**UPDATE**
--21 Jan 15--
I've been using this brewer for a month now and have had no performance issues -- works great. Brews a great cup of coffee.
Water Temp: The water temperature after dispensing (using the hot water drawer) into a pre-heated mug is 186°F. Keep in mind this is not an adiabatic system so there is heat transfer/loss with surrounding mediums (e.g. plastics of the brewer drawers, coffee grounds, mug walls, air, etc.). Regardless of the brewer, the water temperature measured in the reservoir is always going to be higher than that dispensed for this reason. The fact that this brewer maintains the water temperature about 8°F higher than its competitor suggests BUNN tried to account for this heat loss...which probably explains why most people think (including me) the coffee tastes better.
Largest Mug Size: The largest coffee mug I use is a 16oz Thermos SS King travel tumbler (7" high and 3" mouth diameter). This size mug is compatible with all the drawers, with the drip tray removed; anything taller -- or the same height with a smaller mouth diameter -- is not going to be compatible. Installing the drip tray subtracts about 1-1/4 inches from the allowable height. This mug exhibits the closest fit with the K-cup drawer, requiring a additional care when removing the mug, but stills allows a full 16oz of coffee to be dispensed without immersing the K-cup drawer, or resulting in spillage during removal (due to tipping the mug to remove it). I honestly don't know why one would want to brew 16oz of coffee using a K-cup to begin with, but know that you can if you want to.
**ORIGINAL**
BLUF: The MCU has an "industrial" look to it, but has a smaller form factor and provides just as may options as a Keurig...without the hassle of "official" K-cups, or K-cup adapters. It also provides the capability to accomplish other tasks requiring hot water (instant oatmeal, tea, etc.).
I've been using a Keurig B70 Platinum for the last 5 years or so. I quickly became disenchanted with the price of K-cups, all be it they were convenient. In 2013 I purchased the Solofill 3 so I could use my own brand of ground coffee. Anticipating that my Keurig will experience some sort of catastrophic failure after 5 years, I started searching for a new one. Low and behold the Keurig 2.0 - which now scans the K-cup to make sure it's "official"!?! This turned me away from the Keurig brand FOREVER.
I researched single-serve coffee makers and found the BUNN MCU. Compared it to other brands, read the reviews, and decided I would try it. After all, I've never known a BUNN to make bad coffee (even if the grounds were re-used, and half of those replaced with chewing tobacco).
I've only been using the MCU for the last couple of days, but here is my input, which I will update if issues arise:
I've not experienced any of the "quality" issues that other reviewers have complained of. I attribute most of such reviews to "operator error". I'm not saying it's complicated, just not fool-proof like some have found other single-serve coffee makers to be. Do your research (e.g. visit the BUNN website and watch the videos) and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Upon receiving the MCU, I promptly checked the sprayhead and its seal for proper installation and tightness. Other reviewers complained of the MCU leaking during use, for which this is a common cause. I've had no issues with leaking.
READING THE INSTRUCTIONS, I performed the initial setup. Now, given that there are only two buttons ("brew" and "pulse"), each with a status light, as well as "indicator" light, things would appear to be simple...and they were during the initial setup. After reading through the rest of the instructions and discovering that MCU has seven (7) different status states indicated via a combination of only two lights (brew and indicator) - come again!?! - I found myself wanting for a decoder ring. My advice...don't lose the manual. I broke it down to these four states: Green "Indicator" = Good-to-Go; Red "Indicator" = Sleeping/or "Be Patient, the MCU is Warming Up"; Red "Brew" = Brewing; Red "Pulse" = Pulse-flow Mode is ON. Everything else...refer to the manual.
Keep this in mind: this machine is always on. If you are extremely energy conscience and don't like "vampire lights" in your house, this is not the machine for you since it also maintains a 14 oz. water reservoir at 200°F. While the status of the machine via the various combination of lights may not be simple, the overall operation and maintenance is. It goes to "sleep" after six (6) hours, and "hibernates" after 26 hours. The hot water tank holds 14 oz. of water and maintains the brewing temperature up to six hours. In between the six and 26 hours, the MCU needs about one (1) minute to warm-up, which is triggered by one inserting one of the four drawers. Similarly, after 26 hours it needs about two (2) minutes to warm-up (same as a Keurig).
The ground coffee (or tea leaf) drawer has two filter screens: one for the water (to keep the grounds from going everywhere); the second for the coffee extract. The second filter (extract) screen is removable, and I find that it filters much better than that of the Solofill 3. This drawer also holds 20 grams of coffee, which is much more than two (2) Tbsp's, and more than the Solofill 3. The K-cup drawer is nice, but unless I'm brewing hot chocolate I don't plan on using it EVER again (but it's nice to have and I acknowledge it). Combine this with the ability to select from 4 to 14 oz. and there is plenty of variability to allow one to become a "brew master". As I said, the hot water tank holds 14 oz, but outputs the same amount of water you add each time for brewing.
