Simply Good Coffee Brewer (Review)
I've used this automatic coffee brewer more than 150 times. This is what I've learned.
Simply Good Coffee Brewer (Review)
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/200
Simply Good Coffee Brewer Review
What: An Automatic Coffee Brewer serving single to multiple cups of coffee.
Price: $179.95 with free shipping. Sign up for their newsletter to get 20% off ($143.95) or look for frequent sales (like Black Friday)!
Where to buy: https://partners.simplygoodcoffee.com/roast
What I brew in it: A lot of decaf for evening cocktails, and larger pots when my wife decides she wants in on my morning coffee.
OVERVIEW
I’m going to tell you where this is going up front. I always hate clicking on a review and having to scroll for five minutes to get the answer I want. The reason you’re here, I’m guessing, is to find out if we (and by we, I mean I) recommend the SimplyGoodCoffee™ Brewer. FYI: I’ve used the brewer more than 150 times. This isn’t one of those one-and-done reviews.
DO WE RECOMMEND THIS BREWER: YES
Clicking the link below will redirect you to the product specs, and if you end up purchasing one, it will support Roast! West Coast:
HOW IT WORKS
This is a brewer that is as easy to use out of the box as a brewer can be. It comes fully assembled. Pull it out of the box. Plug it in. Add water and it is ready to go. For my first batch I picked up some beans from Steady State Roasting and used distilled water with minerals added back in with a Third Water packet.
The brewer uses #4 paper filters, which are common and available pretty much everywhere. For the first batch, I used the ones they supplied. I’ve since switched to the Hario filters I like. Brewing is as simple as adding the coffee to the filter basket (with filter) and pressing the ON/OFF button.
Water will start heating in the tank with their fancy pumpless heating element. I’m not an engineer so this is how it is described on the SimplyGoodCoffee™ website:
Our industry-leading 1,560-watt heater has many thousands of hours of cycle/durability testing and years of in-use track record on many makes and models of high-quality in-home coffee makers worldwide. It was selected for these reasons. It is made primarily of food-grade aluminum and is a cast part, with some steel and copper tubing, and an efficient conventional element.
I’m presuming that is true, and they claim it consistently brews water to between 195-205 degrees. This isn’t a feature you can control, but it has proven consistent. I’ve used my kitchen thermometer to sporadically test this, and so far haven’t been disappointed.
The water will push up through the tube in the middle, travel down to the shower head, and rain down over the coffee grounds. Like an brewing operation, the coffee will drip out through a hole in the filter basket into the carafe below. The filter basket has a simple open/closed lever with symbols that look like this: O –. Pretty self-explanatory, but more on that later.
Once in the carafe, your coffee is ready to drink, but if you’re running around getting ready for the day, or you’ve fallen back asleep, the hot plate under the carafe will maintain your temperature for quite awhile. The product description says it will shut off automatically at 40 minutes, but I’ve found that number to range between 20 and 40 minutes.
And that is it. You have coffee. Pretty good coffee.
THE GOOD STUFF
- It is great for brewing in batches. Often, I just brew for myself, but in the mornings, I know I’m going to really dig into work. I like to make a big pot to carry me through the morning. This brewer is great for that. I’ve brewed up to 1200g of coffee and had great results.
- The components have held up well with use. I’ve used the brewer well over 150 times. That is when I stopped counting, i.e., restocked on #4 filters. So far, it has held up really well. I can’t see many parts that don’t feel like they would be long-lasting. I can’t vouch for it after years of use yet, but I’ll keep updating this note as I go. Update: As of 11/2024 I’ve run about 500 batches through this machine with no issues and no need to replace any parts. I’ve used Urnex cleaning tablets (rarely) to clean the mechanism. Still getting great coffee.
- Simple? Yes, as advertised. It is really easy to use and offers you the ability to make a batch of coffee without a lot of hassle. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t do much coffee experimenting, you could easily dial in your grind and brew size in a few attempts with a coffee you like and spend the rest of your life simply hitting the On/Off button.
