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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 24, 2012 at 11:47am

I think the phrase you were looking for is "coffee maker". "Automatic pour over" sounds like something a marketing department would make up. Oh wait...

Look, I'm all for improvements in home autodrips, but let's call them what they are please.

To your question... I've been using a Technivorm Moccamaster for my daily drip for 2 or 3 years now. It makes good coffee, better than any previous coffeemaker, but I still make better coffee with a kettle and a 2-hole Bonmac.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on January 24, 2012 at 5:56pm

   Thank you brady!!! Ive posted the same thing on home barisa. If this is a "auto pour over machine", then every crappy coffee maker at walmart is an auto pour over machine.

   Man the guy at bodum who decided to call it this should get a raise, cause this machine is being discussed quite a bit on the merits of it being an automatic pour over machine and not a coffee maker.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Eckert on January 24, 2012 at 9:38pm

I think the phrase you were looking for is "coffee maker".

Exactly what I was thinking when I read that! LOL

Haven't tried the Bodum so can't speak to it.  Extraction time, brew temperature, and even wetting of the grounds bed are things that are easily manipulated in a pour-over and where traditional home drip machines fail. (Think of the centered single stream of under/over heated water spurting out over a time span of 8 minutes in most $10 Mr. Coffee machines all the way to the $250 blinged out Cuisinart).  I understand the desire for a "auto pour over machine" as most people don't want to pull out the chemex and kettle at the crack of dawn, they just want to hit a button. 

As Brady said, Technivorm has some nice coffee makers that fit the bill, and make a respectable cup day in and day out...but they are a bit expensive. Bonavita has just entered the market in the last month with an American version of a European machine that has been on the market for years.  The Bonavita's in our testing (and from most users we have discussed it with) performs on par with the Technivorms, and run for much less $.  They aren't as 'beefy' as the Technivorms however.  Bunn has a model out as well, and I have only limited time using one, so the jury is still out for the time being.

I suspect we will be inundated with many rip-off garbage models in the coming years as the popularity of specialty coffee grows, but mixed in will be some nice home machines that capture the vision of "auto pour over" nicely. 

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Permalink Reply by Mickael on January 24, 2012 at 10:00pm

The answer! Self heating french press http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=chef+cordless+french+press...  it heats the water you add the grounds and there you go.  I love it because it will boil water in three minutes.  great for mashed potatoes (instant) and for making tea.  Once it boils turn it off and wait a minute to reach the right temp and then add the grounds.  wait a few minutes and press

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 25, 2012 at 5:35am

Keith, I think I spoke (after being dragged over by Paul Yates) to the Bonavita people at their booth at SCAA last year. Promising looking product, especially at the pricepoint they were talking.

As I was making my pot of drip this morning, one of the inherent problems with autodrips became really apparent... variability. As Keith points out, a human with eyes and a brain can easily adapt to the enthusiastic bloom of super-fresh beans and increase or decrease pouring speed to maintain proper slurry depth. The only control one has with the Technivorm is speed of flow out of the cone. You might theoretically find a setting that only lets water out at the correct rate to allow a slurry to form, but in practice this drifts enough that you may overflow some 1 liter batches. I kind of babysit it to get best results.

There does seem to be real room for improvement in these brewers and I'm hopeful. Looking forward to hearing more about the new ones.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on January 25, 2012 at 8:50pm

Holy crap that awesome! Thanks for posting that!

Mickael said:

The answer! Self heating french press http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=chef+cordless+french+press...  it heats the water you add the grounds and there you go.  I love it because it will boil water in three minutes.  great for mashed potatoes (instant) and for making tea.  Once it boils turn it off and wait a minute to reach the right temp and then add the grounds.  wait a few minutes and press

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