grandma302's Full Review: Bunn BT10B 10-Cup Coffee Maker
We decided on the Bunn after going through several coffeemakers (Braun, Mr. Coffee, Melitta) which had timers and hotplates. The Bunn appealed to us because there were no electronics to get frizzled, and the thermal carafe had such a wide mouth that cleanup looked to be a breeze. And indeed it is.
The coffeemaker is now 3 years old, and is just wonderful. Coffee is ready in a very short time, and is consistently delicious. We do use Bunn filters; we found that regular filters had sides that were too low, and the coffee occasionally overflowed when making a full pot.
I have noticed that other reviewers speak of steam escaping through the lid of the carafe, causing the coffee to cool too quickly. Our lid has a rubber seal in it that seems to close after the water has all dripped in, and we don't see any steam escaping at all. Perhaps this is a newer design feature? We do find that the coffee will stay hot much longer if the carafe is swished with boiling water first, to preheat the inside.
Coffee purists often comment on the importance of using fresh cold water to begin the process, and I did wonder if the Bunn could make a good cup of coffee when the water has been sitting for several hours at sub-boiling temperatures in the tank. It tastes just wonderful to us! We have made the mistake of not turning the heater off when we've gone away for several days, and found that much of the water had evaporated away...the instructions warn against this, and for good reason.
This is a no-bells, no-whistles machine; there is no hotplate, no timer, no "pause" feature, no clock, not even an on-off switch (except for the water tank itself) You put the coffee in the basket, pour the water in the reservoir, close the lid, and away it goes. For us, these are all advantages, having had every single previous coffeemaker die on us from some little glitch in the electronics. With such a simple machine, having so few things to go wrong, I feel confident that we will go on enjoying our lovely Bunn for a long time to come.
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