BONAVITA CONNOISSEUR: BV1901TS ONE-TOUCH COFFEE MAKER REVIEW

Are you an avid coffee lover in search of the ultimate home coffee machine – that won’t empty your bank account? 

The Bonavita Connoisseur 8-cup one-touch coffee maker is one of the most affordable home brewers to have been certified by the Specialty Coffee Association for the quality of its brews. So, of course, I was excited to give it a test drive! Who doesn’t want amazing coffee on a budget?

In this review, I’ll discuss my experience with this machine. Indeed, it delivers flavorful fresh coffee every time at just the press of a button. But I couldn’t help but notice a few sacrifices were made in the name of affordability. 

Read on to learn what it has, what it lacks, and whether it’s the right coffee maker for you.

A Full Review Of The Bonavita Connoisseur

I’ve rated the Connoisseur coffee maker in five categories: design, features, ease of use, coffee flavor, and value. A quick browse of the scores will give you a rough idea of its pros and cons, but I suggest reading the whole article for my more detailed thoughts after using this model.

How I Rated It

• Features
• Ease of Use
• Coffee Flavor
• Design
• Value for Money

4.2

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What Are The Best Features Of The Bonavita BV1901TS?

The obvious thing that sets this coffee maker apart from most others is its Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) certification – a status awarded to only the best drip coffee machines. It ensures that it has undergone rigorous testing to meet the SCA’s Golden Cup standards for brewing great coffee (1). 

What features allow it to meet this high bar?

First, this Bonavita maintains a brewing temperature in the range of 198° to 205°F, which testing has shown is optimal for extracting coffee (2). Thanks to a powerful 1500 watt heating element, it heats quickly and maintains a stable brewing temperature. I could brew a full pot of coffee in just under 6 minutes.

Second, it has an optional pre-infusion mode designed to mimic the behavior of a skilled barista. The pre-infusion feature, also known as the bloom, makes it easier to fully extract your coffee, particularly if it is freshly roasted (3).

I brewed a few pots with and without the bloom phase, and I highly recommend using it all the time. In my opinion, there is no reason it needs to be optional.

The Connoisseur features a showerhead-style flow into the brew basket, a huge improvement over the single stream of water you see in cheaper automatic drip coffee makers. This shower head, paired with the hanging flat bottom filter basket, produces a more even wetting of the ground coffee for better extraction.

Thermal Carafe

The Connoisseur uses a thermal carafe rather than a glass carafe and hot plate – something you’ll notice is true for most of the best coffee makers. Not only is it more energy efficient, but a thermal carafe keeps the coffee hot without sacrificing flavor. A pot of coffee sitting for a long time on a hot plate inevitably ends up with a burnt and stale taste. 

How To Use

This Bonavita coffee maker has no programmable features, which has the advantage of making it very easy to use. 

That said, some programmability might improve the user experience. It would be great if Bonavita provided the option to brew on a timer, set the brewing temperature, or adjust coffee strength.

What is the grind size for the Bonavita?

While the brewing process is a simple button press, dialing in the grind size and brewing ratio are the keys to optimizing your extraction. I like to use a medium grind with the Bonavita 8-cup coffee maker but vary it slightly depending on the beans. I go a bit finer for a lighter roast and a bit coarser for a darker roast.

What is the best brew ratio for the Connoisseur?

The ideal brewing ratio, according to the SCA, is 1:18. So you’ll want to use about 65 grams of coffee to brew a full 8-cup coffee pot. That said, it’s fine to adjust the coffee-to-water ratio to suit your taste. Personally, I usually prefer a slightly stronger brew – in the area of 1:17 or 1:16.

How Does The Coffee Taste?

The first step to brewing delicious coffee is buying high-quality, freshly roasted beans. The second step is grinding them right before brewing. 

Assuming you have those factors covered, you can indeed expect incredible coffee flavor from this brewer. The SCA doesn’t dole out certifications lightly. It’s as good as automatic drip coffee gets – perfectly extracted and richly flavorful. 

The light roasts I tested were fruity and floral with a bright acidity that never trended too far to sour. The darker roasts were sweet, smooth, and never bitter. Single-origin beans were as complex as I hoped, and even blends had notable character.

Design And Aesthetics

The design of the Connoisseur is classic and timeless. No money has been wasted adding fancy flourishes, which I think is a smart choice. It might not win any cool design awards, but it won’t clash with any decor.

The exterior and carafe of the Connoisseur are brushed stainless steel, an attractive and durable choice. All plastic components, including the water reservoir, filter basket, and carafe lid, are made from sturdy BPA-free plastic and are dishwasher-safe. 

The Connoisseur has a surprisingly small footprint, measuring just 6.8” wide by 12.4” long by 12.2” tall. But in my experience, this model gets a little steamy during brewing, so it needs some breathing room.

The Connoisseur has a relatively small capacity, at just 8 cups (40 ounces). I see 10 cups (50 ounces) more often for machines with thermal carafes. It helps keep the machine compact but could be a disadvantage for heavy coffee drinkers or larger households.

My only design complaint is a fairly minor quibble about the carafe. You need to remove the lid for brewing and then screw it back on after the brew cycle. This feels a bit cumbersome and offers poorer heat retention than a brew-through lid.

BV1901TS Vs BV1900TS: What’s The Difference?

The BV1901TS is a slight update from the BV1900TS, which is still available for about $15 less. Both are certified by the SCA and have the same capacity.

The biggest difference is that the BV1901TS reviewed here has a hanging filter basket, whereas on the older 1900TS, the basket sits directly on top of the carafe. I couldn’t taste any difference in the coffee between the two, but the hanging basket definitely makes for a nicer user experience.

There are also a few minor aesthetic differences. The shape of the stainless steel carafe has been reworked, and the water reservoir has a slightly different tint.

What About The Price?

The value for money here is excellent. Because this model has few features, it’s one of the least expensive in its class. It comes in at less than half the price of other SCA-certified coffee makers like the Breville Precision Brewer and Technivorm Moccamaster.

Its stainless steel construction and carafe make it incredibly durable, as does its simple operation. There is little to break or go wrong so you can expect a lot of years of excellent coffee for a minimal initial investment.

Don’t Buy the Bonavita Connoisseur Coffee Maker If…

• You want a programmable drip coffee maker: If you want the ability to tweak every variable, from water temperature to basket shape, I’d highly recommend the Breville Precision Brewer – even if it means upping your budget. On the other hand, if you just want to program your coffee to brew on a timer, consider the simple (and lovely) OXO Barista Brain. 

• You want to brew more coffee: If the 8-cup capacity of the Connoisseur is a deal-breaker, check out the Technivorm Moccamaster instead, which has a 10-cup capacity. 

If you need a boatload of caffeine to start the day, you’ll love the 14-cup Cuisinart DCC-3200. Although it lacks SCA certification, I’ve always found it to be a reliable, high-quality machine.

• You don’t care about the SCA standards: SCA-certified brewers guarantee the best cup of coffee as defined by expert coffee tasters. But if you’re not an expert coffee taster and just want an affordable way to brew coffee, there are plenty of less expensive options. I’m a fan of the Braun BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker, and brewers from the likes of Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach tend to be reliable.

The Verdict

Do you want consistently delicious coffee guaranteed by the Specialty Coffee Association? Do you want it from a brewer that won’t break the bank? Do you want it at the touch of a button? If you answered yes to all of the above, then you want the Bonavita Connoisseur 8 cup coffee maker. 

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