Mr. Review Coffee Smart Optimal Brew - A Mr. Smarter Coffee that brews weakly and needs more home connections connected (2023)

Project

I bet when most people imagine a Mr. Coffee, they think of one of the many cheap plastic gadgets that clog department store aisles. With reflective chrome and stainless steel accents in a subtle black plastic frame, the Mr. Coffee Smart Optimal Brew is a different beast altogether. Take away Belkin's smart WeMo technology (and bright green logo) from this machine, and what you'd be left with would be a spitting image of the Mr. Coffee, Optimal Brew Thermal.

At 14.3 inches tall, the Smart Optimal Brew is a great kitchen appliance. However, the coffee machine is relatively slim and flat at 8.8 inches wide and 7.1 inches deep. Although not as compact as a liter sizeBonavita BV1900TSMr. Coffee takes up less counter space than giant coffee machines like this oneBreville YouBrewjGrinding and Broth Cuisinart Burr. This makes it very easy to get into tight spaces around the kitchen.

Another feature I really like about Smart Optimal Brew is its highly modular design. For example, the rectangular water tank easily slides off the top of the machine. It is very easy to fill, sitting on a table or over a faucet. And as someone who actually weighs the water for each test brew, I appreciate how the tank moves from scale to brewer without drama or high chance of spillage.

Likewise, the filter basket is actually a small drawer that slides out of the right side of the unit. The advantage here is that the entire assembly is easy to remove and clean, throwing the used coffee grounds and the flat-bottomed paper filter in the trash. Just remember to remove the disc-shaped water filter (above) and open the basket lid first. Also here is a bright red plastic indicator that Mr. Coffee provides to keep track of when you need to replace the circular water filter (monthly).

old fashioned beer

As a simple coffee maker, Smart Optimal Brew is very easy to use. On the front of the machine, there is just a square "brew now" button, above and to the right of the coffee maker. To prepare fresh coffee in the conventional way, just fill the water reservoir with the desired amount of coffee, the reservoir holds a maximum of 10 cups. Then add the appropriate amount of ground coffee to the brew basket filter, which accepts flat bottom paper filters or permanent gold filters (sold by Mr. Coffee for $12). When these steps are complete, simply press the brew button and wait for the hot coffee to pour.

Front and center is a large cradle and flat base that houses the Optimal Brew thermos (Mr. Coffee calls it a carafe). Its steel frame is sturdy and easy to pour thanks to a lid that twists and closes securely. There's also a big thumb button on the pod's handle that you have to press to get the coffee out of the spout, a welcome feature for clumsy people like me.

Mr. Coffee goes to smart home school

What sets Mr. Coffee Smart Optimal Brew from traditional programmable drip machines is its compatibility with Belkin's WeMo technology. Essentially, WeMo is tech accessory maker Belkin's foray into the growing smart home market. Smart home devices are designed to communicate and work together over wireless computer networks to create a smarter, more automated home.

To do this, Smart Optimal Brew uses Wi-Fi wireless networks to communicate with the Belkin WeMo Mobile App on iOS or Android phones and tablets. This gives the coffee maker some new features such as B. A complete 7-day programmable weekly brew program. So if you want the device to make coffee automatically at 7 am. M. Monday to Friday, but maybe 9am. M. on Saturday and maybe 11 o'clock. M. Sunday, no problem.

The WeMo app also offers a much more intuitive way to interact with the device than using the glorified VCR control buttons common on basic programmable coffee makers. Just tap the Mr. Coffee in the app, then tap the green arrow under its name to change the brewing schedule. The device and the WeMo app will also send you notifications when the water tank needs to be refilled or the water filter needs replacing.

If you've brewed the machine but want your coffee sooner than scheduled, just press the virtual brew button in the app. All of this also works from anywhere as long as your mobile device has an internet connection.

