nikos1121
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Coffee Lover
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Re:Technivorm KBT741 reviewed - 2008/11/24 20:17
I've used the maker almost one month now. It's made by the Dutch, (the only thing they produce over there other than tulips), and one of only two coffee makers that are SCAA approved. But out of the block I saw problems with it, which I ignored and accepted at first because I didn't want to admit that I had just spent over $250 for a coffee maker that was not a whole lot better than much less expensive brands. Now, I have to be honest and tell it like it is.
I'm probably going to ruffle some feathers here since I know the marketing hype on this unit. I too, was enthusiastic like everyone else after reading the Cooks Illustrated Review. I quickly rushed off an ordered one and gave away my trusty Cuisinart to a friend, thinking I'd receive the Technivorm within days. To my chagrin, because of the demand, THREE MONTHS later it arrived. (Although the good news is, that during the wait I became very adept at brewing with a French Press and the Bodum Santos. I also relied heavily on my one cup Breville, that my boys gave me for Christmas last year, that makes pretty good coffee.) Anyway, I digress.
Getting to the point, here's what bothers me.
First off the collection carafe. The Technivorm Thermo KBT741 features a a non-see-through thermos that collects the coffee. Upon completion of the brewing cycle, one simply pours out your coffee then seals the thermos. This is actually a good idea, because typically coffee deteriorates rapidly as it simmers on a heating coil or pad. Problem is, where do you put thermos after it's filled? With the screw cap on, it doesn't fit back underneath the filter housing.
Okay fair enough, I found a nice resting place on the top of the maker above the water reservoir tank. It's out of the way, but now the maker rises to a height of almost 3 feet. Okay, so it wins the highest appliance skyline award in my kitchen, and that adds to the prestige of the machine.
Okay, this is a minor design issue that I can live with, but I don't think the thermos is of exceptional quality either. Unlike the Japanese thermos which keeps liquid hot for hours, this unit noticeably does not, and there may be more than one reason for this.
For one thing, there’s a one inch gap between the mouth of the filter holder and opening to the thermos. Why couldn’t they make this to fit more snugly? Don’t they know that the air space is going to cool the coffee as it drips into the thermos until you tighten it down, (which could be minutes if you're in the bathroom showering, shaving, burshing)? Within thirty minutes, the coffee was clearly less hot.
If you’re happy having nice hot coffee for 15 minutes, which I am, then no problemo, Senõr, but you’ll be displeased if you think you can sip from this carafe all morning and have hot coffee each time. You can't.
The instructions, amounting to barely one page I might add, even recommend that you warm the thermos BEFOREHAND by pouring piping hot water into it for a few minutes So even those ingenious design engineers at Technivorm knew there was a problem here.
It also pours sloppy, while always leaving a residual of coffee around the screw cap. Maybe MY thermos is demented, maybe not, but clearly over all it's of second class quality. If I can find a better thermos that can fit into the space and trip the start switch I'll buy it.
Let's move on.
The unit is nice looking. It impresses all my snooty friends, so that’s good. In fact, let’s be frank here, that’s why I’ll probably end up keeping it, but it's light weight and the plastic attachments are cheap and of poor design.
For example, what's with the little OPEN TO THE AIR square window that forms on the right when the “tower” reservoir cover is placed on the reservoir tank? I know, I know, it's there so that you can simply push the “shower arm” to the right out of the way as you fill your filter holder with coffee.
How clever, how chic. I’m sure the brilliant Dutch engineer at Technivorm who invented this feature is sleeping sound each night on the silk pillow cases he bought with the bonus he received for this design.
Fact is, it's an unnecessary convenience that risks loosening the drip arm's attachment up stream in the reservoir tank each time you move it, but more important, YOU NOW HAVE AN OPEN AIR WINDOW FOR BUGS AND DUST TO ENTER THE RESEVOIR TANK. Which will happen when you leave on that fortnight trip to visit the Technivorm plant in Holland.
Okay, okay Picky Nicky, simply cover the complete unit with a decorative kitchen towel when it's not in use, or if that will bother your snooty friends, seal the hole with a little black tape, (or a stick of chewing gum). Walla! It's closed. Happy now?
NO.
I can deal with the preceding, so let's get to the meat of the matter, the brewing itself. The Moccamaker boasts that it brews at the perfect temp. And it does. It has a 1400 watt heater - unlike the common 800 Watt hand-warmers you find in most drip coffee brewers and a manly electrical cord and plug, So, It has enough power to do the job right. Your first cup will almost always be around 170 degrees, which is piping hot coffee. It also brews the coffee in the correct amount of time.
But here’s the rub. When you lift the top of the filter holder and watch the water drip on to the coffee, it pools in the middle of the grounds, absorbing only one half to two thirds of the coffee. In short, a sizable amount of the grounds do NOT come in contact with the hot water. No matter what setting I used, (drip fully closed, half closed or fully opened), much of the grounds stayed dry.
Okay, okay, Peaberry Breath. Just add extra coffee, or simply, shut off the drip and let the hot water accumulate in the filter. After one or two minutes, take a teaspoon and swirl the brew a few times until it’s saturated completely. Happy now?
No.
We’re Americans. We’re baby boomers. We’re lazy, especially when it comes to our coffee.
I want to turn the machine on and have my coffee in 7 minutes just like you do. I don’t want to swirl anything to get my morning cup. Especially when the coffee maker costs over two hundred and fifty clams.
I could go on and on about the Technivorm KBT741. There actually are some good things. To be fair the unit is probably more suited for brewing a full batch, full thermos amount of coffee and is less efficient when brewing just a few cups at a time, but for me the bad still outweighs the good when one considers the price.
For example, even after you completely shut the drip door after the brewing cycle ends, coffee drips out. Also, the reservoir tank is marked in even numbered cups or liters, and in reality their cup is 4 ozs. So two cups is 8 oz. I thought the standard cup of coffee is 6 oz? The first few times when I measured out the prescribed amount for a six ounce cup, after drinking two cups, I had a buzz and the coffee shakes so bad that they lasted for three hours.
And lastly, the name, Technivorm. It sounds like it’s a toy vacuum cleaner shaped to look like a caterpillar not a first class coffee maker.
Recommended:
No
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