If you’re like me, you will still be weighing coffee, grinding fresh, and weighing water to ensure you have the ratio you want. This is partly because I mix up the coffee I drink regularly. It is about the same amount of work as brewing a French Press. For my evening decaf pot, I find this brewer to be really convenient because I use the same coffee time after time and don’t need to go through all the steps. I’ve already dialed them in. - It looks pretty good on the counter. It was clearly inspired by the Moccamaster brand of brewers. It makes efficient use of space and is light enough to either move or travel with. I’ve taken it along to a few overnights where I knew I’d be brewing for the group.
- Try it for 30 days of risk-free use + a two-year warranty. Warranty’s are always nice. SimplyGoodCoffee™ hasn’t been around long enough to have an established track record for service or repairs, so we’ll have to keep updating this bullet point. If you have immediate needs, you can contact the company directly at: brew@simplygoodcoffee.com
THE NOT-SO GOOD STUFF
- The magnet connecting the two pieces isn't strong enough. There is a small magnet that holds the filter basket in place that isn't terribly strong. Combined with smaller arms holding the basket in place, it is easy to accidentally knock it out of place—probably onto the floor—if you aren't making a point of clicking it in place. This will prove stressful early in the morning. You'll be forced to play defense on the dog with one arm while attempting to reach for the Dustbuster with the other.
- The automatic blooming feature is unique, especially at this price point, but the functionality of the bloom feature is limited to smaller batches. When brewing a large batch, the water dispersed from the showerhead doesn't fully immerse all the grounds, making for an inconsistent brew. I avoid it when brewing anything over about 25g of coffee. I don't notice a huge difference. Update: The bloom feature works best with 30g or less of coffee. I said 25 but no noticeable difference at 30g.
- Most concerns relate to user error! See that lever that indicates if the filter hole is open in the photo below? Make sure it is set to open if you're walking away or not intentionally adding some immersion to your brew. If you don't, well, you can see what happens.
THE FINALE
- This is an effective brewer for various batch sizes. It excels at larger batches, which I really appreciate when making coffee for two or more humans.
- Does it brew good coffee? Yes. The coffee I drink most often at home is Zumbar’s Hummingbird blend; this brewer consistently makes a rich, smooth brew. I get similar flavors to brewing in a French press but the smoother texture of a Hario V60.
- Does it save time? Depends on how consistently you brew the same coffee. If you aren’t modifying your brew ratios or coffee variety, it is very easy to hit the button and walk away. If you’re experimenting, you’ll spend about the same amount of time on preparations.
I take making recommendations fairly seriously. When I received this brewer in May of 2023 (note this review came out in December 2023), I felt it was important to give it a thorough once over before telling anyone else to give it a try.
I feel comfortable giving it the thumbs-up. I agreed to be a promotional partner with SimplyGoodCoffee.™ Are there minor caveats? Sure. Are there other good, perhaps even better options? Maybe. At the same price point? Maybe. Is the SimplyGoodCoffee™ automatic brewer an effective tool for brewing coffee and worthy of our recommendation in trade for a referral kick-back? Yes.
Clicking the link below will get you all the product details, and if you end up purchasing one, it will support Roast! West Coast:
MORE FROM SimplyGoodCoffee.com
Who is behind SimplyGoodCoffee?
Laura Sommers is our founder and CEO. She has over 30 years in specialty coffee and thought it was time to offer a home brewer that was easy to use and affordable so that the folks in the specialty coffee industry (Roasters and Coffee shop owners) could be confident all their hard work producing coffee would not be lost by the customer preparing the coffee at home in a sub-par brewer. Laura’s mantra is “coffee taste is paramount, ease of use is required, and lower cost makes this a great value for millions more households”.
SCA approved?
The SimplyGoodCoffee brewer meets or exceeds the Specialty Coffee Association specifications, which are generally accepted to produce a quality cup of coffee. The SimplyGoodCoffee brewer was designed and is independently lab tested to meet water temperature, water to ground coffee ratio, brew time, and our own design parameters that ensure great coffee flavor.
A huge, on-going thank you to all of this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters • Sivitz Roasting Machines
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MERCH ALERT!
You know what goes great with a new brewer? Coffee swag.
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