RSSFirst Look :: Bonavita versus Technivorm
January 10th, 2012 by MarkFor a long time, we’ve only sold the Technivorm brewer. It was the only high quality brewer we could find that was simple, reliable, and brewed at 200 degrees for 5-6 minutes, two important factors for delicious, flavorful (and not bitter) coffee.
The US market now has access to a European competitor of the Technivorm, called the Bonavita. It is available in both glass and thermal models.
As you would expect, a lot of people are comparing the two brands and asking our opinion of which model to purchase. The Bonavita and the Technivorm have similar claims to brewing time and temperature, so we did a side by side test of each brewer, and here is our opinion of the pros and cons of each:
Price: The most glaring difference between the two brands is the price. The Technivorm is $299 for the thermal models and $279 for hot plate models. The Bonavita is $159 for thermal, $129 for hot plate. I will explain some of the reasons for this disparity in the following points. Advantage: Bonavita
Build quality: Hands down, the Technivorm is superior. From the thickness of the machined aluminum to the copper heating element, the Technivorm shows why it costs $299. It’s rugged, simple, and reliable. The Bonavita feels well built, but has the look and feel of a more conventional appliance. There’s no accounting for taste, but in our opinion the Technivorm is more attractive and feels more solid. Advantage: Technivorm.
Carafe: The Bonavita carafe is better than the Technivorm for three reasons: It’s lined with glass, so it doesn’t impart any off flavors which some people can detect from stainless; it keeps the coffee hot longer than the Technivorm carafe; and it has a pouring spout that needs no instruction. The Technivorm carafe has a distinctive mid-century inspired look, but the Bonavita held the coffee about 10° hotter than the Technivorm, both at initial brewing and after 1 hour and 4 hours. Advantage: Bonavita.
Showerhead: The Bonavita carafe has a well designed set of holes that evenly saturate the grounds, plus vents that allow the steam to escape (thus preventing condensation from dropping back into the bed). The Technivorm filter basket is an open design with a filter basket that can be easily set to no drip, fast drip, or slow drip, plus a metal spray head that can be rotated from side to side. If you want to “set it and go”, the Bonavita will saturate the bed of coffee more evenly without interference. If you want to see the bloom of fresh coffee as the hot water hits the coffee and have the option of stirring the coffee or rotating the filter basket for even extraction, the Technivorm will suit you better. Advantage: Bonavita for saturating the grounds completely, Advantage: Technivorm for analog, visible brewing.
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- Bonavita versus Technivorm
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- 65 grams of coffee
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- Bonavita spray head
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- Technivorm spray head
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- Technivorm brewing temp: 201.7
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- Bonavita brewing temp: 202.3 degrees
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- Bonavita: 185 degrees after brewing
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- Technivorm: 174 degrees after brewing
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- Technivorm filter basket
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- Bonavita basket on left
Warranty: 5 years for Technivorm, 2 for Bonavita. Advantage: Technivorm.
Country of Origin: Technivorm is hand assembled in the Netherlands; Bonavita is made in China of German components. For some people, this will mean advantage: Technivorm. I love my iPhone which is made in China, so to me it’s not necessarily an indication of poor quality.
Brewing parameters: We did a side by side comparison of each brewer, using the same coffee and brewing parameters of 65 grams of coffee, 1.25 liters/42 oz of filtered water.
The results:
| Bonavita | Technivorm | |
| Temp in brewing basket: | 202.3° | 201.8° |
| Time to finish brew: | 6 min | 6 min 10 sec |
| Temp of coffee after brewing: | 185° | 174° |
| Temp of coffee after 1 hour: | 176° | 164° |
| Temp after 4 hours: | 150° | 138° |
The brewing temperature and time figures are so close that we are confident saying the Bonavita heating element is about as powerful as the Technivorm. The 1,000 watt rating is a big factor here. As mentioned, the Bonavita carafe holds the temperature better than the Technivorm carafe. I should mention that the initial coffee temperatures of 185° for the Bonavita and 174° for the Technivorm are PLENTY hot for most people. I have to let the coffee rest and cool to about 165° before I can drink it.
