Bunn Trifecta MB - Tasting the Coffee

I had a chance to play with the Bunn Trifecta MB over the weekend. The brewer's finish looks nice with a solid appearance and feel. For $499 you get a couple brew chambers (one for tea and one for coffee) and a clear cup that looks like it comes from a science lab. The brewer gives a science experiment element to brewing with the dial adjustments for time and intensity of agitation so the beaker style cup fits right in. The top dial adjusts 5 levels of agitation - both intensity, length, and frequency are changed as you move up  the settings. Duration of brewing is controlled by the lower knob - only the first three settings (:40, :45, and :50) are useful for coffee - the 2 and 3 minute settings are reserved for tea lovers.  

All that is great info, but how is the coffee? Here is what I found after a quick tasting:

Sample #1

When using the softest agitation setting this coffee starts with a bright fruity acidity  I could pick up on with ease and the long finish was caramel sweet. The mouth feel is soft but not tea like with respectable body.

Awesome cup. 

Sample #2

When using the most agressive agitation setting this coffee presents sweet fruit at first but jumps quickly into a caramel middle and a roasted nut finish. The mouth feel is creamy with plenty of body.  

Awesome cup. 

Both samples are from Intelligentsia and both are the roaster’s Anjilanaka Organic Bolivia. Same coffee but two very different cups. In the morning if you want a bright eye opener, then go with soft agitation. After dinner if you want a desert cup then crank up the volume. This machine delivers.

Here are the tasting notes from Intelligentsia - "Silky and smooth on the palate, this year's Anjilanaka brings a balanced and steady character.  White grape, honey and apple skin notes give dimension without sacrificing delicacy. Burnt caramel and hazelnut notes mark the finish."

I was picking out these flavors like an old pro - before reading the description - along with a lady trying the machine out at the same time too. Amanda from Bunn said she had not tried this one so she sampled with us, noting the smokiness in the finish too. The Trifecta separated the flavors with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel adding intensity to the initial white grape acidity in sample one while making the burnt caramel and hazelnut jump in the second cup.

Coffee, you gotta love it!