kruzilla Senior Member Joined: 4 Sep 2009 Posts: 63 Location: massachusetts Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Sun Sep 23, 2012, 4:06pm Subject: Weak flavor from my Bunn
Long time, no post. So, I got a Bunn BXB Velocity Brew through work and I've noticed the flavor is coming out very weak. I've tried adjusting the grind size (finer), increased the amount of coffee and the amount of water. A friend even recommended a touch of baking soda to slow down the brew time but nothing's worked. Does anyone have any suggestions how to fix this?
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 4:45am Subject: Re: Weak flavor from my Bunn
Glad I'm not the only one that found the title worthy of a snicker...
With the Bunn, make sure that the reservoir tank is fully up to temperature. I've found (depending on line voltage) this can take more than 30 minutes from "turn on" time.
The Velocity brewer delivers a buttload of water in 3 minutes - like 10grams/second or so.
Check your dry coffee bed depth, it should be a minimum of 25mm or so.
I've also heard that the choice of filters is a big deal, but I'm not convinced. Other than that, AndyS's recommendations are all spot on.
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Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 6:28am Subject: Re: Weak flavor from my Bunn
Me as well:
"That's what." -She
For Bunn to come up with a brewer and name it "Velocity" is a bit of a laugh. Their pour-over tank brewers are quite fast anyway. +1 to everything Andy said. Grind finer and use more coffee. If you are using the paper filter, maybe try a gold filter which will let through more coffee particles increasing the body and richness.
Examine the coffee bed after brewing. Check to see if it looks fluffier and "boiled" in appearance. Very fresh coffee in a Bunn is not a good idea unless you manually pre-wet and allow the coffee to sit for about 45 to 75 seconds or so. If the coffee blooms at all (expands and disturbs the coffee bed form the escape of gases which occurs in fresh coffee) this disrupts the continuity of the the coffee and allows the water to flow through with a less thorough extraction.
Baking soda is a new one on me. Ewww... Don't we sprinkle that in garbage cans, mix it with cat litter, and place an open box in the fridge to absorb odors? Put it in COFFEE!?
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,685 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 12:43pm Subject: Re: Weak flavor from my Bunn
Well, you could always throw a pinch of salt in to knock down bitterness of old coffee, EH, that wasn't the topic.
Most bunn brewers do a pretty good job of water temp and some need a different spray head to change the flow speed of the water depending on the elevation you are brewing at.
The flat bottom basket does a better job of getting an even saturation of the grounds and to the point above about using fresh coffee, yep, dead on there. Fresh coffee does tend to bloom or swell when water first hits it and depending on the brew basket (there are special baskets made for good coffee.... er FRESH coffee) so you might want to look into that as well as the deeper filters to go along with the deeper baskets.
Also, like said above, the only way to get a more intense brew is to either or both, .... grind finer or use more coffee grounds. finer coffee will cause the water to flow a bit slower while extracting quicker. More coffee also slows down the brewing to allow more extraction.
Depending on the Bunn brewer, some are adjustable for temp but you need to take the top off to access the thermostat. If this is a home style brewer, the temp will be fixed.
Your brewer is the home style so I really doubt the temp is adjustable. You should make sure you leave it on long enough to fully come up to temp before brewing and your basket is more cone shaped rather than the nice flat bottom baskets that commercial brewers use, they are straight sided vs the cone shape of yours.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
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hankg Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2004 Posts: 64 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Saeco Titan Drip: Technivorm Thermal
Posted Wed Sep 26, 2012, 4:26pm Subject: Re: Weak flavor from my Bunn
kruzilla Said:
Long time, no post. So, I got a Bunn BXB Velocity Brew through work and I've noticed the flavor is coming out very weak. I've tried adjusting the grind size (finer), increased the amount of coffee and the amount of water. A friend even recommended a touch of baking soda to slow down the brew time but nothing's worked. Does anyone have any suggestions how to fix this?
Here's a quick way to get where you want your coffee to be. Go to Bunn's website and fill out the parts order form and have them send you the Flow Restrictor Sprayhead. They shipped me two for free. That will slow the delivery of the water down a bit. Personally, I think the stock machines deliver water too quickly. In my opinion, this is not optional.
Secondly, make sure you use Bunn filters. Why? They are taller and allow you to use more or grind finer without having overflow issues. When I run out of these at work, I grab our coffee service filters they use for the awful coffee and trim them down just a bit because they are too tall. In fact, somewhere on this website, there's a filter number that some have used in the machine but it's from their commercial side and they are taller still.
Those two items will get you where you want to be. It will make great coffee, different than either of my other two machines--Technivorm and Newco--but no less satisfying. Good luck.
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