SingleServeCoffee.com Forums

[narcnh]

Greetings All,

Well, I’ve had my Cuisinart SS-1 for a few weeks and have gotten used to it. On Tuesday my replacement Bunn My Café arrived, a week earlier than Bunn said it would ship, but still over two and a half months after I sent in my old one. In an earlier email I had suggested that the delay might be due to an engineering redesign to fix the leaking water problem that appears to have plagued these units. I don’t know if they did a redesign of the guts, but I did notice that the Bunn button you press to release the pod holder is now rounded and projects out a tad from the housing, making it easier to press. On my old model it was flush. So, they did do SOMETHING. It remains to be seen if this new unit will last.
So, since this crowd loves comparisons and numbers, and since I am a scientist by training, this morning I spent some time doing a side-by-side comparison between the two units. I know this has been done before (and probably better) by others, but this forum has been a wealth of information for me, so here’s my meager contribution back.
I will give you my objective numbers first, and then my subjective observations.

Test Format

Both units were set up on my kitchen counter. For temperature readings I used my Taylor probe thermometer, calibrated to within one degree Fahrenheit in boiling water (212F) and an ice-slush bath (32F). I tried to use my ES-65 infrared thermometer, but the steam coming off the liquid interfered with the recording (I have the same problem when cooking liquids on the stove, although the unit works great on solid foods). The probe was inserted into the stream of water coming out of the unit for the pour temp and swirled in the cup until a stable reading was achieved for the cup temps. Ceramic cups were used. Cups were cooled to room temperature (60F) between runs. Fill volumes were measured in a conical measuring cup (Think Alton Brown). Pour time was defined as the time it took from pressing the initiate button to the ‘pour complete’ signal of the unit (Cuisinart beeps, Bunn blue light off). For most of the testing I used plain water, i.e. no pod, so that I could do lots of runs without OD’ing on caffeine. For the final runs I used coffee to do the taste comparison.
Results are reported below. Data is sorted by cup volume. Results are representative of multiple runs at each test stage. The final stage, with coffee, used the pulsed settings of both units (“Bold” for the Cuisinart and “Tea” for the Bunn). Timothy’s Rainforest Espresso pods and Timothy’s Parisian Nights French Roast were the coffees used. As you can see, I like my coffee strong. The analysis and discussion follows.

Time to ‘Ready’ state upon initial heat-up from room temperature:
Cuisinart:.2:20
Bunn:.......1:10

Cup Volume: 8 oz.
Unit...........Time to....Pour..........Cup..........Time to......Total
.................Pour........Temp.........Temp........Re-Heat.....Cycle Time
Cuisinart....0:45.........192..........165...........1:30..........2:15
Bunn..........0:28.........185..........172...........0:37..........1:05

Cup Volume: 10 oz.
Unit...........Time to....Pour..........Cup..........Time to......Total
.................Pour........Temp.........Temp........Re-Heat.....Cycle Time
Cuisinart...0:55..........194-185...174...........1:35.........2:30
Bunn.........0:30..........188..........174...........0:42.........1:12

Cup Volume: 12 oz.
Unit...........Time to....Pour..........Cup..........Time to......Total
.................Pour........Temp.........Temp........Re-Heat.....Cycle Time
Cuisinart...1:00.........203-160....176...........1:40.........2:40
Bunn.........0:33.........192...........188...........0:48.........1:21

Cup Volume: 8 oz. – strong settings, Timothy’s coffee
Unit...........Time to....Pour..........Cup..........Time to......Total
.................Pour........Temp.........Temp........Re-Heat.....Cycle Time
C Bold......2:17..........186...........156..........0:40..........2:57
B Tea.......0:44..........192...........172..........0:12..........0:56

