Bonavita Coffee Maker Review: Is the Connoisseur Worth It?

Hi, Sam here, writing between the morning rush and lunch. The Bonavita Connoisseur is an 8-cup drip coffee maker with a 1500-watt heater, a showerhead and a thermal carafe. The BV1901TS costs about $190 and runs on one button. The Specialty Coffee Association certifies it as a home brewer.

Many shops use the Technivorm Moccamaster, and I know the model well. CNET measured about 20 percent extraction and a brew time of 6 minutes 25 seconds. CNET found the $299 Moccamaster does not brew any better than the Connoisseur. The carafe held coffee above 150°F (66°C) for 3 hours 31 minutes.

The Connoisseur has no timer, no drip stop and a one-year warranty. The carafe pours badly and cannot sit on the machine with its lid on. Consumer Reports rated brew performance below its own guideline. Nobody else wrote or paid for this review.

What Is the Bonavita Connoisseur 8-Cup Coffee Maker?

The Bonavita Connoisseur 8-Cup Coffee Maker is a one-button drip brewer with a 1500-watt heater and thermal carafe. The model number is BV1901TS. It has no timer and no hot plate. The brewer targets people who want a full pot made properly.

The BV1901TS is the newer Connoisseur and follows the BV1900TS. It keeps the same $190 price as the BV1900TS. The filter basket now slides into its own slot instead of resting on top of the carafe. That change makes the brewer easier to use than its predecessor.

The round switch is the only control. The light glows red while the machine brews. When the pot is done, the brewer double-beeps and shuts itself off. Holding the switch for five seconds turns on pre-infusion.

The Specialty Coffee Association certifies the Connoisseur as a home brewer. Gear Patrol counts 26 certified models and calls the Connoisseur one of the most affordable.

Who Makes the Bonavita Connoisseur?

Bonavita makes the Connoisseur and sells it through its own web store. Earlier Bonavita brewers were designed by a German company and built in China. The Technivorm Moccamaster, a rival, is built in the Netherlands.

Bonavita moved to direct-to-consumer sales after distributor and ownership changes. Because of that move, the brand sells the Connoisseur on bonavitabrand.co. It also sells refurbished units there as ReVita.

Bonavita makes three SCA certified drip brewers:

BV1900TS: This model is SCA certified.
BV1900TD: This model is SCA certified.
Connoisseur: This model is SCA certified.

Other models, such as the BV1901GW and the Metropolitan with glass carafes, are not certified.

How Big Is the Bonavita Connoisseur?

The Bonavita Connoisseur is big enough to brew eight 5-ounce cups, or 40 ounces (1.2 liters). Consumer Reports measured 43 ounces (1.27 liters). The brewer stands 12.2 inches (31 cm) tall, 12.4 inches (31.5 cm) long and 6.8 inches (17.3 cm) wide.

The Connoisseur weighs about 6 pounds (2.7 kg) empty, by most retailer listings.

Connoisseur Specs:

Spec	Value
Tank capacity	40 ounces (1.2 liters)
Heater	1500 watts
Size	12.4 x 6.8 x 12.2 inches (31.5 x 17.3 x 31 cm)
Weight	About 6 pounds (2.7 kg)
Filter	Flat-bottom basket, 8 to 12 cup
Warranty	One year, limited

Bonavita counts one cup as 5 ounces (152 ml), not 8 ounces (237 ml). A mug that holds 10 ounces (296 ml) takes about two Bonavita cups. The maker advises brewing 6 to 8 cups at a time.

The Connoisseur takes standard 8 to 12 cup flat-bottom basket filters. A basket filter costs about 1 cent. A #4 cone filter, used by the Moccamaster, costs about 3.5 cents.

How Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Brew Coffee?

The Bonavita Connoisseur brews coffee with a 1500-watt heater that targets 195-205°F (91-96°C). A showerhead then spreads the hot water over a flat-bottom filter basket. The brewer fills the carafe in a single automatic cycle.

The showerhead replaces the single stream of water that cheaper brewers use. Gear Patrol notes the spray reaches the grounds evenly. Seattle Coffee Gear checked the basket mid-brew on a Bonavita 8-cup and saw even saturation.

The basket hangs in its own slot, so the carafe is not the only thing that fits below it. A mug or travel cup fits under the basket in place of the carafe. This change from the older design lets the brewer fill a single cup.

The Connoisseur also leaves out several features. It has no timer, no program and no temperature control. It has no small-batch setting and no drip stop. Its power button is spring-loaded, so a plug-in timer switch cannot start it.

Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Hold the Right Brew Temperature?

Yes. The Bonavita Connoisseur holds a steady brew temperature once the first minutes pass. CNET read 194.6 degrees Fahrenheit (90.3 degrees Celsius) inside the grounds by minute 2. After minute 3 the reading never moved more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 degrees Celsius).

