I awoke this morning to my wife's shrieking.  "There's no cwafee!", in her heaviest Bronx accent, punctuated with Spanish interragatory.  "Que paso?"  I dragged myself from bed in the oh-dark-thirty to see what might have gone wrong with our brand new Bunn Phase Brew.  Crap, hell, and damn!  I knew it was a mistake to replace our perfectly good Technivorm.  Bleary eyed, all I could do at that very moment was stare dumbly at my wife, while she just gave me that sideways glare that she has mastered over the years.

Well, a very brief look through the instruction manual revealed that I had, on only the second day of owning this machine, forgotten to turn on the auto start the night before.  Seems people like me who have avoided programmable coffee makers all their life are bound to make this mistake.  Coffee brewed, morning rescued; wife began speaking in English again, much to my relief.  "I almost missed my cwafee, dammit!" 

What led up to this very dramatic morning was finding a brand new Bunn Phase Brew for $24.98 on clearance at my local Target.  I had been looking at this brewer as the possible replacement for my Techivorm if it eventually were to give out (which it hasn't).  But, the simplicity of our five dollar thrift store found Technivorm has always confounded my wife.  She never trusted herself to make coffee with it, and she never liked the idea of having to remember to switch it on in the morning to brew if I set it up the night before.  She had been wanting a programmable coffee maker for a long time.

Here's the problem with most programmable machines up to this point, though.  They all suck.  The one thing on an otherwise well made coffee maker that is sure to go out within a few years is the electronics.  And unless you know how to bypass this so you can have a simple on/off switch, the machine is going in the trash.  I have never minded waking up ten minutes earlier each day to brew my wife's "cwafee".  But my wife will often inexplicably wake up fifteen or twenty minutes before her alarm goes off, and then even more inexplicably, not wake me up until she realizes that nobody is making coffee.

Here's the deal, wife.  You're getting your programmable coffee maker!  I have always believed Bunn to make the best line of coffee makers in the world.  Yeah, I like my hand built Technivorm, but I only have it because I found it at a thrift store a couple years ago.  If I were looking at the Technivorm and a Bunn Phase Brew side by side, brand new in a store, the Bunn would be my hands down choice.  It is a high quality machine at less than half the price.

Without going into too much detail, the Bunn Phase Brew works like this.  Up to 40 ounces of water gets heated to 205 degrees in the upper chamber, and then is released to shower evenly (via Bunn's specially designed spray head) over the coffee grinds.  In other words, it's just like doing a proper pour over technique.  The whole process takes around ten minutes, give or take depending on quantity brewed, temperature, etc.  The auto start is really easy to program. You just have to remember not to push the auto start button again, or you shut it off.  Before walking away, make sure the auto start button is lit. 

There are just a few minor things I'm not crazy about with this machine.  The plastic parts really warp under the high heat, and I fear that this will lead to an eventual permenant deformity.  I also hate that it's so tall.  I cannot put it on one of those little caddies that would allow me to just slide it in and out from under the cabinet.  And it is really damned loud when heating the water. Things I like; it brews a perfect cup of coffee, and Bunn warranties it for three years.  Enough said.  I'm very serious about my coffee, and so when I say it brews a perfect cup, believe me. 

Why should you buy the Bunn Phase Brew?  If you really don't care how your coffee tastes, then go buy something else.  Oh, wait; even if you aren't that finicky about your coffee, the Bunn Phase Brew will last at least three times as long as that cheapo machine (Bunn's machines have a strong reputation for longevity).  A hundred bucks for something that lasts 3x longer than something costing forty bucks.  Math was never my strongest area, but I think that comes out at a bargain.  And at least your guests will appreciate it, if they like good coffee. 

Bunn's Phase Brew is definitely a new level for coffee maker manufacturers to reach.  The idea of heat and release technology isn't new; Melitta has done it, as have other manufacturers over the years.  But, Bunn has managed it in an attractive package that actually works.  And furthermore, they stand behind everything they make.  For the price, this machine is amazing.  Only time will tell if it lasts as long as my now retired Technivorm, but I am confident that it will be a top notch performer for several years.  And how's the cwafee?  "Fagetaboutit!"

Recommended: Yes