Analysis and Discussion

As others have reported, the Cuisinart takes longer than the Bunn to heat up, to brew and to recover for the next cycle. In some cases more than triple the time. Not surprising that it took longer, but the size of the time difference was more than I expected. Both units appear to reheat for the next cycle, while the current cycle is still pouring, which explains the reduced re-heat times for the final coffee runs on the strongest settings.
The water comes out of the Bunn very quickly; in most cases the temperature was still going up when the pour cycle ended (thermometer was still equilibrating), so the numbers reported are not the maximums that might be reached on any given cycle (except possibly the final coffee cycles).
Both units had lower initial pour and cup temps (by 5 – 10F), but quickly stabilized over multiple runs. It does show that pre-heating your cup and the unit, by running a pre-heat water cycle, will give a hotter cup of coffee by several degrees, which is enough to be noticeable. Overall, the Cuisinart had higher pour temperatures than the Bunn, at least initially, EXCEPT for the real world runs with coffee, where the Bunn achieved higher temps. This might be due to the fact that it took longer for the coffee to flow out of the pod holder than it did for the plain water, so I was able to obtain a more realistic final temp than reported for the pain water runs.
One surprising thing I discovered is that the Cuisinart seems to ‘run out of steam’ (no pun intended for those of you, who are familiar with the steam spurt at the end of a Bunn cycle) on longer cycles. At volumes over 8 ounces the Cuisinart suffered significant temperature drops in the pour temp over the duration of a pour cycle, in some instances by over 40F. That is reflected in the cup temps, and was clearly discernible in the taste tests (See below). Even though the Cuisinart started out with higher temps, the cup temps of the Bunn were usually higher, in some cases by almost 20F. At lower volumes this may not be an issue, but I did not test below 8 oz.
I don’t know how the guts of these machines compare, but I have a theory. I think the Cusiniart does not have as large a hot water reservoir nor as powerful a heater as the Bunn. This would explain the longer heat cycles and the loss of temperature at higher volumes. Before seeing the temperature drop over a pour, I just assumed that the Cusinart had a larger hot water reservoir that took longer to heat. But, if that was the case, then it should not have lost temperature so quickly. Also, in comparing the two units the Cusisinart has a standard 2-prong electrical plug with lower insulation on the wire. The Bunn uses a three-prong plug and heavy-duty wiring (much less flexible). So, it looks like it can just push out more energy and heat faster. But, again, this is just a guess.

Subjective Observations

Temperature: Not so subjective; the Bunn cups were noticeably hotter for every cup of coffee. But, the difference was enough that it was noticeable when drinking the coffee. Coffee from the Cuisinart was very drinkable right out of the machine. Nice, but it did not hold up so well, while sitting in front of my computer and alternating typing and sipping. Coffee from the Bunn was right on the edge of pain, when sipped immediately after brewing. But, it held up much better while doing the computer thing. Also, the second thing I do in the morning after making a cup of coffee is walk outside with Cord, The Wonder Chow, so he can do his business. Since it is winter in New Hampshire and morning temps are now down into the single digits (and will go lower), it is really nice to have a steaming hot cup ‘o joe warming my hands and mouth, while I stand on the deck in my jammies as Cord sniffs the morning’s evidence of activity from deer, coyote, etc. But, I digress.

Time: Again, the Bunn was clearly the winner, in some cases by a lot. In the morning, when I am a zombie on autopilot, that difference matters. It may not matter to you.

Convenience/Ease of Use/Ergonomics: Both are pod machines, so they are easy to use. Both are easy to re-fill. The Cuisinart has a filter cartridge that must be replaced periodically. Don’t know where to find one, yet, but I assume they will be (or already are) available on-line. The pod holder is easier to remove and replace than the holder on the Bunn. On the Cuisinart it just slides back in, while on the Bunn you have to push with a little force until it clicks into place. The Bunn has a larger drip tray that better fits wide cups. The Bunn also takes much taller coffee cups and mugs. You can remove the drip tray on the Cuisinart to get more clearance, but that really is a work around, not a feature. And, when you remove your cup, you can get drips on the counter. The Cuisinart holds more water, which is a very nice feature. When alone I can go most of the day without a refill, unlike the Bunn. Since my biggest coffee mug fits under the Cuisinart spout, clearance is not an issue for me (it might be for you, though, especially if you use a large travel mug). So, gotta give this one to the Cuisinart.

