Starbucks Barista Utopia uses twice the amount of coffee
Written: Jan 07 '03 (Updated Jan 08 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Funky design, rich coffee taste, takes up less space on the countertop.
Cons: Uses way more coffee ($$$), flimsy filter, 10 cup brew amount is a bit misleading.
The Bottom Line: Bottom line is that it's so cool, that I'm content to deal with parts I know will break in the not so distant future and the extra coffee usage.
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| banangela's Full Review: Starbucks Barista Utopia |
After hunting for an attractive grind-and-brew carafe model and coming up empty handed, save the $199 USD Capresso Coffee Team Luxe Coffeemaker available from Williams Sonoma, I turned my attention toward Starbuck's Utopia.
Although this model does not have a built-in grinder, the large opening makes it easy and tidy to dump ground coffee from any regular grinder. The unusual heat plate built into the Utopia's pot does indeed keep the coffee hot without the burnt taste of a regular burner and glass pot. I think it's supposed to sense the temperature and adjust accordingly.
The Utopia was on sale in Vancouver at my local Starbucks for $99 CDN including a pound of coffee. Starbucks employees informed me that they use it themselves for brewing the coffee they taste-test with customers at their store.
Buffy the Barista, nose in air, told me that anyone who has a tastebud in their mouth, would not still be using a paper filter. But, but, easy cleaning, I mumbled. No, said Buffy, it sucks all the natural flavor and oils from the coffee.
After checking the packages to find a clear model (vs blue tint) and ensuring that the video (which we never watched) and all components (like the question mark shaped brush that doesn't actually reach through the funnel) were included, I checked out.
Christmas morning, my husband opened the coffeemaker excitedly. We tempered the pot by running two cycles of water through it and excitedly ground the Starbucks beans to brew our first pot. It worked! It was exciting and fun to see the coffee brewing and vacuum action!
We poured the coffee and fixed it up as usual. Spluh! Brown water! Yuck. Bitter. Yick. Disappointed, we decided to try again. We used double the amount. It worked, but the bitterness was from the nasty dark Starbucks coffee, as we discovered after brewing our local shops' high-quality 'Bean Around the World' beans.
We made coffee in our old pot and did a blind taste test. Both were good, but we both chose the Utopia's coffee. Unfortunately we had to use double the coffee in the Utopia to have the same strength flavor from our old (blush) Proctor Silex. Also, 10 cups is misleading - those are very small cups my friends, so if we have a dinner party, it will mean a few brew cycles.
I love the design. It's so gorgeous on my countertop. There is a secret slide out perch for the funnel to sit on once brewing is complete. This allows it to cool before washing. Once removed, the only thing on the counter is the pot on the electrical receptor.
For washing, we have a large sink with garbarator, so I found it easiest to turn the funnel upside down and rinse the grounds out that way by swirling a bit. Otherwise, you risk a coffee grounds shower. Once the grounds are cleaned out, a gentle swipe with a soapy sponge and rinse does the trick. Same for the pot.
I went back to Starbucks to complain about not being informed about the double coffee consumption and extra cost we did not anticipate. There, Buffi informed me, now that I'm a proud owner, that people are coming back with broken filters all the time, and that their own maker started to leak coffee/water out the bottom of the pot after a high number of uses, which, she notes, has happened to a lot of people. She thought Starbucks was likely discontinuing them, and that's why they had been marked down so much. She gave be two coupons for free beverages to make up for this and suggested I call their headquarters in Seattle.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
banangela
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Reviews written: 1
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