Bless the coffeemaker and its water...
April 24, 2023 3:35 PM   Subscribe

I am trying to pick between two coffee makers, the Technivorm KBT or KBGT, and the OXO Brew 9 cup. If you have or have had one or both of these please give me your opinions.

For purposes of this question I am not interested in other coffee brewing methods, this machine would fill a particular niche for us. I have a burr grinder and know how to use it. I am specifically interested in:
1) how does the coffee taste
2) how well does the carafe do at keeping it warm
3) how has the machine has held up to your use of it (breaking, leaking etc)
4) If you have had to use customer service or warranty services, how did that go.
Other observations welcome.
The Technivorm has parts available to fix it which is a plus.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Food & Drink (16 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: We have had the OXO Brew for probably a good 4 - 5 years now and overall we like it. The coffee that it makes tastes good. Our previous model was a Cuisinart DCC-1200P1, when we got the OXO with a burr grinder it was an order of magnitude upgrade in taste that I still remember. I think the carafe does pretty good at keeping the coffee warm, I always forget to fill the carafe with hot water before hand to preheat it, but even without that it does fine. We haven't had any issues with it other than needing to buy a replacement filter basket. I would definitely recommend one. I have had coffee from a Technivorm too and I like the OXO better, but that may just be me.
posted by Cu_wire at 3:53 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I've had the OXO Brew 9 Cup for seven years. It makes great coffee and it's never broken down. But the carafe doesn't keep the coffee warm for as long as I'd like. I always pour my fresh-bewed coffee one cup into my mug and the rest into into a prewarmed thermos.
posted by mono blanco at 4:06 PM on April 24, 2023 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I'm one off from your selections, with a Technivorm KBGV and an OXO 8 cup. Both makers are what I recommend to people.

Re your questions:

1) I prefer the Technivorm, and it's faster, but the OXO is definitely solid.
2) The thermal in the OXO keeps it plenty warm for probably 2 hours but again I go with the KBGV because it has an active heating element (which I realize your chosen model doesn't, but just for reference).
3) I've used the Technivorm probably every other day for 2.5 years and nothing has worn out or needed replacement, but the pieces being available individually is a huge plus. I know if I break the basket, I'm only out $25 or whatever. That said the OXO is very well built though I know the 9-cup is a bit more techy. I trust their coffee maker team for sure.
4) No issues yet!

I have seen a few criticisms of the 9-cup in reviews that it can have some leakage issues and that some parts are not individually replaceable. On the other hand it's definitely better than the others in its class and the 8-cup I used seemed pretty bulletproof.

Personally I like to go with the "tried and true" types like Technivorm, which although it's more expensive seems to have more or less perfected the product.

Regarding size I think smaller is better. The brewing process in the Technivorm is very fast so if you want another few cups it is not an inconvenience, and meanwhile you have a more compact machine. But that's totally down to your preference and consumption.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 4:11 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: Same as others, I have the OXO Brew 9 cup and it's great.

The drip-less mechanism is not perfect, you'll still get a few drips sometimes when removing the carafe from under the filter. And it doesn't keep coffee as warm as the Bonavita I had before.

But the coffee is tasty and it never failed me. I've used it in both the full-carafe and half-carafe modes, both work as advertised.

I also use filtered water and a burr grinder with fresh beans, my goal is best coffee for least effort. This is the compromise I ended up with that's not too tedious in the mornings.
posted by jpeacock at 4:14 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: I have the Technivorm KBT for…..eeegads 10+ years? Used intensively (daily) for 5. Now I use it mostly for when family is in town as I have an espresso machine that is my daily driver . I’ve never had a problem with the technivorm. It brews quickly. There’s nothing really to go wrong. Easy to clean. The Carafe is great and keeps coffee hot for hours. There are a few quirks. One is the weird plastic base that the carafe sits on. It’s not actually attached to the machine and feels cheap. But if you don’t have it the coffee won’t flow. The saving grace is that the piece can always be purchased from technivorm. It’s just a weird design element in a >$300 coffee machine. They may have fixed it in the more updated model.
posted by ghostpony at 4:26 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: I have the OXO Brew 9 cup. I'm happy with the taste of the coffee brewed. (In full disclosure, I do not have a burr grinder and use local-ish whole coffee beans from Costco.) I like both of your choices though for having seperate openings for water and coffee grounds!

The carafe does ok at keeping it warm, but doesn't keep it hot for that long. (I would guess 30-60 minutes for coffee that may be too hot to drink immediately upon pouring.) I don't pre-heat the carafe.

It has held up pretty good, but the lid to the carafe had a rubber piece (kind of like a straw, but only inside the carafe) that was, at best, hard to clean and, at worst, dissolving during normal use. I stopped using that peice. Not using that piece could be affecting the carafe's ability to keep coffee hot.

I have had it for a couple of years and have not used customer service/warranty service.
posted by bruinfan at 4:34 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: We have the Technivorm KGBV and have been pretty happy with it. I bought it mainly on its reputation of reliability/reparability-- it was replacing a Bonavita Connoisseur which brewed great coffee but stopped working after 4 years.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: I have the OXO 9 cup, have had it for a year. We use a Virtuoso + burr grinder. We can taste variations between different roasts/roasters, but we use this for our morning coffee as we are rushing off to work, and we are not taking the opportunity to nerd out on it. It is simple to operate, I like the basic features, it scales up like every other drip coffee maker I've ever had. We use OXO's descaler and sometimes I gently scrub parts of it with a toothbrush and that makes it look spiffy for a while. Depending on how hot you need your coffee, you may or may not be satisfied. I think the carafe holds heat well for about an hour and then starts to drop off, although I do still have a pretty hot cup maybe an hour and a half to two hours in - I tolerate slightly lower temperatures. I like the look of it and the small footprint, although that small footprint means it is pretty tall and you want to make sure to measure your below-cabinet space if you plan to store it on a counter that has cabinets above. It can drip a little if you use a pretty extreme pouring angle as you get near the bottom of the pot. But no breaks/leaks/nasty surprises. Have not had to use customer service. Overall I like it and would recommend it.

