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The Bunn Trifecta MB was released midyear to huge fanfare and lots of great reviews. In early October 2012, it was awarded the Best New Product award at the 2012 World Tea East — quite a feather in Bunn’s cap, but far from the only accolades the company has received for the innovative single cup coffee brewer.
Overall, the coffee world is absolutely wowed by the quality and flavor of the coffee brewed in the Bunn Trifecta MB, and you’d be hard-pressed to find even a single detractor.
In fact, few reviewers were even put off by the pricey MSRP of $549 — not bad for an espresso machine but a bit steep for a home coffee machine that makes brewed coffee. Is the Bunn Trifecta MB worth the price tag? Here’s how it stacks up.
Specs for the Trifecta MB
The Trifecta stands about 18 inches high with the top chamber open, which means it will fit comfortably on the counter beneath most cabinets. The frame is die-cast metal and the front and back housing is ABS plastic. The brew chamber is made of the same high performance plastic as the commercial Trifecta, according to Bunn, and the hot water tank is made of stainless steel.
The brewer does have a 3-prong grounded cord set and Bunn recommends that you avoid operating the Trifecta on the same outlet as other appliances, so take that into consideration when deciding where your Bunn Trifecta MB will live.
The Trifecta MB Difference
The Bunn Trifecta MB (which presumably stands for MicroBrew) is based on Bunn’s commercial Trifecta unit. The big selling point for the Trifecta is Bunn’s patented Air Infusion technology, which introduces air turbulence into the brewing chamber to keep the coffee grinds in constant motion during the brewing time. The machine allows you to set 5 different Turbulence Cycles and 5 different infusion times, in addition to choosing a 6-oz or 12-oz cup of coffee or tea. Additionally, the Bunn trifecta MB uses air to press the coffee out of the brewing chamber and into your cup.
Unboxing and Set Up
The Trifecta MB is packaged with the attention to care you’d expect for high-quality machinery. It comes with two brewing chambers, a digital scale and a glass measuring beaker along with the requisite manual and the Trifecta unit. There’s even a quick setup guide for people who are too impatient to go through the whole manual — but you won’t even need it. Setting up is pretty self-evident. The Bunn Trifecta MB was set up and ready to brew in less than 5 minutes.
Observations: Everything slides and snaps into place exactly as it should. You don’t have to guess if the brewer is seated properly — you’ll feel it snap into place.
Brewing with the Bunn Trifecta MB
All the talk about the Bunn and 25 different settings and precise adjustments can be a little intimidating until you actually step up to the machine to brew a cup. It couldn’t be any easier — and Bunn even kindly provides a Brewing Guide with recommended settings for various coffee varieties to make it even easier.
To brew, you unlatch the top of the brewing chamber, add measured coffee and latch it back into place. Fill the water reservoir with 6 or 12 ounces of water and put it back in place. (You can fill it in place if you choose. In that case, you don’t have to put it back in place.) Put your cup or the brew pitcher on the brewing platform. Set the Turbulence Cycle and the Infusion Time, press the Brew button and sit back to watch — and you do want to watch. It can be almost as hypnotic as watching coffee well up in a stovetop Moka pot.
Flavor Profiles
Okay. On to the important part: how is the coffee? To quote a friend who was one of the first Bunn Trifecta MB reviewers, “Someone please tell me how to make a bad cup of coffee!”
The real beauty of the Trifecta is the ability to customize your brew settings to suit your coffee and your taste. As noted, Bunn very kindly includes a Brewing Guide to help you determine the best settings for each kind of coffee you enjoy. You should absolutely experiment, though, and find settings that suit your tastes
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