Picture this: a simple, luxurious yet easy-to-use coffee machine with three roast options and seven brewing sizes (including single-serve and full-pot options).
It also makes iced or hot coffee and keeps your not-so-average cup of joe hot and fresh while you do your thing.
Too good to be true? Not quite. Today I’m talking about the Braun MultiServe coffee maker and breaking down all its incredible features and why it’s one of my all-time favorite coffee makers.
Who Would Love This?
Before you decide if this is the one, let’s first figure out if it’s a good match.
Finding the perfect drip coffee maker is kind of like online dating, they may seem nice when you read their intro but you don’t really know if you’ll go out with them until you start texting —consider this review your “texting phase.”
We don’t want this coffee maker to be one of those “what was I thinking?” moments!
If you’re looking for something that can give you a solid yet simple pot of coffee, but also want the option of changing up the roast of your coffee based on the time of day or mood, then you’re going to quickly fall in love with this bad boy.
One of my favorite features of the Braun MultiServe coffee maker is its seven brewing size options.
If you have ever owned a drip coffee machine that pours a full carafe at a time, you’ll know the struggle of either the coffee getting cold by the time you want a refill or a lot of coffee going to waste if all you wanted was one or two cups.
This one solves that problem and it’s also a great alternative to single-use pod-style machines, which can be quite wasteful.
If you’re looking for a more in-depth breakdown of what drip coffee maker to go for, we’ve created this guide that highlights our top 13 drip coffee makers for 2022 that you can read once you’re done here.
Braun MultiServe Coffee Machine Review: The Rundown
Aside from its multi-brew capabilities that I’ve previously mentioned, The Braun MultiServe is also SCA certified, BPA-free, and comes with a dishwasher-friendly carafe for ease of use and convenience.
The water tank is removable, so you can take it to your sink to refill. It also comes with a charcoal filter that helps clean the water before it’s brewed so you don’t have to worry about using purified water or a Brita to fill it up.
You’ll also get a measuring scoop for all brewing sizes, so you don’t have to worry about eyeballing the exact right portion for whichever coffee size you prefer.
It comes with an embedded (yet detachable) coffee filter which is incredibly convenient as it removes the need for paper filters completely.
You also get a built-in freshness indicator, an anti-drip system, a warming plate, a self-cleaning system (and a clean indicator), a timer, a touch-screen display and so much more that we’ll go through next.
Okay, now that you have a general idea of what the coffee maker is like, let’s dive into the juicy bits.
Different Coffee Roast Options
The first thing I want to talk about is the touch screen BrewChoice Plus feature, which lets you choose between three different roast options and even lets you brew iced coffee as well.
You can choose between Light, Gold, and Bold depending on your preferences.
Now, I know you might be a bit skeptical about how legit these different brewing options are and if you can actually taste/feel the difference between each option. Short answer, yes you can.
But here’s a bit of a breakdown of the taste and how each option works.
- Light: This option delivers just as promised, a lighter-tasting coffee. It’s great if you’re craving a cup of coffee but you don’t want the intensity of what you’d typically go for first thing in the morning. It’s the perfect option for a mid-day pick-me-up.
- Gold: The “Gold” roast is basically Braun’s version of a medium roast. It has a nice balanced flavor and aroma, and it’s quickly become my go-to for my daily morning coffee.
- Bold: This option is the dark roast option. It tastes strong, but it’s not overpowering or burnt-tasting. If you’re hungover or you’ve had a rough night, this is where you want to be.
Over Ice
Another option on the touch screen BrewChoice is the ice feature where you can choose any of the above coffee roasts that you want and simply make it iced instead.
The way to do this is by pressing the “Over Ice” button before selecting your roast for iced coffee. Then select between Light, Gold, or Bold before making your coffee.
Note that the coffee that will brew with this option will not come out ice-cold, it will be lukewarm or room temperature, so it’s still recommended to add ice to the cup or carafe.
Seven Brewing Size Options
I mentioned briefly earlier on in the review that there are seven different brew sizes: 5oz, 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, 20oz, 5 cups (half carafe) & 10 cups (full carafe).
If you’re planning on brewing the full carafe, one thing to note is that it won’t actually serve 10 drinking cups, so if you’re having more than five people over for a coffee, you’re going to need to brew two or even three pots.
The good thing though is the brewing time is quite fast so you don’t have to sit idly by for too long while the first half of your guests finish their coffee.
The product description mentions that it takes “<8 minutes” for a full pot, but in my personal experience, it takes anywhere from 4 – 6 minutes to brew using its bold settings.
