Zojirushi EC-BD15BAFresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 16.6 x 12 x 10.4 inches ; 9 pounds
Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
ASIN: B0000X7CMQ
Item model number: EC-BD15BA

By : Zojirushi
List Price : ~~$98.00~~
Price : $67.47
You Save : $30.53 (31%)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Lots of folks dislike the burnt flavor that coffee gets when it sits in a glass pot over a heating element. To avoid this, coffee shops often brew right into large thermal pots to keep the coffee warm without it becoming overcooked. The Zojirushi Fresh Brew does that, too, but in home-sized batches. It looks great, too, with a glossy black body and stainless steel carafe and brew basket.
To brew, lift the lid and swing the water outlet spout to one side while the filter is being loaded; the spout will return to its proper position when the lid is closed. A small red ball in the water gauge makes it extra simple to read. And an electronic clock module also serves as a timer that will start the brewer at a specified time. The carafe's lid is designed to be on during brewing, with a small cap to help keep the heat in after it's ready. The Fresh Brew also has a pause-and-serve function that stops the flow for 30 seconds while a cup of coffee is served.
To clean the brewer unit, use a solution of white vinegar and water, following the instructions in the accompanying booklet. The unit is not immersible. The exterior can be wiped with a damp soft rag; do not use abrasives or scouring pads. The filter reservoir is removable; clean with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly. The coffee brewer measures 15 by 12 by 9 inches (includes carafe handle when unit is completely assembled), and it uses 4 cone-shaped disposable paper filters. The Fresh Brew comes with a detailed instruction booklet. Zojirushi guarantees its products with a one-year limited warranty. --Garland Withers
Zojirushi's EC-BD15BA 1.5 Liter Fresh Brew Coffee Maker with Vacuum Stainless Steel Carafe is gorgeous and functional and will look spectacular on your countertop. It has many wonderful features.

Product Features

Stylish automatic coffee brewer with 1.5-liter thermal carafe
Stainless-steel carafe keeps coffee hot for hours
1025 watts; electronic clock/timer with preset function; auto shut-off for safety
Clever brew-and-serve lid design; easy-to-read water gauge
Measures 15 by 12 by 9 inches; 1-year warranty

Customer Reviews

I've spent several weeks week getting to know the Zojirushi Fresh Brew... and for the most part, I'm quite pleased. It has some foibles [which I'll get to in a moment] but on the whole it's a very capable coffee brewer. More, it's one of the very few home models I know that can brew 8 cups of just-roasted coffee at a proper 2 tablespoons per cup ratio without fuss, and - this is important! - maintain proper brewing temperatures throughout the entire brew cycle.
The details...
Zoji has been making vacuum pots and the like for nearly 100 years, and they've been making an assortment of rice-cookers, tea brewers and hot water dispensers for decades. While this is, I believe, their first home coffee brewer, they've got more than a little experience in kitchen electrics. They've put that experience to good use.
If you've ever brewed up a thermos full of coffee using a big Melitta filter cone then this setup will look pretty familiar. For all intents and purposes, the Fresh Brew simply adds an automated hot water delivery system to the mix... with a few improvements.
Improvement number one: not only does this system brew into an all-stainless thermal carafe [no hot plate here, thankyouverymuch] but it also insulates the brew basket. What good is it, after all, to heat up all that water if it's just going to get cold while you're brewing? This is huge! This is important! This is... well, I'm excited about it, okay?
Improvement number two: the Fresh Brew features an accurate gauge of water volume. When it reads that you've got 8 cups of water in the brewer's reservoir, it means it. Mind you, we're talking 6 oz. cups of water -- that's the way the coffee world measures a cup [unless you're Bodum and then it's 4 oz.].
Improvement number three: the Fresh Brew is patient. The biggest pain about the manual pour-over method is that you've got to wait to add more water, especially if the coffee is really fresh. Fresh coffee blooms with its charge of CO2! Faced with a full basket of coffee that was literally fresh from the roaster the Zoji didn't overflow, nor did it heave grounds into the water dispensing shower-head. More, the grounds were thoroughly saturated; no dry spots.
So where's the foibles?
Like a great many autodrip brewers the feeder tube that comes from the Zoji's heating element to the shower-head takes a straight path right through the water reservoir. For most brewers this is a game-over situation... the heating element simply can't overcome the heat exchange that occurs en route to the brew-head. On the Zoji, the heating element does get hot enough... provided that the water you've placed in the reservoir is not too cold.
Example A: In the office using the "unchilled" spigot on the water cooler, I draw off 48 ounces of water for the reservoir and brew a pot. Throughout the brew cycle water temperatures in the brew basket range between 195 and 200 degrees F. The result is a lovely pot of Ethiopian Yrgacheffe that is sweet, floral and lemony.
Example B: At home I draw off 48 ounces of water from the water filter in-line with the refridgerator. The temperature of the water in the reservoir is about 40 degrees F. and the resulting temperature in the brew basket never tops 185 degrees F. The result is an icky pot of the very same Yrgacheffe that is bitter, murky and flat.
The moral: mind your initial water temperature and you'll do just fine.
All in all, the Zojirushi Fresh Brew is capable of making 8 cups of coffee that's on a par with manual pourover methods. Better, really, as it insulates the brew-basket to better maintain water temperatures.

I was looking for a coffee maker with a large capacity, unbreakable carafe, auto-shut-off, pause-and-serve, and a programmable timer. I found everything I wanted
with this Zoji.
It has a stylish, brushed stainless carafe that stays cool to the touch and has no breakable glass liner like some carafes have. The base has an easy to read water-level display, with markings up to 10 cups, but it has a larger capacity than my old 10 cup Braun. It also has a cute little elephant on it!
The 1.5 liters works out to approx. 51 ounces, or just over 6 (8-ounce) cups. My old "10 cup" coffee maker held about 5 8-ounce cups. I never have quite figured out what counts as a "cup" in coffee terms, but it seems to vary between 4 and 6 ounces.
This is a pretty tall (15 inches) coffee maker, and you have to lift the lid to add the coffee and the water. Since steam comes out of the top, I pull it out from under the cabinet when it's running. If you have shallow counters, this could be a little tricky.
The only down side, in my opinion, is that it uses the hard-to-find 3 filters. I've gotten around it by cutting about 1 inch off the top of my 4s. I also had a little trouble getting the lid off the carafe when I screwed it on too tight - I had to put a towel over it to get a good grip. Those minor details aren't enough to cost it a star, though.
I'm not sure how long coffee stays hot in this carafe, because we drink so much coffee around here it doesn't stay in there very long. I did sleep in one morning, though, and the coffee that was automatically made at 6:15 was still hot at 7:30.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this coffee maker. I have hot coffee ready for me whenever I get up in the morning, and I never have to wonder whether I forgot to shut it off when I leave the house.