservoir were in exact agreement. For me, I set the altitude to 6500' - the closest to my actual 6400, which automatically limits the maximum brewing temperature to 198 degrees, about 2 degrees shy of boiling temperature. Water release temperature is programmable from 190F to 210F - with the upper limit dependent on your altitude.The Brazen can be set to brew automatically at a set time. It's relatively simple to do this - press the MODE button once to get to the start time, use up and down arrows to set the hour, press the SET button to lock in the hour and move to the minutes, set the minutes and you're done. Press the AUTO button to start at the programmed time.Notable for this system is the pre-soak function - variable from 15 seconds to 4 minutes. The manual recommends longer presoaks for more freshly roasted coffee, with little to no presoak for older roasts or pre-ground coffee. I have not experimented with this yet, leaving it at the default 15 seconds.The MANUAL RELEASE button on the Brazen does exactly what it says - it opens the valve from the reservoir and allows water through the system. Pressing the button again stops the water flow, so that you can meter water into whatever you are using. This would be great for drinkers of green and herbal teas, except the lower temperature set point is higher than the 180 degrees you would want for many of those varieties.CLEANINGBoth machines recommend using a commercial descaler and not vinegar. The Bonavita specifies that this is because of inadequate cleaning and residual taste issues. The Brazen manual specifically forbids using vinegar. The Brazen recommends wiping down the shower head after use, the Bonavita doesn't mention it, however there was a very slight amount of coffee dust residue on both showerheads after several cycles. The Brazen top reservoir is easily accessed to wipe down if desired, with a stainless bowl and a stainless strainer covering the outlet. The Bonavita is a typical plastic reservoir that drains into the geyser chamber. With no buttons or display, the Bonavita is easier to wipe down and look clean, but realistically there is little to no difference in the effort or time required for cleaning and maintenance.TEMPERATURES & TIMESThe carafes are very similar in their temperature holding characteristics, with the Bonavita carafe being slightly better. Starting out 2/3 full of 185 degree water, after one hour the Brazen was at 168 degrees and the Bonavita was at 172 degrees.Turning the machines on with a full 8 cups of 62 degree water in the reservoir but no coffee in the filter, the Bonavita completes its brew cycle before the Brazen even finishes heating the water to the setpoint temperature. The Bonavita starts delivering hot water almost immediately, and finishes in five and a half minutes, while the Brazen just started releasing water to the filter after six and a half minutes. The complete cycle on the Brazen was a little more than 11 minutes. Both machines have roughly 5 minutes of time for the water in actual contact with the coffee. The Bonavita just starts faster since it is heating the water incrementally, rather than taking the whole reservoir to temperature before starting the process. Both have similar heating elements.The temperature of the water after cycling in the Bonavita carafe was 180 degrees, the Brazen made it to 186 degrees (water release temperature was set at the maximum for my altitude of 198 degrees).TASTEIt's always been a challenge to have a coffee maker deliver really good coffee here. I have great water, but lousy temperature! The coffee often came out with slightly sour tones, leading me to darker roasts to make up for it. With medium roast Kona from a small organic farm, the Bonavita produced very nice pleasant coffee with some bright notes. The Brazen however was able to smooth out the coffee some more - likely from a bit higher brewing temperature. Side-by-side the Brazen has a smoother more balanced taste, bringing out the potential of the beans and tasting more like my sea-level pour-overs on my boat.CONCLUSIONSBoth are great machines. I worry about the longevity of the complex electronics and valves in the Brazen, but here at 6400' it does make better coffee because it can heat the whole reservoir to almost boiling before releasing the water. The Bonavita's temperature drop at the filter of about 10 degrees below boiling would provide a perfect brewing temperature at lower altitudes, and there I would expect the two machines to be very similar, since both have about 5 minutes actual brewing time for 8 cups of coffee. The biggest difference at lower altitude would be programmable temperature and pre-soak vs. no pre-soak and a fixed temperature, complexity vs. no moving parts, and availability of unrestricted space above the machine.Here at altitude, I'll be using the Brazen, and I'll probably take the Bonavita down to sea-level.

The media could not be loaded. Tolle Maschine. Der Kaffee ist richtig heiß und der Kaffee dampft in der Thermoskanne nach 2 Stunden auch noch.Anfänglich hatte ich Probleme mit den Permanentfilter, da in Tassen und Kanne ein dicker kleiner Rest war was mich gestört hat. Ich habe dann eine normale Filtertüte unter den Permanentfilter gelegt ummalt und ausgeschnitten. Diese Filtetscheibe dann in den Permanentfilter gelegt und den Kaffee Brühen lasse. Es war besser. Dann habe ich eine normale Filtertüte so gefaltet das sie den Petmanentfilter ausfüllte und sie da, der Kaffee ist super. Allerdings sollte man bei dieser Variante beim Brühvorgang dabei bleiben um bei einen evt.Übetlaufen sofort zu reagieren. Ich habe dies alles bei halber Wassermenge versucht. Ich bin von dieser Kaffeemaschine einfach nur begeistert. Die Anleitung, die man sich auf deutsch als PDF-Datei schicken lassen kann ist hilfreich für das richtige Einstellen. Man kann auch die Brühtemperatur individuell einstellen. Sie ist ihr Geld wert. Klare Kaufempfehlung.