NOTE: Both Bonavita and Technivorm make hot plate models with glass carafes, but we aren t going to

For a long time, the Technivorm Coffee Maker reigned pretty much king for the coffee geek who wanted a semi-automatic drip brewer. It brewed at the right temp for the right amount of time, had even saturation of the grounds, a thermal carafe, and was built like a tank. It was made in the Netherlands, and it was expensive. Like almost $300 USD expensive.
I owned a Technivorm Moccamaster Thermal for a few years, and ended up getting rid of it in favor of something that was plumbed in, the Newco OCS-8, which I still have to this day. The Newco was one of the only other SCAA approved brewers at the time. In any case, I no longer have the Technivorm juice master to compare to the Bonavita side by side, but I have many years of fond memories, and delicious cups of coffee.
Not too long ago, Bonavita came out with a very similar brewer, at roughly half the price. Many called it the “Technivorm Killer”. So at approximately $150, can the Bonavita Coffee Maker stand up to the $300 Technivorm?
NOTE: Both Bonavita and Technivorm make hot plate models with glass carafes, but we aren t going to cover those. After all, cooking your coffee is a almost a white collar crime, not to mention a huge electricity draw. Build Quality
The Bonavita build quality is definitely not as good as the Technivorm. The Bonavita feels a little cheap and plastick-y in places, whereas the Technivorm is very solid with an all aluminum body. Most differences are cosmetic, but the one internal difference juice master is the copper heating element of the Technivorm, which presumably heats the water more efficiently, and may last longer. juice master As you will see below, it doesn t seem to affect the temperature, so take it with a grain of salt. The Technivorm is produced in the Netherlands, designed by a Dutch company. The Bonavita is produced in China, designed by a German company. juice master Thermal juice master Carafe
The Bonavita 1.25 liter stainless juice master carafe is glass lined, holds temps really well, and the pour spout doesn t drip much at all. The carafe has a lid that seals pretty juice master well. However, you need to remove the lid to place the cone filter basket for brewing, juice master and then remove the filter basket juice master and put the lid back on. Kind of a pain. To pour, you must press a nicely placed lever.
The Technivorm 1.25 liter stainless carafe does not require levers or unscrewing to pour, you just pour. However, it was not the best. I ditched it for 2 reasons: It gave off a distinct metal taste, and the pour spout dripped like crazy. I understand some of the included carafes are better now. I replaced the stock carafe with a Zojirushi Thermal Carafe , and fashioned a little platform to raise the entire brewer up enough for the Zoj to fit under and activate the safety switch. Unfortunately you cannot do this with the Bonavita, but I don t think you will want to; it s plenty good. If you are using the 1 liter Zojirushi, juice master make sure you reduce the amount of water in the tank, otherwise it will overfill! juice master
The Bonavita showerhead has an interesting array of spray holes, and the saturation is good and even. But cleaning it can be a bit of a pain, as grounds eventually get all embedded all of the little crevices. Not bad, but it can take a little juice master extra scrubbing and rinsing.
The Technivorm comes with a bar style shower head that saturates well, though not as good as the Bonavita. But because of the open design, juice master you can stir all you want during brewing. When I got mine, it came with a shower head that had just one hole, but they offered an upgraded showerhead with multiple holes, which I immediately purchased, and used for the life of the machine. The multi-hole showerhead made the need to stir the grounds much less critical, but sometimes you do need to get in there and stir. Cleaning is really easy, as the small metal bar just lifts off, and there are no crevices to worry about. I understand now that the multi-hole juice master showerhead is standard. I was able to find both Technivorm showerheads in a box somewhere, shown in the photo below. I can only guess I bought spares.
The Bonaviata brew basket is actually Melitta branded, and accepts #4 cone filters. juice master On the Bonavita closed design, if you want to get in there to stir the grounds during brewing, you can t, as the design juice master just doesn t allow for it. Because of the more closed design, it also has vent holes to allow steam to escape, rather than collecting and going right back in the grounds. Not sure how much this matters in the final result, but it is a nice to know they thought of that.
The Technivorm brew basket accepts #4 cone filters. The Technivorm is an open design with no top, and has a cool little mechanical slider that can restrict the flow out of the bottom of the filter basket to be completely closed, half open, or full. If you want, you can keep it closed at the start of the brew for 30-60 seconds, juice master then move it to half-way for another 30-60 seconds, and then full open for the remainder of the cycle. This really cater