Aesthetics
One of the most underrated features of this coffee maker is the overall build quality. Although it does not retail for an insanely high price, the overall build has a very luxurious and premium feel to it.
For starters, the carafe feels sturdy but light, but not too light that you feel it’s too delicate that it’ll break if it’s inserted too harshly into the machine or dishwasher (which has happened in the past with cheaper machines).
The main unit’s stainless steel look and the sturdy brew size knob that clicks with each turn also add to the feeling that you’ve got a premium coffee maker on site.
It’s also very convenient that the hot water tank is front and center and see-through, this makes it easy to always know when to switch out the water when necessary.
There are four grips on the bottom of the Braun MultiServe as well, so once you find the perfect corner of your kitchen you want it to live in, it’s not going to move from there unless you want it to.
These grips are not to be mistaken for suction cups though, they don’t stick to the counter making it impossible to move without using brute force.
Other Cool Features
Built-In Timer
This timer is great if you’re really not a morning person or you need to run out the door and need your coffee ready to go.
You can set the timer to brew whatever size you choose at whatever time works for you.
One thing to note though is that the warming plate only works when brewing a half carafe (5 cups) or a full carafe (10 cups) and won’t be turned on when you’re using it for a to-go mug or your home mugs.
So if you are planning on setting a timer for the next day, we’d recommend setting it to a half carafe or full carafe to allow some time to press the snooze button and still have hot water when you get up.
Self Cleaner and Indicator
This is an extremely helpful feature to keep your coffee tasting fresh.
Whenever it’s time to give the coffee maker a clean, there is a small clean button on the bottom of the BrewChoice Plus touch screen that will start blinking red when it’s time to clean the machine.
What I enjoy the most about this feature is that it doesn’t have an annoying beep or sound when it’s time to clean. It also doesn’t require any extensive steps to clean either.
You can choose to simply empty all the coffee in the pot and coffee filter, take out the charcoal water filter and just brew a pot of water the same way you normally would minus the coffee.
Or you can use a descaler to deep clean the machine, this will clear out any unwanted residue or hard water scale from your coffee machine.
For this, all you need to do is pour the powder into the hot water tank, swish it around until it dissolves, and run a full pot twice. And voila! Clean as a whistle.
Freshness Timer
This feature will show up where the digital clock is normally displayed and shows a freshness indicator of up to 60 minutes.
The Not-So-Great Parts
So now that we’ve talked about all the wonderful features this coffee machine has, a review wouldn’t be complete without also weighing up the cons.
Although there aren’t many, there are a few cons to note…
The Drip Stop Feature
First off, the drip stop feature does work but the reason it’s in the “not so great” section is that it isn’t as immediate as you’d expect from a drip stop.
When you activate this feature after brewing your coffee, it takes approximately 10-20 seconds after it’s fully done brewing until it stops the drip.
Now, this feature is undoubtedly better than other coffee machines that don’t have it, as it removes the need to put a paper towel or cloth on the bottom while you pull the carafe to avoid burning the warming plate.
It does work, and pretty well, if you wait a few seconds longer before pulling out your cup of coffee. It’s also the only part of the machine that doesn’t feel as premium as the rest of it.
Freshness Timer
The freshness timer is a pretty useful feature that we use all the time, however, there is one con about it—it’s not entirely accurate.
Although it does keep the coffee piping hot for 60 minutes which is great, the taste quality does start to plummet after the 30-minute mark.
This isn’t a big deal-breaker as typically fresh coffee might be finished before the 30-minute mark, but for the times that you don’t finish your pot within the 30-minute freshness window, the coffee can start to taste a bit burnt/stale.
It’s Pretty Bulky
Although the aesthetic of the machine is sturdy and does feel like a luxury product, it is a pretty big coffee maker and will take up a bit of counter space. This can be a deal-breaker if you live in a compact space or have narrow countertops.
Should You Get One?
This answer is always: it depends! The great thing about this coffee machine is it truly does live up to its MultiServe purpose and gives coffee drinkers the flexibility to have whatever coffee they want.
Whether you want to customize your coffee roast, your brew size, or if you prefer your coffee iced.
It’s also the closest thing to a waste-free coffee machine as it eliminates the need for single-use pods with ground coffee or paper coffee filters completely, which is awesome.
Now if this isn’t the right fit, maybe you’re looking for more of a single-serve option that’s compact instead of a multi-faceted option like this one, you can check out this article we wrote about our top single-serve drip coffee makers that might suit your needs.
If you want to read a comparison review on this coffee maker and its competitors, this Braun vs Ninja Coffee Maker review might be for you.
Happy Caffeinating!
