Trifecta MB by Bunn

The Trifecta MB is Bunn‘s creation.  The Trifecta (commercial version) was created to brew one cup of coffee at a time in a coffee shop setting. This at home version hopes to capitalize on the growing at home specialty coffee market. People everywhere are starting to wake up to what good coffee should taste like. People’s needs are changing whilst raising their expectation of 2 things: 1) Coffee’s flavor, 2) Ease of use. It seems Bunn created this machine to fill those two needs.

In this post I will be going over the coffee maker’s settings and performance. In each category I will first list what the machine is designed to do and in the following paragraph I will list my opinion of how it performed in that category. While this product does brew tea as well for the purposes of this review we will be sticking to its performance with coffee. (Tea coming in the future…)

Before I start breaking down all it’s setting I have to say that this machine is beautiful and looks great on our counter at home. It’s sleek design and clean rounded lines make this machine simple yet beautiful. Ok, give me some time to try to stop drooling before the official review.

Brew Settings

Turbulence Cycle

The Trifecta MB has 5 different Turbulence settings: (A) Setting is the lowest, (E) Setting is the highest. The goal of turbulence is to add more acidity if the setting is lower and to add sweetness if the setting is higher. It attempts to accomplish this by infusing air into the brew chamber. The optimum setting for the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity will differ based upon the coffee that being brewed and of course the person enjoying it.

Turbulence Performance

The Trifecta Micro Brew (TMB) setting really does effect a coffee’s flavor profile. The only thing I did not expect was how much it would amplify negative flavors as well. If a coffee has a really intense charcoal or tobacco flavor the TMB will amplify those flavors. However, I do not think that this is a draw back. The machine is only giving more of what the coffee actually has to offer. The TMB is not going to fix or ruin a coffee but highlight what the coffee itself has to offer.

Infusion Time

Infusion Time controls how long a coffee or tea will brew. There are 5 infusion time settings, 3 of which were designed for brewing coffee. The main thing effected by infusion time should be the coffee’s body (40 seconds less body, 50 seconds more body).

Infusion Time Performance

Infusion Time does what it says. If the setting is on 40 seconds the coffee has less body, if the setting is on 50 the coffee has more. I have not had a coffee benefits from being on the 40 second setting. Every coffee I have brewed so far has benefited most from a minimum setting of 45 seconds on Infusion Time.

Optimum Brew Setting

The combination of turbulence and infusion will play a role in overall body and flavor. The optimum setting for most coffees has been Turbulence Cycle: 3, Infusion Time: 50 seconds

Maintenance

Owning a Trifecta MB is like owning an Espresso Machine. Like an espresso machine, the TMB requires careful use and regular maintenance. This category really deserves its own post. The maintenance task I have spent the most time doing is cleaning the check valve. The check valve is the part that regulates when the coffee being released into the cup. If the check valve has any grounds caught inside of it will leak during the brewing process and will no allow pressure to build in the chamber properly. The effect is an under-extracted coffee and water remaining in the chamber at the end of the brewing cycle. (We have a tutorial on how to fix and clean the check valve.)

Trifecta Review Summary

In reviewing the trifecta mb I have come to believe that this machine is perfect coffee geek looking to go to the next level. Much like an espresso machine or a coffee roaster it provides you with a sense that you are deepening your commitment to brewing awesome tasting coffee at home. In the opening paragraph to this post I stated that this product was attempting to help with two things:

1) Coffee Flavor (Optimizing and Highlighting)

One this is for sure this machine definitely helps you in the optimizing coffee flavor category. The plain and simple fact is it does was it says it does. It brews really excellence tasting coffee, if the coffee is excellent tasting to start with.  The TMB gets a  10 out of 10 for optimizing coffee flavor.

2) Ease of use

On a day-to-day basis the trifecta is extremely easy to use. This played a huge factor in its prominent position on our kitchen counter at home. Like an espresso machine, the only downside to this machine is the weekly maintenance. This makes it undesirable for someone who has little to no desire to spend time tinkering about with toothpicks and bowls of water. The TMb gets a 7 out of 10 for ease of use.

