Meet our new favourite drip espresso maker, the Oxo Brew 8-Cup.
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A high quality drip espresso maker ought to brew quick and scorching, however it should not scorch your grounds. Few espresso machines can pull off this delicate balancing act, however the $170 Oxo Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker is among the uncommon machines that does. For $20 lower than the well-respected $190 Bonavita Connoisseur, the Oxo Brew delivers SCA Golden Cup-rated espresso that tastes simply pretty much as good.

LikeCompactAttractive, sturdy designBrews wonderful pots of espresso rapidlyThermal carafe would not drip whereas pouring

Don’t LikeThe filter basket might be simpler to fill

Oxo’s newest electrical espresso maker additionally comes with a thermal carafe that, not like the Bonavita’s, is not vulnerable to messy drips and spills when you pour from it. The Oxo espresso maker is compact, simpler on the eyes than the Connoisseur, and it feels sturdier, too. All that makes the Oxo Brew 8-Cup an impressive buy, and sufficient to earn our Editors’ Choice award for drip espresso makers in 2020.The Oxo Brew 8-Cup is compact, glossy, and trendy.
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Small and sleekPhysically, the Oxo Brew 8-Cup is every thing its beefy Oxo 12-cup and 9-cup predecessors weren’t. Those machines had been large and ponderous monstrosities, particularly the Oxo Barista Brain 12-Cup Brewing System, which towered over different small kitchen home equipment and ate up beneficial counter area. 

The Oxo Brew 8-Cup is comparable in dimension to the Bonavita Connoisseur. Both espresso makers are compact sufficient to tuck away beneath kitchen cupboards after they’re not in use. Because of the Oxo’s sleeker strains, plus numerous open area between its numerous elements, the Brew 8-cup seems downright svelte subsequent to the chunkier Connoisseur.Aesthetics apart, the Brew 8-Cup is ready up like many different high-performance drip espresso makers. A heating unit tower and water tank (40 ounces, 1.2 liters) sits on one facet of an extended base. You’ll discover a double-walled thermal carafe throughout from that. A funnel-shaped brewing chamber lives instantly above the carafe.   Here’s a view of the highest of Oxo’s newest espresso maker.
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Using the Oxo Brew 8-CupMaking espresso with the Oxo Brew 8-Cup is an easy course of. First, fill the espresso machine’s water tank. Its most (and default) dimension is 40 ounces. That’s the identical water capability as different premium espresso makers such because the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 741 and the Bonavita Connoisseur.

