• Reviews around water (3.81 of 5)

    OXO On Barista Brain 9 Cup Coffee Maker (8710100)

    • Not only that, we have hard water and the deposits now are inside and can't be cleaned by hand.
    • This machine does take quite a while to brew coffee as the machine pauses every minute or so to let the grounds soak in the hot water, then it continues.
    • Like other coffee makers, you fill the water to the correct number of cups, put a filter in the basket, and measure your coffee in
    • You can get piping hot coffee with the OXO if you heat the carafe first by filling it with hot water (faucet or boiling.
    • Moreover, this also means that after finishing the pot, the remaining water in the basket slowly leaks all over the machine, counter, etc.
    • After two Mr. Coffee drips machines making coffee that tastes old every time (yes, basket & pots washed in hot soapy water + rinsed well every time), we decided to try the OXO on recommendation of friends
    • There is a clear center tube in the water reservoir which shows you the hot water percolating into the brew basket.
    • It rarely measures number of cups of water correctly so I just pour the hot water over the coffee grinds
    • I think like my water was too hot at 210.This machine like makes a better tasting coffee
    • However around the 4th or 5th time using this (brand new) machine, an internal component of the plastic water reservoir cracked and it leaked water all over
    • The hot water is then dispersed through the showerhead, through the brew basket, and into the carafe.
    • I still love watch the clear tank bubble the water through to the other side
    • I understand everything is controlled by a brain (chip) that maintains perfect water temperature for the brewing cycle and oversees each step of the process.
    • I didn't think this would be a big deal at first because the carafe is a nice metal carafe with double walls like the sweet water bottles that you can buy these days that keep liquid really hot and cold for awhile
    • If you want to take it a step further, when you discard the preliminary hot water out of your carafe, poor it into your mug(s) to heat them up.
    • A small amount of hot water is dispensed to soak the grounds, then after a short pause it continues on with brewing.
    • The OXO has great features: shower head, blooming delay, good water temp, mixing tube
    • I have hard water at my
    • I ran the water-only, as instructed, and enjoyed the sight of the water bubbling up the tube.
    • Our secret to great coffee is good beans (freshly ground with proper fineness at brewing time) and good water
    • Cleaning the lid, it seems like water gets trapped inside, so I do a lot of shaking and rinsing to make sure no water is trapped inside to mess up the taste of the next pot of coffee
    • Your results may vary by the type of coffee you buy, if it is ground fresh, and how good the water is
    • We are in central Texas and have very hard water so decided to use only filtered water in this coffee maker
    • This OXO, however, is making fantastic coffee and according to my thermometer the water is hitting the grinds at the required 195-205 degrees.
    • I'd say this is just as good as far as the results, but the Moccamaster is slightly better built (it vents the cold water chamber so it doesn't fog up, the brewing basket never leaks into the fresh water, haven't had to clean it in months, slightly bigger capacity), but it is also 50% more expensive
    • My biggest complaint is that the brew area isn't isolated from the fresh water area, and condensation and schmoo from the brewing area will leak down into the fresh water area sometimes leaving grounds and general "icky brown water" in the fresh water side.
    • The stainless steal and black is a great look for any kitchen, and the clear water container makes it attractive and fun to guests
    • There are a few other things that are minor nuisances...when you open the lid to the coffee basket to let it dry/air out, the lid is designed in such a way that there is a pool of water that is trapped, so when you close it again it dumps some water back into the basket or onto the plate the pot sits on.
    • I ran a full reservoir of plain, cold water through the machine before using it the first time
    • & I prefer fresh ground beans & fresh water.
    • For others using this coffee maker, would you mind putting a few reservoirs full of clean water through your machine with no coffee in the filter, and see how the water tastes when you pour it out of the carafe?
    • With Moccamaster you need to stop and start the water, and stir the grounds to evenly saturate with water since their shower head is a narrow little bar that mostly just dumps water into the middle of the filter basket
    • Use fresh cold water, filtered if there is too much calcium in it
    • Cheap plastic water head keeps falling off, now lost within 2 weeks of owning it.
