Bunn Velocity Coffee Maker

Life's too short to drink warm beer or lukewarm coffee and since we only drink an average of one cup of coffee a day, we want it to be a really good brew. By 'good' we mean hot. Really hot. The Bunn Velocity GR coffee brewer does a great job of brewing consistenly hot coffee in a matter of minutes.

We've been using a Bona Vita 1800 series 8-cup coffee maker for the past three years and it still works great, but we needed an additional coffee maker to cope with extra friends and family stopping by during the holiday season. Instead of buying another Bona Vita, we opted to try the Bunn Velocity instead. The Bunn is working out well and there are no buying regrets, but there are a few small details that have popped up over the past few months.

What we like about the Bunn Velocity:

  • Fast and hot: It brews very hot coffee, very quickly. Once the initial setup is complete, it takes less than four minutes to brew 20 ounces of very hot coffee.
  • Made in the USA: While not all Bunn coffee makers are made in the USA, the Velocity GR series is made in Creston, Iowa.
  • Price: The price is reasonable given the quality of the brewed coffee.
  • Good support: Bunn has been around a long time, so product support and replacement parts are readily available and easy to find.

What we don't like about the Bunn Velocity:

  • Needs to stay plugged in: The Velocity works via an internal reservoir and the unit needs to stay plugged in to keep the heater prepped for on-demand hot water. You can unplug the coffee maker to store it, but it takes 15 minutes for the internal tank to re-heat and get the brewer up to optimal brewing temps.
  • No start switch: It sounds minor, but there's no switch to start the brewing process. The front switch you see in the photo only controls the warming plate. The brewing starts when the top lid is closed, which isn't very intuitive.
  • Size: It's not very heavy, but the unit itself is a bit on the large size which takes up counter space. The photo below shows the Bona Vita vs. Bunn Velocity as far as size (keeping in mind the Bona Vita is 8-cups the Bunn is 10-cups).

Bunn vs. Bona Vita coffee maker size


Where to buy the Bunn Velocity :

Bunn coffee makers are available at many retail outlets (Walmart, Target, Kohls, etc.) as well as several online e-tailers, and the price is generally $99 to $119 with variable shipping costs. We bought ours from the local brick and mortar Walmart for $99. Amazon also has most of the Bunn coffee maker models (including the Velocity GR), as well as several Bona Vita coffee makers.