Noise: Jeepers the Cuisinart is noisy. In the early morning it sounds like a jet engine revving up. And there are a lot of vibrating parts (e.g. drip tray, reservoir lid) that add to the noise. My mug sometimes even shifts a little on the tray. It’s a shame they could not have built it tighter and with better sound insulation around the plunger. My people can hear it running (I have a home office), and they are in another room over 20 feet away. The Bunn is almost silent in comparison. If you are going to use a unit in a situation where there are sleeping people nearby, I would not recommend the Cuisinart, if they are light sleepers. Category goes to the Bunn.

Durability: Too soon to call. My first Bunn died in less than a year, but then so did my Senseo. Bunn replaced it with a new unit, no questions asked. The Cuisinart has more moving parts (that plunger worries me), so only time will tell if it will last. No pick either way.
Multi-person Use: If you are considering one of these units for an office situation, I would have to go with the Bunn. It is much faster and much quieter. People will be lined up, waiting for the Cuisinart. Plus, you can get a Bunn that can be plumbed into your water line, a VERY nice feature. When mine dies, I will seriously consider that option.

Appearance: Well, that is so subjective, that it is almost useless as a judgment category. But, I can tell you that in person and side-by-side, they are two very different machines. The Cuisinart has sort of a modern/retro look with all the metal and the boxy design. It looks cool (although the metal shows up fingerprints and splatter more than the Bunn) and will work with most decors. On the other hand, the Bunn looks like something out of Star Trek, very modern, sort of along the lines of a Senseo. But, the ultimate is the blue light on the Bunn. The blue, backlit buttons on the Cuisinart are nice, but the blue transporter beam on the Bunn does it for me. Yes, I am a geek.

Taste: In the end the most important test, I would say. Here, I have to call it a draw. I tried really hard to find a significant difference in favor of the Cuisinart to compensate for the time and temperature differences. But, I cannot say that I reached that conclusion. The Cuisinart might have a SLIGHT edge in flavor, but I cannot tell you that I am not reaching for things that are not there. If there is a difference, it is very slight. I found the Bunn to deliver pretty much just as full-bodied and flavorful a cup as the Cuisinart. Maybe with other coffees it will be different. But, with the two blends/roasts that I used, I could not definitively find any difference in taste.

Ground coffee: I haven’t mentioned this up until now, because I did not do a side-by-side comparison. Making little fresh ground coffee pods for the Bunn is just not my bag (poor pun intended). I have used the ground coffee function of the Cuisinart, and I have to say that it is awesome. I bought some Starbucks ground coffee (never thought I would, but I needed coffee of reliable quality, and for the price they charge, I figured they must have pretty good quality control and freshness assurance). The coffee brewed from ground coffee in the Cuisinart blew away all the other coffees in taste. It’s really, really good. It is something of a pain-in-the-butt to clean the plunger, and my coffee grounds did not come out of the holder as easily as others have described. But, if you want to use ground coffee in a single serve unit, I’d say that there is no comparison between the two units and the Cuisinart is the way to go.

