Posted Sun Jan 25, 2004, 7:02pm Subject: B&D VB100 Infuze
I have been running some tests with my new Black & Decker VB100 Infuze ($29.99!). Initial tests were done with water only. I then tested with coffee and the results were quite a bit different. Below are my observations with elapsed time and temp.
Note: it appears B&D specifies their cup as 5.5oz (based on a measured 22oz water at the 4 cup mark)
All temps were taken in the top chamber with a thermocouple. Top temps are marked with an asteric...
28oz Cool water (?) / No Coffee Start North 2:20 All North 2:55 Power Off 5:02 Start South 6:20 All South immediate (forgot to add thermocouple)
5 Cup Cold Water (?) / 5tbl coffee Start North 2:00 80 All North 3:47 126 5:00 160 Power Off 5:27 174 Start South 6:00 178* All South 6:48 --
5 Cup Cold Water (54) / No Coffee Start North 1:45 70 All North 3:18 144 5:00 180 Power Off 7:44 215* Start South 9:42 208 All South immediate
5 Cup Cold Water (48) / 4 tbl coffee Start North 2:00 72 All North 3:18 151 Power Off 4:53 174 Start South 5:20 176* All South 6:25 ---
10 Cup Cool Water (?) / No Coffee Start North 5:00 80 All North 8:13 176 Power Off 10:25 203* Start South 11:54 203 All South immediate
10 Cup Cold Water (46) / No Coffee Start North 3:00 64 All North 7:40 178 Power Off 9:35 196 Start South 11:00 198* All South immediate
10 Cup Cold Water (43) / 6 tbl coffee Start North 3:30 64 All North 8:41 181 Power Off 10:15 194 Start South 11:00 195* All South 14:20 ---
64oz Cool water (?) / No Coffee Start North ? All North 7:10 Power Off 9:05 Start South 10:25 All South immediate (forgot to add thermocouple)
I am a little disappointed in the temps I reach using 1/2pot. I can't figure out how it goes from too hot/boiling with no coffee (215) to never getting above 178 when coffee is added. Since I rarely need more than ½ pot, it looks like the Infuze won't be the go-to gadget for a quick and easy pot of coffee in the am. A full pot seems to allow more time for the water to get in the zone. I rarely have need for a full pot.. but this will come in handy when I do need it.
For the taste test on my first (1/2) pot.. I thought it tasted pretty good. Not as good as my Yama.. but not quite as much work either. The filter screen is kind of cheap.. but performs much like a gold tone filter in letting the oils go through to the cup (which many people like). I did verify that my Yama filter fits in the Infuze perfectly, so I am going to see if it works another time (I think I prefer a cleaner cup).
Does anybody else have any experiences with brewing ½ pot or a full pot in the Infuze?
IMAWriter Moderator Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 2,897 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Olympia Cremina, Reg, Penney... Grinder: KYM manual, Vario (on... Vac Pot: Silex, Adcraft SS, Yama 8... Drip: Chemex, Newco, Clever cup Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Sun Jan 25, 2004, 8:24pm Subject: Re: B&D VB100 Infuze
Johnny D...my half pot experience is...good, not bitter, but not as rich as a full pot....I use 10 7 gram scoops of ground, then fill with water to the 10 cup marking...as I have a Maestro as well, you'll understand my grind setting...1 notch below the drip mark...I don't mind the bit of "slurry"...i do notice the finished pot is not nearly as hot as my eSantos mini vac....the Santos is SOME HOT BREW!...personally, I like to brew hot, but drink when my cup has cooled a bit...more flavorful..and less burns! My thought is that the Infuze is a pretty good way to get 55 oz of better- than- drip- brew cheaply (I paid $49) $29 is a steal...why not get a Nissan thermos and take the rest of your full pot with you...2 hrs later, you'll still have 170 f coffee...plenty hot...and the thermos +Infuze is still lots cheaper than a Technivorm drip..or brew up a full pot and invite over a neighbor :) Rob
My thought is that the Infuze is a pretty good way to get 55 oz of better- than- drip- brew cheaply (I paid $49) $29 is a steal...why not get a Nissan thermos and take the rest of your full pot with you...2 hrs later, you'll still have 170 f coffee...plenty hot...and the thermos +Infuze is still lots cheaper than a Technivorm drip..or brew up a full pot and invite over a neighbor :) Rob
Yes, I think it is going to be best for large quantities. If they had a switch that lets you specify how much you are brewing (which then alters the time/temp), then I think this machine would be the bomb. Based on what I have seen, whatever internal thermostats it has do not accurately adjust themselves to accomodate smaller quantities. If you notice in my first post, 1/2 pot went to boiling when the power was on for 7min 44 sec. Other times, when doing a 1/2 pot, the power kicked off at 4:53 and 5:27 which only had the temp up to 174. It would be interesting to know how the internals of this machine work.
