Bonavita 8-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe - BV1800TH

R. Hofman: We have been using this coffee maker for about a month now, and on the whole, we like it. It does make hot coffee. We replaced our aging coffee maker only because we felt that it was on the way out... and this one came highly recommended. The reviews we read all raged about it. I am glad we got it on sale though... not sure if it's really worth the retail asking price. When I unpacked it, I was surprised at how cheaply it was made. Don't lift it by the "neck" like I did -- where the water comes out. It's not made very strong. I had to push it down back in place after taking it out of the box - I'm glad I didn't damage it - it did snap back. It's not as heavy as I imagined it to be, and very simple to operate. In other words, it has an on-off switch, but no clock/timer like our old one had, and which we miss because we like to wake up to our coffee ready to pour. I found a separate plug-in timer which works, but at an added cost. The water reservoir isn't removable, which for some, may be a plus. But it does mean filling another container so you can fill the reservoir. Also, once the coffee is made (very much like a Melita - same principle), you have to remove the basket and then...

Canada on Jan 13, 2015

Voyn238: I first heard of this coffee maker during one of Lifehacker's "Hive Five" polls for best coffeemaker. This one seemed to be the one that best matched up with what I wanted. I previously used a Krups grind-and-brew coffeemaker, which made very tasty coffee, had a timer, and a few other bells and whistles. However, my wife could never figure out how to use it, and it took up a lot of space on the counter.

The BV1800TH takes up very little counter space, makes very tasty coffee (in a hurry, too), and is absolutely dead simple. Fill up the water line for how many cups of coffee you want, put that many scoops of ground coffee in the filter/basket, hit the button, and you're done. The BV1800TH uses one of the most powerful water heaters around, so it makes 4 cups in less than, say, 3 or 4 minutes. The unit turns back off within 10 or 15 minutes, and once you put the lid on the carafe, it will stay hot for quite some time.

The carafe seems to be of pretty good quality, though with the lid off I have a hard time filling up the coffeemaker's water tank without spilling a bit on the counter. Not a huge deal, but you should probably expect this to happen to you too. Since I...

United States on Sep 07, 2014

Bubie Chavala: I chose this coffee maker because of the high rating given to it in Cooks Illustrated. Purchasing, delivery and using it right away way was good. I looked forward to a better cup of coffee and this machine delivered on that. The coffee is brewed at a higher temperature and the result is a better cup of coffee. However, the temperature of the finished brewed coffee is similar to that of most coffee makers - just lukewarm. So this machine does not get you a cup of coffee that is as hot as a good coffee shop would offer. This is disappointing. As the review I read suggested, the screw on cap is not really a part of the coffee maker puzzle. It just sits somewhere - where? on the counter? in a draw? on top of the machine? on the toaster oven waiting to melt? I suspect with multiple users of my kitchen that the top of the carafe will bite the dust first. As a result of these two flaws, I give this expensive coffee maker a "good." However, even knowing all of this now, I might still buy it, as I do enjoy the smooth taste of my morning coffee.

Canada on Jun 08, 2014

MAUREEN: The Bonavita lives up to all my expectations. It heats water quickly. Coffee is hot and stays hot in the thermal glass & stainless carafe. The measurements are right out there where you can easily see them (unlike my Cuisinart where you had to be six feet tall with a flashlight in hand). It has a compact footprint. and fits under the upper cabinets with room to spare.
The lid is not part of the coffee-making process, it goes on after the coffee is made. I thought this might be an inconvenience, but in fact, as my husband says, this way you can't screw it up by leaving the lid off and having water and coffee grounds backing up into the coffee maker (as with our Cuisinart).
Something that might bug people is that the filter holder is not held by the machine. It sits on top of the carafe just like a Melitta manual system. You can't pull the filter holder out by itself. You have to pull the pot out and the filter holder comes with it. It would have been simple enough to make the unit so that the filter holder could slide out on its own. But then, you have to get rid of the filter holder to put the lid on anyway, so six of one, as they say. Paper filters are recommended but...

Canada on Mar 27, 2014

Johnnieh: I purchased this through amazon for 169$. I have been toying with the idea of a new coffee brewer for a while now, my old cuisinart with a thermal carafe consistently brews a Luke warm cup of coffee. I do consider myself somewhat of a coffee snob, I purchase good beans and grind right before brewing. I paid about 100$ for the cuisinart so 170$ really wasn't that much of a step up considering the cost savings of brewing my own coffee everyday.
First impression of the bonavita is it looks like a pretty slick well built machine. It is smaller than my old machine. There are no bells and whistles, just an on off switch. No programmed brewing which wasn't really an issue for me. Pouring water in the bonavitas large reservoir is a breeze, no longer will I have water pouring onto the counter and into the grounds like my other brewer. For the first brew I used scaa's guidelines of 7 grams of grounds per 5oz cup of water. This machine makes HOT coffee and it's shower head seems to do a good job of saturating the grounds. The first cup of coffee was Hot and delicious. I noticed a huge difference in flavour as well,there was no bitterness at all. The thermal carafe keeps the coffee...

Canada on Mar 07, 2014

Bocaboy: I purchased the Bonavita BV1800TH to replace a Cuisinart DCC 1400 thermal coffee maker that began to spill coffee all over my kitchen counter. After a couple of days using the Bonavita, I'm very pleased. It's a simple coffee maker that doesn't have any bells or whistles, but makes a truly excellent cup of coffee.

I should set the tone of this review by stating that I love good coffee, but wouldn't describe myself as a purist like some of the other reviewers. I buy House Blend from Costco most of the time, and occasionally will treat myself to Sumatran coffee if it's available at a good price. I grind the coffee in batches using a Cuisinart burr grinder and keep it in an airtight jar for a couple days until I need to grind another small batch. I only drink coffee in the morning, or make coffee after a dinner party.

The design of this German coffee maker couldn't be simpler. You put coffee into the v-shaped cone, put it over the pot, fill the reservoir with water and hit the on switch. Five minutes later you have very hot, perfectly brewed coffee. There is no pause capability. There's also no timer for setting up the coffee the night before (more on a workaround...

United States on Aug 22, 2013

Jishua: This coffee maker makes a great cup of coffee. It doesn't have bells and whistles. It's a one-hit wonder--it just makes good coffee. With a simple on-off switch, it offers no other features. The best part of the unit is the carafe. It keeps the coffee hot! I made a pot of coffee recently but was called into work shortly after making it. I didn't drink any. When I got home, I found the pot of coffee was still quite warm and that was about 6 hours later. The point being, the carafe is well insulated. It also pours perfectly. I've had carafes that drip and make a mess. In fact with my last carafe, I had to pour it over the kitchen sink because of all the mess. I don't this this carafe has dripped a single drop.

Definitely consider this model. I would buy it again, having used it daily for the past month. This is the best coffee maker I've had to date.

"Issues" to consider:
1. The unit does heat the water higher than my last unit but I suspect not as hot as the manufacturer claims (although I haven't tested this with a thermometer)
2. I typically first fill the carafe with hot water from the faucet so that it's prewarmed, otherwise the coffee isn't as hot as I...

Canada on Dec 06, 2012