Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew Thermal Coffeemaker 10 cup BVMC-PSTX91
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew Thermal Coffeemaker makes pretty good coffee with a thermal decanter to keep the coffee hot and has a simple built in filter on the basket assembly.
Ease of Use/Performance: 18/25
Convenience/Storage 20/25
Appearance/Design 20/25
How much I enjoy 20/25
Total: 78/100
I love coffee, I have for some time but since reviewing products I have received a new appreciation for the brewing and various differences in coffee, coffee makers and even coffee beans themselves. Your typical home brewing machine, the ten cup coffee maker is no longer the simple hot water pouring through a filter holding coffee grounds.
While you can still buy these simple machines that have the common and commonly breakable glass decanter for the very low cost of $20 a good coffee maker will cost more. You can get all kinds of features including a thermal decanter(non breakable), delay brewing for fresh coffee first thing in the morning and even grinders on the coffee maker.
The best coffee makers don't always cost a lot and for everyday home use for that one pot of coffee or so a day a good intermediate price of $50 to $100 is common. Looking at Consumer Reports there are really good high rated coffee makers for $40 and $110 so the price is not always an indicator of quality.
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew PSTX91 that I received has a score of 76 at Consumer Reports and I do have to agree with them with a score very close at 78. I had no problems setting up and starting to brew coffee with both paper filters and a brass and plastic basket that I had from a previous coffee maker.
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew comes with the machine, a thermal decanter, brew basket drawer, removable water reservoir, a water filter and instructions. The water filter is a small disk that sits on top of the brew basket and filters water after it goes through the machine and before it goes through the basket of grounds.
The water reservoir has a valve on the bottom that holds water in until it is seated on the machine, this is a common way to have a removable water reservoir on coffee machines and even humidifiers. The water goes into the machine and is heated inside which makes it go up to the top above the drawer and down through the basket in the drawer.
The drawer sits above the decanter and inside the machine is a double system that stops water going through the machine if no decanter is on the device. A small valve at the bottom of the basket closes and stops coffee from going through the drawer but it would still be brewing in other machines.
There is also an internal switch controlled by a magnet that stops the brewing cycle until the decanter is placed back on the machine. If the decanter is removed to pour a cup of coffee or forgotten to be placed on after setup the machine not only stops the water from going through but also stops the brewing process.
The top of the basket drawer has a red indicator slide that has a year and month marked out along the slide so you can place the mark on what month you put your filter in to know when to change it. The filters cost about $1.50 each and can be purchased at a lot of online and local stores such as Wal-Mart.
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew uses the common basket paper filters or the gold tone, brass filter basket you can also buy at Wal-Mart or many other places both online and in stores. These brass baskets make brewing coffee very easy as there is less mess than with the paper filters, just dump grounds in your compost bin and rinse out the basket.
One complaint I do have about using the Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew is the cleanup that the basket drawer sometimes requires. The drawer does a great job as a side installed basket but it does get a bit dirty, especially if you use a lot of grounds.
The basket goes into the drawer which slides into the side of the coffee maker and water flows through it to brew your coffee but the top of the drawer can get grounds on it. I think the insides of the drawer get so many grounds splashed around because the coffee maker brews the coffee faster than other machines.
If you fill the basket with too much coffee the grounds will splash around and end up on top and around the filter and the top holder that holds the filter in place. All this means is that you need to rinse off the drawer and the filter when you are done brewing or before the next brewing in order to clean the basket and drawer.
The plastic of the drawer does not attract the moist grounds but the plastic of the grey filter holder does somewhat. Cleaning and rinsing the drawer is easy with hot water and if needed a quick scrub with a cleaning brush will be all that is needed.
Cleaning the rest of the machine is also easy and a simple wipe off with a clean wet rag is about the most you have to do. Once in awhile you will have to clean and decalcify the machine which is simple with vinegar or a decalcifying agent.
The Optimal Brew has a clean cycle along with the delay brew to pause the brewing until later such as for that fresh pot of coffee right when you come down in the morning. Using the delay brew is as simple as setting the clock and then setting the time you want to machine to start brewing and of course putting water and grounds in the coffee machine.
I had no problems setting the delay brew, actually I had no problems at all with the machine other than using a little too much coffee that created a little extra cleanup. One other thing that I know has an effect on coffee taste is using fresh ground coffee instead of that ground stuff.
Using fresh ground coffee even from a inexpensive grinder will taste much better than the cans of coffee that is already ground. A good grinder can cost from $50 to $100 and you will really appreciate the taste and flavor of fresh ground coffee.
If you want the best coffee you can with a home brewing machine like the Optimal Brew try a fresh roast coffee and fresh ground beans right into your coffee maker. You can buy fresh roast coffee at local coffee shops like the Dunn Bros Coffee stores throughout the Midwest.
The Optimal Brew machine worked very well and other than a little extra cleanup I found the machine worked as good as other machines I have owned in this price range. The coffee tasted pretty good, I do drink stronger coffee and this is probably why I have the problem of a little extra splashing inside the basket area.
I use a bit more coffee grounds than some may and I think the Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew machine made good coffee that is hot and stays that way for about half the day. I have been using the machine for the last two months almost everyday so it has gotten a good workout.
The Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew machine has seen plenty of use and I have been very pleased with the taste of the coffee from it and daily use is easy. I highly recommend the Mr. Coffee Optimal Brew Thermal Coffeemaker as a great daily coffee machine for home use.