Author Topic: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show  (Read 26678 times)

Tex

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #75 on: October 24, 2012, 11:04:54 AM »
Well at least without Tex, I know I wil get it:)
You are a wise man.... best scenario for everyone in the road show.

We know what happened w/ the Sono...

That's why Tex is giving his turns to Milo. Takes a lot of kissing up when you swipe remotely operate a mans Sono  ;D

FIFY

 :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #76 on: October 24, 2012, 04:23:34 PM »
Is Milo back from down-under yet?
Yes, got back yesterday.... no sign of Gort yet....

jbviau

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #77 on: October 26, 2012, 08:24:48 PM »
Speaking of people's spots, the Brazen will be going out to milowebailey on Friday, or possibly even tomorrow if I can swing it. For some bizarre reason, my road show Yama vac pot arrived the day before this machine did, so it's been like America's Test Kitchen around here for coffee lately--a crazy, fun, non-paper-filtered brewing extravaganza. I'll post my final thoughts on the Brazen once it's all packed up.

Gort is now en route to Seattle. Enjoy!

Prior to this thing's arrival, it had been quite a while since I'd brewed a full pot of drip coffee. Consequently, I can't compare the Brazen to a Technivorm or really any other even-close-to-similar machine. However, I feel I can say the following with certainty:

1. Temp. control makes a difference in the cup. For example, coffee that seemed borderline "too strong" to family members became much more to their liking when I did nothing else aside from knock a few degrees off of the brew temp. for pot #2.

2. The Brazen makes good coffee. I wasn't getting the flavor separation I'm used to when brewing with the Trifecta MB (or a siphon), but I was happy enough with what I drank, and I'm certain I would have been able to do better if I'd fussed around even more with the various settings and possibly lightened up my doses; full-immersion-style habits die hard, you know?!

Likes:

- The metal filter worked extremely well, in my opinion. *Very* little sediment makes it through the mesh. I didn't feel any urge to reach for a paper filter.
- Fairly intuitive controls.
- Looked better (and smaller) on the counter than I'd expected.

Dislikes:

- As documented elsewhere, the carafe is an issue. The first cup or two of a full pot pour well for me, but after that it's slow and dribbly. If I were to buy one of these for myself, I'd probably hope/try to use a different carafe altogether.
- Also well-documented: drippage post-basket removal. I could get used to this, but it's an annoyance.
- Noisy buttons. Beep beep beep beep beep.

In sum, if I were in the market for a drip brewer, despite the niggles pointed out above there's no doubt this would be #1 on my list. I might be tempted to take a "wait and see" approach though in case any updates are planned.

Thanks for organizing , HC4U! I really appreciated the opportunity to take Gort for a spin.

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #78 on: October 29, 2012, 07:15:25 PM »
Gort has arrived!  I'll be reading the tips tonight and give him a stab in the AM.  This should be fun.

Ray T

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #79 on: October 30, 2012, 11:18:41 AM »
Gort has arrived!  I'll be reading the tips tonight and give him a stab in the AM.  This should be fun.

I wouldn't do that, GORT comes from the planet BraZen sent here to protect the human race from bad coffee so don't piss him of Milo  ;D




BoldJava

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #80 on: October 30, 2012, 11:50:52 AM »
Speaking of people's spots, the Brazen will be going out to milowebailey on Friday, or possibly even tomorrow if I can swing it. For some bizarre reason, my road show Yama vac pot arrived the day before this machine did, so it's been like America's Test Kitchen around here for coffee lately--a crazy, fun, non-paper-filtered brewing extravaganza. I'll post my final thoughts on the Brazen once it's all packed up.

Gort is now en route to Seattle. Enjoy!

Prior to this thing's arrival, it had been quite a while since I'd brewed a full pot of drip coffee. Consequently, I can't compare the Brazen to a Technivorm or really any other even-close-to-similar machine. However, I feel I can say the following with certainty:

...

Nice review.

