REASONS TO BUY
High brew quality
Sleek design
Mess-free pouring
REASONS TO AVOID
Tall
Small carafe handle
Water backsplash while filling
BUNN Heat N' Brew Programmable Review
This model offers great brew quality; however, its additional height may pose a challenge fitting it between your countertop and cabinets
Using industry-standard water temperatures and a highly-effective spray nozzle, the Bunn Heat N' Brew will make you one delicious cup.
Credit: Laura Casner
RELATED: Best Drip Coffee Makers of 2024
Our Verdict
The Bunn Heat N' Brew Programmable is one of the best coffee makers for anyone looking to brew a pot of coffee with exceptional cup quality. It reaches the industry standards for brew temperature allowing this coffee maker to produce a highly flavorful pot of your favorite bean. With no backsplash, the sleek design allows for easy cleaning. The Heat N' Brew also provides some programmable features that allow you to wake up to freshly brewed coffee. And if you want to sleep in, the hot plate will keep your coffee warm while you hit snooze.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Bunn Heat N' Brew Programmable makes a great quality coffee. More than anything else, the high water temperature of this brewer allows the Heat N' Brew to produce an excellent tasting cup.
Performance Comparison
Credit: Laura Casner
Brew Quality
The Bunn Heat N' Brew Programmable brews excellent quality coffee. This powerful brewer reaches industry recommendations for brew temperature and the effective spray head helps facilitate superior-tasting coffee. Precise water temperature and even saturation is essential for brewing great coffee, and the Heat N' Brew excels in this metric.
The Bunn Heat N' Brew excels at reaching industry standards for proper brew temperature.
Credit: Laura Casner
Another key element in making properly brewed coffee is water distribution. The Heat N' Brew did incredibly well at evenly distributing water across the grounds. Good water distribution gives the coffee a better chance of evenly saturating and creates better-tasting coffee.
User Friendliness
The Bunn Heat N' Brew was not as user-friendly as we had hoped. The Bunn reaches proper brew temperatures but at an alarmingly slow rate. This brewer takes five and a half minutes to heat before brewing starts. If you are looking for the quickest cup of coffee possible, we again recommend looking at other models in our review.
The brew button on the Heat N' Brew is the largest and most prominent feature on the brewer, making it easy to find, even before you put on your glasses. Increasing its visibility, the brew button is backlit. Bunn offers a separate button for an autostart feature. Autostart is intuitive to use, and you can even customize your desired brew times under this setting.
The brew button is the most prominent feature on the Bunn Heat N' Brew's interface.
Credit: Laura Casner
The carafe on the Heat N' Brew may pose a challenge to some. The handle on the carafe has a built-in spout, making for a clean pour. Measurement on the outside of the carafe makes it easy to fill to your precise needs. Unfortunately, the small design of the carafe handle is limiting for anyone with larger hands.
The handle on the Heat N' Brew carafe is surprisingly small.
Credit: Laura Casner
Filling the water tank also proved to be challenging. The plastic grate over the reservoir's opening causes some backsplash when filling the water tank.
This grate over the water tank causes some water backsplash when filling the reservoir.
Credit: Laura Casner
Ease of Cleaning
The Heat N' Brew was quite easy to clean in most respects. The brew basket and carafe are entirely removable and dishwasher safe. The open design and absence of a backsplash make the Heat N' Brew easy to clean. There were no signs of coffee drips on the hot plate during testing.
The Heat N' Brew is designed for easy cleaning without a backsplash.
Credit: Laura Casner
An extra-large handle on the brew basket makes it easy to pull out and dump out grounds with one hand. We just wish the carafe handle was this convenient.
The large handle on the brew basket allows you to dump grounds easily with one hand.
Credit: Laura Casner
Consistency
This coffee maker could have been more consistent. In this metric, we brewed five back-to-back pots of coffee and analyzed the results. We found that the Bunn Heat N' Brew struggled to keep temperature consistency in back-to-back brewing. From the first pot to the fifth, the brew temperature significantly fluctuated by three degrees.
The Heat N' Brew takes five and a half minutes to heat before a single drop of coffee comes out. Once the coffee noticeably stops brewing, it takes another two minutes for the LCD to register that the brew cycle has completed.
The Heat N' Brew takes additional time to reach temperature before brewing, giving you some extra time to prep your coffee.
Credit: Laura Casner
Value
The Heat N' Brew meets industry standards for brewing temperate at a reasonable price. This brewer matches the ability to reach the proper temperature at a third of the price compared to some of the higher-end models in our best drip coffee maker review. This brewer is a great option for those looking to brew a larger batch of coffee at a price that won't break the bank.
A beautiful design that produces quality coffee.
Credit: Laura Casner
Conclusion
Above all else, the Bunn Heat N'Brew brews excellent coffee through proper brew temperatures and effective water distribution. In order to reach the industry-standard brew temperature between 195-205 degrees, this brewer takes an additional five and a half minutes before brewing. This model is a great option for anyone who has the extra time to spend on quality brewed coffee.
—
Liz Nelson
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