I love coffee. For the past year, I''ve been immersed in the technical and chemical artistry (and it truly is) of home roasting my own coffee and perfecting the brewing process to take advantage of total control and total freshness. Up to now, I''ve made my single cups using a thermostatically controlled water kettle and a cone drip device which allows me to control the "steep" time of the water at the proper temperature. But what to do when guests come over?
The overwhelming consensus is that the TechniVorm (TV) is the Rolls Royce of batch coffee makers. I got one as a gift and I agree.
We all know that cheap coffee makers cannot supply brewing temperature water at the desired 203F. My Mr. Coffee, for example, was 169F at the brewhead. More on this in a minute.
The coffee maker comes assembled and requires only that the brewhead wand, filter basket and covers be installed. The water chamber is clear plastic with cup level markings on the side. I have not measured the "cup" volumes yet but I suspect they are consistent with a 6 oz. cup size. The coffee measure with the TV is said to make two cups per scoop, which is fairly accurate as a starting point. The filter basket, basket cover and water chamber cover are black plastic. The brewhead wand is stainless steel.
The TV is simple enough to use. Placing the filter basket on a plastic support is a no-brainer except that it helps to notice that the handle should go in front facing you, not to either side. This is because the basket is wedge shaped at the bottom to accommodate the #4 cone filters used, and the brewhead wand is designed to distribute water along the length of the bottom wedge. There are nine holes in the brewhead which distribute water effectively onto the coffee.
Taking a closer look at the TV, it is obvious that one of the reasons it achieves the proper high brewing temperature is that the siphon from the heating chamber passes through an outer plastic tube which effectively insulates the heated water from the cold unheated water in the water chamber. This is the main design flaw with cheaper coffee makers. The TV also has two heating coils rather than one to help maintain a high enough water temperature.
Additional control is provided with a three-position switch on the side of the filter basket. The positions are full flow (although the hole is quite small), partial flow and closed. My brewing so far has been to leave the switch open, as I''m brewing 10-cup batches and use a rather fine grind which extends the drip time. I have not yet made 2-cup batches, but I will plan to close the switch completely to enable a 4-minute steep time before releasing the coffee into the carafe. Note that the grind is a major variable here since fine grind will slow the water considerably over a coarser grind. I use a burr grinder which can be controlled easily. If you use a blade grinder, plan on a very fine grind and longer brew times.
Since I use home roasted coffee, my coffee is extremely fresh after a customary 4-day rest period. Very fresh coffee will give off CO2 which causes some foaming on the surface. This could be a problem if you are brewing 10-cup batches with a full filter and you restrict the flow with the second position on the filter basket switch, so beware. Commercial coffee, especially pre-ground, will not usually foam as it has already begun to stale. I would recommend brewing with the filter basket cover removed until you get a feel for how the water flows through your coffee. Overflow is certainly possible but not likely with the switch fully open, and my 10-cup batches with very fresh coffee came only to 1/2" of the top of the filter basket. If you get an overflow, then, you either have ground the coffee too finely and/or you are using filters that are too restrictive. I use Filtropia and Melitta, preferring the former.
The power is controlled by a single switch. The light on the switch stays on following brewing, but the coils shut off automatically at the end of a brewing cycle and the brew light goes out. There is no timer, which is often a complaint if you''re too lazy to grind and brew when you wake up. I always grind fresh and brew with fresh water and it takes only 60 seconds to fill the chamber, grind a couple of scoops of coffee and press the button. I prefer this to having a chamber full of stale water overnight.
The stainless steel carafe is a vacuum carafe and is perhaps the weakest link. I cannot imagine using a glass carafe with this machine, as coffee temperature is the whole purpose of the design, and an uninsulated glass carafe is good only to keep the coffee from spilling on the counter! This carafe keeps coffee hot for hours. Pouring is the only issue I might have here. The pour lip has no dimple and if you pour with the screw-in lid, it can spread a bit along the lip and cause some spilling. On the other hand, if you loosen the lid, turn it to the proper 1/4 positions and pour slowly, the coffee comes out leaving a nice ring of fresh-coffee bubbles inside the rim of the cup. This may well have been intended, as everything else on this device is well engineered. Just don''t get in a real hurry to pour with the lid on. You can, of course remove the lid to pour.
Overall, the best of the best with the vacuum carafe.
I have to say that some of the reviews of this product make me despair of the whole review process. They seem to fall into "no coffee maker should cost this much," or "it''s not made of platinum." In either case, my advice is this: don''t buy it! For those interested in a review of the thing itself, so you can decide if it''s worth the (high) price here it is.
My wife and I like coffee. It''s one of the day''s regular pleasures and we drink coffee every day. So we think our regular use justifies some extravagance. We buy good coffee. For years we used a small plastic Krupps grinder and a Krupps then Cusineart coffee maker. And it was fine. But then I took a flier on a burr grinder--way more expensive than the Krupps grinder (c. $100 vs $25 or so). And it was a revelation!! So then, with some Christmas money in hand we did research and were persuaded by a Cooks'' Illustrated review and bought the Technivorm. Wow! My idea of coffee is entirely changed. I get all that stuff about "notes of chocolate," and all that. It is just terrific coffee. What excellent wine is to table wine (and we drink a lot of table wine; so this is not about snobbism).
