A:AnswerI bought this machine two weeks ago. From my limited experience I will try to answer your question. In a nutshell, no. The coffee is not weak at all. More than likely, it is probably the coffee beans you are using. Are you grinding your beans, or using preground? If grinding, try changing the grind texture to a little more course. This helps extract more flavor during bloom time. In addition, if the coffee is old it will not produce a quality product. Also, Aribica and Robusta beans make a difference. Look to see what you are using. In my experience, Aribica has a much stronger coffee flavor, Robusta produce a weak cereal flavor. If the beans are older than 2 weeks since roasting, you are losing flavor/quality. Preground is worse. Also, this machine offers a setting for strong. I prefer a strong, black brew with no sugar or cream. I am somewhat of a purist. With that said, the GOLD setting produces delicious coffee. I grind my beans each morning, fresh just prior to brewing. If you are looking for a great conical burr grinder, I bought the the Breville Smart Grinder Pro on Bestbuy.com. It is the perfect accompaniment to this bewer. Again, I have not owned this machine for an extended period, but my assumption would be the quality of the beans being introduced are causing your frustration.
A:AnswerYes. A about two or threee minutes after the brew cycle finishes, take the carafe off/out of the maker and set it aside. We’ve learned that there is a plunger in the lid of the carafe that is held full open when the carafe is in the unit - so the freshly brewed coffee can get into the carafe. Well, this plunger lets out all of the heat after brewing.
Also - if I know there is going to be a demand for coffee that stretches an hour or so, before I brew I like to “charge” the carafe by filling it with boiling water and setting it aside (lid on) for about 10-15 mins. Then just dump the water and brew coffee as normal. It’ll stay hot for hours.
A:AnswerThere is an option where you can set the water temp when you create a custom brew setting. The standard water temp setting for "strong" makes coffee that is definitely hot enough, and I like mine HOT.
A:AnswerA very long time if you get the thermal carafe. Also, the thermal carfe version will not keep "cooking" and destroying your perfect brew with a heat plate/warmer. Brews the coffee directly in to the carafe. No space/gap in between. Retains maximum heat. No heat loss.
A:AnswerI bought the pour over kit for this brewer. The case for the two pieces the kit holds is also meant to act as a stand, to get your coffee carafe closer to the single unit brewer.
Brewing too small of batches (i.e. single cups) with the standard setup is more problematic because of the bed depth of your grounds than the distance of the carafe to the brew basket.
