Hi Mike

It is fairly quiet --YES. SMALL conceptual distinctions are important. The LED turns from red to white when all water has been dispensed from the tank. Do not assume this means things have ended. The ejection of the last amount of water from the dispensing head, might add another 30 seconds, give or take a few seconds. During this time, water continues to drain through the coffee bed. The time it takes for the final ejection of the water, may or may not coincide with the final drops of coffee exiting the tip of the filter. This will depend on grind coarseness, dose of coffee and maybe even water amount.

Jay

Thanks Jay---

I was using an old Krups machine for years and decided to upgrade and reduce the number of plastic parts the water contacts. I bought a Bunn BT High Velocity because it had a stainless steel water tank/ piping and received an SCAA rating, but for smaller brews....20oz or less, the brew cycle was too fast and did not provide good extraction. The brew cycle was 1min 30 sec and the coffee was weak in my opinion so I returned it. I tried several methods to increase the time of the brew cycle but to no avail. The Ottomatic seems to provide the best solution and limits the use of plastic parts, provides good saturation of the grounds and pulse spraying.

It is expensive, no doubt, but do you think the quality of the machine and the output brew is worth the price? I suppose that would be subjective opinion but I am curious

One thing I know--- there is not a perfect solution and trade offs are part of the buying process.

Thanks
Mike

For those who asked, my first attempt to post a picture.

Jay---

Based upon my description of what I am looking for , you think the Ottomatic is a worthwhile purchase?

Thanks!

I am very impressed with the Ottomatic. Locating one for purchase may not be so easy. You might want to contact Oren's Daily Roast. I have been been brewing manually with a Chemex for about four years. I have no comparative experience with other high tech brewers.

One of the problems of being an early adopter, is there are few people to have a discussion with. For example, because the water is dispensed differently then when one brews with a gooseneck kettle, some adjustment in grind size and/or ratio, may be necessary and at this time, having the necessary discussions with others regarding the Ottomatic, is difficult.

I have gotten to try the square and circle filters and I can say that both work well.

Another interesting tidbit regards pre-wetting the filters. I have had some discussions with Chemex staff with this and they apparently do not pre-wet the filter when using the Ottomatic. Early "reviews" of the Ottomatic have been little more then sales pitches. We need to have more detailed discussion regarding the Ottomatic.

On balance, I would encourage people to purchase the device. However early adopters will need to be more willing to experiment.

Jay--

Thank you for the insight. I am also very surprised that there has not been much written by actual owners of the Ottomatic. I am not sure how many were manufactured/sold in their first run, but thought more coffee afficianados would have posted their thoughts. Perhaps we will see more after the second manufacturing run.

Anyway, I will be joining you fairly soon as an owner of an Ottomatic. We can then compare notes. Glad to read that both shaped filters are easy to use, but I bet the square ones are more difficult to store due to their size.

The only big question that I have is durabilityand/or quality issues that have not been documented or even seen yet. I will certainly post any.

thanks.

Getting a well-brewed single cup of coffee from an automatic brewer does not seem easy to do, and the industry's market research must tell them not many people are interested. Until it happens, I'm sticking with my Bonavita dripper and Zojirushi water tower.

Marshall

How does your comment relate or contribute to the discussion of the Ottomatic?

Seed65. Glad you will be purchasing one. A recent NY TIMES ran a brief mention of the Ottomatic. From what I can gather, there have been two batches produced. The initial batch was in December. Chemex accepted a small number of pre-orders. The batch was largely distributed to coffee retailers and key professionals. The focus was on initial evaluation. Chemex subsequently produced a second batch. Some individual retail pre-orders were accepted. Pre-orders for that batch filled up by the end of May. I suspect most of that batch was earmarked for select retailers. The NY Times mention, noted that it is just being made available for retail sale. Oren's was allocated some number of that batch. I am sure they are not the only retailer.

Marshall

The Ottomatic has water tank markings, that correspond to about 15 fluid ounces. When you discount the water absorbed by the coffee, you can make a very good small batch. I did one small batch with about 390g of water and 27-28g (I don't remember exactly) of coffee with good results. Our mugs are 14 ounces.

I also had a great "smaller" batch at one of the Oren's Daily Roast shops. They used water to about the 15 ounce mark and about 3 scoops of coffee. We both used a 6 cup Chemex.

Jay

Seed65

Both the square and circle folders are offered pre-folded. The boxes are identical and therefore equally easy to store. Chemex also offers unfolded circle filters and unfolded "half moon" filters that can be only used with the smaller 3 cup Chemex.

If your are new to the Chemex world, then I would suggest visiting their web site to get a product overview. Feel free to private message me or email me.

Jay