The whole Technivorm schtick is simple: a good pump, and keep the coffee at c. 200F until it comes out the nozzle over the coffee. Who would think it would make such a difference? But it does. The machine itself is perfectly durable, but it''s not fancy and is largely plastic, not metal. Whatever. The thermos keeps the coffee hot (if, as the instructions suggest, you rinse it first with hot water) for at least 5 hours. After that you should make a new pot anyway. It is fast, and it is quiet. It makes 10.5 cups, which is a little less than we''d like when company comes (12 is good).
The question is, and it''s a real question--is this indulgence the way you want to spend your money?
And of course, its durability is unproven--we''ve only had it for a month. But it makes wonderful coffee. If that''s really important to you, and you''ve got the money, then this machine won''t disappoint you.
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A couple of years later: The TV is still going strong, still making wonderful coffee. It has slowed a bit despite occasional white-vinegar treatments. Most notable: the carafe has colored on the inside and has a sort of brown glaze on the bottom. It seems not to affect the taste, but looks a bit grotty. Otherwise, still well worth the money!
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I am a real coffee snob and have gone through at least 10 coffee makers and finally found this one. Was a three month wait to get it and finally got it. Makes great coffee and come out very hot. Brews very quickly. Don''t like the carafe that comes with it. Got a Nissan -Thermos to keep it hot. Everyone who tries my coffee always asks what coffee I use. It not only the coffee but the maker also. Get this, it is expensive but well worth it for those who enjoy coffee
Read Best Reviews of Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Brewer Here
In my quest for the perfect cup of coffee I have at last achieved success!! The Technivorm Moccamaster should be called Moccamaster-of-the-Universe. It is awesome. Easy to set up, easy to use. A child of average intelligence could use it. P-E-R-F-E-C-T coffee every time. The coffee is hot. The cofee stays hot for hours in the carafe. The coffee tastes as good as it piossibly can (see below). It is coffeemaker perfection, the holy grail, the difference between heaven and hell (owners of Delonghi-go towards the light!). It is what you want.
I have read all the reviews here and elsewhere. Let me save you the trouble. Here is the low-down:
Stupid comment 1) No "features."
-This thing is no-frills-you fill it with water and coffee and you turn it on. It makes coffee. You drink it. The end. What else do you want it to do?
Stupid comment 2) Coffee is "average" What''s the hype all about?
-This is common sense, but for those of you who are lacking in that dept I will explain. This machine is awesome, but it is not MAGICAL. If you put crappy coffee in, crappy coffee will come out. It will not make it worse, but it cannot make it better. get it?
Stupid comment 3)"Flimsiness"
-What? I don''t know what people are talking about when they say the base the carafe sits on comes off...did ya follow the simple directions? I did and mine stays together...I''m just sayin''... The parts of this machine that are supposed to come off do with ease (so no breaking it trying to remove lids, filters, etc) and the parts that aren''t supposed to come off don''t.
Stupid complaint 4) No Automatic timer.
-Whaa Whaa. How fresh is coffee that has been sitting out all night? Not very. It takes 5 minutes to brew the coffee. If you don''t have five minutes to brew coffee you don''t have enough time to drink it either. Some folks (like my husband) used to use a timer to make coffee several hours before they wake up so it''s "hot enough" when they wake up. This is how you burn coffee and is the very best way to make it taste truly awful. If you like burnt nasty swill don''t buy this machine. The technivorm makes coffee that is boiling hot. If you need it hotter than that you need help.
Stupid complaint 5) Unsexy.
-Ok, Technivorm went with superior function over superior style. Paris Hilton probably looks good in the kitchen, but lets face it-is probably pretty useless in there. I''ve never met a sexy dishwasher; have you?. Do you really care what it looks like? Has anyone ever said "why, what a beautiful coffeemaker you have there!" I doubt it. And anyway-it looks better in person than in the picture (unlike mail-order-brides and certain celebrity heiresses;P)
Bottom line: how much is 50+50+50+50+50+50? 300 right? Stop being a cheapskate!Save yourself the trouble of making 6 $50 purchases and just pony up the cash up front-it''s worth it and better for the earth than throwing out 6 coffeemakers.
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We''ve had our Techniform for just over 2 years. While the coffee it makes is unmatched, it simply has had too many build problems to justify its premium price. Over a year ago, it began to develop a small leak in the piping inside, so if you put water in the reservoir, it will slowly leak out unless you brew right away. It was out of warranty, so we could get no assistance. Second, the coffee maker began blowing a fuse on one side of our kitchen, so we had to move it to another end with a dedicated breaker. Third, the thermos has just started to wear out, so coffee now only stays hot about 45 min compared to over 2 hours when we first bought it. Finally, the toggle switch to turn off the brewing to the thermos is quite annoying and often gets accidentally pressed down. So, while the Techniform generates awesome and consistent heated water, its shoddy build quality is sadly forcing me to turn elsewhere now.
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I have owned several Hamilton Beach Coffee Urns in the past 20 years and I''m a pretty heavy duty user. I''ve preferred them in the past because of all the brands I''ve ever owned, they keep the water the hottest. They don''t last the longest (the spigot usually develops a leak), but that''s the trade-off considering the price. My current objection has to do with the plastic cover on top, and it''s become a real health hazard. The cover on mine started to disintegrate into tiny black pieces that fell into the water. If you''re making coffee, you won''t even notice it at first (I only noticed it because I use my urn to brew large quantities of plain hot water).
