Technivorm Electric Drip Coffee Brewers

These electric coffee brewers made in the Netherlands are good enough to be certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). They brew at 200 degrees Fahrenheit every time.

Okay ... you don't need an expensive electric appliance to brew great drip coffee. Manual pour-over drip brewing with Chemex or a filter cone work well, as does a French Press for a fuller-bodied cup. But most people in our fair land brew their coffee in electric coffee makers, and ironically, most of them can barely brew a decent cup, or fail miserably (I am talking about the machines, not the people using them)! Cheap drip brewers invariably fail to brew coffee at the correct temperature. When coffee is brewed at a low temperature (most home electric drip brewers reach only 185 degrees) the result is a dulling of the higher, more vivid cup tones, and incomplete extraction of the coffee flavors overall. The Technivorm is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to brew at the correct 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the water has to boil in order to leave the heater - there is no pump and water does not fall from top to bottom like some brewers - you know that the water coming out is the right temperature. (Please note: If you live at altitude, water boils at a lower temperature.) See further comments on brew temperature and coffee temperature below. Brewers contain no internal components made with aluminum- heating element is copper. Here is a link to the pdf of our Technivorm Tip Sheet.

The Technivorms brewers use a cone-shaped filter which improves the extraction of coffee flavors from the grounds. (A flat-bottom filter is fine if you have a sprinkler-type brew head, but home machines rarely do). Our tests result in more intense brewed coffee than comparable home machines when using the exact same amount of ground coffee in each. The Technivorm models are all simple, straightforward machines that do one thing ... and do it very well! They all have a whopping 1475 watts, 13 amp draw which means they have the power to make water hot in a very short period of time. (Only a handful of coffee makers are rated over 1200 watts, and none are as powerful as the Technivorm). The machine is not well-known, but highly rated, as two articles by Sam Gugino in Wine Spectator will verify. Comes with a one year manufacturer's warranty.

As of 7/1/08 we are trimming the number of Technivorm machines we offer, not because they have changed at all - they still work great - but we found ourselves overwhelmed by keeping track of them all. Frankly, we we first started offering these brewers some years ago, not many vendors had them. Since then they have become much more prominently featured and more widely available, so we do not feel the same way about offering a complete line of them. We are actually a green coffee business! We try to remind ourselves of that from time to time. - Maria

The Technivorm KBTS has a 1 liter (34 oz.= 8 four oz. cups) capacity, and brews directly into an all stainless steel thermal carafe (which is included).
Height 13", Width 11.2", Depth 6.7"

The Technivorm KBT 741 is the big brother to the KBTS. It features a 1.25 liter carafe (42 oz. = 10 four oz. cups). It too brews directly into an all stainless steel thermal carafe (included). Note that this is the new carafe, more angular than the previous but functionally identical.
Height 14.8", Width 12", Depth 7.1"

Click here to view the Sweet Maria's Printable Technivorm Tip Sheet

Other items you might want to add to your Technivorm order:

You might also need #4 cone filters for your brewer. We offer the Filtropa AromaBrown filters.

Looking for a permanent filter? The SwissGold #4 cone filter fits the Technivorm.

You might want to add our Roastmaster coffee selection of the week to your Technivorm order

We use this bowl brush to scrub out the KBTS carafe and think it works great.

This is the simple feature on most models* of the Technivorm that I really appreciate. It's the filterholder's drip stop switch. It is supposed to be set to "Full Drip" when you brew a full pot, "Slow Drip" (half open) for brewing less than a full pot, and No Drip (closed) to pull out the pot when coffee is still brewing. However, it has a fantastic alternative function; I set it to No Drip for the first 1-2 minutes of the brew cycle to allow for the hot water and grinds to fully infuse, then I switch it to Slow Drip for the remainder of the brew cycle (I see no need to use Full Drip at all). The intensity of the coffee is excellent using this technique, and no longer is the timing of the water passing through the coffee dependent on the grind; too coarse and the brew tastes week and under-infused, too fine and it is bitter and has sediment). This improves the performance of Swiss Gold filters in the Technivorm too. I also stir my grinds in the filterholder after 2 minutes, but this is purely optional. The danger of my technique: if you forget to switch the brewer to Slow Drip after a minute or two, it is going to overflow - though there is a new mechanism so it does not create a huge mess - you might just get some grounds in the pot. Our tip sheet outlines this process, and it comes with the Technivorm

** Some folks have said that they have trouble with their filter basket on the Technivorm - trouble with the mechansim - so I have a photo of the bottom of the basket here. The most common problem is that the rubber stopper is out of place - so a tug on the tail of the stopper gets it seated correctly. You can also buy replacement filter baskets from Boyd Coffee. - Maria

You also might appreciate the attitude expressed in Technivorm's "company profile" statement, as I did:
Technivorm-Moccamaster has for many years specialized in the manufacture of coffee makers. These coffee makers are all handmade, which means that they are manufactured and assembled by hand and individually tested in a live situation. It is the personal touch that makes our products unique.
The brewing quality of our coffee makers is beyond dispute and guaranty a first class beverage due to the fact that brewing temperature and water/coffee contact time as well as holding temperature are in accordance with the critical requirements of the Norwegian Coffee Brewing Centre and the Specialty Coffee Association of America and Europe. Needless to say that we are proud to carry their seal of approval for all our coffee makers.
The Technivorm-Moccamaster factory is centrally located in the heart of the Netherlands and serves customers all over the world. Every single product meets the electricity requirements of the country they are destined for and are produced under the ISO 9002 regulations.
Our environment is well recognized in both production and product against the following design and marketing philosophy:
1. To produce totally reliable equipment simple to operate providing the maximum satisfaction to its users through being completely dependable.
2. To contribute towards the resolution of the world's pollution and waste problems by the manufacture of high quality and energy efficient "long life" products.
3. To use only recyclable or fully degradable materials in the manufacture of our quality products.

My final thoughts on the Technivorm: We have been using the same KBTS in the warehouse for about two years and we have been brewing fantastic coffee. As someone who cups coffee daily, it is nice to drink coffee from the Technivorm. There is no other home electric drip brewer I would even consider using. The difference is the truly hot brew temperature, and my preferred method (to set the filterholder to No Drip initially and then to Slow Drip after about a minute). I lift the top and stir the grounds at the same time, but this is just my own quirk as the standard brewhead on the Technivorms does a fine job saturating all the grinds. For such a simple machine, it makes a huge difference in the cup quality of the coffee. Use 5 level scoops with the 1 liter model and 5-6 with the 1.25 liter models.

We have had some feedback from folks who find the coffee brewed not hot enough in the Technivorms. There is a steep drop off once the water hits the grounds and then drops to the pot - that is to be expected. Testing the machines at our warehouse - I get the following temperatures: 195 to 205 degrees F at the brewhead; in the grounds, 160 degrees F; and 156 degrees F in the pot. I find 156 degrees too hot to actually taste anything - so I let it cool a bit. Some folks find this too cool - they are used to the coffee being heated on a hot plate above brewing temperature but I can't taste anything in a liquid that hot - so reheating the coffee does not make much sense for me. I know that some folks are used to coffee that hot though - that is what they are accustomed to. -Tom