My first impressions of the KitchenAid Pour Over Brewer is that while it looks great, it is quite large (10 x 13 x 15in) and is reminiscent of my milkshake maker. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make milkshakes. Only coffee here.

Specifications and Features

  • 2-8 cups of coffee (serving size selector)
  • Two temperature settings (medium or dark roast)*
  • Brew pause
  • SCAA Certified
  • Programmable

*The temperature settings are basically choosing between medium roast coffee and dark roast coffee (cooler brew temperature).

My Ratings

These are my ratings of the KitchenAid Pour Over Brewer across the 9 different rating categories I use.

Price

For an SCAA Certified coffee maker, $170 (at the time of writing) is a fair price. Having said that, it’s still more than $150 and this is definitely pricey.

Score: 3.5

The Coffee Quality

The coffee was great, which was not surprising given the SCAA Certification. The one thing that I think retracts from the coffee’s overall quality is the warming plate below the carafe, which can’t be turned off.

So just a slight reduction from a perfect score, but if you drink your coffee right after it has been brewed, you’ll get better results.

Score: 4.5

The Coffee Maker Quality

The coffee maker is mostly comprised of stainless steel and plastic. The carafe pours very well with no spills, but there is no thermal carafe option which I think is too bad.

The water flow from the showerhead is a bit unpredictable, but so is the flow from both the Brazen Plus and the BV1900, so I can’t really penalize the KitchenAid Pour Over Brewer for this. At the end of the day, all the grounds seem to be evenly saturated post-brew which is good enough for me.

Score: 4 

Ease of Use

Easier to use than the Brazen Plus, but slightly more complicated than the Bonavita BV1900.

There were a few things that I had to figure out without the manual, such as starting a new brew after another brew cycle had finished. Turns out you have to hit the “brew” button to reset the coffee maker, and then press it again to start a new brew.

Setting the brew timer was easy though, as was choosing between a medium and dark roast.

Score: 4 stars

Cleaning Ease

It’s very easy to get to the filter and brew baskets for cleaning. There is also a cleaning feature that runs water through a brew cycle. I’m not sure how exactly this setting differs from simply brewing a pot without coffee, so maybe somebody could shed some light on this for me?

In any case, everywhere but the reservoir is easy access and therefore easy to clean.

Score: 5

Durability

Of course, since I’ve only been using the KitchenAid Pour Over Brewer for a short period of time, it’s impossible to say how long it will last.

What I can say is that it’s backed by a 1 year warranty and I haven’t seen reports of the coffee maker failing amongst other reviewers yet.

I will update this review if I have any issues in the future or hear of others reporting issues, but for now, it gets a perfect score.

Score: 5 stars

Appearance

It looks great. Definitely more attractive than the Brazen Plus. The one major downside in terms of looks is how big the coffee maker is. But hey, if you have room for it you should be good to go.

Oh yeah, it’s also available in 3 different colors at the time of this review. The other SCAA Certified coffee makers (with the exception of Technivorm) only offer one color respectively.

Score: 4.5

Brew Speed

The brew speed is comparable to the Brazen Plus in that it’s pretty slow for a full pot. I tested it out and it took roughly 11 minutes for a full pot.

4 cups of coffee only took 5 and a half minutes though. To me, that’s pretty good.

In the end, there are certainly faster options, but the only one that will likely heat your water up sufficiently that brews faster is the Bonavita BV1900.

Score: 3.5 stars

Versatility

The KitchenAid Pour Over represents the perfect balance between a coffee maker that does too much and a coffee maker that does too little.

The serving size selector is a pretty unique feature amongst SCAA certified brewers, but I just wish you turn off the warming plate or swap in a thermal carafe.

Score: 4 

Is the KitchenAid Pour Over Brewer for you?

So is this the coffee maker for you?

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to fuss around with the ritual of making coffee, but still wants the best possible coffee you can get from an auto drip, the KitchenAid Pour Over may be the right option.

Frankly, it would come down to this or the Bonavita BV1900td. Prefer glass carafes over thermal carafes? Go with the KitchenAid. Want your coffee maker to be black or red? Go with the KitchenAid.

Don’t want a warming plate and/or don’t want to wait longer for a full pot of coffee? Go with Bonavita.

If you simply want to know which SCAA Certified coffee maker makes the best coffee, I’ll tell you that the differences among the coffee quality is negligible. I do plan to do a coffeemaker showdown between this brewer and the Brazen Plus (possibly the BV1900 too). I’ll update this review with a link when it’s published.