The Bosch and the Toastmaster are one in the same. Toastmaster went teeets up last year. What was cool (relative, of course - people losing their jobs is never cool) for me was that the kettle in the Porsche design was blown out at Canadian Tire - $29 each, and they had palettes of them. The kettle is awesome - very very fast, cordless of course, and 1.5 litres with the same brushed aluminum exterior and deep purple handle and lid etc.
I bought four, kept two (for in case the one we use dies in a few years), and gave two as xmas gifts next year.
PS. Epinions!!? that's a bad word around here... :) :) :)
In an email, tt asked for a review; I'll just post it here in case anyone else wants to read it...
Like I mentioned above, I received the Porsche autodrip machine as a wedding gift. It's very sleek looking and does work as an attention getter in the kitchen. Functionally, it would probably earn an above average score simply because if features a nice insulated carafe rather than a glass pot with coffee-destroying burner. The unit is somewhat clumsy to handle (we don't have enough counter space to keep it out all the time), and I have measured the output temperature at 186'F, which I'm told on alt.coffee is subpar (especially with this design(1) and price). Additionally, the glass carafe is kind of a pain to clean, due to a narrow mouth. It does, however, keep coffee piping hot for a solid 6 hours or more when preheated. A final nitpick would be that, in this price range, a nice gold foil filter should be a given, but it's sadly lacking in the Porsche.
My head hurts when I imagine a new coffee enthusiast thinking this is the best use of $200. For that money, you could buy a Zassenhaus hand-crank grinder, air popper for roasting, French press, Vac pot, and a few pounds of greens to get started. And you'd be able to produce much better coffee.
Out of 10, I would have to give the Toastmaster/Bosch Porsche autodrip machine a 6. It produces acceptable coffee, but the price:performance ratio is quite awful. The designers of this machine clearly put form over function, rendering the finished product more valuable as a conversation piece than a connoisseur's tool.
(1) I've read that most cheaper machines use the same heating element in the kettle and under the pot. Because no one wants their coffee held at >195', the designers compromise and make the heating element produce a much lower temp (in the 160-175 range, I guess). Anyway, my point is this: if an insulated carafe has replaced the pot, the kettle element is dedicated to only one task. Why not crank the heat up closer to 200'?
So is the Siemens (proper name Siemens Porsche Coffee Maker TC91100). I know Bosch and Siemens are connected somehow, but in Europe they go under the Siemens brand.
I'm planning to post a review of this machine here at cg in the near future (I don't own one but use it at work). I agree it might not be the best way to spend that kind of money on coffee equipment, but many people prefer the convenience of a drip, and for a drip it makes reasonably good coffee, has a lot of smart features (thermos, detachable water tank, auto switch off, two cup size settings, swing out filter holder) and fab looks. If this was a proper review, I would give it an overall 7.75.
Btw, we have the kettle as well, and it's as good as Mark says it is.
Another reason for buying the Porsche series of products is you can mix and match with the rest of the line up. In addition to the above, there's a blender, a kitchen scales, a citrus press, a toaster and a hair dryer as well, though I don't really see where the latter fits in. But it looks good ;)
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