The first minute starts cooler. CNET logged an average of 147.9 degrees Fahrenheit (64.4 degrees Celsius) in the grounds during minute 1. The water heats the basket and the grounds before the brew reaches the target range.

CNET Lab Readings:

Measure	Reading
Grounds at minute 1	147.9°F (64.4°C)
Grounds at minute 2	194.6°F (90.3°C)
Swing after minute 3	Under 4°F (2.2°C)
TDS, three runs	1.3, 1.3 and 1.4 percent
Extraction	About 20 percent

CNET's refractometer returned 1.3, 1.3 and 1.4 percent TDS across three runs. That works out to about 20 percent extraction. The accepted range is 18 to 22 percent.

Consumer Reports reached a different result. The lab said brew performance fell short of the 195°F (90.6°C) guideline held for five or six minutes. The two labs disagree on this point.

How Long Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Take to Brew?

The Bonavita Connoisseur takes about 6 minutes 25 seconds to brew a full pot. CNET timed test pots with 40 ounces (1.2 liters) of water and 2.3 ounces (66 grams) of medium ground coffee. Active brewing ended near 5 minutes 30 seconds.

The Specialty Coffee Association recommends 8 minutes or less for drip coffee. The Connoisseur finishes well inside that limit. Bonavita advertises as little as six minutes for a full carafe.

Other brewers give a fair comparison. The Moccamaster KBT 741 finished in 5 minutes 45 seconds. The older BV1900TS took 6 minutes or less. The Connoisseur runs slower than both, but it still stays well under the limit.

The earlier Bonavita started brewing about 30 to 60 seconds after the switch was pressed. The Connoisseur shuts itself off when the pot is done.

What Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Pre-Infusion Mode Do?

The Bonavita Connoisseur pre-infusion mode wets the grounds before the main brew starts. J.D. Roastery compares it to the bloom step in pour over. The pause lets gas escape from fresh coffee before the full flow begins.

Fresh grounds hold gas left over from roasting. CNET says pre-soaking removes excess CO2 from fresh grounds. Freshly roasted beans hold the most gas, so they gain the most from the step.

Coffee roasted six months ago gains little from pre-infusion, J.D. Roastery reports. Old beans have less gas to release, so the pause does little for them.

Holding the power button for five seconds turns the mode on. The brewer gives two beeps and the light flashes. The light keeps flashing during the brew. A solid light means the mode is off.

The setting stays on until the brewer is unplugged.

Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Make Good Coffee?

Yes. The Bonavita Connoisseur makes very good coffee for the price. CNET gave it an 8.6 score and an Editors' Choice award. The reviewer called the pots delicious every time, with depth of flavor and no bitterness.

CNET tasted chocolate and cinnamon notes from a Costco bean. Gear Patrol found a consistently better-tasting brew than a $15 Mr. Coffee.

Clean flavor is the Connoisseur's strength. The Worktop found a clean cup every time on an earlier Bonavita 8-cup brewer. The reviewer called it more consistent than V60 hand brewing.

The result depends on dose. Bonavita suggests 10 grams of coffee per 5-ounce cup, or 60 grams for 0.91 liters (31 ounces). CNET used 66 grams for 1.2 liters (40 ounces).

The two doses are different strengths. Bonavita's dose works out to about 66 grams per liter. CNET's 66 grams in 1.2 liters is about 55 grams per liter, so the maker's dose brews a stronger cup.

Bonavita's own store shows 4.8 of 5 from 281 reviews.

Is the Bonavita Connoisseur SCA Certified?

Yes. The Bonavita Connoisseur is an SCA Certified Home Brewer. The Specialty Coffee Association tests water temperature, brew time and extraction. A certified machine brews within the Golden Cup limits.

Gear Patrol counts 26 certified home brewers. The Connoisseur is one of the cheapest on that list. Seattle Coffee Gear gives the certified brewing range as 197.6 to 204.8 degrees Fahrenheit (92 to 96 degrees Celsius).

Three Bonavita drip brewers carry the certification: the BV1900TS, the BV1900TD and the Connoisseur.

The Golden Cup Standard sets water contact at 197-205°F (92-96°C) for about 4 to 8 minutes. It targets 18 to 22 percent extraction and 1.15 to 1.35 percent TDS. CNET's TDS runs of 1.3, 1.3 and 1.4 percent sit at the top of that range. The last run lands just above it.

Consumer Reports rated the Connoisseur's brew performance below its own 195 degrees Fahrenheit (90.6 degrees Celsius) guideline. The certification and that single lab result do not match.

What Are the Problems With the Bonavita Connoisseur?

The Bonavita Connoisseur has one main problem, a carafe that fits badly and pours poorly. The carafe does not fit on the machine with its lid on. It also pours badly without the lid. Gear Patrol calls the quirk maddening.

