Finding the perfect coffee brewer for the home can be a difficult and daunting task. Between the different sizes, features and price ranges, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the options.
If you’re a daily coffee drinker, you’re probably and looking for that perfect brewer to make a great cup of coffee, traditional coffeemakers are great, but Bunn Coffee Makers are king.
Ever since Bunn was founded in 1957 by George Bunn, they’ve been making incredible home and commercial coffee makers. Their products are defined by their reliability and quality – always resulting in a perfect cup of coffee.
There’s a lot to consider when trying to find the best Bunn Coffee Maker for yourself, but hopefully, with this guide, it’ll be a little bit easier.
What To Look for in a Bunn Coffee Brewer:
Durability
When it comes to durability, you really can’t go wrong with Bunn. Most of their products are incredibly durable and built out of the very best materials that you would expect to see in a coffee maker.
Most Bunn Coffee makers are made from plastic and stainless steel, usually featuring a porcelain hot plate where the carafe is placed.
While some units are built for simple home use, others, like the Bunn VPR (built for commercial use) are unbelievably durable and made to withstand everything short of a natural disaster.
Another thing that’s great about Bunn is that they have 3-year warranties on most of their products, which means you can buy with confidence and get a replacement if anything goes wrong.
Design
Most standard Bunn models (like the Velocity series and the Speed series) have pretty standard uniform designs.
With an hour-glass like appearance, Bunn coffee makers are designed with both aesthetics and functionality in mind. They are intuitive to use and usually have a simple brewing process.
Usually, you’ll find a glass carafe at the bottom and a water tank at the back. The water tank is heated and temperature-controlled and is insulated to prevent heat loss. Right above the carafe is where the coffee and filter are placed. And that’s it!
While some Bunn Coffee Makers might have small variations in their design, this is the basic design that you can find across all their products.
Price
Price is usually the number one factor to consider when buying a coffee maker for home – that’s why this list is loosely based on value for money.
Since any single Bunn Coffee Maker is likely to last you several years, it’s definitely worth investing a couple of hundred dollars in a Bunn Coffee Maker that produces incredible coffee.
The price on the Bunn Coffee Makers listed here range from $100 – $250, each with their own set of features and drawbacks. At the end of the day, you’re better off choosing your Coffee Maker based on your needs and wants rather than the number on the price tag since you’ll likely be using it for years to come.
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Best Bunn Coffee Makers in 2020:
1. The BUNN GRB Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer
PROS:
Fast brewer – 3-minutes for 10 cups Multi-stream spray for even coffee extraction Drip-free carafe
CONS:
Low energy efficiency due to constant running of heating unit
Overview: The BUNN GRB Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer is a great all-round brewer for most home use. It’s ultra-fast, easy to use and comes at a very affordable price point (which sets it apart from the other velocity models).
The 3-minute prep time of this brewer is what attracts most people initially and the excellent coffee it produces is what keeps them coming back. In addition, its 10-cup capacity makes it great for most home use while you can actually make less per brew simply by reducing the water added.
The glass carafe is built with an easy to use flip-up no-drip spout ensuring no coffee is lost and the cleaning process is easier. The heating plate is porcelain coated and the water heating unit is made from high-grade stainless steel, with built-in temperature control.
Finally, the quality of coffee it produces is great which is a result of its multi-stream spray which ensures even extraction of the coffee.
Best Features:
- Brew time of only 3 minutes
- No drip spout
- Beautiful design and very durable
- Easy to maintain
- Water remains hot
Ideal for: This is a great unit for anyone looking for a simple, fast and easy to use unit. If you’re on a tight budget and looking for something that will likely last years, this is by far the best all round Bunn Coffee make you can find.
2. BUNN NHS Velocity Brew
PROS: Fast 3-minute brewing Multi-stream spray for even extraction Extremely durable unit
CONS: Starts to fail with non-bunn filters Unreliable spout
Overview: The BUNN NHS Velocity Brew is yet another great home brewer from the velocity series. The reason this coffee brewer didn’t get a top place among is because of its high price point. While the NHS and GRB are similar in functionality, they are slightly different in aesthetics, but the NHS is significantly more expensive.
Like the velocity GRB, the NHS features a similar speedy 3-minute brew time. It also has a 10-cup capacity but can make as little as 4-cups at a time. However, you can even make just 1-cups worth by adjusting the amount of water you add to the water tank. What’s great about this feature is that no matter the amount of coffee you’re brewing, the taste remains consistent.
The well-designed carafe is made of glass and has a flip-up no-drip spout. And while it is a great spout, some users of this unit have found it to be less reliable than the GRB model. It features a porcelain heating plate and an insulated water heating reservoir made from high-grade stainless steel, with built-in temperature control.
An issue many have found with this model is that it doesn’t perform well with non-Bunn filters. They have a particular weight and height that prevent spillage and coffee-grounds-in-water problems.
Best Features:
- Brew time of only 3 minutes
- Intuitively designed and extremely durable
- Easy to maintain
- Water remains hot
Ideal for: If you’re looking for something slightly more compact than the GRB but with the same quality of coffee and ease of use, the NHS is a great option. Like the GRB it features a 3-minute prep time and a 10-cup capacity.
