SCAA certified, 1400 watt heating element, 12 cup Stainless Steel carafe, Ease of use, makes great coffee, automatic shutoff, no external heating element = no burned coffee, universal filter tray, brews coffee at perfect temperature 202-205, external water hookup on the 12A.

The carafe doesn't pour as quickly as I would like and the unit is rather deep.  My hunch is they (Newco) could redesign the machine to make it more flashy like a Technivorm.

My wife and I started looking for a new drip coffee machine to replace our old Grind and Brew Malitta.  I talked with a barista hoping for a good opinion and learned that nearly all drip machines do not have the sheer power to heat the water and control the temperature to truly make excellent coffee.  So I visited the Specialty Coffee Association of America's website and learned of the OCS series of units by Newco.  I made a call to Newco in St. Charles Mo, spoke with a onsite tech/support person and started getting the info I wanted to hear - 1400 watt heating element in a vacuum sealed carafe which equals super hot coffee and no access to air which leads to stale coffee.  From there it was just a matter of deciding on the 8 cup or the 12 cup version.  My wife choose the 12 cup.

Now here came the hard part.  No one, including Newco Corporate had any of the OCS series units because of their popularity.  I called Intelligentsia they did not sell them, but did give me a thumbs up on Newco products.  I searched the web, ebay and all over the place finally finding Essential Wonders out of Ohio.  Placed my order and shabam, within 3 days I was drinking the best cup of Kona coffee I had enjoyed in many years.

My machine arrived in a plain packaging indicating it was built and assembled in China.  I cleaned the unit and ran water through it to see just how hot the water was and wow was I surprised by the heat generated from the steam and the water.  Using a Fluke laser thermometer the water immediately from the machine was 204.6 degrees F.  This was truly surprising as the unit itself was very unassuming.   Except for 2 buttons, an indicator LED and a water level indicator there is no clock or timer or anything "flashy."

So I ground some Kona that was recently roasted (1 week old as of getting the machine), bought a universal gold filter at Target and tried her out.   Again, I cannot express how hot the coffee is from this brewer.  I love the fact there is no hotplate to cook the coffee and the carafe has the standard check valve to allow coffee in and a second check valve to send extra air out.   My first cup of coffee registered at 194 degrees F in my cup and at 15 minutes the liquid in the carafe was 186 degrees.  It was nice to see a carafe built well enough to keep the coffee hot.  As a matter of fact, my wife still comments that the "coffee is so hot" which is exactly what she loves.  It was a couple weeks later I checked the coffee temp in the carafe 2 hours after brewing and the liquid was still steaming and registered 164.7.  Impressive... by my standards.  I was pleased with the extraction, the aroma and the taste was fantastic.

I do wish to add this... Years ago, while traveling in China, I was educated on how to brew an excellent cup of tea.  There is a lot of preparation that goes into pre-heating cups and utensils.  So I have incorporated that logic into making coffee whether it is drip coffee or espresso drinks from my Rancilio.  I always fill my carafe with hot tap water before brewing and also fill up any coffee cups letting them sit for at least 5 minutes.  This allow the porcelain to insulate the coffee retaining temperature instead of robbing temperature from the hot liquid.  This I am certain, plays a roll in maintaining the good temps I experienced.

Finally just recently I had some fellow coffee-lovers over to enjoy the Newco and suffice to say, they are equally hooked and I have already had friends ask where they can get a Newco.  This unit brews great tasting coffee and I am excited every morning to enjoy that first cup.

I purchased from www.EssentialWonders.com and had a great experience.