The basket has no drip stop. Rinsing the filter or tipping out the grounds drips onto the counter. An empty mug under the basket catches the drips until they stop.

The brewer has no small-batch setting, and Bonavita advises brewing 6 to 8 cups. The warranty lasts one year.

Main Problems:

Carafe does not fit on the machine with its lid on
Carafe pours badly without the lid
No drip stop on the basket
No timer or program
No small-batch setting
One-year warranty

The brewer cannot be programmed. It runs 8 cups of 5 ounces (40 ounces or 1.2 liters) at most. That is about four 10-ounce (296 ml) mugs, so a bigger household needs a second pot.

CNET rates the design plain next to a Technivorm. The stainless body and black plastic trim blend into modern kitchens.

A warranty claim can end in a free replacement. A replacement can also take nearly 2 weeks to arrive.

Why Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Carafe Pour Badly?

The Bonavita Connoisseur carafe pours badly because it has no true spout. CNET found it pours like the old carafe. Pouring too fast, too slow or at a tilt spills coffee. The lid can come off, so the carafe can pour without it.

The design also traps some coffee inside. The last liquid never leaves the carafe. Seattle Coffee Gear measured 0.75 ounces (22 ml) left behind on an earlier Bonavita carafe.

Tilting the carafe about 45 degrees gets most of that last coffee out. Drying the inside with a cloth after washing removes the rest.

The lid creates a second issue. The carafe cannot sit under the basket with its lid on. The lid waits on the counter while the pot brews. Consumer Reports rated carafe handling as fairly easy.

Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Carafe Keep Coffee Hot?

Yes. The Bonavita Connoisseur carafe keeps coffee hot for about 3.5 hours. CNET logged 3 hours 31 minutes before the coffee fell below 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius).

In the same test, the BV1900TS held almost 4 hours and the Moccamaster carafe held heat for 6 hours. Even so, 3.5 hours covers most mornings.

The carafe has to hold heat on its own because the brewer has no hot plate. Gear Patrol notes the base does not heat the carafe at all. The reviewer saw steam from the morning brew in the early evening.

Batch size also changes how long coffee stays hot, since a small pot cools faster. J.D. Roastery measured 178 degrees Fahrenheit (81 degrees Celsius) in the carafe after a 700 ml (24 ounce) brew.

How Do You Clean the Bonavita Connoisseur?

You clean the Bonavita Connoisseur by washing the basket, carafe lid and showerhead after each pot. All three parts are dishwasher safe and BPA free. The brewer has few parts to clean, CNET notes.

The showerhead takes extra care. Grounds lodge in the small spray holes of the earlier Bonavita showerhead, INeedCoffee found. Cleaning it takes a little extra scrubbing and rinsing.

The slide-out basket removes easily for washing. Wiping the water tank and the carafe as needed keeps the machine in order.

The carafe needs drying. Coffee pools inside the carafe after washing, so a cloth finishes the job.

How Do You Descale the Bonavita Connoisseur?

You descale the Bonavita Connoisseur with a built-in cycle started by holding the power button for ten seconds. Bonavita says to follow the directions on the descaling solution first. Then fill the reservoir to the top hash mark.

After the cycle ends, run the brewer and carafe twice with fresh cold water. The rinse clears the solution from the lines.

Descale Steps:

Follow the instructions on the descaling solution.
Fill the reservoir to the top hash mark.
Turn the brewer on and hold the power button for ten seconds.
Let the descale cycle finish.
Run the brewer and carafe twice with fresh cold water.

Descale about every 100 uses, or more often in hard water areas. Minerals build up inside the brewer in hard water and hurt brewing performance.

Bonavita sells its own Descaling Solution and 100-count unbleached flat-bottom filters on its web store.

How Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Compare to the Technivorm Moccamaster?

The Bonavita Connoisseur brews as well as the Technivorm Moccamaster for about $100 less. CNET lists the Moccamaster KBT 741 at $299 and the Connoisseur at $190. The reviewer calls the extra $100 hard to justify for a brewer that does not brew any better.

The KBT 741 is the Moccamaster with a double-wall stainless steel thermal carafe and no hot plate. That makes it the fair match for the Connoisseur. Technivorm says its current models are SCA certified, so both brewers pass the same test.

The Moccamaster is faster and keeps coffee hot longer. It brewed in 5 minutes 45 seconds and held heat for 6 hours. The Connoisseur took 6 minutes 25 seconds and held heat for 3 hours 31 minutes.

The Moccamaster is built better. INeedCoffee describes an all-aluminum body and a copper heating element, made in the Netherlands. Retailers list a 5-year warranty on the KBT 741. Bonavita feels plasticky and carries a shorter warranty.

The Moccamaster basket is open. It lets you see and stir the grounds and has a flow slider. The Bonavita basket is semi-closed, with no stirring. The Moccamaster uses #4 cone filters and the Connoisseur uses flat-bottom filters.

