The Zojirushi Zutto Coffee Maker EC-DAC50

So, you’re sick of all those fancy ‘bells and whistles’ coffee makers that are the size of a small doghouse, filled to the brim with features and functions that you just don’t need? All you really want is a mid-sized coffee maker that is well built, looks good, and makes darn good coffee? Then lucky you are reading this eh?

Zojirushi is a Japanese company that started life in Osaka in 1918 as the Ichikawa Brothers Trading Company. In 1961 it changed its name to the Zojirushi Corporation, and for many years has been known mainly for their rice-cookers and water-boilers. What made them a company to be reckoned with is their ability to keep things simple, and build their products well.

While other companies tried to pack as many fan-dangled features as possible into a cheaply made shell – Zojirushi kept a clean, understated style of design. If a feature wasn’t absolutely necessary, they didn’t add it. This can be seen in the simple fact that while some coffee maker companies bring out 10-30 different models – all just a little different to the next; Zojirushi have just 2. They do a 10- cup thermal carafe coffee maker, and this little beauty – the 5-cup Zutto EC-DAC50.

Clean and simple design – Has what you need, nothing that you don’t.

Here is a list of features for you:

• Mid-sized 5-cup coffee maker.
• Removable water reservoir for easy filling.
• Charcoal water filter for great tasting coffee.
• Automatically keeps coffee warm, without burning it.
• Classic silver color.
• Currently has over 140 reviews on Amazon, with a 4.5 star rating.
• UL listed (Underwriters’ Laboratories).
• Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 10.6 inches; 3.5 pounds.
• 650 watts.
• 1-year limited warranty.

Lets look at a few of the good points, and the not so good.

The Good:

• A great looking machine in the ‘mid-sized’ coffee maker category.
• Very compact footprint.
• Super simple design, with very little to go wrong.
• Consistent brew temperature.
• Solid construction.
• Removable charcoal water filter.
• Heating pad doesn’t scald the coffee.
• Perfect for the office, dorm room, or kitchen for 1 or 2 drinkers.

The Bad:

• Not the cheapest mid-sized coffee maker.
• Several complaints about the carafe lid opening when pouring coffee.
• If you like extremely hot coffee, some say the Zutto is not for you.
• No auto-off feature.
• The term ‘5-cup’ means 5 250ml cups, not 5 mugs.

 

Final Words
The Zojirushi Zutto 5-cup coffeemaker is, and has been for a while, my personal top pick in the best coffee makers race. It adheres to the K.I.S.S principal, looks great, and simply does what it is meant to do. What more do you need really?

My name is Billy.411 and I run a little coffee maker review site — CoffeeMakers411.com. Follow us on at Facebook/CoffeeHub411 or Twitter@CoffeeMakers411.

Thanks for reading!