My first impressions of this brewer were not good.
For $150, I didn't expect the very cheap looking plastic filter basket, which sits directly on top of the glass pitcher. The plastic lid for the glass pitcher is cheap junk, doesn't attempt to seal and requires certain technique to insert/remove.
The brewing cycle is also too long, using paper filters the grounds were extracting for almost 6 minutes. The single hole drain on the filter basket didn't do much better on a Kone filter (which fits but snug enough to sometimes be hard to dig out) and with the height, a full 70g load of freshly roasted coffee never failed to bloom up into the showerhead.
No real pre-infusion, the flow slowly built up, but was mostly distributed across the center.
The good news? A v60 02 with matching pitcher fits this brewer for an upgrade, as does a 6 cup Chemex pitcher.
Both brew much better, a half liter of water with 40g of coffee, coarse grind gets a nice 3:30 brewing cycle. Tested a very acceptable 1.5 Br on the refractometer, and I loved the Bonavita tendency to place steam ventilation holes on their gear so that getting a thermocouple directly into the basket is a breeze. (slurry in the filter hit and held 190-198F with the glass v60 and Kone)
Final notes: Not as nice a cup as a well done manual pourover, but for an automatic home brewer it is pretty good, although pricey considering it needs a carafe upgrade and a Kone. It will go out as a gift to a family member who would never take the time for a manual method, I hope to measure the temps again after a year of daily use.