    • Watching the bubbles and hot water come
    • Guests have found it appealing to watch the hot water percolate through the coffee maker
    • If you want your coffee to stay hot even longer put some hot water in the carafe for a couple of minutes before (if you brew a lot of coffee it stays hot anyway - up to around 3 hours - and still tastes fine).It was pretty expensive (has been worth it), it is a bit bulky, and the filters fit a bit strangely
    • We preheat the carafe by putting hot water in it while we grind our beans
    • I then pour the hot water into our mugs to preheat them a bit.6
    • The coffee in the brew basket was the source of organic matter, and a bit of it was transported through the big "drain" hole into the tank due to the flow of steam and liquid hot water -- this is also very possible, and I think even likely, because coffee is a great medium for growing mold and there's a lot of it not far from the hole.
    • The coffee is smooth without the bitterness that can come with improper water temperature
    • If you don't prep the carafe by heating it with hot water then the coffee you pour will not be as hot as some would like.
    • Then I put four full reservoirs of cold water through the brew process with no filter or coffee grounds in the machine.
    • Brewed the second pot, no coffee (so hot water straight into a room temperature pot) and immediately measured the temperature with a digital thermometer and got 187, seven degrees below the bottom of the ideal temperature threshold
    • Have you ever seen a coffee barista pour hot water is a circular motion and pause to let the coffee "bloom" before pouring again?
    • Friends from Seattle and NYC, cities with good water and good coffee, too praise this machine for the excellent cups of coffee.
    • Keep it nice and avoid mineral build-up in the water reservoir by using fresh, filtered water
    • It was like drinking lukewarm water.
    • Use fresh cold water, filtered if there is too much calcium in it
    • The next morning, coffee was ready but no water in the tank
    • My husband is the main coffee drinker in the house, though I'm using it as well for hot water for tea, so this review is both of our opinions
    • I thoroughly rinse out the lid through all 4 openings, tilting it all the while, seeing only clear water
    • Much better than the Bunn, Mr. Coffee and didn't explode grounds and water all over the counter like the Cuisinart.
    • My only complaint is that the clear water reservoir, which looks very cool and lends to the overall sleek appearance of the coffeemaker, is unfortunately clouded by condensation every time we use it
    • You can see the water getting hot and each cup is hot and stays in the thermal.
    • Some if it's enhanced features include heating and maintaining proper water temperature for a perfect brew, a "rain spout" styled water disperser which ensures all of your coffee grounds are being brewed thoroughly and equally, the ability to brew just a single, 10 oz. cup of coffee, all the way up to a full pot of 9 cups of coffee, and, a thermal carafe which does not require added heat to keep the coffee warm and drinkable for at least a couple of hours after brewing
    • Given that the OXO specifically says it holds water at the optimal temperature (197.6-204.8 Degrees F) for coffee, it suggests that yes, boiling hot water (212 degrees F) is much too hot for a great cup of coffee.
    • I thoroughly washed all the parts in warm soapy water and rinsed them 3 or 4 times before the first use.
    • The machine is fun to watch make coffee , as you can see the water move up through the clear water tank.
    • And, I have to admit, it's fun watching the brewing process with hot water almost silently bubbling up through the center of the reservoir.
    • One important thing I found is that it isn't just steam that flows back into the water tank, it's also hot water, and it seems to be intentional.
    • I'd say this is just as good as far as the results, but the Moccamaster is slightly better built (it vents the cold water chamber so it doesn't fog up, the brewing basket never leaks into the fresh water, haven't had to clean it in months, slightly bigger capacity), but it is also 50% more expensive
    • Its fast, while the controls are not super intuitive they are not complex, and the coffee that comes out is equivalent to hovering over a manual drip cone maker and pouring hot water yourself out of a tea kettle
    • The clear water tank is awesome
    • Secondly it makes a very good cup of coffee using a cone filter which helps to concentrate the hot water over the coffee grounds and enhance the taste
    • This feature comes in handy with when brewing top of the line Starbucks coffee, specialty tea from Teavana, or something as simple as jello, oatmeal, or anything else requiring hot water fast.
    • Cleaning the lid, it seems like water gets trapped inside, so I do a lot of shaking and rinsing to make sure no water is trapped inside to mess up the taste of the next pot of coffee
    • They give use a cool clear water reservoir with no way for it to dry out quickly, so it stays fogged up if u close the flap after use
    • After reading concerns about massive condensation and possibility of mildew, I attempt to wash/rinse the affected components, shake or wipe off excessive water droplets, and keep lids open until next use
    • About 1.5 years into the one that had been chugging along with no issues it again refused to heat the water and broke
    • It's got this nifty rainwater showerhead that evenly dispersed the hot hot hot water over the grounds.