Blind taste test: As always our goal when testing new products is two fold. We want to find out what the unit is capable using best practices AND how the typical person will use it (i.e., without too much futzing with brewing parameters). We tested coffees from several roasters and used all sorts of filters, such as the Melitta unbleached filters that came with the Bonavita (a clue to its heritage), Technivorm/Filtropa filters, gold tone filters, and Swiss Gold filters. We tried it with pre-rinsed paper filters and unrinsed filters.
And?????
Not too surprisingly, the cup quality (“taste”) depended mostly on using the best paper filter (a bleached pre-rinsed filter) and dialing in the correct grind setting (we found the Bonavita prefers a slightly coarser grind than the Technivorm). When we brewed the Technivorm with our recommended parameters (watch the video here), some of our testers preferred it to the Bonavita. When we left the Technivorm alone and did not agitate the bed at all to ensure even extraction, we got a few batches with some unsaturated grounds, and thus the Bonavita won.
At the end of the day, the Technivorm and the Bonavita both offer flavorful, hot coffee out of a drip brewer, but with different value propositions. If you like car analogies, the Technivorm is a rugged, safe, well built Volvo station wagon. It will last almost forever, and it bears a certain aesthetic heritage. It’s distinctively Netherlandic if that’s the word I’m looking for.
The Bonavita is perhaps analogous to a Toyota Camry. It’s simple, reliable, and affordable. It’s purpose is not to win design awards, but to offer great coffee and a quality appliance at a fantastic price.
It’s up to you to decide which one is a better fit for your lifestyle. See the full lineup.
*NOTE: We will be doing more testing over the coming weeks with logged data points and will gladly share our results upon request. We are also working on a video of both brewers in action. Stay tuned!
January 11th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
This is a great review.
I’ve been looking at a Technivorm for a long time, but it was always just out of price range. The Bonivita looks promising and I just might buy one.
Does the carafe seem easy to clean on the Bonavita? I know that seemed to be a big complaint about the Technivorm from reading the reviews.
Also, more photos please!
January 12th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Thanks for the note! The opening on the Bonavita carafe is larger than on the Technivorm. Because it’s glass you need to be careful – I’d recommend a soft bottle brush plus hot water and a drop of detergent a few times a week.
What kind of photos would be helpful?
January 12th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
The photos you guys have are great. I was just asking for more photos to tide me over until I can get one of these! I can’t wait to dump my Cuisinart off at Goodwill.
I can’t wait for the videos.
February 12th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
I love my Bonavita! I was looking at t he Technivorm and have tested it out myself and the Bonavita has a cleaner taste with the nuances of the coffee that clearly come through.
Very happy with my lower cost choice, although I was hell bent on the Technivorm until this contender came out.
March 4th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Mark, what a wonderfully thorough review you gave! You have covered every potential question (and then some) that one might possibly have. I am going to respectfully disagree with you, however, on the “attractiveness” of the Technivorm vs. the Bonavita. In my own humble opinion, I think the Bonavita is “easier on the eye” than the Technivorm. Truly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Having said that, I guess what really matters at the end of the day would be the quality and flavor of the extracted coffee that the brewer can produce. And according to all the specifics in your review, the Bonavita can certainly kick some butt. I was particularly impressed (and sold) with the temperature comparison, and the glass lined thermal carafe of the Bonavita. Please correct me if I am wrong but, I do not think that there are any other brewers out there that come with a glass lined thermal carafe, they are all metal. I can’t wait until I get my Bonavita, like a little child waiting for Santa. Mark, you are totally responsible for turning me into a coffee snob! LOL. Again, thank you for such a great review.
March 16th, 2012 at 7:39 am
Great review, Mark. I could never justify the cost of a Technivorm, so am very interested in the Bonavita. But how am I supposed to get by on 20 oz (half pot) of coffee in the morning? Do you know if they have any plans to make other, larger capacity models? I could hold out for a while if they do plan to make a larger one, but if not I’ll just have to make two pots each AM.
