BUNN 10-Cup Velocity Brew Review

The BUNN 10-Cup Velocity Brew can make a pot of coffee very quickly, but didn't reveal any other redeeming attributes in our testing.

Performance Comparison

The BUNN 10-Cup Velocity Brew was just below average in our overall testing. In the following sections we dive further into the details of how the BUNN performed in each one of our individual testing metrics.

Taste

The BUNN was on the lower end of the taste scale. It scored a 4 out of 10 in this metric, which had scores ranging from 2 to 9. Generally the BUNN produced weak tasting coffee, even when we added more grinds than the manufacturer's recommendation. It seemed that the BUNN pushed water through its filter much more quickly than other models. While this did increase speed, it gave the coffee less time for extraction, and left the pot tasting lackluster. Our testers remarked that it wasn't terrible coffee, but they were more tempted to add milk and sugar than with other machines because it tasted a bit watery and lacked body.

User Friendliness

The BUNN did relatively well in our user friendliness testing, scoring 7 out of 10. This was slightly above average as scores ranged from 4 to 9. This score was mostly due to its carafe, which has a nice spout with a plastic guide making for a quick and clean pour. This is no surprise as BUNN's bread and butter is making machines for diner-style restaurants. We weren't huge fans of its interface. The power switch is somewhat hidden on the side of the machine (probably because BUNN wants you to keep the machine on and preheated all the time so it will live up to its 'Velocity' name). There is also only one button on the front of the machine and no display, so there is no way to adjust its brewing style based on how much coffee you're making.

Convenience

The BUNN earned a relatively high score of 7 out of 10 in our convenience testing, where scores ranged from 3 to 9. There was a healthy debate amongst our testers about whether the BUNN really was convenient or not. If you use the machine as BUNN intends, keeping it powered on and heating the 100 oz water tank 24/7, it brews incredibly fast. In our tests it made 6 cups in just 2 minutes, and if you add in prep and cleaning time the whole process was just 6.5 minutes. This was the fastest of the drip coffee makers by a long shot. However, keeping that tank of water heated all the time does make this the most power hungry model we tested. If you don't leave it on all the time it takes the machine about 20 minutes to preheat, making it incredibly slow. Essentially BUNN is trying to bring technology geared towards breakfast diners that offer bottomless coffee cups into the home, which only really works if you don't mind wasting a bit of electricity.

Ease of Cleaning

The BUNN was one of the worst scorers in our ease of cleaning testing, earning a 5 out of 10. This was just slightly better than the worst score of 5 and far behind the top score of 9. Cleaning the carafe and brew basket was fairly standard, and the carafe is dishwasher safe. The BUNN lost points for its extended descaling process. While it wasn't too difficult to get moving, its deep cleaning process took a full 3 hours, which was triple the average.

Value

The BUNN 10-Cup Velocity Brew is quite expensive with a list price of $190. Since we weren't particularly impressed with the machine we feel this is a poor value, unless of course you like the idea of a constantly preheated machine that can make a pot at a moment's notice.

Conclusion