Conclusion:

Based on this comparison, I can say with confidence that I prefer the Bunn to the Cuisinart. It is faster, quieter, equally easy to use, makes hotter coffee and the coffee is of comparable taste quality (Subjective, I know). I also prefer the look, but that is just me and not really useful for an objective comparison. Now, if I had used the Cuisinart first, I might never have tried the Bunn and would not have realized the differences in time and temp. In that case I would probably be perfectly content with the Cuisinart. And, finally, if you want to use ground coffee, then you just have to use the Cuisinart, in my subjective opinion.
So, there you have it, my comparison between the Cuisinart SS-1 and the Bunn My Café. It is not perfect by any means. But, I hope some of the information I have presented will be useful to folks out there. Both units are sitting on my counter and will continue to do so. I think having the two machines set up gives me maximum options and maximum coffee output, especially important when many guests are visiting and everyone wants an after-dinner cup. Now, I have to go and detox myself from all the caffeine I consumed for the tests. Wait, maybe I’ll have ONE more cup…..
_________________
narcnh

####################

So Many Beans, So Little Time

Bunn My Cafe
Cuisinart SS-1
Senseo

[socpsy]

Nice review! I've had my SS-1 for several weeks now. I currently have a My Cafe at the office and one at home (now in storage). My experiences are somewhat similar to your tests. The Bunn definitely delivers a slightly hotter cup. I really like my SS-1, but my impression is that I don't get extraction that is as consistent and complete as with the Bunn, even though the SS-1 has the plumber's helper. With that said, I still like the SS-1 a bit more because of its ability to handle fresh ground coffee.

BTW, I just bought some filters for the SS-1 from J&R http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3955340. The SS-1 is not listed as one of those for which the filters at J&R are made, but they appear to be the same ones as came with the unit (and the package says that they fit all Cuisinart machines that use their filtration system). They were also cheaper than from Cuisinart.
_________________
Dave

Cuisinart SS-1
Bunn MyCafe (office)
Bunn MyCafe (home in closet)
Melitta 1:1 (retired)
Coffee Preference: Medium to Dark

[wgm]

narcnh - very nice review... I enjoyed reading ... thxs much for sharing ... as I have been & am, very interested in the SS1.

though... also somewhat subjective... after reading your post... I am more convinced than ever...

thinking about... Temperature, Convenience/Ease of Use, Durability, Noise and Taste (which I am convinced is highly related to brew temp & pluse cycles)...

I would still Highly encourage everyone to give serious consideration to selecting the Grindmaster Opod as their SSC maker, along with the other fine SSC machines, the Bunn MyCafe & the SS1.

http://www.coffeewhiz.com/detail.aspx?ID=432&Brand=GrindMaster
_________________
Life is too short to drink cheap coffee... reward yourself, you deserve it.

Glenn

Grindmaster OPOD
Cuisinart SS-1
Keurig SE Ultra Elite B60
Nespresso C100 & Aeroccino
Bodum French Press
Baratza Maestro Burr Grinder

[sweaner]

That is an awesome review! Although I don't have a Bunn, I agree with everything said about the Cuisinart. I am using it mostly for ground coffee, and it does an excellent job. It definitely "runs out of of steam" during the larger drops.
_________________
Scott

Grindmaster OPOD
Cuisinart SS-1
Keurig B60
Quickmill Vetrano- A Beast!
Invention: "The Podster"

[coffeelover]

Thanks for the great review. I was interested in the Cuisinart, but was concerned about the long brew times. I think I'll just stick with my Bunn for now.

[jeff1014]

I really enjoyed this review. I especially liked it as I also own a Bunn My Cafe and have looked seriously at the Cuisinart. Your experience in cleaning the Cuisinart is a deciding factor for me. I'm also very interested in the Opod and keep checking with the local Tuesday Mornings on the price they have for theirs. I find making my own pods with the Mellita pod lilter papers to be fairly easy as long as it's not the first cup of the day. I've also used the tea button on the Bunn to pulse my homemade pods for a real treat with my Kona coffee. I also like the idea of a Tassimo for the capucinno and latte. Once again as others have said, great review.
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Bunn My Cafe-Tassimo-Cuisinart SS-1
Keurig B 60 (retired)
Senseo (the $15 one)
Coffee Preference=Black, strong,rich & smooth

[Marci]

Good review. I was interested in the Cuisinart SS-1 because you could use your own coffee. I have had a Bunn (which I liked) and currently have a Grindmaster. I guess I will stick with my Grindmaster.
_________________
OPOD & Romeo

[agentfive]

Awesome review. I agree with the temperature - the coffee is great with the SS-1 but if you are a sipper/typer like I am - after a few minutes it's just not that hot. The bunn is much hotter overall if you're a sipper/typer.
_________________
- Jay Brewer
- Editor, http://www.singleservecoffee.com
- Current arsenal: Dolce Gusto, Bunn My Cafe, Senseo, GPOD, OPOD, Keurig B40, B50, B60, B70, & Assorted (N)espresso Machines...

