Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 9:27am Subject: First Impressions - New Brazen Coffee Brewer from Behmor
The Brazen arrived last night via Fed EX from Roastmasters fresh off the Boat..
Setup was pretty intuitive... I proceeded to set the following on the Brazen:
Current time Desired brew temperature (I chose 205 degrees) Altitude Correction (500 feet for my location in Virginia) Desired Pre-Soak time (I chose a 1:30 min presoak)
I ran a one full pot of water without any coffee thru the Brewer to watch it work and to basically clean out the new Brazen...
This morning I ground a blend of beans I had previously roasted in my Behmor 1600 roaster (Indian Monsooned Malibar and Nicaug.) and brewed my first pot of coffee in the Brazen
Note: For the last three years I've been using a Technivorm MocaMaster, a pretty good coffee brewer as most know..
First Impressions:
The coffee brewed with no surprises...
On the display panel you can observe the progress of the brewer... Things like the temperature as it moves up to the programmed 205 degrees is displayed. Once the desired temp is reached, you're notified, and then a message that the Pre-Soak has begun... After the Pre-Soak, the Brewing message is displayed, I'm pretty sure, but I'm going from memory.... Bottom line is you're kept informed as to the progress of the Brewing cycle... Once completed, three quiet beeps alert you that the coffee is ready...
I served up a cup for the wife and I, our morning ritual, and the first question she asked was "Is this the same coffee we've had for the last couple of days?", No, joke... I answered "yes" and she commented that it tasted different, better than before, she thought it was really good.... Not very scientific I know, but she noticed a difference and she really liked it... For my part, I came to the same conclusion very quickly. The brew was hotter, smoother and better tasting than it had been coming from the Technivorm... And believe me I love my Technivorm... (Which now sits on a shelf and is actually for sale on the Buy Sell Forum)
Down Side so Far: It takes a while to brew the coffee, probably at least a third longer brew cycle time than the MocaMaster... Again no stopwatches used, not scientific, just standing there watching the pot... But It is a long brew cycle...
As advertised, the water is brought to your desired temperature which can range from 190 - 210 degrees. Has less distance to travel to the pot, so the coffee seems much hotter than the Technivorms, and it has a built in pre-soak which allows the coffee to bloom to enhance the flavors.... To be fair, you can manually do a presoak with the Technivorm, but the Brazens preset feature is pretty cool, pretty nice...
So far - So Good - the Brazen is already a hit with me.... Hope the electronics hold out... The technivorm was simpler and functional..... The Brazen has more pizzazz and makes a really good cup!
tahoejoe Senior Member Joined: 9 Sep 2003 Posts: 557 Location: San Diego/ Incline Village Nv. Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: Behmor Brazen Brew System Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 9:50am Subject: Re: First Impressions - New Brazen Coffee Brewer from Behmor
Thank you for the observation and will if I may address the cycle time.
Because we use proportional controls we lower heat to the elements so we don't overshoot the set point. Originally we had it still fairly strong at the finish and found we zoomed by like a speeding car through a stop sign. So for accuracy we slowed it down and then add on pre-soak. Combined the slow down and pre-soak add about 1-2 minutes depending upon how long you set the pre-soak.
The other factor is the temperature of your water to start..
Actual brew time post pre-soak, is in the SCAA range of 4-5 minutes
Bottom line, yes you are correct, the full cycle does take longer than others but it is done to insure accuracy of water temps and quality in your cup.. both being primary goals of ours
As to the electronics, my background is 20+ years in the semiconductor field as an FAE and truthfully knowing how the system works/designed and the requirements placed on us by ETL, which in one case required we resize all buttons my 1mm to prevent water insertion, is not a major concern of mine. But recognize and understand why it could be..
REMINDER: Never leave the roaster unattended when in use !! And remember to use our Rosetta Stone tip PART V PARAGRAPH 3.. it works !!!
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 9:58am Subject: Re: First Impressions - New Brazen Coffee Brewer from Behmor
tahoejoe Said:
Thank you for the observation and will if I may address the cycle time.
Because we use proportional controls we lower heat to the elements so we don't overshoot the set point. Originally we had it still fairly strong at the finish and found we zoomed by like a speeding car through a stop sign. So for accuracy we slowed it down and then add on pre-soak. Combined the slow down and pre-soak add about 1-2 minutes depending upon how long you set the pre-soak.
The other factor is the temperature of your water to start..
Actual brew time post pre-soak, is in the SCAA range of 4-5 minutes
Bottom line, yes you are correct, the full cycle does take longer than others but it is done to insure accuracy of water temps and quality in your cup.. both being primary goals of ours
Thanks for the response!... quite frankly, the additional brew time isn't a problem for me, especially since I think I just had two cups of superior coffee this morning... I simply have to adjust a routine that I've been following for the last three years...
Also of note, as part of my routine using the Technivorm, I would pre-heat the MocaMaster Thermal Canister and the oversized cups that the wife and I drink out of each morning with hot water... This morning I bypassed the preheat of the Brazen Thermal and the cups and the coffee was still nice and hot... So there was a tradeoff in effort.... I really like the Brazen so far!
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 