ZojirushiEC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker,Silver

April 2022"I will never buy a coffee maker with a glass caraffe that sits on a warming burner." That's what I used to believe; and mostly I still do. But sometimes there are reasons to believe otherwise. After two weeks of daily use I've learned to manage this coffee machine's quirks. It's not the perfect coffeemaker if you are making coffee for a crowd; but if you are pleased to drink just one or two (small) cups at a time and are willing to be meticulous in dealing with it, this can be an excellent choice.Here's my story.Going from two pots of coffee a day to eight ounces of coffee a day can be difficult. I needed a little help from my coffee machine. I needed something that made sense of the idea of making two cups of coffee at a time. Few coffee machines do. The most distinct characteristic of this machine is that it is small. Its small footprint unclutters the counter just a bit, which I appreciate. I'm enough of a foodie that for great coffee if I had to buy a behomoth of a machine to make the perfect small cup of coffee, I would consider it. Until recently I would drink six or ten cups of coffee in a day, so a large machine worked for me.I've had maybe six pretty good coffee makers over the last two decades, and have grown pretty picky about coffee. I buy varietal beans, roast them, and grind them in a Baratza burr grinder with forty grind size settings. I've avoided coffee makers with a glass caraffes that rest in contact with a burner because leaving fresh brewed coffee on the burner always causes coffee to scorch. A vacuum insulated caraffe does not scorch. So that's what I've always bought.Never would I have considered the Zojirushi if I expected to brew more coffee than I would drink at one time. But that is exactly my use case for this coffee machine. If I drink all the coffee right after it brews, the burner can help the pot get up to temperature, meaning the coffee will not have to be reheated right after brewing - as I had been doing with my old coffee maker in order to get it to a good temperature for adding cream. I brew the coffee, serve it, and turn off the warming burner immediately. The one time I forgot to do this, I noticed that the clever engineers at Zojirushi had regulated the temperature of the burner to be low enough not to burn the coffee into horrid resin-smelling char.My first several batches out of this machine were weak and under-extracted. I noticed that brew time is short, about two minutes, and I ground my coffee finer. I tamp it lightly into the filter to create a little more flow resistance. These practices made a big difference. I also decided to preheat the water in a microwave until it is nearly boiling. This might slightly shorten the brew time it but, more importantly it increases the temperature of the water near the start of the cycle. Here at a mile above sea level I needed all the temperature I could get for such a short brew cycle. I also began the practice of adding a pinch of salt to the coffee grinds because coffee tastes less bitter with a little salt. Also coffee causes one to excrete salt; so there were health benefits to the practice.Once I had dialed in all the elements of the process I realized that I was making better coffee than I ever had before. I was paying a little more attention to the ritual of making it - an appropriate way to approach using a Japanese coffee machine. And I was enoying this single cup of coffee more than I had been enjoying two pots a day. Big bonus, in grinding the coffee finer and drinking less I had cut my coffee bean utilization by considerably more than 85%.----December 2024After nearly two years of use I am moving on. Mechanically, there is nothing conspicously wrong with the machine, although I find the coffee consistently weak. A special feature of this machine that I have come to enjoy involves incorporating the unscorched dried coffee from the bottom of the caraffe from one day's coffee into the next day's - not a feature every glass caraffe coffee maker could do gracefully. It is a testament to the fine temperature control of that heating element.This machine makes passable coffee; but at a high altitude and it struggles to get water hot enough for good extraction, even with preheating.I have learned to make pour-over coffee and in my first try I was able to get coffee I like a lot more than what this machine turns out - stronger with just a hint more bitterness and sourness. The small caraffe with the drop-in cone filter holder is ideally suited to the this: so at least for a while I intend to use the caraffe from this machine to make my pour-over coffee using boiling water (which at my altitude is about 95ºC.)

I'm not a coffee connoisseur but I really want (need) my morning daily two cups to be strong and of drinkable flavor. I used to drink 1 pot+ of coffee a day and ignored the lousy taste after being warmed for a few hours on the burning pad. It was the caffeine I wanted. When I went down to two cups in the morning several years ago I tried multiple brands of small coffee makers, expensive (relatively) and no-name. The no-drip functions were never no drip and I used (wasted) large amounts of grounds to get decent strength.This small coffee maker received a superlative review in a reviewing magazine that has been reliable when I purchased something based on its reviews. I started regretting my order even before I received it because it seemed so expensive, but I figured I'd return it if it didn't meet expectations. High expectations to meet its price. I mean, it doesn't even have an auto shut off! It doesn't say "no -drip" !I watched the water run through to clean it before my first use. It was fast. I thought it would be too fast to extract good flavor. I was wrong. Maybe due to the pattern of the drip holes, the temperature of the water, the fact that the grounds holder sits inside the top of the pot (which makes it no-drip!), the temperature of the heating pad. I don't know what it is, but this makes the best small pot of coffee I have ever had. I don't need to double the amount of grounds I use just to get strong coffee. That alone is a money savings.I have no reason to think that this coffee maker isn't going to last a good long time, but if something happens to it I will definitely buy one again.