[wgm]

I believe I am right in saying... the Opod is the hottest brewing of all the leading SSC machines.... plus it uses Grindmasters leading edge pluse brewing PrecisionBrew technology for great coffee bean extraction

[TheCoffeeArtisan]

Speaking of the OPOD (of which I am also a huge fan) I have to mention that my local Tuesday Morning has two 2nd Gen units for $149 less 25% - = $111.75. You just can't can't find another Pod Brewer at that price that can compare.

That said, people have to realize that the TM OPODs aren't covered under Grindmaster's warranty so your recourse is through TM and not Grindmaster if you have problems. If you can live with that, you might just want to check your local TM store shelves this weekend.

It would be great to see the OPOD stats along side the SS-1 and the BUNN. I agree with Glenn that it probably brews the hottest of the 3. I use mine all the time as a hot water dispenser for hot cocoa, instant oatmeal, tea bags, etc.

Grindmaster finally has received more OPOD stock that came in this week so we're finally able to ship new 3rd Gen OPODs again.
_________________
140+ Coffee Pods from The Coffee Artisan, Fratello, Cafejo, Reunion Island, Timothy's and Black Mountain Gold
Grindmaster and BUNN Brewing Equipment
Baratza Grinders
Store: http://www.thecoffeeartisan.com
Blog: http://blog.thecoffeeartisan.com

[narcnh]

I’m glad folks found my comparison useful. It was fun to put together.
A few things I forgot to mention:

Cup Volume at 8 oz.:

The Cuisinart delivered 240ml (~8.1 oz.) of coffee in the cup
The Bunn delivered 230ml (~7.8 oz) of coffee in the cup. This is a little more than what my old unit delivered. The Bunn delivered about 8.5 oz. of water empty, so I think they tweaked the delivery volumes, or else the calibration is just a little different for this unit.
It was hard to accurately measure the plain water delivery of the Cuisinart, because it kept dripping water pretty steadily, until it finished reheating. I assume this is leftover in the holder and is usually caught by the pod or grounds (and then squeezed out by the plunger), because it doesn’t do it when making coffee.
So, I’d say the Cuisinart is a tad more accurate on final cup volume than the Bunn.

Tea:

As others have noted the Cuisinart makes an excellent cup of tea. It was great, when I had a cold a couple of weeks ago. I used regular tea bags and Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger, two bags per 12 oz. cup. Delicious. I have not tried it with loose tea, although I have Darjeeling and Green Tea from Boston Tea Party that I could try. I have not tried to make tea in the Bunn. I’m not sure the super fast cycle would effectively extract full flavor, since tea really needs to steep.

Other convenience notes:

The Cuisinart is easier to load than the Bunn; just drop in a pod any old way. You need to seat the pod for the Bunn. Not a big deal, but it is a difference in favor of the Cuisinart. However, I do think the spent pods are little easier to remove from the Bunn holder, since they aren't tamped in place like they are with the Cuisinart.

The Cuisinart takes regular tea bags. I don’t know if the Bunn does, but the directions always refer to pods and stress the importance of ensuring good seating of the pod, so I am reluctant to try tea bags in it. For that reason this one goes to the Cuisinart.