March 24th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
Great review! I would really love to know if the Bonavita has an aluminum heating element or a copper heating element like the Technivorm. I’ve seen several people around the internet asking this question now, but no one seems to know. Maybe you guys could put this question to rest once and for all? Looking forward to seeing you pit these two against each other in some in-depth youtube videos. Also please don’t just do the thermal carafes — also do the glass carafes for those of us who like glass. I will sometimes turn my coffee off right after it is made (using a glass carafe) or transfer it to another vessel. Something else I wish someone would review: a decent blade grinder instead of a burr grinder. Yes, I said it. Blade grinders! They are considered a scourge, but back before burr grinders became popular, they were all that was on the market, and mine is still going strong after almost 20 years. It would be nice to know which blade grinders are reliable if one chose to go that option versus a burr grinder. Thank you again. I’m partial to the Technivorm but it is hard not to give the Bonavita a serious look, given all of the pluses you have mentioned in your review.
March 24th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
One other question I have, given that I have owned Cuisinart in the past (and yes, they break) but the one thing they do have going for them is that it is very easy to reach technical support if one needs a spare part, etc. Is it easy to get in touch with Bonavita technical support? I ask because if one has a warranty with a company, it does not mean much unless one can actually reach the company to obtain warranty service. This product is so new in the United States that there is not much information out yet regarding that issue. Thank you.
March 26th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Hi Liz,
Thanks for the note! Some answers:
1. The Bonavita has an aluminum heating element. Copper has better conductivity than aluminum, and some people are worried about aluminum for health reasons. I can only say that we use both brewers at Clive and like them both for different reasons
2. Keep in mind that the Bonavita has a glass lined thermal carafe, which we found keeps the coffee HOT for a good four hours. We will do more coverage of these brewers shortly – anything in particular you’d like to see?
3. Blade grinders – we don’t plan on selling blade grinders since they are so readily available and we can’t really compete with Target and Amazon on pricing, but I will just say that burr grinders do give you a more consistent grind size than blade grinders and I believe they are worth the investment. However, if you do use a blade grinder be sure to shake it like it’s a martini as you grind – this will help to spread the grinds around and you will get a more even result.
4. Bonavita is amazing with support! They reply to emails in a few hours if not faster, and they provide replacement parts, assistance with technical questions etc very quickly. Bonavita has an excellent US based staff so you can feel confident in that regard.
Please let me know any other questions, and take care!
Mark
March 26th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Hi Steve,
Sorry, not sure I understand the question! Why do you need to make two 20 oz pots? I’d recommend making a full carafe and letting the glass thermal carafe do its job of keeping the coffee toasty hot for at least 4 hours. That’s my recommendation. Haven’t heard news of a larger coffee maker in the works – typically you don’t want to get much bigger than 1.25 liters for this kind of coffee maker as it starts to elongate the brewing time (you’d need a wider brewing basket like you find in commercial brewers from Bunn or Fetco).
Did that answer your question?
Best,
Mark
July 18th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Another question about the heating element: is the aluminum anodized? I’m particularly concerned about the surface that comes into contact with the water.
Thanks
August 8th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Excellent comparison and review of the Bonavita, it actually helped me decide on buying this machine for our busy mornings when I don’t have the time to prepare 4 double americanos on the HX.
One question though about the grind size, I seem to be getting over extraction notes when I brew with 60g/1L ratio, and I’m two notches below the Filter label on my Vario macro lever, wich is set to the top for espresso on the HX.
Knowing how hard it is to describe a grind size, how coarse did you go to get the best results with the Bonavita?
Thanks for your help!
Pascal Villeneuve
August 27th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
I’ve owned a Technivorm Moccamaster since 12/2008, a gift from a family member who also shares the joy of good coffee and got me into home roasting more than 10 years ago. While the Technivorm makes great coffee, there are a number of problems with it that your readers should be aware of prior to pulling the trigger on buying one.
