Article summary
The Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker is one of the easiest to use pour-over brewers out there. Seriously, how often do you think to yourself, ‘Uh! I wish to have this and that at the touch of a button!’? Well, the Bonavita is a coffee maker that operates with exactly and only one button, and there’s a good product from that operation – the coffee made by this brewer.
In this article, we decided to tell you a little bit more about the 8-cup Bonavita with thermal carafe. Glass carafes make for good reviews, but today is not their day. Today we want to focus on the several hours that Bonavita’s thermal carafe can hold the coffee hot for and on the optional pre-infusion function that this coffee maker has to offer. We also want to tell you more about the wide showerhead the Bonavita has and about the optimal temperature it brews your coffee at. Are you starting to suspect that this coffee maker has something to do with a good coffee extraction? Good, because we want to tell you more about that too.
Key features:
- A pour-over coffee maker
- Brews an 8-cup carafe
- Comes with a thermal carafe
- Has a wide showerhead
- Optional pre-infusion
- Brews the coffee at a temperature from 195˚ to 205˚F
- Uses flat-bottomed filters
- Operates at a touch of a button
- BPA-free plastic parts
- Dishwasher safe parts: filter basket, carafe lid, and showerhead
Pros
Suitable for large households
Stainless steel thermal carafe keeps the water hot for hours
Wide showerhead equally saturates the coffee grounds
Optimal brew temperature improves the coffee extraction and taste
Takes about six minutes to make the coffee, which is pretty fast
SCAA certified
Easy to use and maintain
Cons
Doesn’t alert you when the brewing is done
There’s an auto off function, but not an auto start one
The brew basket has to be placed on the carafe, so you can’t pause the brewing until the entire carafe is brewed
How the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker works
The Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker works with a pour-over brew method. What this means is that the coffee maker doesn’t let the coffee go through tubes or pipes inside of it. Instead, the coffee is placed on a filter inside the brew basket of the coffee maker and the coffee maker pours water over the coffee grounds. From the filter basket, the coffee drips inside the thermal carafe of the Bonavita, ready to be your tasty companion.
Optimal brew temperature
Before the water reaches the coffee grounds, though, it is supposed to be heated. The brew temperature that the Bonavita brews the coffee at is one of this coffee maker’s strongest sides. Being SCAA certified, the Bonavita brews your coffee at an optimal temperature that ranges from 195˚ to 205˚F. Brewed at this temperature, your coffee will never ‘suffer’poor extraction and you will never complain about it being bitter.
Wide showerhead
It is not only Bonavita’s great brew temperature that makes for a great cup of coffee. In the case of this coffee maker, this has a lot to do with its showerhead. To be more specific, the coffee that the Bonavita makes tastes nice because of how its showerhead was designed. Being wide and having a lot of holes, the showerhead can equally saturate even those coffee grounds that are hardest for the water to reach. This, of course, improves the extraction of the coffee, which, furthermore, improves your and the mood of your family because you get to hang out while drinking well-extracted coffee.
Stainless steel thermal carafe
From the showerhead, the water gets on the coffee grounds inside the filter basket, and from there, coffee drips inside the thermal carafe of the Bonavita. Once the last drop of coffee falls down the thermal carafe, your coffee is ready to serve. However, you can choose to instead close the carafe with its lid. This lid helps the stainless steel carafe keep the coffee hot for several hours. The lid also has a plastic lever that you press on anytime you want to pour some coffee for you and your family.
Does it all with one button only
All of what we have so far described is possible to do with one button only. The power button of the Bonavita is located on its stainless steel housing, underneath its water tank. However, Bonavita’s power button does one more thing which is a big plus for this coffee maker, and we’re going to talk about it right now.
Optional pre-infusion feature
The other thing that the power button of the 8-cup Bonavita does is commanding the brewer to pre-infuse the coffee. You can easily ‘ask’ your coffee maker to do this for you by pressing and holding on its power button for about five seconds. You will then see a red light flashing, indicating that the Bonavita’s pre-infusion function is activated.
Pre-infusion basically means that the coffee will be soaked in water before it gets to be brewed. This makes for a ‘richer’ brew since it makes for an easier extraction of flavors. However, the pre-infusion is an optional feature and if you don’t like your coffee to be pre-infused just don’t hold the power button for five seconds.
Cleaning the coffee maker
Descaling the Bonavita from time to time and washing its removable parts should do when it comes to cleaning. The carafe lid, the showerhead, and the filter basket are dishwasher safe, and the carafe doesn’t take a lot of effort to wash. Just clean it with soap water and it will be ready for the next brew.
FAQ about the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker with thermal carafe
How long is the cord of this coffee maker?
The cord is 24 inches long.
Do I have to always brew a full carafe or can I brew as much coffee as I want?
You can definitely fill the reservoir with as much or as little water as you want as long as it doesn’t exceed 8 ounces. To answer your question, yes, you can brew less than a full carafe.
Does this coffee maker bring good value for the money?
We think it does. The coffee maker is not very expensive, but it comes with a lot of good features. Optional pre-infusion, optimal temperature, a wide showerhead; all these things help the coffee extraction. Then, there’s also the thermal carafe which is made of stainless steel. In case you experience some problem with your Bonavita, however, you can rely on its 2-year warranty.
What are some alternatives to the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker?
The Technivorm Moccamaster
We’re aware that the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker with thermal carafe might not be ideal for you if you really want the best pour-over coffee maker there is. That said, the Technivorm Moccamaster has been that coffee maker that no other coffee maker can stand along. The Moccamaster has been recommended by coffee experts over and over again, and it is widely recognized for the taste of the coffee it makes. With this coffee maker you’ll also have the option for an auto drip-stop, and drink a cup of coffee even if the full carafe isn’t brewed yet. In case the Bonavita fails to meet your needs, we recommend you check the Moccamaster that comes with thermal as well as the one that comes with a glass carafe and see what works better for you.
Conclusion
It is easy for us to ‘sum up’ the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker with thermal carafe. It is easy to make coffee on this coffee maker, and the preset brew parameters make the coffee taste good. Is this what matters to you? Are you about simplicity and a nice cup of regular Joe? If so, check out this nice coffee maker and see if it’s the right one for you.