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #81 on: October 30, 2012, 06:12:01 PM »
First impressions:

1) easy to program
2) Kitchen acceptable (Mrs. milowebailey likes the look of it compared to the Technivorm)
3) better vacpot than Technivorm (seals and you don't have to change lids to keep it warm), simpler=better
4) I wish it had a cone filter (I'd like to try it with the Able Kone), curious why a flat filter was chosen.
5) I also wish I could do a single cup pourover ..... maybe Joe will make a mini-gort (hint-hint)
6) vacpot lid turns the wrong way IMO
7) top cover index is in the back, I'd prefer it in the front so it would be easier to see.
8 ) I like the size of the fill opening.... huge very easy to fill without making a mess.

I brewed a pot of Nic Finca Santa Gema and have to say the first cup is good.  The fruit shines and it's a very clean cup.

Brewed at 203 with a 2 minute pre-soak.

It's 6 pm so I won't be comparing it to the Technivorm tonight.... that's for tomorrow.

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #82 on: October 31, 2012, 09:30:26 AM »
Second impression:

Gort vs Technivorm side-by-side

Coffee - Nic Finca Santa Gema (fruit bomb)

Very close competition here.  They both make an awfully good cup.

Atribute     Techniform     Brazen     Comments
Temperature
     X
     Gort is a bit hotter in the cup
Aroma
     X
     Fruit is more pronounced
     X
     Brighter cup
Speed
     X
     Technivorm is faster
Easy
     X
     Technivorm is a little easier to use
Price
     $299
     $199

Ray T

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #83 on: October 31, 2012, 11:09:46 AM »
Nice write up all. Seems Gort is ahead where in counts most. IN THE CUP 




Offline Richdel

  • Standard User
  • ****
  • Posts: 518
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #84 on: November 01, 2012, 02:11:50 PM »
Nice write up all. Seems Gort is ahead where in counts most. IN THE CUP 

And in the consumer's wallet!

milowebailey

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #85 on: November 12, 2012, 07:52:14 PM »
Well I didn't have enough time to do much more testing of Gort, but it's a good machine from what I can tell.

Off to ScareYourPassenger tomorrow.

jano

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #86 on: November 16, 2012, 02:06:20 PM »
Oh oh!  Almost my turn!   :D

jano

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #87 on: December 11, 2012, 11:08:32 PM »
Arrived!  It's a bit bigger than I thought it'd be.

Stoopid question, mostly because I've never used a coffee machine: when I brew, does the lid stay on the carafe or do I remove it and then place it over once done brewing?

I see the drip nubby spout thingy on the underneath of the body is kind of springy, which leads me to believe the lid should stay on...   ???

BoldJava

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #88 on: December 12, 2012, 03:40:58 AM »
Second impression:

Gort vs Technivorm side-by-side

Coffee - Nic Finca Santa Gema (fruit bomb)

Very close competition here.  They both make an awfully good cup.

Atribute     Techniform     Brazen     Comments
Temperature     X     Gort is a bit hotter in the cup
Aroma     X     Fruit is more pronounced
     X     Brighter cup
Speed     X     Technivorm is faster
Easy     X     Technivorm is a little easier to use
Price     $299     $199

I missed this earlier.  Were I in the market for a machine, this is all I would need to make the choice.  Friends often ask at work and then wince at the price tag of the TV.  Now I will see if they wince at $199.

jano

  • Guest
Re: Brazen Coffee Brew System (aka Gort) Traveling Road Show
« Reply #89 on: December 18, 2012, 05:17:45 PM »
First time using a coffee machine, ever. 

It makes great coffee, and it's super easy and perfect for a lazy morning.  But for me:
 1. it makes too much (I'm in the minority here, I know.. I drink very little)
 2. it's too stinky (I tried washing it with hot water, detergent, and even citric acid); i don't think this is an issue specific to the Brazen, it seems to be an inherent property of all coffee machines
 3. Despite being the living embodiment of lazy, I prefer manual versus this auto
 4. if there were a smaller version of this, I'd *so* get it, just so I could get myself that little nintendo robot and ultimately create a Rube Goldberg machine to freshly grind and brew coffee on a daily basis.

The Brazen is off to bekeld today - holy cow I don't think I am going to brave the post office just before Christmas ever again!  :o 

By the way, there's a small crack in the plastic at the base.  Cosmetic only, does not affect functionality.  Noticed the morning after I unpacked it. 

jano