One issue that comes up consistently in other review forums (including Amazon) is a set of design problems that make the Moccamaster inferior for a $300 unit. First, as you make mention, the carafe design requires that the stopper be in place for pouring or coffee will spill everywhere after emptying about 1/2 the pot. A better designed pour spout would be appreciated. The Technivorm now comes with a brew-through lid–this was not the case when I got mine, so this may be eliminated. However, the brew head and drip basket itself still have problems. I paid extra for the ‘shower head’, but all they did was drill extra holes in the brew head. Without any pressure or proper distribution system, the water just runs out of two or three of these holes and does not saturate the grounds without fiddling. Additionally, the brew basket is prone to clogging with the weight of the filter, coffee and water. The issue here is that the fins that keep the filter away from the walls of the basket are simply too short. The filter tends to press down against all the walls as it fills with water. The drip hole is unfortunately placed in the wall at the bottom between two of these fins, and as the weight of the filter increases with the addition of water, it is common for the filter to end up plugging the hole and significantly reducing the flow rate into the carafe. When this happens, if you are not standing right by the pot, the result is that the water fills the basket to overflowing, which then runs down the outside of the basket and into the pot. The coffee turns out weak, diluted, and with grounds in it–not pleasant! This problem is intermittent–I have learned to fold the seams of the filter in a certain way to keep the filter from resting against the drain hole and this has helped significantly, but it still happens from time to time–I have to dump the pot and re-brew. Unacceptable for a $300 unit. I am not alone with these problems–they are discussed in Amazon reviews, and other coffee lovers I speak with who one one also have these problems.
I also have to disagree with your thought that Technivorm has superior build quality. The unit is sitting, once again, on my workbench waiting for me to disassemble it, clean the electrical connections, and reassemble it. It stopped working this weekend again; this is the third time in the past 6 months it stopped working, all for the same reason–since the electrical contacts inside the unit are not soldered, but are instead push-on female connectors, these appear to become corroded over time and the electrical connection in the circuit gets broken so the pot won’t brew. I contacted Boyd Coffee (the US distributor for Technivorm) the first time this happened, and the service manager sent me a replacement float switch for free. I replaced the switch, and it worked for just a few days before stopping again. I pulled the unit apart, tested all the switches with a multitester and found them all to be working correctly. I then cleaned off the male spade connectors, and pushed/pulled the female connectors on and off several times in an attempt to clean the inside of the female connectors. This fixed the problem for about 6 months, but now it’s crapped out again, and I suspect the same issue is at work. With ‘Made in China’ you usually get soldered connections–these will not corrode and the unit should work much longer. Technivorms are “Hand-Made” which sounds great, but means that instead of soldering, they crimp on electrical connectors instead of soldering (soldering would take much more time) but this leaves the unit vulnerable to electrical corrosion issues, which I am experiencing. Again, I’m not alone–go read the Amazon reviews and you will find a number of people with non-functioning makers 3 or 4 years into ownership. For a $300 unit, this is absolutely unacceptable–has no one at Technivorm heard of Six Sigma??? There are other noted problems, including leaking out of the bottom of the unit, etc–hand built in this case does not equal quality.
So I’m looking at getting a Bonavita instead, because I’m sick of having to fix my Technivorm. Anyone want to buy a used Technivorm for it’s “hand-built” quality and copper heating element? Please let me know, I have one to sell.
September 12th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Mark, thank you for the excellent review. You said that Bonavita makes parts available. I understand this is a relatively new product, but if the heating element or thermostat burns out just past warranty, can I get it replaced or does the whole thing go in the landfill? Same question for the Techivorm.
September 13th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Vicky,
The warranty support is provided by both Bonavita and Technivorm (2 years and 5 years respectively) which includes repair OR replacement depending on the situation, and that beyond that it is up to the mfg to help with spare parts or repairs (again depending on the circumstances).
September 19th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Great review. How do the thermalcarafes on each perform if not preheated? My S.O. would like to have the machine plugged into remote-controlled outlet (X10), press a button by the bed in the morning, and have coffee ready to consume. This means the machine must start brewing when power is applied rather than a button pressed (i.e. not an option all all the new consumer models), and the thermal carafe will not be preheated.
The thermal carafes are also marketed as energy-saving, but that is wiped out if preheating is required. Thus we’re leaning towards the glass carafe model with a controllable temperature hot plate (and optionally dumping that into a preheated thermos if desired – i.e. best of both worlds).
