OXO On Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker Reviews

Beauty with a brain..!! Yeah.. that is what the thought I had when I first started using barista brain 9-cup oxo coffee maker. OXO is a brand well known for the durable plastic and metal kitchen utensils that they have been manufacturing for the past two decades. Now, let me take a closer look and give my fair oxo coffee maker reviews.

This brewer is one of the beautiful units to have in your kitchen and also it is SCAA certified. This coffee machine brews the perfect coffee at just a push of a button. With the intelligent microprocessor, this clever machine – OXO coffee maker is rightly called as ‘Barista brain’ in the brewer’s literature.

It looks like, Company has taken a serious consideration of SCAA, but still keeping the end user in mind. The result is the elegantly designed and easy to use which easily gives the best home coffee brewers a run for their money.

Price

The price of this OXO 9 cup coffee brewer is $149.97 at the time of writing. Of course, it is not so cheap. You may find many automatic drip coffee brewers under $100 also. But this brewer can make up to 9 cups of coffee and is SCAA certified. The price is definitely comparable to other SCAA Certified brewer with similar features.

The Coffee taste

No doubt, manual pour over method gives the best tasting coffee compared to an automatic drip brewer. But convenience is what drags us to go for automatic brewers. That is the reason I still own Mellita coffee brewer and use it occasionally.

For those pure coffee enthusiasts ( like me!) OXO has introduced this barista brain. It replicates the pour over method. The machine stops and starts a few times during the brew cycle. Initially, I thought there is a problem with the unit. But no, there is a reason behind it..! The rainmaker shower head of this coffee brewer disperses water over the grounds at regular intervals. This is to let the coffee bloom. It is similar to the way I was pouring water in case of my previous manual drip brewer. Since the water is evenly dispersed over the coffee grounds for uniform saturation and flavor is fully extracted.

As rightly called barista brain has got intelligent microprocessor. It controls and monitors three major things in coffee brewing – brew time, water temperature and quantity of water. These factors can make or break your coffee. Now don’t worry there are all well controlled by the microprocessor to give you the perfect coffee each time.

Few have complained about lukewarm coffee. Try preheating the carafe. That may help. Anyhow, I like thermal carafe over glass carafe with hot plate design.

This barista brain is a simple machine with an elegant design. Brew basket shape is one of the features that OXO have planned well. The cone-shaped basket ensures that the grounds bed is sized for full flavor extraction no matter whether you’re making 2 cups or 9 cups of coffee.

The water tank has markings that are easy to read and a large target area that is easy to pour water into. You can’t use the thermal carafe to measure the water to pour into the tank since it’s not transparent and the water tank is not removable also. For this feature, I like the other model of barista brain 12 cup coffee brewer that comes with a removable kettle. Good customer understanding and a good design team.

However, there is a clear feeding tube in the center of the water tank. You can see if there is any mineral build-up, so you can run a manual descaling cycle.

I personally like thermal carafe over the glass ones. It is a simple logic that the coffee brewed first which is stronger in taste and aroma sits in the bottom of the carafe. Keeping that in mind, the company has designed thermal carafe with the internal mixing tube. For me, it is not a ‘must have’ feature. A quick slosh of the carafe should take care of that.

In the case of Bonavita, there always remain a few ounces of coffee in the carafe. But that is not the case here; the coffee can be poured without any fuss. There is a tiny door that seals when the pot is at rest.

Ease of use

This drip coffee brewer is made for those coffee lovers who want their coffee to be waiting for them when they get up. If you have the [good] habit of waking up at the same time and coffee is the first thing you want each morning then the programmable auto start option will be of great help.

Just tell your brewer what time you need your coffee to be brewed, it will never forget. Unless you forget to add water to the reservoir of course.!!!

There is a dial featuring a single push button in the center. You can select 2 to 4 cups or 5 to 9 cups and push the button.

The coffee cup icon [as seen in the picture] lights up on the LED display once the brewing is done. A count-up timer starts so that you know how long the coffee is been waiting for you in the carafe. The timer goes for 1 hour.

Brew time

The cycle does run exactly as described. A small amount of hot water is dispensed to soak the grounds, then after a short pause, it continues on with brewing. Totally it takes 6-7 minutes for a full pot. You have a programmable auto start option. So the longer brew cycle may not bother if you set the timer. It obediently makes coffee for you by the time you get up!

 Durability

The unit is mainly made up of plastic and steel. Overall the unit looks sturdy. Since I am using it for a shorter time can’t comment much on its durability.

Appearance

The visual aesthetics are great. It has a clean modern look and the unit is well finished. The clear water tank and the stainless steel body look great in the kitchen. Definitely, puts on a show when it is making a pot of coffee! This brewer is a bit too tall to operate at the back of the counter, under the cabinets. You need to pull the unit forward to fill or to clean. I even liked the classic look of its thermal carafe.

Technical Specifications

Product dimension	6.7 x 14.2 x 15.2 inches
Weight	7.7 pounds
Manufacturer	OXO
Origin	China
Unit includes	Coffee Brewer, thermal carafe, carafe lid with internal mixing tube
Material	Stainless steel and plastic

Pros

• SCAA certified.
• Intelligent Microprocessor.
• Programmable Auto-Start.
• Freshness counter.
• Intuitive LED Interface.
• Rainmaker 7 hole Showerhead.
• Carafe lid with Internal Mixing tube.
• Indicator to tell you when cleaning is needed.
• Cone-shaped brew basket.

Cons

• The water tank is not removable.

Should You Buy Barista Brain OXO Coffee Maker?

So you still thinking about whether to buy this coffee brewer or not? Ok, let us help you.

OXO on Barista Brain is one of the SCAA certified brewers that makes the quality of the coffee. It is available in both 9 cups and 12 cup version. Using this brewer we can make hot and rich coffee. No doubt in that. Carafe design is good and it retains the coffee temperature. Brew cycle is a bit longer. It may not bother you if you use the programmable auto start option.

Appearance is good. It is an elegantly designed machine that looks beautiful in your kitchen. The machine is a bit taller. However, if you have enough space in your kitchen then, the machine’s height should not be your concern.