    • More importantly, I'm giving it a reduced grade because the coffee isn't hot enough unless you preheat the thermos with hot water (and who has time in the morning to do this??), and even then it's marginal.
    • As with any thermal-carafe coffeemaker, you can't use the carafe to measure the water that you're going to pour in since it's not transparent
    • The fresh water reservoir is not vented well so condensation builds up after brewing and stays trapped for days (I worry this presents a perfect medium for mold/bacteria)
    • I still love watch the clear tank bubble the water through to the other side
    • In this position, all five spritzer's in the Oxo's showerhead drip very hot water perfectly evenly across the grounds held in a brilliantly designed Kalita filter placed in the glass dripper
    • The OXO solves this with some computer logic, releasing just enough water to presoak the coffee without it running through, waiting a period of time, then running more water through
    • Lime will build up & ANY coffeemaker will not work properly.-I wash my carafe/carafe lid & brew cone with soap & hot water EVERY DAY after making coffee.
    • I washed all of them in warm soapy water, and rinsed them excessively.
    • so I am always cleaning water or coffee off of the plate
    • The tradeoff with the carafe is unless you make a full batch (with more thermal mass), the coffee isn't that hot when you pour it (perhaps heating the carafe with hot water before making coffee would help), but at least this design doesn't cook your coffee once it's done brewing.
    • The transparent water reservoir is really cool, design-wise, accept that it is always beaded with moisture, which takes away some of the beauty.
    • After two Mr. Coffee drips machines making coffee that tastes old every time (yes, basket & pots washed in hot soapy water + rinsed well every time), we decided to try the OXO on recommendation of friends
    • First, that the water didn't seem quite as hot as I was used to, and second, that a small amount of liquid remains in the carafe after you think it's empty.
    • You can get piping hot coffee with the OXO if you heat the carafe first by filling it with hot water (faucet or boiling.
    • The hot water is pushed up by the boiler in a clear glass tube to the brewing funnel, just like in the Danish machine
    • After the fourth reservoir, I tasted the plain hot water that was in the carafe after the fourth "brewing".
    • and I'm performing math without the aid of coffee...let's see I have 7 cups of water in the reservoir, but only want 4 cups of coffee...if I brew without any grounds and monitor the situation closely I can dump out three cups of hot water and start the process over, but this time with coffee grounds!
    • Maybe it was keeping the coffee grounds in contact with the hot water for too long of a time period?
    • I used the largest piece of foam in the "drain" space beneath the bridge, and because it contacts hot water that can enter the pot I coated it with food-safe silicone sealant.
    • Our old machine created bolder coffee with less coffee, however this may have to do with the super hot water
    • (I have an instant hot water dispenser), even a fresh cup would probably not be warm enough
    • I previously said it was a few ounces, but I measured the water a few times, and I corrected it to one ounce
    • One complaint- the clear glass water reservoir clouds w condensation
    • If you like your coffee really hot but can still drink with sips, preheat the carafe with hot tap water.
    • My grandmother taught me to put a pinch of salt on the grounds as well as crushed egg shell which softened the hard water and greatly enhanced the flavor.
    • The clear water reservoir helps one see how far the brewing cycle has gotten.
    • If you have hard calcium water like us, you can see the build up inside the water tank...& (we always use filtered water but the calcium still builds up).
    • The problem is it takes a long time to make one cup, you have to boil the water and in a figure eight pattern pour it over your
    • During brewing, or after brewing when the brew basket lid is opened, a little hot water leaks out of the water bridge, and the large open passage between the basket and tank is meant to drain this bit of water back into the tank instead of letting it go into the pot.
    • As with many others, both of mine dumped water out of one or two holes only.
    • Then I run one full pot of clear water to rinse the vinegar
    • especially if you pre-warm the thermal carafe with hot water)- stylish with backlit LED indicators- fun to watch the percolator function during the brewing processCons:- clock keeps loosing track of time and flashes 3:09PM every morning- every time you lift the brewing lid after making coffee, dirty water from brewing splash-back pours back into the fresh water reservoir - Oxo customer service's response
    • I have never dropped it, banged it or washed it other than in mild detergent and warm water
    • Has been reliable (but expect any to be after only 2 months).CON: Coffee side lid drips down into fresh water container.
    • If you have very hard water, you may need to do this more often.
    • With the Bonavita, one must fold the paper filters over at the bottom and side joints, then hope that sliding the pot into position does not nudge the top of the filter closed - the consequence of which is a plugged machine with scalding hot water and coffee grounds flowing across the kitchen counter and floor.
