The Latest Offering From Bunn – The HG/HT Phase Brew Coffee Maker

This is a guest post by Billy.411. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

So we have a new offering from the Bunn-O-Matic Corporation to review — the HG or HT Phase Brew Coffee Maker. The HG model is the standard glass carafe version, while the HT model uses a thermal carafe.

Since Bunn bought out the STX model and the MC My Cafe Home Pod Brewer, we have seen a distinct shift in styling — thank goodness! Bunn coffee makers is a company that started out way back in the 1950s, and is predominantly known for its larger commercial coffee brewers. So it’s certainly nice to have some of these newer coffee brewers looking like they belong on your kitchen counter top, and not in a factory workshop!

The thing that hits you firstly with the new Phase Brewer models is the design. It truly is one of the nicest looking coffee brewers on the market. The open back design allows it sit very nicely in just about any kitchen decor. And for it’s reasonably tall dimensions (15.2 inches) it has a very ‘light’ look to it.

Beautiful open design looks great in any kitchen.

Another couple of features that I really like from this brewer is the capacity and the thermal carafe option. I have never been a fan of the big 12-14 cup brewers, as I find there is very big difference in taste between the first half of the pot and the second half. Semantics you may say… but when you truly love coffee, it’s these little things that make a difference! So I find this 8 cup or 40 ounce brewing capacity a very nice size.

I have also never personally been a fan of heating plates. We’ve all experienced that horrible burnt coffee reduction that some coffee houses serve up — a pot that has been slowly simmering away over the warming plate for a good hour or two… No Thank You! Even with coffee that has been sitting for longer than 10 minutes, you can start to taste the burn. Give me a thermal carafe any day.

But what really sets this new Bunn brewer apart from the pack is its revolutionary new style of brewing — labeled the ‘Phase Brew.’ Instead of the old drip style — where you fill the water tank and it slowly heats a little water at a time and dribbles it over the coffee grinds — the new Phase Brew heats the entire water reservoir to an ideal 200 deg F, and then using a shower head, literally floods the coffee grinds over a 4 minute period to get maximum flavor, oils and aroma — without the burnt taste.

Does it work? In a word — Yes!

Water is heated to 200 deg F in the top reservoir before flooding the coffee grinds.

So here is a list of features for you:

• Extremely sexy looking mid-sized coffee brewer.
• Revolutionary style of brewing that extracts maximum flavor.
• Comes in an 8-cup glass carafe (HG) or 8 cup thermal carafe (HT) model.
• Marked improvement in the drinking temperature.
• Around 10 minutes total heat/brew time.
• Programmable auto-start timer.
• Crystal clear LCD display with ‘Cleaning Time’ message.
• High altitude model available for those over 4000ft.
• Highly recommended as a tea brewer… if you like that sort of thing!
• SCAA approved coffee brewer.
• Dimensions: 8.8 x 10.2 x 15.2 inches; 8.5 pounds.
• 3 year limited warranty.

As with any coffee maker review, there are always good points and some not so good points. So below you will see what I consider to be the HG/HT pros and cons.

Pros

• Such a cool looking machine… honestly, it’s just awesome!
• Very consistent brewing and drinking temperature.
• Produces a very fully flavored coffee, almost up there with a French Press.
• 3 year limited warranty.
• Bunn’s very well reputed customer service.
• Did I mention how cool it looks?

Cons

• Higher priced coffee brewer nearing the $100 mark.
• Several complaints regarding leaky carafes. (Though I personally had no problems)
• Unit is a little noisy, and vibrates a little too — though this could add to the brew process.
• Unit being 15.2 inches tall may not fit under some kitchen cabinets.
• Very short power cord.
• No ‘Pause-and-Serve’ feature to sneak a cup before brewing has finished.
• Will make your other coffee makers look very old and ugly.

Final Words
The HG/HT Phase Brew coffee maker is a great mid-sized coffee brewer. It has received a 4-star rating from nearly 100 reviews at Amazon, and is one classy looking piece of equipment. It may cost a little more, but for its looks and the quality of the coffee, I feel it is money well spent. In my never-ending quest to find the best coffee makers the Bunn HG/HT Phase Brewer is definitely in my top 5 coffee brewers.

Insert picture – bunn-ht.jpg

The HT model offers a Thermal Carafe option. (And it looks cooler!)

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My name is Billy.411 and I run a few coffee related websites. Most notably, two coffee maker review sites — CoffeeMakers411.com and for you coffee pod geeks out there, SingleCupCoffee411.com Thanks for reading!

Category: Coffee Equipment Reviews