mbbrew wrote:One thing I don't understand about the Ratio 8 and a lot of high end coffee makers is the lack of temperature control. I have coffees that taste best at 99C and coffees that taste best at 82C. Why can't a $500 machine offer something that should be a fundamental brew control. I do like the coffee I have gotten using the Hario Drip Assist which basically turns your kettle into a showerhead, so I would think an automated machine could make better coffee than most with a kettle, but not include this?

It's a good point, but it looks like they've gone for simplicity over variables. It's fine if you understand the difference and want to have that control, but if you just want reasonable coffee from a single-button interface then you have to give up the options. The Apple School of Design I suppose.

I believe the Behmor Brazen allows that temperature control.

I have been using a Bunn Heat n Brew for the last few days, and am liking it. I also have a Ratio six and a Ratio 8, along with Breville Preciosion Brew and have owned a Brazen, a Bonavita, a Technivorm, and the usual cheap-o suspects in the more diatant past.

I have not found an 'automatic' brewer that makes a cup that tastes as good as my Kalita pour-over, even with minimal technique aplied (the Breville lets you put a dripper 'under' it, but it does not duplicate the manual pourtover flavor.

That said, I drink a 40 oz pot of coffee in the morning, and do not have the time to make multiple pour-overs (or the pateience or motivation). And, in spite of the fact that I do not like super-hot food/beverages, even pre-heating/warming thermal carafes on these coffee makers, they get tepid much too quickly.. The Bunn uses a glass carafe and a warming plate, but I drink the brew quickly enough that it does not 'bake' on the warming plate. The Bunn produces a consitently 'sweet' brew, perhaps because of the flat basket(?), but I can still easily taste the differences between the single-origins I raost. They are more bodied than twangy, but I enjoy it very much. The Ratios brew well, but imho the carafes are not that great, making the work flow far more complex.

Where is the line between complexity of work flow being justified by the extra quality in the cup? I weigh the beans and the water, and use water from my 3-cannister under-sink fiilter. Home-roasted beans, and dedicated grinders for brew and espresso.

We owned both the Ratio 8 and Ratio 6 at the same time and ended up sending the Ratio 8 back since you can use their large glass carafe with both brewers. It's cool that you can do a Cone shaped/Chemex style brew and a flat bottom brew with the Ratio 6.

When we use the glass carafe we do a gentle stir during the brew phase and a 180 degree turn as Tom stated above. With the flat bottomed basket, it benefits from a gentle spin during the brew phase. We only do 4 cups and higher with this brewer. We still prefer manual pour overs, but have been doing them a lot less since we got the Ratio. Not a fan of the lid for the carafe (it leaks a lot). Hopefully they fix this soon.

fzman wrote:...in spite of the fact that I do not like super-hot food/beverages, even pre-heating/warming thermal carafes on these coffee makers, they get tepid much too quickly.

This is a bit of a show-stopper. I'm the only one drinking coffee here, so was planning to make half pots on the Ratio 8. As much as I don't much like the thin plastic of the Cup-One, I do appreciate the thermal qualities and was wondering if the ceramic of the Ratio 8, and the metal carafe, were going to be a heat issue. Sounds like they are and I won't be getting hot coffee two hours after I made it, especially with the a half pot. Boo.

I raised this in another post (sorry admins, if this is considered too much spam please delete this post) - anyone know much about Gevi as a brand?

I too was looking an a semi-automated brewer for pour over, I looked at the Ratio but then came across/saw all the FB ads for the new Gevi brewer (currently on crowdfunding). It seems to do what the Ratio does but with a LOT more customisation/programming available. But as it's not for sale yet the only 'reviews' are from people given a freebie so who knows how trustworthy they are? It seems like for the price the Gevi is a no brainer over the Ratio just for the programmability of it all, but a lot comes down to how well it pours.

Shojin wrote:This is a bit of a show-stopper. I'm the only one drinking coffee here, so was planning to make half pots on the Ratio 8. As much as I don't much like the thin plastic of the Cup-One, I do appreciate the thermal qualities and was wondering if the ceramic of the Ratio 8, and the metal carafe, were going to be a heat issue. Sounds like they are and I won't be getting hot coffee two hours after I made it, especially with the a half pot. Boo.

Im the only drip coffee consumer in my house as well. I often put my brews directly into an insulated Thermos carafe after brewing so I can take my time and enjoy it hot over a long period of time. It pours nicer too. I've also tapped a ferrous metal washer to the underside of the Thermos and occasionally brew directly into it with a flat bottom dripper.

TomC wrote: Im the only drip coffee consumer in my house as well. I often put my brews directly into an insulated Thermos carafe after brewing so I can take my time and enjoy it hot over a long period of time. It pours nicer too. I've also tapped a ferrous metal washer to the underside of the Thermos and occasionally brew directly into it with a flat bottom dripper.

That's one idea I guess, but more bits and pieces to clean up.

I'm sticking with the Cup-One for now. I dialed down the ratio a bit after discovering Technivorm recommends 1:18 rather than the 1:16.6 that I was using and that is an improvement. I might get a Hario Switch at some point, but so far my experiments in manual pourover using the Cup-One filter and cone have been not consistently better than just using the machine.