Connoisseur vs Moccamaster:

Spec	Connoisseur	Moccamaster KBT 741
Price at CNET	$190	$299
Brew time	6 min 25 sec	5 min 45 sec
Carafe heat above 150°F (66°C)	3 hr 31 min	6 hr
Filter	Flat-bottom basket	#4 cone
Warranty	1 year	5 years

Filters add a small gap. At one brew a day, flat-bottom filters at about 1 cent cost about $3.65 a year. #4 cone filters at about 3.5 cents cost about $12.78 a year.

Is the Bonavita Connoisseur Better Than the OXO Barista Brain?

No. The Bonavita Connoisseur is not better than the OXO Barista Brain on features, only on simplicity. The OXO Barista Brain 9-Cup has an auto-on timer, cup-count settings and pause and pour. The Connoisseur has one button.

The OXO drips when the carafe is pulled mid-brew, Seattle Coffee Gear found. The OXO carafe also holds heat for about an hour in that test. Both brewers are SCAA certified. Both brew at 197.6 to 204.8 degrees Fahrenheit (92 to 96 degrees Celsius).

Filter cost favors Bonavita. J.D. Roastery nearly bought the OXO Brew 8 Cup, which has the same 40 ounce (1.2 liter) capacity. Its single servings need a Kalita Wave 185 filter at 13 cents each. A standard basket filter in the Connoisseur costs about 1 cent. Over 365 brews, the gap is about $47 against about $4.

How Much Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Cost?

The Bonavita Connoisseur costs about $190 in the United States. CNET lists $190 and Gear Patrol lists $188.99. Consumer Reports lists $189.95. The price has stayed near $190 across several reviews.

A buyer who pays that price then spends very little to run the brewer. A standard basket filter costs about 1 cent, and the brewer has no pods or special parts. Bonavita sells a 100-count pack of unbleached flat-bottom filters.

The price sits at about two thirds of a Moccamaster, or $109 less at CNET's prices. Gear Patrol calls a list price just south of $200 an investment for people who only want good coffee. Other options cost only a little more.

Bonavita's store showed two units left at the time of review. The store also sells refurbished ReVita Connoisseur units.

What Warranty Does the Bonavita Connoisseur Have?

Buyers of the Bonavita Connoisseur have a one-year limited warranty. Bonavita's earlier BV1900TS and BV1900TD carried two years, so coverage on this model is shorter than on those machines.

A unit can come back as a free replacement under warranty. A replacement can also take nearly 2 weeks to arrive.

The short term matters for a $190 machine. The Technivorm Moccamaster carries five years, INeedCoffee notes. A buyer who wants a long warranty gets more from the Moccamaster, at a higher price.

Is the Bonavita Connoisseur Worth It?

Yes. The Bonavita Connoisseur is worth it for a buyer who wants simple, well-extracted drip coffee for about $190. CNET calls it the best pick for superb drip at a lower cost. Gear Patrol says better coffee is worth it, even with the carafe quirk.

The strengths are measured. Extraction lands near 20 percent. One button runs the whole brew. A full pot finishes in about 6 minutes. The carafe keeps coffee hot for more than 3 hours.

The weaknesses are real. The carafe pours badly and cannot sit on the machine with its lid on. The basket has no drip stop. The brewer has no timer. The warranty lasts one year. Consumer Reports rated brew performance below its guideline.

Pros:

Extraction near 20 percent
One-button operation
Full pot in about 6 minutes
Carafe stays hot for over 3 hours
Price near $190

Cons:

Carafe pours badly and cannot sit on the machine with its lid on
No drip stop
No timer
One-year warranty
Consumer Reports rated brew performance below its guideline

A simple rule decides it. Buy the Connoisseur if you brew a full pot most days and care about taste. Pick another brewer if you need a timer, a bigger tank or a longer warranty.

The Connoisseur earns a Yes from the coffee in the cup. A buyer who can live with the carafe gets Moccamaster-class coffee for a lot less.

Who Should Skip the Bonavita Connoisseur?

Buyers who want a coffee ready at wake-up should skip the Bonavita Connoisseur. The brewer has no timer and a plug-in timer switch cannot start it. The OXO Barista Brain offers auto-on.

Who Should Skip It:

Buyers who want coffee ready at wake-up
Large households
Pour-over tinkerers who want control
Buyers who want a long warranty or a premium build

Large households outgrow the 40 ounce (1.2 liter) tank. That holds about four 10-ounce (296 ml) mugs. A larger brewer fits those homes better.

Pour-over tinkerers get no control. The brewer has no temperature setting, no flow control and no way to stir the grounds. Pre-infusion is the only option.

Buyers who want a long warranty or a premium build look to the Moccamaster. It has an aluminum body and a five-year warranty.

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