Yes, I could do a full pot each time, but that would be wasting coffee beans... of course I am looking around for a bigger thermos/carafe (current one holds 6 cups). The downside is I would then start to drink even more coffee (as if I wasn't already drinking enough). If it is there.. I will drink it.
Posted Sat Jan 31, 2004, 7:59am Subject: Re: B&D VB100 Infuze
I have been giving my new Infuze dedicated attention for the past week in attempts to get better results with ½ pot. All my tests confirm that it does not reach the proper temperatures when brewing less than a full pot... except on the rare occasion when it brews for 10 minutes (too long). On average, it gets between 170-180 degrees.
As a result, I started to modify my process by running the brew process twice. The first time I run it with no filter or coffee. After it is done (and I finish getting ready for work) I put in the filter/coffee and rerun it with a starting temp of ~160-170 degrees. When it is running the second time, I monitor the temps until it hits 200-203 at which point I turn off the power manually. It usually goes up a few more degrees before it starts the trip south. While this is not a great way to go about doing it… it does require less monitoring and time than my Yama. This makes it a better choice for me on work days when I don't have a lot of time.
Here are my results:
Note- I am using B&D cup measurement 5.5oz. You will also notice that on occasion I have used the Yama filter in place of the stock filter.
8 Cups Water (cold) / 6tbs coffee (Yama filter) Start North 3:40 - 68 5:00 - 93 All North 7:09 - 160 Auto Off 8:53 - 192 Start South 10:05 - 195* All South 12:52
6 Cups Water (60) / 5tbs coffee Start North 2:20 - 68 All North 4:37 - 153 Auto Off 6:09 - 180 Start South 7:40 - 182* (tried to turn unit's power back on to continue brewing.. but it didn't work) All South 10:14
=============== started with pre-brew process
7 Cups Water (172) Start North: 0:37 - 150 All North: 1:12 - 185 Turn Off : 2:20 - 206 Start South: 2:50 - 207* All South: 3:30
6 Cups Water (162) / 5tbs coffee Start North: 0:20 - ?? All North: 0:42 - 183 1:12 - 190 Turn Off : 1:58 - 205 2:15 - 207* Start South: 2:30 - 205 All South: 3:35
6 Cups Water (163) / 5tbs coffee Start North: 0:30 - 109 All North: 1:10 - 183 1:30 - 190 Turn Off : 2:10 - 203 Start South: 2:42 - 207* All South: 3:18
7 Cups Water (169) / 6tbs coffee (Yama Filter) Start North: 0:20 - 130 All North: 1:11 - 176 1:52 - 192 Turn Off : 2:20 - 203 Start South: 3:00 - 205* All South: 4:32
Other comments/observations on the Infuze:
- As for the taste.. I have always been happy my results - Big! Can brew a lot of coffee - Kind of cool looking. It won't match anything in your kitchen.. but does it have to? - Pretty easy to clean. I think it is easier than cleaning my Yama as I don't have to be as careful - I would not take a chance in letting coffee sit in this pot. I have read other people's comments about staining.. and I think it is very possible. I have rinsed right away and it does have a little tint to it. I don't think this could be avoided with plastic pots in general.. which is probably why B&D used a milky green color on top - Great air-tight seal. It is a little harder to break down at first.. but should loosen up over time. Not a big deal and better than having a bad seal. - Awesome agitation during brewing.. even at low temps (170+). - Works well with Stock filter (more oils) or Yama filter (less oils)
Posted Sat Jan 31, 2004, 8:02am Subject: Re: B&D VB100 Infuze
Darn - I just ordered the VB100 yesterday from Amazon because it was the only place I could find it online and it was $59 shipped. Where are you guys getting them for $29 and $49?