In conclusion this machine is a coffee geeks dream. I highly recommend this machine for anyone that would like to take their coffee brewing to the next level. The trifecta’s beautiful design and consistency in brewing great coffee earn it the highest rating a coffee maker has ever had from Coffee Cup News.

Trifecta MB Score

9 out of 10

Functionality: 9
Esthetics : 10
Ease of Use:  7
Quality: 10
Value: 8

As I use this machine more I will add updates to this review below…

Fitz’s Coffee Cola Soda Review

In this episode I review Coffee Cola from Fitz’s. This soda was put together using real sugar cane and real coffee from Kaldi’s Coffee in St. Louis Missouri. I had the opportunity to hang out with the owners of Kaldi’s Coffee and Fitz’s during the Caffeine Crawl and hear all about what makes this cola everything that it is. As you watch the above soda review keep in mind that first it’s cola then it’s coffee.

Coffee Cola

Fitz’s Cola is unique because it still uses all natural ingredients and never made the switch to high fructose corn syrup. They still use real sugar which definitely enhances the flavor profile of this soda. This coffee cola really is the best melding of these two flavors I have ever tasted. First my tongue was hit with a normal cola flavor and on the back end was left with a nice smooth coffee flavor. This coffee soda would pair well next to just about anything, especially pizza.

What is your favorite soda? Have you ever tried Coffee Soda or Coffee Cola?

Making Coffee Fast

Jason Burton and I have become good friends in a short time. He is the owner of Lab5702 here in Kansas City, which is a place to do the 2 things I love most: Drink coffee and talk with friends. I have spent a good portion of my time here, having fun with others like Jason who share the passion I have for coffee. In this episode of Coffee Cup News I wanted to give you an idea of what hanging out at the Coffee Lab  is like. In the above video, part 1, we taste Parisi’s Rwanda and MadCap’s Burundi. In part 2, below video, we taste Salt Spring Coffee’s Peru and Copper Canyon Coffee Roaster’s Papua New Guinea.

Coffee Lab

How are you planning to brew your Iced Coffee this spring and summer?

Coffee with a Purpose

Dave Baldwin and I have been friends for quite some time. We met here on Coffee Cup News and have continued to connect through facebook and twitter over the past couple years. Recently I attended Coffee Con and Dave ended up not only being there but staying in the same hotel as I. The only reason I mention all of the above is because online interactions help introduce and connect us with people we would otherwise never have a relationship with, but they can never truly convey how awesome that person really is. When I met Dave, at Coffee Con 2012, he was more charismatic, kind and fun then I would have otherwise known, had I not met him in person.  In the intro to this video Dan gives us a short back story for his coffee company. Dan has a daughter with down syndrome and she is the head roaster for Furnace Hills Coffee Company. He desires to be an encouragement to those that have a developmentally disabled family member, as well as give them a vision for what their family member could do in the coffee business.

Ethiopian Blend Family Tasting

Before we jump into the tasting notes I have to mention that I have a family that loves coffee. I feel really blessed and it’s a lot of fun around the Coffee house. Now before you judge me for letting my kids drink coffee, hear me out. (There was some discussion about this on YouTube so I figured I would cut it off a the pass.) When we taste coffee as a family, as we do most days, I only give my kids enough to have a couple sips. (Plus coffee doesn’t stunt your growth, that’s just a coffee myth.) It’s a fun, harmless family activity and it’s way better for them than a hot fudge sunday. (Though we do let them have those too, sometimes, but not daily…) Enough about my family dynamic!

As you can see from the lively video above, we all really liked the coffee. Ethiopian Blend was very smooth and had a nice cranberry and raspberry overtones. This is a coffee that I could drink on a regular basis and, as my wife Chassy pointed out, would be an amazing compliment to a desert that contained chocolate fruit or both. If you are looking for a coffee that is on the darker end of the roasting spectrum and want to buy from someone I consider a friend then give Furnace Hills Coffee Company a try.

What does your family like to do together?

At the Coffee Lab. facebook.com —– Web: coffeecupnews.org Twitter twitter.com Facebook: facebook.com

Author: CoffeeCupNews

Duration: 383

Published: 2012-02-29 03:39:59

Coffee Lab