    • I solve some of this problem by running hot water in the carafe for several minutes before brewing coffee.
    • When I don't use the brew timer, I will fill the carafe with hot tap water and let it sit in there for a few minutes before dumping it out and then brewing the coffee
    • Also if you make only 2-3 cups it doesn't stay hot for more than 30 minutes even after setting the temperature with hot water prior to brewing
    • I decided to remove all the other silicone tubes in the hot water path (some come off easily with no tools, others need a couple of screws removed).
    • Since the reservoir tank and the cylinder are transparent, you can watch the hot water rise into the water bridge.
    • I think I am reasonably skilled at manually pouring hot water into a funnel lined with a filter containing ground coffee in the canonical way.
    • I choose to put hot water in the carafe to heat it up before making
    • The OXO unit pumps the hot water into the cone in timed cycles, with the water evenly distributed over the
    • The drip side, well, drips water when you open it to clean it out
    • However, I find the temperature temperature to be just right if I pre-heat the carafe lid/tube and carafe with hot water from the sink first
    • Coffee nuts claim to taste the difference if the grinds are the right size and water had reached a certain temp
    • especially if you pre-warm the thermal carafe with hot water)- stylish with backlit LED indicators- fun to watch the percolator function during the brewing processCons:- clock keeps loosing track of time and flashes 3:09PM every morning- every time you lift the brewing lid after making coffee, dirty water from brewing splash-back pours back into the fresh water reservoir - Oxo customer service's response
    • I ended up filling it with warm water before I used it in order to offset the coolness of the steel
    • My grandmother taught me to put a pinch of salt on the grounds as well as crushed egg shell which softened the hard water and greatly enhanced the flavor.
    • When I put fresh clean water in I see floaties that resemble miniature lice appear in the water
    • It is a good idea to fill the carafe with hot water for 30 seconds before brewing to preheat it a bit
    • The search results also suggested too fine of a grind, and/or keeping the grounds in contact with the hot water during the brew process for too long of a duration.
    • It's simple to assemble/clean/use although I did miss the detachable water reservoir more than i thought i would
    • Water doesn't stay as hot in thermos as I would like.
    • But, clear water seeps between the inner parts of the brew basket housing, and it drips down onto the exterior of the carafe sometimes
    • Requires decalcification regularly in hard water
    • According to OXO, the taste is achieved through a combination of a large water head, perfectly timed and heated hot water, and standardized measuring scoop
    • With my Krups I just took the carafe and did a quick rinse, had a thumb lever to open the top, filled the water and dumped it in
    • The OXO does the splash of hot water over the beans before the complete addition of the remaining water (I learned this trick from a coffee zealot website a decade or more ago for filter system coffee)
    • - I took my wife’s kitchen thermometer, stuck it in the carafe (only warmed with hot water from tap – warmed with boiling water is not practical for me), it did not reach the bottom of the recommended range of 197.6 F degree.
    • The initial soaking of hot water the grounds receive before brewing isn't a gimmick, although it sounds like a gimmick, but it makes all the difference between an average cup of drip and fully bloomed glorious full strength coffee.
    • Thus, not only is steam flowing through and condensing in the tank, but hot water is flowing back in, also
    • I have tried it with grinding my own beans, as well as, with grounds and the coffee is amazing
    • As excited as I was to receive something like this to review from
    • Water doesn't stay as hot in thermos as I would like.
    • At the point it completes the cycle, the coffee made by this machine is certainly as good as, if not perceptibly better than that of the Bonavita or Capresso; but the coffee keeps better in the caraffe, it pours into the cup better, and it is much less susceptible to filter handling errors that result in rivers of hot coffee running across the counters, down the cabinets, and onto the floor.
    • My only complaint is the water/condensation that stays in where you pour the water as well as under the lid it sort of gets trapped under that rubber piece which makes me worried about mildew
    • Well made, easy to assemble and disassemble as well as to clean
    • This tastes as good as, if not better than, the clever coffee method and is much faster and easier to make
    • Overall I'd highly recommend this as long as you can live with those two limitations.
    • It shows cute little water drops on the LED as it brews, and a hot cup once it's done
    • We verified the water was the proper temperature, and we simply don't know exactly WHY the coffee isn't tasting as good as it could, but we've decided to return this and go with a less expensive option
    • coffee maker works as it should, I like