Flip up the lid of the water tank to entry it.
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Next, flip open the brewing chamber lid. The filter basket inside that accepts customary 8-cup dimension, flat-bottomed paper filters. Release the basket by swinging its deal with arm upwards Then drop a filter inside, add your floor espresso, and place it again into the machine. Select your most well-liked brewing mode, 2 to 4 cups, or a full pot.
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Make certain the change on the brewing chamber is ready for a full carafe. Likewise, hit the facility button and faucet the button labeled “5-8 cups”. If you’d wish to brew much less there’s additionally a 2-4 cup button for that function. Oxo additionally consists of an elective brew basket designed particularly for single-cup brewing. It accepts Kalita wave filters (Kalita 185).I do have one minor gripe right here. The Oxo’s filter basket would not sit flat on counter tops. That made it difficult to fill with grounds except I held it in a single hand. The Connoisseur’s filter basket has a flat backside, so is simpler to fill whereas it is resting in your countertop.Performance and styleBoth the Bonavita Connoisseur and its predecessor, the BV1900TS, carried out extraordinarily properly on my checks. So did the Oxo Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker. In phrases of uncooked brewing velocity, the Oxo Brew was capable of fill its pot in a median of 6 minutes and 8 seconds. That’s near the brewing velocity of the BV1900TS in addition to the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 741 (each coming in at 5 minutes, 45 seconds), and quicker than the Connoisseur (6 minutes, 25 seconds).  As outlined within the handbook, I used a brewing ratio of 40 ounces of water to 2.26 ounces (64 grams) of medium floor espresso. I additionally examined with my normal complete bean take a look at espresso sourced from Costco (Kirkland Colombian Supremo).Regardless, the Oxo Brew 8-Cup’s brewing time is properly beneath the 8 minutes or much less the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) recommends for good drip. Thermocouple readings confirmed the Oxo Brew 8-Cup controls its brewing temperature properly.
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Speed is not all that is required to brew wonderful espresso. Precise water warmth ranges are additionally very important. Specifically, the right water temperature vary (197 levels Fahrenheit/92 Centigrade to 205 F/96 C) is crucial to creating excellent espresso. I can affirm that the Oxo espresso maker stored its water temperature inside a really tight vary. In the primary minute of brewing, the common temperature contained in the grounds was 190.3 F (87.9 C), based on thermocouple readings. That’s quicker than the Connoisseur, which had a decrease common temperature on the 1 minute mark (147.9 F, 64.4 C). At 2 minutes, the temperature contained in the Oxo’s brew chamber remained rock stable (189.4 F). By minute 3, the temperature crept as much as 197.6 F, then to 199.3 F at minute 4. From right here warmth ranges had been regular, barely rising greater than 3 levels.  Reflectometer measurements additionally confirmed this espresso maker is worthy of the SCA Golden Cup customary.
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Our refractometer, which measures the quantity of espresso dissolved within the liquid, confirmed equally constant efficiency from the Oxo. Across three runs utilizing the Oxo-recommended 64 grams of espresso grounds, the Oxo Brew 8-Cup notched intently grouped TDS (complete dissolved solids) proportion outcomes (1.4, 1.5, 1.6%). These numbers translate to a median extraction proportion of 25%. That’s barely exterior of the perfect vary, generally held to be between 18 and 22%. The Oxo Brew’s handbook additionally suggests utilizing a much less exact “8 scoops” of espresso with the bundled plastic scoop. When I measured 8 scoops of my take a look at espresso, it weighed out to exactly 69.6 grams. After brewing once more with 40 ounces of water, I recorded a TDS proportion of 1.3. This calculates to an extraction proportion of 19%, which falls squarely contained in the SCA vary.  The espresso was robust, advanced, balanced, and had no trace of bitterness. The drip I made with fewer grounds (64 grams) tasted nice too, just a bit weak. I additionally made espresso at a robust ratio of 83 grams espresso to 40 ounces of water. Bold, intense, and super-concentrated, this was my favourite pot. With an extraction proportion of 23%, it was additionally a hair exterior golden cup vary. Regardless of the ratio, the Oxo brewer made espresso that was by no means bitter and really drinkable. You may need to regulate the espresso and water ratio to your actual preferences, however Golden Cup-territory may be very achievable with the Oxo brewer.Similar to the Connoisseur, the Oxo’s thermal carafe can maintain liquid inside it scorching for hours. I recorded 3 hours and 45 minutes earlier than espresso within the container dropped under 150 levels F (66 C). That’s barely shorter run than the Bonavita 1900 which held on to its warmth longer (nearly 4 hours), though the thermal carafe champion remains to be the Moccamaster (6 hours).A brand new choice for higher dripI should say I’m very impressed with Oxo’s newest electrical drip espresso maker. The $170 Oxo Brew 8-Cup performs properly, whipping up pots of tasty joe rapidly. It’s additionally compact, and attractively styled. I additionally like that it comes with a single-serve accent for making automated pour-over, one cup at a time.All this stacks up favorably in opposition to the competitors. Until now, my drip espresso maker of selection has been the $190 Bonavita Connoisseur. However, the Oxo Brew 8-Cup brews simply as properly and quicker, and appears higher doing it. It prices $20 much less too, and does slightly extra. That’s why it is clearly superior in my e book, and the winner of our Editors’ Choice award.