Bonavita Electric Pourover Kettle: Traveling Road Show and Tell

[rfeuker]

Kettle was on the porch last night as promised, and I opened and used it right away.  My comparisons are to the Pino electric kettle I've been using for a few months.

1.  Appearance - right out of box the Bonavita is a winner here.  Its brushed metal look is very cool.  Advantage Bonavita.

2.  Material - the all metal construction of the Bonavita is also a clear advantage.  No plastic touches the water.  Pino has a plastic body.

3.  Capacity - 1 liter vs. 1.5 for the Pino.  Advantage Pino.

4.  Speed  - boiled a liter of water in both simultaneously.  Bonavita was marginally faster (maybe 20 seconds).  No advantage for either.

5.  Controls - the On/Off switch on the Bonavita is much more user friendly.  I usually have to use two hands to turn on the Pino.  One to hold the kettle (for stability) and one to push the switch.  Advantage Bonavita.

6.  Temp Stability - Pino keeps the water at the set temperature (more or less), Bonavita has no option to choose a temperature - it's boil or nothing.  Once it boils it shuts off. - Advantage Pino.

7.  Convenience - my major use for this kettle will be heating water for pour over coffee prep.  With its' long-necked spout and (relatively) small opening the Bonavita lends itself to this very nicely.  With the Pino, I need to transfer the heated water to a Hario kettle for pour over.  On the other hand, the Hario spout is better than Bonavita's.  Advantage Bonavita.

So overall I give the nod to the Bonavita in 5 of the seven categiries.  I'm pretty sure that capacity will not be an issue for me, but I will do my larger pourovers this weekend to be sure.  I also don't think temp stability is a big issue.  So bottom line is I think I will be asking Santa to bring me a Bonavita kettle.

[mp]

What is a Pino?

 

[BoldJava]

...

2.  Material - the all metal construction of the Bonavita is also a clear advantage.  No plastic touches the water.  Pino has a plastic body.

Bob, my Pino is all metal, with no plastic touching the water.  I wonder if Pino used to be made with some interior plastic?  None now.

With the Pino, I need to transfer the heated water to a Hario kettle for pour over.  On the other hand, the Hario spout is better than Bonavita's.  Advantage Bonavita.

I have been pushed for time in the morning lately.  I have been warming 2 oz in the Paiko while doing 1.5 liters in the Pino.  8 minutes in the Pino, start to finish.  With the Paiko then preheated, I pour the boiled water from the Pino to the Paiko for the pourover brew.  I find the Paiko and the Bonavita spouts both superior to the Hario's.

B|Java

[Richdel]

Quote from: rfeuker on Today at 12:23:33 PM
...

2.  Material - the all metal construction of the Bonavita is also a clear advantage.  No plastic touches the water.  Pino has a plastic body.

Bob, my Pino is all metal, with no plastic touching the water.  I wonder if Pino used to be made with some interior plastic?  None now.

My Pino kettle is all metal as well, specifically the part of the kettle that touches the water.  There is some plastic on the kettle at the very bottom of the base where the kettle and the base meet.

5.  Controls - the On/Off switch on the Bonavita is much more user friendly.  I usually have to use two hands to turn on the Pino.  One to hold the kettle (for stability) and one to push the switch.  Advantage Bonavita.

Not sure I understand why you would have to use two hand.  I push the "+" button with my finger, then push the "on/off" with my finger.  Kettle started, goes to 205dgf, then holds for as long as there is water in the kettle.  If I don't push the "+" button before I push the "on/off" button, then kettle goes to 212dgf and keeps that temp until the water runs out.  Not sure how this might be an advantage for Bonavita or why you use two hands, unless the base for the kettle is not resting on a flat/level surface?

Good luck with either unit you get for Christmas.  I love the Pino kettle, although I do wish it had a better spout.

[Ron_L]

The best part of these traveling road shows is the witty repartee in the thread 

The next best thing is being able to get the opinions of multiple people on a piece of equipment.  Keep it going, guys!

3.  Capacity - 1 liter vs. 1.5 for the Pino.  Advantage Pino.

When I do pour over it's almost always just for me, so even 1 liter is too much.  Can someone along the way test to see how the kettle handles a smaller amount of water, say 16 oz.?  I have one of the old design Bodum Mini Ibis kettles that holds up to 27 oz. but the sensor for the auto shutoff is pretty high up in the pot and I need to heat at least 20 oz. for that to work.  It's just water, but I feel like I'm wasting good filtered water

[rfeuker]

What is a Pino?

 

Should be obvious by now from following posts, but a Pino is another electric kettle.