September 19th, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Great comments Geoff! My thoughts on the thermal vs. glass carafe are as follows: I never want to actually drink coffee until it has reached about 160F. Otherwise, I burn myself, and also cannot taste the coffee properly! Bad on both counts! And, on glass carafe models, the hot plate under the carafe burns the coffee after about 15 minutes of being left on, because it is actually applying heat. It is a little better on the Technivorm, on which you can control the temperature of the hot plate, but it will still scald your coffee slightly. In my perfect world, a carafe would keep the coffee at 155F for at least an hour. A thermal carafe usually does a good job of this, without having to pre-heat it. The trick is making sure that you can quickly install a sealed lid to keep the coffee temperature where it is, which on the Technivorm tall thermal carafe is about 170F 2 minutes after brewing is complete. After an hour, it will be near 150-140F, where it will basically stay for the next hour. It is very much the same on the Bonavita thermal carafe. However (again in this coffee perfect world) I never want to drink coffee that has sat in anything for over an hour, thermal or glass. The oils begin to break down, and you are left with a less than pleasing experience. But, back in the real world, we all drink coffee that has sometimes sat for too long. In a thermal carafe, it is at least not burnt coffee, but still reasonably hot.
I hope this helps answer your question! If not, please feel free to call us at 1.800.520.2890. Thanks!
September 20th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Hi Kevin – thanks for your thoughts. Well, I’m now the proud new owner of a Moccamaster KBG-741 AO from my local coffee specialty shop. After some reflection, I decided the glass carafe provided more options, and, to me, looked more “classic.” It is super easy to clean, pours nicely, and one can visually see the coffee brewing into it, as well as how much remains. I tested it while running several cycles of water through to initialize the machine, and the warming plate indeed keeps a full pot of water at 165F on low, and 175F on high. The power switch magically clicks itself off after an hour or so, which is a neat trick for not having electronics.
My first batch of coffee was ground too finely and I used to much (I’ve been brewing with an old Starbucks/Bodum Santos electric vacuum pot, which was neat to watch, but a hassle, and seemed to never get the water hot enough or steep long enough to make consistently excellent coffee)… so I’m grinding coarser now and using a bit over 1/2 the number of 2-tbs scoops as cups indicated on the reservoir. The second batch was much better, and the third, getting to excellent.
So this afternoon I noticed I can swivel the water arm around opposite side of the brew basket, flip the top around, and it can quickly decant hot water on demand into a teapot or travel mug for green tea. This is faster than heating up a kettle of water on my gas stove. It occurred to me I could probably source a glass-lined thermal carafe and #4 pour-over basket combination if I really want to brew directly into a thermos from the “wrong side”, especially for a second batch of coffee, i.e. decaf. Neat – multi-use machine.
I’m very impressed with it already.
October 20th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Thank you for doing the review. Looks like you got almost a year out of it. I was wondering how the new KBGT-741 would do, especially the auto pre-infusion function. I’m not sure how this function actually works on a non-electronic brewer, but if it allows me to not have to stir or move the shower head during brewing, I’m all for it. I’m new to Technivorm ,but they seem to be following the Porche 911 model of incremental improvements of an ideal design. I personally don’t mind the lack of gadgets, but it seems the shower head design is flawed and hope TV comes out with a shower head replacement/upgrade one day that uses small holes and is circular. If I was machine shop handy it probably wouldn’t be a major deal to prototype one. Thoughts?
November 5th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Excellent review from Clive and comments from knowledgeable Clive customers. I am curious about the plastic issue. I know that you address the issue in the Technivorm product review, but what about the Bonavita plastic? Same kind? Are the plastic parts from China or Europe. Thanks for your information and answers.
November 5th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for the comments! The Bonavita plastic is BPA free like the Technivorm plastic, and is made in China in a German design. Let me know any other questions and take care,
Mark
November 5th, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Thank you Mark. Like many folks, on the fence between Technivorm and Bonavita. I have the Bonavita kettle and use it with my Chemex and the Coffee Kone. Very pleased with kettle and the Kone.
November 10th, 2012 at 8:44 am
Thank you! I’ve been comparing the two all morning, and your review was definitely the most beneficial. It was well thought-out, and to the point. Thank you again for sharing.
January 16th, 2013 at 12:06 pm
I like my standard glass carafe Bonavita. Great coffee. BUT
In my view there is one design flaw. Using a #4 cone you have to first fold the edges ( as per the manual ). This is because the plastic cone is slightly too small for the paper cone. Even so sometimes the paper cone will fold over unless you take extra care when placing the carafe and cone into the coffee maker when preparing your coffee. Not a big deal but it is an annoyance.
January 21st, 2013 at 12:30 pm
I switched to Melitta filters and with folding the bottom and side seam per manual , machine works perfectly. Nice hot coffee.