Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

PLEASE NOTE: This is the new version of the original Brazen coffeemaker. Its flaws were addressed, and the Brazen Plus is the re-release circa July 2014. Some of the fixes: -Bigger brew basket to prevent overflow -Better carafe spout to reduce spillage -Removable screen filter in water reservoir So I got wind of the Brazen Plus when I was at Coffee Con SF. There it was, a big old poster promoting an auto drip coffee maker that was "SCAA Certified". Being the coffee maker geek that I am, I had to ask Mr. Joe Behm himself (the coffee maker's inventor) about the claim. Fortunately, he happened to be standing about 3 feet away from the poster. He confirmed it, and I knew that I just had to get my hands on the Brazen Plus for a review. After all, it is one of only 4 SCAA Certified home brewers out there (at the time of this review). As a proud owner of the Bonavita BV 1800, I was skeptical that the Brazen Plus would even come close to such a reliable (and SCAA certified) auto drip coffee maker. Welp, I was wrong. The Brazen Plus not only makes great coffee, but it also boasts features that no other coffee maker on the planet would be able to. You can: -Pre-saturate/bloom the ground coffee anywhere between 15 seconds and 4 minutes -Brew coffee at temperatures anywhere between 190'F and 205'F (yes, YOU can set it) -Brew with a freakin' Chemex or Hario V60 or other manual brewer -Set your elevation for accurate temperature calibration and a whole lot more! As far as the coffee goes, it's great! In fact, both my girlfriend and I preferred the Brazen's coffee over the Bonavita's after doing a blind taste test. There are a few downsides though: -There is lots of condensation build-up in the reservoir and on the shower head. This leads to wiping up a lot of water, all the time. -It is a very slow brew. This is mostly the result of getting the water to reach an accurate temperature. For 2 cups of coffee, it takes a whopping 6 minutes to brew. The BV 1800 takes 2 minutes in comparison. -It's kinda big. Not huge, but it's much bigger (and much taller) than the BV1800 and many comparable coffee makers. Still, if you want great-tasting coffee that you can brew as if it were manual drip coffee (without being manual), this is definitely a great buy. If you're looking for something quick, easy, and that makes great coffee...I'd definitely go with the Bonavita BV 1800. 4.5 stars for the Brazen Plus!