“On day 3 of using. Initial impressions (keeping in mind it's a refurb)
- well packaged and boxed
- 1 nick on the wood - probably just use a furniture marker to hide
- wood rails do not sit flush with the top of the machine, and gaps between wood and metal are not consistent. Not as precision a fit as expected
- 2-3 nicks inside top where water is to be poured in. Seems odd as not a high impact space and the lid is rounded.
- handblown glass carafe is Made in China- very, very disappointed to see that. Better clarity on product description would be preferred (other than stating GLOBAL). Prefer to keep my money at home in the USA and not ending up there.
- Power cord is nice and thick, but due to that it cannot sit close to a wall behind it. Looking for a 90 degree adaptor. Option for short power cord would also be nice.
- the location of the carafe is very finicky to get the machine to function, machine will not work if not exactly located in the sweet spot, even though on visual inspection it wouldn't be a disaster if slightly off.
- the manual included lists 44oz as full tank, but the single printout in the box states it's 40oz. would be nice to have other markings on the tank for the various amounts listed in the manual to avoid having to measure the water. A simple sticker affixed to the outside aligned to the half/full marks could solve this elegantly.
- Chemex square filters are doable in a pinch, but non-square preferred.
- Consider, prior to the BLOOM process for future models, a CARAFE WARMING function, where it spits out 4-6 oz of water where in the user can pre-wet the filter and warm up the carafe/ dump the water/ then put back for brewing so the glass doesn't suck the heat from the coffee.
Coffee
- so far only so-so. I plan to begin temping the output as the coffee is not nearly as hot as what I have typically from a chemex pour-over.
- flavor wise, my beans have lost their brightness/floral components (Eithiopian special from Costco). These aren't the world's most expensive roast, but they are pretty good when done right. Going to continue to play with grind settings to see how to improved
Hope this is helpful!”
Grant, thanks for the detailed feedback! Just wanted to point out two things:
1. The 44oz is how much water you'd put in the tank to yield approx 40oz of coffee (since roughly 10% will be absorbed into the ground coffee)
2. Our Eight Thermal Carafe should help with the coffee temp issue you're describing
Let us know if we can help answer any other questions as you dial in your brewer and grind settings!