However, there is a fatal flaw in Smart Optimal Brew that potentially applies to all connected coffeemakers: it still takes a human hand to make it work. No matter how smart or connected you are, you need to fill the attachment with fresh water and ground coffee before each brew cycle. If you could dump a week's supply of fresh grain into that thing, which it would grind itself before fermenting itself and refilling its water tank, well, that would be something special. Unfortunately, that's not the case with Smart Optimal Brew.

Another disappointment is that, like the Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker, which is also WeMo-enabled, the Mr. Coffee Smart Optimal Brew doesn't really integrate with Belkin's WeMo system. You can't trick the device into doing clever tricks, like B. to start your prep day earlier if a motion sensor in the kitchen triggers. The same thing happens (or doesn't happen) when you turn on a Belkin Smart Bulb with the same settings or even a combination of all of the above.

And if you expect this smart coffee maker to connect to an IFTTT (If This Then That) channel to work well with a growing ecosystem of web-connected products and services, you're in for bad news. While a Belkin rep said the company is looking into supporting IFTTT, there's still no word on when or if that will come to fruition.

Setting Smart Optimal Brew correctly in the Belkin WeMo app wasn't easy either, an issue our testers encountered with other WeMo products. With the WeMo software installed on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Android phone, I first performed some necessary firmware updates before the coffee maker finally settled down. Prior to this new code flow, I was repeatedly getting error messages asking me to disconnect and reconnect the coffee maker for a more stable connection.

Performance

Perhaps the current owners of the Mr. Coffee, Jarden (who bought Sunbeam, the original owners), are sensitive to their less-than-stellar consumer attitudes. I'll admit, I was surprised when Smart Optimal Brew produced a brew time of less than 7 minutes (6 minutes, 48 ​​seconds). This is certainly within the 4-8 minute steeping time recommended by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

Likewise, I was impressed that the Junk machine was able to reach the coveted 200 degrees Fahrenheit water temperature in about 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the brew cycle and keep it there for the rest of the procedure. Smart Optimal Brew went above and beyond, reaching 204-206 degrees in their brew basket on many occasions.

Note, however, that this is not in line with SCAA preparation guidelines, which dictate that the ideal temperature curve should be much more accurate. Specifically, ground coffee must reach 197.6 degrees within the first few minutes of brewing and must not exceed 204.8 degrees. More expensive competitors like Bunn Velocity Brew BT, Bonavita BV1900TS and Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 741 performed much better, heating water faster, shorter brew times, or both.

Whether it was one of these minor performance glitches or a combination, Smart Optimal Brew consistently brewed cups of coffee that were drinkable but tasteless. Fortunately, the coffee from the machine was not bitter at all, even when I increased the ground coffee to 3 ounces (up from the 2 ounces I usually use) per 45 ounces of water. The refractometer readings I took supported my taste buds with coffee with a low percentage dissolved solids of 0.68. This equates to an aqueous extraction percentage of around 14 percent, well below the 22 or 23 percent for truly flavorful beers. More information on how to test coffee machines can be found hereDeep divein my test methods.

Diploma

On the surface, the notion of a smart coffee maker sounds pretty good. Instead of a tiny LCD screen and even smaller physical buttons found on just about every programmable coffee maker, the idea of ​​controlling things via your big-screen phone or tablet definitely has a lot of appeal. In that regard, the $150 Mr.Coffee Smart Optimal Brew is certainly to be commended. I also like the peace of mind of being able to make sure the coffee maker is turned off from anywhere.

However, where does this hip Mr. Coffee lets me down is its half-hearted endorsement of Belkin's WeMo platform. While he wasn't too surprised by the device's weak Joe Pots, he expected it to have more sophisticated WeMo capabilities. Since it cannot communicate with WeMo motion sensors, light switches and smart bulbs, this machine is essentially a WeMo "mobile app" product, not a true WeMo gadget. Therefore, I suggest spending less on Mr. Coffee's Optimal Brew 12-Cup Thermal ($130) or the Optimal Brew 10-Cup Thermal ($100). If you're craving more flavor, the Bunn Velocity Brew BT ($170) and Bonavita BV1900TS ($190) are worth the extra cash.

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