Edit to add: I also do not preheat the carafe. We often use the timer to automatically get the coffee brewing when we are getting ready in the morning. This feature requires loading the grounds the night before, of course, since it doesn't have an integrated grinder.
posted by happy_cat at 5:13 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: We've had the OXO for years & are very happy with it. The carafe keeps things warm long enough for our needs. We once dropped the carafe & cracked the plastic spout. When we called to buy a new carafe they were out of stock, so OXO sent us an entire new coffee maker for free, even though ours was long out of warranty.
posted by belladonna at 7:21 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: We were planning to get the OXO, but got the Moccamaster KBGT with money for Xmas from my husband’s sister. We’re super pleased with it.

My palate is not that refined or picky, and I can tell a *marked* difference in quality between the Moccamaster and the cuisinart It replaced. It’s good enough that I sometimes drink it black instead of w/ cream & sugar.

You can find videos about how it’s made on YouTube, and, if I recall, the heating element is made of copper to regulate the brewing temp so the water isn’t boiling when it hits the coffee. As for the carafe, we made coffee at 8 this morning and I just poured the last of it in a cup to check the temp at 7:00 pm: 105 F. So, still warm after 11 hours, if not a temp most people would want to drink it at.

All that said, my nephew got the OXO, and I can’t tell much of a difference. If I were weighing spending my own money on one of the two, I’d probably go with the OXO to save the $150. I’m not sure the difference in quality is worth the difference in price *for me*, but it’s definitely worth it for someone who can really appreciate the nuances. (Note: the Moccamaster is much, much faster than the OXO if that’s an issue).

Finally, and this may mean nothing to you, but James Hoffman is a fan. The link takes you to his summary of the technivorm followed by his thoughts on the OXO. You can watch the whole video to see how he tested them, if you’re interested. We haven’t had ours long, but Hoffmann said in another video that he used the Moccamaster as his daily for 9-10 years, so his was good, at least.

Good luck and enjoy your new machine, whichever you choose!
posted by malthusan at 7:48 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: I also have the OXO Brew and really like it, though I agree that the carafe does not keep it hot for long, and also having the OXO grinder no doubt contributes to the great taste of the coffee. I bought this back in early 2020, so not that long ago, but it's held up so far, and was certainly worth the money.
posted by coffeecat at 7:57 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: We have the OXO Brew 9. We just used a separate carafe if we anticipated needing to keep coffee hot - great ones aren't expensive. The first problem was ours leaked - water gets into the machine housing and eventually gets gross and slowly dribble back into the coffee. I tried sealing the bride between the two sides of the machine, but was never fully successful. Instead I eventually just drilled a couple of extra holes to water wouldn't get trapped above the carafe in the machine housing But that wasn't the dealbreaker for the spouse - the bigger issue was that it is slow.

Despite these issues we used it for at least 6 years and it was eventually replaced by whatever was at Costco. The Oxo been retired and now I drink subpar coffee.
posted by zenon at 9:59 PM on April 24, 2023


Response by poster: Really great info everyone, thanks!!
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 11:33 PM on April 24, 2023


Best answer: I've got the OXO. They sent me the 9-cup machine free after multiple versions of the 12-cup machine (which they no longer make) failed. We use the timer to set it up at night to have fresh coffee in the morning. I find the carafe, when full, keeps the coffee fresh and at a good temperature even when we sleep late and it's been sitting an hour or more. But I don't put milk in, so my ideal temperature is probably lower than those who do.

My intent was to get a well-built coffee maker that wouldn't fail after a few years like the cheap standard Mr. Coffee machines and their ilk, and so far it's been living up to that standard.
posted by rikschell at 6:08 AM on April 25, 2023


Best answer: I actually have used the technivorm warranty services (I don't think the machine would have ever failed except that some, ahem, critters found their way inside) and had a stellar experience.

They patiently walked me through several troubleshooting steps over the phone and, when that failed, they were super quick and thorough to make the needed repairs. They were SO lovely to work with, even first thing in the morning (I still remember the customer service agent enthusiastically exclaiming that they were fast because they were "powered by coffee!") and it seemed like they really knew their stuff.

I also purchased a replacement brew basket bracket to replace a cracked one on a different occasion (again, not their fault, it was poorly packed during a move) and it was stupidly easy to replace. One screw, nothing remotely tricky.

I have a KBGT and would happily get the same model again. I personally prefer the thermal carafe over the hot plate but I can see the merits of either one.
posted by mosst at 10:01 AM on April 25, 2023


Best answer: OXO for 6 years and it is still going strong. Very happy with the product. Be aware that it is taller than the typical coffee maker with lids over the water chamber and grounds chamber that flip up. So make sure you have enough vertical space where you intend to place it.
posted by mmascolino at 12:34 PM on April 25, 2023 [1 favorite]


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