Walter The Coffee G.
Posted
Mr. Coffee 12 cup # BVMC-JWX31
This review is on the Mr. Coffee 12 cup programmable coffee maker with Strong Brew model #BVMC-JWX31. Mr. Coffee is the undisputed leader and go to coffee maker manufacturer for the under $50.00 crowd for a lot of good reasons. They are stylish and contemporary looking and usually come with the features that most desire. They are also very durable well made units. But because they are manufactured to meet a certain price point there are some areas where they fall short like the inability to brew a decent cup of coffee. The BVMC-JWX31 is no different. But all is not lost. Lets first go over what this brewer does have going for it. It is a 12 cup brewer with a glass carafe. The carafe has a removable flip up lid and is easy to clean. It pours fast and is drip free. The brewer itself has many features. It is programmable to auto brew 24 hours in advance. The clock on this unit is accurate but is not back lit which can make setting the clock somewhat of a challenge. This brewer has an automated clean cycle. It will alert you when it is time to clean and de-scale. There is a custom brew setting either regular or bold. Automatic shutoff is default at 2 hours and can not be changed. The is also a end of brew cycle alarm of three beeps. This can not be shut off. This brewer is made mainly of plastic with some bright metal trim, the plastic parts that come in contact with water and coffee are BPA free. The filter basket is made for an 8-12 cup flat bottom paper filter. The filter basket also houses the automated shut off valve for the Sneek-a- cup feature. The filter basket will also accommodate the optional Mr. Coffee activated carbon water filter. This brewer is compact and is perfect if count space is limited. Lifting the lid on the top of the coffee maker will expose the filter basket, the shower head and the water reservoir. There is a window on the right side to gauge the amount of water in the reservoir. This brewer does not have a 1-4 cup small batch brew cycle but I think when brewing a small batch if you activate the bold setting I believe you can replicate that setting. You may be thinking well this seems like a pretty good coffee maker, and you would be right however this brewer and most of the Mr. Coffee line of coffee brewers have a few draw backs that keep them from being really great coffee makers, but all is not lost. There are two main problems the first is the shower head, the second is the brew temperature. Fix these two areas and you can turn your Mr. Coffee maker into a great brewer. The price point at which these coffee makers are sold at limits the quality of the parts going into them. There just isn't enough left in the budget to put in a decent shower head or water boiler. There are two simple fixes first on the shower head. It just dumps water in one spot causing channeling. Most of the time all of the coffee grounds are not being touched by water causing both over and under extraction of the coffee grounds. The fix for this is to use the optional carbon water filter. This filter sits on top if the coffee filter basket and will disperse the water more evenly over the coffee grinds. But first you must check to see if it is compatible with the filter basket in your brewer. Look at the bottom of the plastic coffee filter basket, if there is a water droplet embossed in the basket it is compatible with the carbon water filter. To address the second problem is even more simple. This coffee maker as with most Mr. Coffee coffee makers is not capable of getting the water hot enough to extract all of the goodness in you coffee grounds. At best it can manage about 180° Fahrenheit. You need you water temp to be at least 195°. So what you need to do is to give the boiler some help by starting off with hot water. By using 120° hot tap water you can give the boiler the edge it needs to push the brewing water over 190° initially and eventually 195° about four cups into the brewing cycle instead of it fighting to heat cold or room temperature water. Add that to the carbon water filter and you can turn this Mr. Coffee brewer into a pretty good machine. This coffee maker is available from Amazon and several brick and mortar stores like Best Buy. So who is this coffee maker for? Anyone who is on a serious budget or someone with limited counter space. By doing the simple modification I mentioned you can turn this coffee maker into a respectable coffee machine worthy of your prized coffee beans. Please read my other reviews and give them a thumbs up