I just checked and it hasn't shipped yet. I can cancel if I find out from posters here where to get it for less (although amazon does have a price match policy).
But, more importantly I need HOT coffee brewed at the correct 200* +/- 5*. I tried the Bodum eSantos about 2 years ago and it was way too low of a temp and sent it back. If this unit won't cut it, then I'll need to get a more traditional unit. However, as sexy as some of the canister-based flame units are, I need a bit more ease of use (ie., my wife can/will want to use it first thing in the morning if she has to). Therefore a stovetop unit would be an acceptable compromise for us. There aren't very many of those that can be used on a stovetop (and we have a ceramique smooth top stove), so are there any recommendations as to which one(s) would be good choices? A 10 cup (or even a 12 cup) is highly desireable as well.
Posted Sat Jan 31, 2004, 9:03am Subject: Re: B&D VB100 Infuze
Odd-Job had them on sale for $29.99 last week. I believe they are at that price until they are gone.. but don't know for sure. I don't believe the deal is available on line.. at least it wasn't when I checked last week. There is some info in a previous post labeled 'Stuck Infuze' with links to their website.
It did reach 203 degrees pretty consistantly when brewing a full pot (10 cups) without coffee added. I believe this is because it keeps the heat on longer (~11min) which allows it enough time to get up to temp. When I tried the same amount of water with coffee added, it's final temp was a little lower 195-198.
It pretty much falls in the middle as far as ease-of-use. Not that it is hard to use (if fact it is really easy) but vacuum pots always seem to require more time for monitoring and cleanup. It is easier than a stovetop vacuum pot (less need to monitor) but a little more work than an auto-drip coffee maker (no monitoring at all). If you do a full pot, you wouldn't need to monitor it, but it will require a little more attention to cleaning than an auto-drip.
Since all the typical stovetop vacuum pots are so small, I don't think they would work very well for more than one person (if they drink a few cups each). There is one all-stainless vacuum pot available that has potential ($50 I think) as it is much larger than the current vacuum pots out there. I believe there are some consumer reviews (on CG) for this model. Again, this would require additional monitoring/cleanup in the am.
JohnDoe - I checked Odd-Job's web site and the add was there. Unfortunately you can't order it online :( and there are no Odd-Job's in NC :( :(
I'm now looking at the Bodum and Yama stove top vacuum pots (but I couldn't find the thermal vac pot you referred to??). I wish someone had a 10 cup. If I can find the B&D Infuze cheap enough somewhere I may still try it.
I'm now looking at the Bodum and Yama stove top vacuum pots (but I couldn't find the thermal vac pot you referred to??). I wish someone had a 10 cup. If I can find the B&D Infuze cheap enough somewhere I may still try it.
I really like my Yama.. but is too small for more than 1 person (so is the Bodum). I think the Yama provides a cleaner cup and is not as finiky about fines in your grind (if you have them). The Bodum would allow more oils through which a lot of people prefer. Either way, they (at least one of them) are a must-have for the price...
It wasn't a thermal vac pot.. rather an all-stainless vac pot. It was offered by only one company that I am aware of called Food Sercies Direct. I tried to find their website for you, but wasn't successful. I know I found it ~6 months ago when I was looking.
Thanks again JohnDoe - I went to their site and it is still OOS. I like the size and the cleanup and the quality seems very good, but I wonder how to make less than full pots without a 2 step process of measuring cups into brewer?
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