We think we may have found the best single-serve coffee maker out there. After a long journey, we’ve finally reached coffee-maker nirvana.
At $2500, the Bunn Trifecta is expensive, and it's probably best for an office of coffee connoisseurs (like us). Yet, we couldn't be happier with the cup of coffee it produces.
Here is a personal message from Jon Rogers - CEO and Founder about this coffee maker:
After first being exposed to high quality coffee a little over 30 years ago, I have become a student of achieving the "perfect cup.”
To achieve the perfect cup, there are three steps, each of which must be perfect if you are to have the best cup of coffee.
Those steps are:
1) Source the highest quality green coffee beans.
2) Roast those coffee beans to perfection understanding the intricacies of the roasting process.
3) Brew the ground, roasted beans perfectly.
We believe our company has achieved perfection in steps 1 and 2 for years. But I have finally found the third, and final, step in that goal.
Step 1: Source the Highest Quality Green Coffee Beans
We started sourcing our coffee directly in the mid 1980’s and, during those years have acquired the expertise to grow the best coffee. We actually own about 4,000 acres of coffee farms and we have a strong influence over the agricultural processes at the farms from which we receive about 90% of the coffee we roast. By that I mean type of tree, pruning, picking, fertilizing, wet milling, dry milling, etc. We are dealing with coffee farmers from whom we have bought coffee for many years, and we pay them more than almost any other roasters do.
Step 2: Roast the Coffee Beans to Perfection
Quite serendipitously we learned that the roasted coffee tasted better when you vary the amount of heat and the amount of air at various stages of the roast. Since that time in the early 1980’s we have been “tinkering” with all of the possible variables used in the roasting process. Actually, we are still tinkering, but what we have accomplished so far is definitely better than the “time and temperature” roasting used by almost all other roasters.
But of course, it's the process of brewing coffee to perfection that has been hard to achieve - until now!
Step 3: Brewing the Roasted Beans
The keys to successful coffee brewing are:
- The grind of the coffee (e.g. amount o surface exposed to the water).
- The temperature of the water
- The dwell time (time coffee is in contact with the water)
- Agitation of the water/coffee slurry
Assuming you've found the correct grind for your coffee maker (not too fine or it will be bitter – not too course or it will be weak), you're ready to brew coffee.
Most consumer market coffee makers spray hot water over the coffee grounds residing in some sort of filter basket. The water (often at a temperature much less than the optimal 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit) is sprayed over the top of the coffee. Infusion takes place as the water quickly passes through the filter. Many times, all of the coffee is not even wet, much less infused.
Up to now, the best medium for infusion has been the French Press. To do it right, water must be removed from the heat at just the right point, and the slurry must be stirred several times. Then there is the problem of pressing the coffee so you can remove it from the grounds at just the right time.
The Best Coffee Maker
We were recently exposed to the Bunn Trifecta coffee maker that automates the ideal French press, does it perfectly one cup at a time, and saves your personal settings so that you can achieve that perfect cup each and every time.
Here's how it works:
1) Place the recommended amount of ground coffee into the bottom of a two part chamber. Once you find the right amount for you, it is best to weigh it to insure you get the same amount each time
2) Determine your settings on a number of key parameters such as:
- Duration of pre-wet
- Temperature of the water
- Total dwell time
- Number of periods of turbulence
- Duration of each period of turbulence
- Expulsion time
- Expulsion pressure
3) Put your cup beneath the exit valve and press go.
There are drawbacks:
- It costs about $2,500. This is obviously pricy for a home brewer. However, it could be perfect for an office of coffee connoisseurs.
- It takes 2 or 3 minutes to brew a cup and wash up for the next one. This is not very practical for a coffee shop with people in line. But again - it's not bad for an office setting.
Net, net this is the best cup of coffee that any of us in the office have ever tasted. In addition, it allows us to completely change the taste of the coffee brewed. We made the same coffee (from the same bag) under four different sets of parameters and got four different coffees. Pick the one you like best and enjoy!
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