[EricBNC]

When I do pour over it's almost always just for me, so even 1 liter is too much.  Can someone along the way test to see how the kettle handles a smaller amount of water, say 16 oz.?  I have one of the old design Bodum Mini Ibis kettles that holds up to 27 oz. but the sensor for the auto shutoff is pretty high up in the pot and I need to heat at least 20 oz. for that to work.  It's just water, but I feel like I'm wasting good filtered water

Ambient temp 75 F, starting water (H₂O) temp 70 F, 16 fl oz. 

First Sounds of heating occur at 27 seconds.

Time to boiling/kettle auto shut off: 3:28 and water (H₂O) temp measures 212 F.

Cool down times:

2:00 209 F
2:20 208 F
2:40 307 F
3:00 206 F
3:15 205 F
3:40 204 F
4:05 203 F
4:28 202 F
4:50 201 F
5:14 200 F

It takes a while for the water (H₂O) to cool down in the kettle but the stream is exposed to air during the pour which will cool temps quickly. If you finish you pour over inside 3:30 seconds temps should remain in a good range to facilitate extraction.

By the way, H₂O is what us scientific types call water...

[Ron_L]

Thanks, Eric!

[rfeuker]

When I do pour over it's almost always just for me, so even 1 liter is too much.  Can someone along the way test to see how the kettle handles a smaller amount of water, say 16 oz.?  I have one of the old design Bodum Mini Ibis kettles that holds up to 27 oz. but the sensor for the auto shutoff is pretty high up in the pot and I need to heat at least 20 oz. for that to work.  It's just water, but I feel like I'm wasting good filtered water

Ambient temp 75 F, starting water (H₂O) temp 70 F, 16 fl oz. 

First Sounds of heating occur at 27 seconds.

Time to boiling/kettle auto shut off: 3:28 and water (H₂O) temp measures 212 F.

Cool down times:

2:00 209 F
2:20 208 F
2:40 307 F
3:00 206 F
3:15 205 F
3:40 204 F
4:05 203 F
4:28 202 F
4:50 201 F
5:14 200 F

It takes a while for the water (H₂O) to cool down in the kettle but the stream is exposed to air during the pour which will cool temps quickly. If you finish you pour over inside 3:30 seconds temps should remain in a good range to facilitate extraction.

By the way, H₂O is what us scientific types call water...

Confirmed.  I did 16 oz. in the Bonavita this morning to do my 12 oz. pour over.  Time to boil was 3:25.

[rfeuker]

Answers to some of the follow up comments:

The Pino has no plastic in contact with the water (or the H₂0 for that matter).  Boiling water and plastic kettle walls might make a nice puddle of molten plastic on my countertop  .  The Pino is just feels lighter and less solidly built even though it's bigger and has more electronics.  Maybe I should have said the Bonavita has a more substantial look/feel to it.  See that positive spin?

Two hands to turn on - this is likely just me and the way my wife keeps our granite countertops polished.  When I push the On/Off switch on the Pino it tends to slide across the counter (just a little it's not flying) rather than turn on.  I need to hold it to keep it still.

I used the Bonavita again this morning.  I like it.  It's a good product - not perfect but certainly good enough for me.  Perfect would have a little more capacity, temp indicator, and ability to hold the water at a designated temp.  Those are not deal breakers for me by any means.  I'm buying one.

[blzrfn]

Bumping back to page 1

[BoldJava]

Let's find out who has the kettle and where it goes next.  Maybe we are already on course?

[headchange4u]

Maybe we are already on course?

Yes sir. Kettle left me hands today, on its way to HGR.

I liked the kettle a lot. In fact it came to me just as my old Saeco kettle bit the dust. I just got a new Pino kettle to replace the Saeco and I liked the Bonavita better. I won't own another kettle that does not have some sort of temperature holding capability like the Saeco or Pino. But I have just gotten to used to having that feature to be without it now. If the Bonavita had that capability the Pino would be going back.

[BoldJava]

Coffeefanaddict will be away from home til February and requested it be sent to the next on the list after him. The next tester is RobertL. I'm ready to ship as soon as I get the address.
Curly

Coffeefanaddict will be bumped down one or two spots. Let us know when you are ready for it Troy.

Got it. See list in first post.

B|Java

[RobertL]

The kettle arrived safe and sound on my porch today. I opened it and used it immediately my first impressions are good. I like the feel to it if feels sturdy and well made. I didn't time the heat up but by the time I preheated the chemex, weighed my coffee and ground it the kettle was ready.  At first it seemed like it was pouring fast but I think it was because the water was falling from higher up on to the grounds. My usual kettle the Paico lets you get the tip very close to the grounds and pours very gently. The Bonavita is different in that you can't get the tip as close without pouring faster. I'll have to experiment with this but either way I can work with it. The convenience of not having to transfer water from the Pino to the Paico is nice. I will continue to use it for a couple of days and give my final opinion.