The ‘On’ cycle for the Bunn it much longer at 6 hours than that of the Cuisinart at 2 hours. I really like the fact that the Bunn will usually be on at any time of the day for a quick cup. Great when I have a headset on for a conference call and want to make a quick cup (Also the noise of the Cuisinart is an issue. I have had people on the other end of the line ask me if I have a paper shredder running or construction going on, when brewing with the Cuisinart.). Since the heat-up cycle for the Cuisinart is so long, having it shut down so soon is a real pain sometimes. This one goes to the Bunn.

As for why the Cuisinart takes so long to heat up, I think it is in the heater profile. If you listen to it, the unit makes all the gurgly water heating sounds like the Bunn. At first. Then, it seems to go into a slower, lower power mode. It spends a good minute making gentle noises while it comes up to temp, whereas the Bunn just chugs along at the same pace until it hits temp. It’s as if the Cuisinart is programmed not to overshoot the final brew temp and so the power curve decreases to enable a slower, more controlled approach to the final temp. Or, I am just spending too much time thinking about these machines.

OPOD:

I gave serious consideration to buying one, when my first Bunn died. In fact, it was what I initially went on-line to buy. But, I read on this forum about all the problems people were having with the plastic taste, and I became very leery of the machine. When I read about the Cuisinart and its ability to use ground coffee, I decided to go that route.

The OPOD may very well have the highest brew temp of the lot. I did find that the Cuisinart could deliver water out of the holder above 200F, although it couldn’t maintain that temp. When I did the coffee runs with the Bunn it actually hit 202F on the last run, although I only reported 192F in my report, because it was more consistently in the low to mid 190’s. I didn’t know if it was a fluke, or the result of using the pulse mode (longer pod contact with hot water, so the entire system ran hotter) with a fully warmed system, so I didn’t report it (and I was too coffeed out to brew and drink another cup). If it delivered 202F on the back end of the process, I am guessing it is at least a few degrees higher out of the heating chamber.

Okay, I couldn’t resist. I just brewed another 8 oz cup of coffee – 192F on the outflow. Then, I left the pod in place and ran 10 oz of hot water. The stream hit 195F. About two minutes elapsed between runs, because it took that long for me to have a brilliant glimpse of the obvious and run the hot water test. So, I'd say the Bunn possibly breaks 200F in heating, but I can't confirm it, because I don't think my thermometer reacts quickly enough. As the Mythbusters say, 'Plausible.' By the way, I was amazed at how dark the water was after running it through an already used pod. There is a lot to be said for pre-wetting the pods.

Now, I am buzzing too hard to type properly, so I’ll just sign off for now.
_________________
narcnh

####################

So Many Beans, So Little Time

Bunn My Cafe
Cuisinart SS-1
Senseo

[Lisa Bonami]

when it comes down to it, the major advantage of getting the Cusinart SSC-1 over both the My Bunn and the Opod is for the ability to be able to brew BOTH Pods and Ground coffee in 1 unit. This is a HUGE advantage which pushes the Cuisinart over the top. For me, I prefer fresh ground coffee beans and find the Cuisinart to be the perfect solution for that single cup without having to brew a full pot in my B10 Bunn Drip Brewer.


Altho I would also prefer the Cuisnart to brew coffee about 5-10 degress hotter too

[sweaner]

[jeff1014]

I use Mellita FilterPads (Reviewed on this site) with no problems. You can also get the device titled Perfect Pod Maker(I think). Both items allow a person to use whatever brand and flavor of coffee they prefer in virtually all pod machines. Also, tea bags work just fine in the Bunn My Cafe.
_________________
Bunn My Cafe-Tassimo-Cuisinart SS-1
Keurig B 60 (retired)
Senseo (the $15 one)
Coffee Preference=Black, strong,rich & smooth

[VydorScope]

or my method...

http://www.vydor.net/PodMakerHTML

This is free and does not need expensive machines and filters.
_________________
Vincent
My Astronomy Forums
My Personal Blog
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Kuerig B40, Toddy,
OPOD, DeLonghi EC140B
Retired: Senseo