The Zutto is stylish, the decanter looks huge for a 5 cup, it has to be though to hold the basket. the water is hot, Note for those that don't understand how coffee is made; it is the temp at the grinds we are concerned with not so much the temp at the cup. The temp at the grinds is required to extract the correct amount of flavor (if it is there, some brands don't have that much flavor to start with) along with the time that hot water is in contact with the grinds, is what makes the difference in a cup of coffee and a really good cup of coffee.I read that someone verified water temp with a Digital thermometer at the water outlet. Temp range from 180 at the start to 208 at the end, and suggested preheating the water.1- using the old maker, run 2 cups water, while placing filter and grinds in Zutto, then pour hot water into measuring cup =this case 8 oz, and that into Zutto, the rest into the mug/ thermal or ceramic mug will both benefit from preheat. OR2. run the water thru the Zutto, pour measured back in to tank, rest into cup, then add grounds/basket and brew.Personally, could not tell the difference with preheated water, did make a small noticeable difference in cup temp/ thereby coffee temp and how long it stays hotter.First Batch; using One 8 Oz cup and One Half Oz coffee, Folgers morning blend (not a flavorful brand to my pallet), to compare to the the known results of my old Elite coffee maker. The Zutto can use a 4 or 8 cup paper filter. Reading the instructions I see that time varies from 3 to 7 minutes depending on cups being brewed, Note that the perk can done in as little as 2+mins, but wait a minute more for the water to finish draining through the filter.Result; ceramic mug is hot to the touch, note that the ceramic pulls the heat from the coffee so if you think it is too hot, switch from the thermal mug to a ceramic one. Also can preheat the cup with hot waterIt stayed hot/ above room temp, = the elete resulted in cool coffee before half cup was gone. Flavor is deeper, can tell that more was removed from the grounds, so aside from the lame folgers mix, the Zutto does definitely make a better cup of coffee.Second batch, the problem becomes obvious.OK, the h2o temp is good, so...The Problem is the filter/grinds holder:With the first batch, I had waited and the grinds had drained fully, when pouring the manufacturer says hold thumb on lid, that worked the first time.The second batch I wound up with a teaspoon of grinds in the cup:Why? Because:1. the two holes in the filter basket were slightly clogged with grinds, the paper filter was pressed against them. there by retaining some water in the grinds, which flowed out when tilted to pour, carrying with it grinds.2 the filter, this was a full size paper, was pushed down into the basket, this put it against those two holes and also down from the top edge of the basket.3. this is a really bad design. A basket full of grinds that is designed to tip sideways when pouring out the liquid REQUIRES certain Design Features: features that effectively contain the grinds, eh?How to Fix the problems;1. easiest; remove the basket before pouring. easy enough to lift out and hold with one hand while pouring with the other.this does present the problem of drips of coffee, however the basket Does have a base that allows it to stand stable on its own, say, on a saucer.2. add 4 small bars across the bottom of the basket about quarter inch up, to hold the filter up from the holes. and allow plenty of time for all the water to drain out of the basket before pouring. (still has potential of grinds falling out as the last cup is poured. )3. Or, the manufacturer could take responsibility for their product design.Since it is the Zojirushi team's design to pour with the basket & grinds in place, it should also be their design to contain those grinds and also allow unrestricted draining of those grinds.In my opinion the Best way to do that is; make a stainless basket/ container/ filter. Specifically; similar to the tea containers, a closing latched mesh basket shaped filter. This SHOULD be normal and Included with the maker.Conclusion; I took the mesh filter from the old coffee maker, it fits in theZutto basket, it also hangs on the lip of the so it does not touch the bottom of the basket, I also use a paper filter, 1. the extra oils from "no paper" don't do anything for me personally, 2. it is much easier and cleaner to pull the paper full of grinds and drop them into the compost, compared to tapping out the wire filter and still need to wash grinds out, -- just a personal preference.I also set the basket out on a dish before pouring coffee.Note that I also use a much better grade of coffee to brew from, it takes the same amount of time to brew as before, with much much better results than the other coffee makers previously mentioned.Now if Zojirushi will send us the enclosed grinds basket, all will be well.OK;After several weeks of use, and experimentation; I have discovered these things;User error, I pushed the filter down into the basket; this resulted in a semi plugged outlet, and the front of the basket has a drain slot, which was not properly covered because of the filter misplacement. And because of being used to the drip maker with the auto-stop on the basket, I did not wait long enough for the water to fully drain from the basket.The result of this combination was that grinds were washed into the cup as it was poured.The easy correction is; only press the filter in gently and not to press to the bottom, then also leave just enough above the rim of the basket to fold out on the front edge, this is to trap the filter with the basket cover. And Wait the appropriate amount of time before pouring.I still lift the basket out before I pour, it is just easier for me that way. I also plugged one of the two drain holes in the bottom of the basket, lets the water soak the grinds a tiny bit longer, and have had no over flow problem - using up to two cups of water.I would like to see a change to the basket cover; the current design puts the water into the center of the basket. I noticed that if brewing 4 cups there are dry grinds at the top outer parameter. This could be corrected with a more dispersing design in the lid.