Oxo products are simply designed and easy-to-use, and the OXO On Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker is a perfect example. The OXO Barista Brain is a tool designed for coffee lovers who don’t want any hassle. Just fill it with water, press a button for the size of brew, and the brewer takes care of the rest!
This machine is excellent for those who prefer manual brew taste like a pour over, but want convenience, a simple interface, and easy clean-up
Performance
manual brew taste like a pour over is its quality
Price
the price fairly matches its reputation in the industry
Overall Rating
our rating, based on our sound and impartial assessment
PROS
CONS
Key Features
Several features of the On Barista Brain are key to its value and use, including the double-walled stainless-steel carafe with no heating element, the 60-minute freshness timer, discrete water burst dosing, and a mixing tube in the carafe that keeps the coffee strength consistent.
While other similar products have one or two of these features, this coffee maker provides all four, and more.
Review of the OXO On Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker
So do all of these features really make Handground a better manual grinder? Here’s our assessment.
Design
Brewing
Cleanup
Potential Downsides
Competition
Let’s see how the OXO On Barista Brain stacks up against some of its most popular competitors.
Comparing the OXO On Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker to the Bonavita Brewer 8-Cup, the first thing you’ll notice is that the OXO On Barista Brain is digital versus the Bonavita’s simple manual controls.
As the name suggests, the OXO On Barista Brain has programmable settings for convenience. One area the Bonavita has an advantage is the shape of the filter basket; it’s U-shaped design works to thoroughly saturate grounds evenly, while the OXO On Barista Brain has a cone-shaped filter and tends to have more saturation in the middle.
If size matters, the OXO On Barista Brain has a 45-ounce versus a 40-ounce reservoir. With the stainless steel carafe, the OXO does not have a heating element, like the Bonavita, and still maintains hot coffee due to the carafe’s double-walled insulation.
One thing the Bonavita has that the OXO On Barista Brain doesn’t is pre-infusion, which creates more consistent flavor extraction. However, because the controls are manual and there is no auto-start, brewing a cup of coffee is more involved than the OXO On Barista Brain.
All-in-all, they are both simple to use, but if you are looking for more features and convenience, but for nearly the same price, I’d recommend the OXO Barista Brain 9-Cup Coffee Maker.
The Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable makes a great cup of coffee but is harder to clean and use than the OXO On Barista Brain. On occasion, it’s reusable filter allowed some sediment get through into the coffee. One other note is that to make a great cup of coffee on the Cuisinart, we found that we had to add a bit more coffee beans.
Regarding ease of use, the Cuisinart is average. The Cuisinart has a large LCD display and clearly labeled buttons, but it isn’t as streamlined as other coffee makers. The plastic spout can make a mess, and the prep and cleanup time is longer, as well as the brew time. However, it also has the programmable brewing time, for those who want that feature. On the plus side, it’s about half the price of the OXO.
Bottom Line
While on the pricier side, the overall features, ease-of-use, and coffee taste make the OXO Barista Brain 9-cup Coffee Maker one of the best overall finds on the market.