The Velocity series has many different models outside of the GRB and the NHS, among them are these two great models, suited for design and for high-altitude use:
Best Velocity Design:
BUNN BT Velocity
Best for High Altitude:
BUNN BX-D Velocity
3. The BUNN Speed Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer
PROS: Fast 4-minute brew time Improved spray head which increases coffee extraction Continuously heating water reservoir
CONS: Carafe heating does not turn off automatically Bad smell during first few uses
Overview: While this unit has the word ‘speed’ in its title, it actually takes a minute longer (4-minutes) than the other velocity models to make a full carafe worth of coffee. However, this unit uses an upgraded spray-head which extracts coffee much more effectively than the velocity series models and leads to a more ‘full’ tasting cup of coffee.
Brewing a full carafe using the Speed Brew takes only 4-minutes and has a 10-cup brewing capacity with a minimum brew capacity of 4-cups. But what makes this coffee maker great is its spray head. The spray head on this unit extracts more coffee by dispersing water across the layer of coffee within. In addition, the spray head is also lime-tolerant which maked long-term maintenance much easier.
The Bunn Speed Brew Home Brewer also has a well-designed glass carafe which features a no-drip spout. It’s a small enough unit to fit in most home kitchens and has a solid build. Like the velocity models, it features a porcelain heating plate which can actually be switched off to conserve energy and an insulated water heating reservoir made from high-grade stainless steel that runs continuously. This makes quick brewing of coffee much faster but is less energy efficient than models that heat water before every brew.
A problem with this unit that many users experienced is that it has a bad plastic smell during the first few uses which can be a problem for anyone looking to start using the unit daily right away. Running this coffee maker a couple of times before your first real carafe will usually fix this problem.
Best Features:
- Brew time of only 4 minutes
- Improved spray increases contact with water
- Water and heating plate remain continuously hot
Ideal for: If you’ve tried the velocity models and didn’t quite get the right taste from your cup of joe, the Speed Brew might be a better option. It’s also more compact and has an overall improved design over the Bunn velocity models.
4. The BUNN MCU Single Cup Multi-Use Home Coffee Brewer
PROS: 1-minute brew time Multiple trays allow you to brew tea, coffee pods and grounds Brew settings allow you to adjust coffee strength
CONS: High energy consumption due to continuous water heating No on/off switch – unit must be disconnected
Overview: As a single-cup brewer, the Bunn MCU is a great unit. It’s a versatile coffee maker with a couple of different functions that give anyone using it more options when preparing their morning (or afternoon) coffee.
As a single-cup brewer, it doesn’t come with a carafe. Instead, the coffee is poured directly into your cup, so measuring exactly how much you want and filling the water reservoir to that level is the first step. If, however, you’re not looking to make your usual coffee, this unit allows you to make tea as well. Its four interchangeable drawers allow you to insert coffee pods (k-cups), tea or coffee grounds, tea bags or loose tea, which make it more than just a coffee maker.
The build of this unit is also very solid. It features a steel and plastic exterior that feels like a mini-tank, with an internal water heating reservoir. It has a removable drip tray which makes cleaning the unit much easier but also creates enough room to place a travel mug underneath for on-the-go brews. Its water tank is built with stainless steel metal and can be filled with up to 14oz of water (or as little as 4oz) and keeps water at 200°F for up to 6 hours before switching off automatically. The Bunn MCU also doubles up as a water boiler – all you need to do is make sure there’s no coffee in it and press the hot water button.
Another great thing about this unit is that it has several different settings, like the pulse brew option, to adjust coffee strength. Depending on your mood, you can choose a lighter or darker brew – this does come with its own learning curve, but shouldn’t be hard to master.
Best Features:
- Brew time as little as 1 minute
- 4 different drawers for different coffee types and tea
- Continuously heating water
- Removable drip tray
- Brews 4 – 14oz at a time
Ideal for: If you’re looking for more versatility and less quantity from each brew of your coffee maker the Bunn MCU is an ideal choice. It can make your morning coffee in under a minute and gives you the option of making tea too!
5. The Bunn VPR-2GD 12-Cup Pour-Over Commercial Brewer
PROS: Massive 3.8-gallon capacity Heavy-duty stainless steel build Two decanters and hotplates
CONS: No settings for coffee strength Can be loud when brewing Very large size
Overview: While buying a commercial coffee brewer might not be what you bargained for, the Bunn VPR-2GD 12-Cup Pour-Over Commercial Brewer is an incredibly durable heavy-duty unit that will serve you well if you’re looking to make enough coffee for small gatherings of people.
This behemoth of a brewer can produce 3.8 gallons of coffee per hour which, like its smaller alternatives translates to a pot every 3 minutes. Because of its large size and output quantity, this coffee maker is also very well suited for small cafes. It’s also very portable and doesn’t need access to plumbing like many other commercial coffee brewers.
It has an incredibly durable build made with an entirely metal interior and a stainless steel exterior. It also comes with two decanters and features two hot plates that keep your coffee warm for hours.
As a result of its large size, an issue that some users of this unit have is that it can sometimes be quite loud. This might not be a problem, because the unit brews your coffee relatively fast, but can be a problem for those looking for something that is silent. In addition, its large size is not ideally suited for all home settings, so be sure to check dimensions before ordering.
Best Features:
- Massive 3.8-gallon capacity
- Heavy-duty durable build
- Features two hot plates and two decanters
- Easy to brew and maintain
Ideal for: This is a great unit for anyone looking to make large amounts of coffee for small gatherings, offices or even cafes. If you’re looking for a unit that will last years (and maybe even decades) this is a great choice.
Final Thoughts
So you’ve seen some of the best Bunn Coffee Makers there are and hopefuly you’ve found the perfect one.
While the journey to find the perfect home coffee maker isn’t easy, Bunn definitely goes the extra mile with all of their products. Their focus on quality reflects in every product they make.
Happy Brewing!
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