After brewing, the ground coffee drawer does drip for a while, which others have complained about. Given that the MCU keeps the water 200°F, I personally, am not in a hurry to grab my mug and start drinking the caffeinated goodness that awaits. I found it takes on average about 30 seconds for drips to stop, which is normally accompanied by a "depressurization" (?) sound from the drawer...be patient and wait 30 to 60 seconds. Also, Cleaning the drawer is as simple as the Solofill 3...I turn it upside-down and give it a stern (but gentle) whack on the counter to loosen the grounds and then dump the grounds in a waist bin (I use a one gallon coffee can lined with a plastic bag). Make sure you keep your finger on the "latch" of the door containing the first screen or you'll have coffee grounds everywhere. Rinse the entire drawer free of any remaining grinds. At the end of the day I pop out the second screen and rinse it to remove any residue.
The MCU does have four different drawers to allow you to accomplish multiple tasks requiring hot water, e.g. brewing tea, making instant oatmeal or instant noodles, etc., but if you owned a Keurig you probably figured out how to do this already anyway...so at least one of the drawers you will likely never use; however, even accounting for storage space for the four drawers and the MCU, this machine still requires less space than a large Keurig, and so, no harm done.
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Cup Capacity: Up to 4 Cups
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Product Grade: Commercial Grade
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Customer Review: I can't imagine a better cup of coffee.
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This Item  BUNN MCU Single Cup Multi-Use Home Coffee Brewer |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $189.99 | -16% $167.99 List: $199.95 | -20% $119.95 List: $149.95 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||
| Flavor | ||||
| Easy to use | ||||
| Easy to clean | ||||
| Quality of material | ||||
| Durability | ||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| capacity | 14 ounces | 14 fluid ounces | 40 fluid ounces | 72 fluid ounces |
| material | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel, Plastic | Stainless Steel | Plastic, Stainless Steel |
| input interface | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons |
| wattage | — | — | 1400 watts | 1100 watts |
| model name | Single Cup Multi-Use | MCU | OXO | Premium 72-Ounce |
| weight | 0.01 ounces | — | 10.29 pounds | 4.5 kilograms |
Reviews with images
Flawed, but still very highly regarded
The Bunn MCU is a combination of good and bad features, but for me it is primarily good.When I first purchased the Bunn I almost returned it as the coffee taste was somewhat metallic. As other users also experienced this issue I put numerous cups of water through the machine and eventually the bad taste went away, now I would have to say this makes a very tasty cup of coffee.At work I own an original series Keurig. This unit also is a mixture of good and bad. Ultimately, in the way I use the Bunn MCU I would have to give it the nod, yet there is certainly room for improvement.I'll go through a brief comparison of the 2 machines and how well they do.First of all the Keurig is much better at distributing coffee from K-cups and in my opinion better at distributing anything that is not a K-cup.The Bunn unit every once in a while shoots out the coffee grounds into the cup. I am very careful in the way I puncture the K-cups by holding it on the sides and pressing down to puncture the bottom of the cup and then pressing the lid on top of the K-cup. In rare occasions though hot water and steam will blow outwards from the unit.I don't really like the way the Bunn distributes loose coffee as well. The main issue here is cleanup. There is a small mesh filter on the loose coffee dispenser. If you use the unit as is the coffee grounds get tightly packed into the dispenser making it quite a pain to clean out. Yes you can pop out the small filter, but even so the grounds hold on very tightly to the sides of the dispenser. I can't imagine using this in a place without a sink. I've tried using Melita's JavaJig as per advice from other users. The fit however is somewhat loose and you still end up with somewhat of a cleanup with stray coffee grounds. What I think might make this great would be if Bunn made their own propreitary filter to a close fit so the grounds don't escape. Perhaps even better would be if they would build the coffee chamber slightly tighter to fit the JavaJig better. To be honest there really isn't a great solution for the Keurig loose coffee filter either. This always end up with a cleanup or just difficult to use.As far as water distribution goes it is easy with both the Keurig and the Bunn MCU.The Bunn MCU is more compact than the Keurig as it doesn't have a dedicated water chamber. It fits very well on my small counter.In terms of repetitive use; it would seem that the Keurig would have a clear win. In my case however I would have to say the Bunn is actually less of a chore. The reason why is that I use a Travel Berkey water filter on my counter top.At work we use a small pitcher type water filter. Every morning I have to walk down the hall to fill this up and fill the Keurig water chamber. At home however I fill the Travel Berkey once a week. When I want a cup of coffee I just dispense the cup from the water filter spigot and pour it into the Bunn's single use water chamber. I am quite happy with this. In other words don't let easy access to water be a reason not to buy the Bunn MCU. Yes the Berkey does take away counter space, but the same could be said for the water filter pitcher at work. See picture of countertop.The deciding factor really comes down to taste. In this regards I would say the Bunn MCU has a clear win. There is a pulse brew button that allows coffee to be brewed extra bold. Basically, the same amount of coffee filling a large cup will taste bolder when brewed with the Bunn MCU rather than my original series Keurig.There are some real flaws with the Bunn MCU, but it still was a better choice for me. If Bunn's design team could design around the messiness factor they would have a true top contender.
Top reviews from other countries
Mike Deeee
Simply The Best k-Cup, single cup brewer out there.
Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2018
BadBooks
Makes good coffee, heats water fast
Reviewed in Canada on February 24, 2018Tracy Ball
We use it once a day and clean as per recommended instructions. After three months with the first unit ...
Reviewed in Canada on May 26, 2018