Learn about coffee...how to brew the perfect cup of coffee
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Which type of coffee brewer is right for me?
Learn About Coffee Brewing
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Automatic Decanter Brewers - most common type of brewer in restaurants
around the world. Brewer connects to a water line, typically with a
water filter immediately before the line connects to the brewer.
Single and dual brewers available where higher volume of coffee is needed.
Select from models with one to six warmers to keep coffee warm in decanters.
Bunn recommends that coffee stored in a decanter be stored at a holding
temperature of 175-185 degrees F and served at 155-175 degrees F.
Ideal holding time in an open top container such as a decanter is 20 minutes
in order to keep the flavor and aroma at their peak. Some automatic
decanter brewers allow brewing with pourover feature when a water line is
not available.
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Pourover Decanter Brewers - very similar to the automatic decanter brewer
with the exception that fresh water must be poured into the brewer and there
is no water connection to the brewer.
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Thermal/Airpot Brewers - Available in automatic or pourover brewers and
similar to decanter brewers above with the difference being the coffee
storage after brewing. The coffee is brewed into a closed and
insulated container to not only keep coffee warm longer in environments
where a warmer is not available, but also slows the process of evaporation
for volatile aromatics in the coffee preserving the ideal temperature and
flavor for up to 60 minutes, 3 times longer than a decanter. Thermal
and airpot brewers are ideal where coffee will be served at a location away
from the brewer such as a conference room, or where the volume of coffee use
would not empty a decanter each 20 minutes.
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Satellite Coffee - Brew larger volumes of coffee at a central location and
serve it at multiple locations. Choose from airpot style thermofresh
servers that maintain the coffee aroma and temperature without a warmer, or
use a portable server with warmer that holds temperature for 1 or 1.5 gallon
servers. Common at larger restaurants and hotels where a higher volume
of coffee is served at locations away from the brewers.
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Pod Coffee - Brew one cup at a time hot and fresh. Use this as a
personal brewer or in an office where the volume of coffee use doesn't
warrant a 10-12 cup decanter. Each cup is brewed at the time it is
served into the mug so it always has the ideal temperature, aroma and is
fresh brewed. Uses coffee pods rather than filters and ground coffee
to facilitate more consistent coffee brewing.
Still
confused - use the convenient feedback form at the bottom of this page to ask us
a question or just let us know how you will use the brewer and we will be happy
to have our Bunn Coffee & Tea expert assist you in selecting the proper brewer
matched to your needs. You can also call 866-601-5734 and ask for the Bunn
Coffee / Tea specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q - My
coffee doesn't taste like it does at my favorite restaurant. Why? I
have the same brewer that they do.
A - There are several factors that affect
the flavor and aroma of your coffee. Here are a few of the most
common:
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Water - clear, fresh and mineral free water is essential to good tasting
coffee and tea. Lime is the most common mineral that adversely affects
the taste of your coffee or tea and also collects in the brewer reducing
it's ability to properly heat the water. Use a Bunn EasyClear water
filter to treat the water as recommended by the world's leasing brewer
manufacturer. If you have allowed lime to build up in your brewer use
the Bunn deliming spring to clean the brewer. Ideal water has 50-100
ppm or 3-6 grains of hardness.
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Brewing temperature and length of brew - see the
attached information from Bunn to dig into the technical details.
Not all Bunn brewers are made alike. Your Bunn brewer at home or at
the office may look very similar to the brewer at your favorite restaurant,
but there are a wide variety of brewers that allow the user to program the
brewing cycle controlling how quickly the water is released into the grinds
and the precise temperature. Make sure you select the brewer that
gives you the control that matches your desire to refine the flavor of the
coffee to your exacting tastes. Ideal water temperature is 195-205
degrees F. The length of brew time must match the coarseness of the
coffee you are using, finer grind = quicker brew cycle. The length of
brew cycle is the number one component affecting flavor.
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Depth of the coffee - The perfect depth is 1 to 2 inches with 100% of the
coffee grinds saturated in hot water no later than 10% into the brew cycle.
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Coffee grind coarseness - Adjust the coarseness and impact the flavor of
your coffee to an extreme.
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Turbulence - turbulence is created as the water passes through and over the
coffee. It should cause the particles to separate and create a uniform
flow of water around them for proper extraction of flavor and aroma.
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Filtration - Paper filters produce the clearest cup of coffee. Bunn
filters are - porous enough to allow free flow of the extracted coffee
solubles, - made from oxygen processed paper for best coffee flavor -
strong enough to prevent colapsing.
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Cleanliness - Make sure the serving area, sprayhead and funnel, servers and
water reservoir/pitcher are clean and free from lime and hard water
deposits.
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