Coffee that is hot, regret it you will not, much better than a drip, and you will love the trip!
Positive Product Points
Is an automatic brewer, can be manually operated if needed Brews a great pot, very hot Fascinating to watch
Negative Product Points
Hard to clean totally When dirty it looks dingy (clear model)
Detailed Commentary
My son's bought this at a Starbucks that was clearing them out hence the great deal. I am impressed with the taste of the coffee from a vacuum brewer. The coffee is always very hot so it will last in your cup a long time.(especially on a long commute) I use a Starbucks Barista (Solis 166) grinder and have had best results with 4 or 5 clicks coarser than the fine setting.
When I first got it and opened it up I couldn't wait to use it and got the Starbucks Sumatran coffee into it and brewed it up. The taste of the coffee blew me away, as well as how it worked. The wow factor is not to be scoffed at. Anytime I take it somewhere or have someone over for coffee they are amazed at it and liken it to a science experiment.
I found that the water heads north too soon and is cooler than it should be. The way I brew now is to wait for the water to get hot and almost boil before I put the funnel on.This way the coffee is infused with water that is hot enough to release the flavor from the grounds. I measured the temperature at 197 degrees f when all the water has headed north.
I have not had any problems with quality in the six months I have owned it. Starbucks doesn't sell them anymore so Bodum is now the warranty holder. I still have the original filter and contrary to the manual telling you to replace it every month or so, I think it should last longer than that. (about $5 from Bodum) The polycarbonate material does tend to look dingy if you don't clean it every week or so, although it is safer in that it won't shatter like glass and is cooler to the touch than glass. I had a difficult time trying to clean it the first time because the opening in the bottom pot is too small to get your hand in there. I finally ended up buying a soft bristled brush with an angled head to get into all the hard to reach places. The stainless element at the bottom of the pot gets grimy too and now I put a 3"X3" green scrubbie in the bottom with some dishsoap and operate it with the scrub brush.
The filter snaps in with a satisfying click and the basket(funnel) mounts onto the pot very easily. The lid on the basket was hard to get off the first few times but I learned to use both thumbs and push up from the bottom while grasping the basket from the bottom. The power cord is jammed into the power base and I don't put it back because I have tried and it is not worth the trouble. Most appliances dont have a retractable cord so it shouldn't be a problem. I like the way the lid on the bottom pot swivels all the way back to brew but it tends to widen the pour at the lip so you have to adjust the pot back from the cup when pouring to get coffee in the cup and not on the counter. Another way around it is to lift the lid off to pour.
I got into coffee big time after I got this vacuum brewer and now roast all my beans in a WB II popcorn popper. Overall I am very satisfied with it and use it almost every day.
Buying Experience
My sons bought it for me at the local Starbucks and they said it was painless. It was a Father's Day gift and has been one of the best.
