I am not a coffee snob. I drink it with milk. I use Folgers decaf. I refuse to grind my own beans. I prefer to let billion-dollar multinational corporations do the grinding for me. I used to plop three heaping tablespoons of Folgers into a cut-open plastic jug and pour my reverse-osmosis filtered water over it. Then I put it my microwave for 14 minutes. I drained the coffee through a Brawny paper towel into a 30oz Balfor thermal mug I got on Amazon. OK, so a bit savage and feral, but I didn't want to be a total suburbanite with a coffee machine. The Bonavita BV1500TS brews in one-third the time. I bought one of those gold-tone permanent filters so no drinking paper residue. I was delighted to see Bonavita is thoughtful enough to put a 4-pack of filters in the box, so I didn't have to wait for the permanent filter to arrive. I was sure my low-temperature microwave method would be less bitter, but it was the exact opposite. The Bonavita made perfect coffee, and it was my goofy old method that made the coffee taste bad.There is a review on CNET, "Bonavita BV1500TS review: A high-end brand's step-down coffeemaker brews with bitter results," by Brian Bennett. He claims this model makes bitter coffee. He also says he loves the 8-cup model. He notes that he tested with a very touchy coffee known to be bitter. I almost bought the bigger unit based on this. I am so glad I didn't. The coffee I made today was the best-tasting, smoothest, most delicious coffee I have ever had anywhere. I disagree completely with Bennett's review. Maybe it is outdated. Maybe he got a bad unit. Maybe he did not run three carafes through the unit in preparation, as the directions tell you to. Maybe he got the coffee maker on a grumpy day. As an engineer, I can see that the water delivery system needs to cool the water down from boiling before it drips on the grounds. Maybe Bennett left the lid open or blocked the vents or tested in a hot or cold warehouse. All I know is he is dead wrong. His testing was not double-blind, so I don't put much credence in it.The unit came in a couple days, even with regular (not Prime) free shipping. It was delivered on Saturday despite saying it would be Monday. Yeah Amazon. The unit was well-packed, and had a decent little manual included. As noted, I loved they put in 4 filters, although the gold-tone filter came today too, but only after I made the first cup.OK, its fast, and fantastic coffee, and its small and compact. The bad is that while it brews in minutes, you have to wait for the water to drain past the coffee after it stops brewing. No different than any other machine, I suppose. There is a plastic lip inside the stainless steel carafe so it never drains completely. No problem, one factor in getting this one versus the 8-cup model is that there is a glass double-wall thermal carafe available for this model. Its 30 bucks, here on Amazon. I will suffer with the stainless carafe until I do a "treat yo'self" to the glass one. I did love how the top screws onto the carafe, with perfect registration and a lever to open carafe drain. It does have a very restricted flow out of the carafe. Come on Bonavita. This is a drug delivery system. We want it fast. I did not notice any leaking or dripping problems as some others have noted. After I made the three conditioning pots, for the actual first coffee I did not bother to screw on the top. I just poured directly into my 30oz Balfor thermal mug, then added the milk. The perfect temperature of the coffee made it taste even better. This was after adding milk however.No, this is not a shill review. I bought it with my own Social Security money here in the Florida retirement community. I am just so used to being disappointed with products, it was great to get one that exceeded my every expectation. Best yet, I save wear and tear on my old analog commercial microwave, a Sharp R-6300. Search Google for Sharp R-6300 and you can read an article I wrote years ago about that great unit. Next up is a tea-maker I also ordered from Amazon. I hope its as good as this product. Its another way to reduce the usage of my microwave, which I consider irreplaceable.I got so worked up writing this, it occurs to me there is no reason I can't make a second pot tonight, its decaf after all. Now I get to try the paperless filter, yippee.[Update, Oct 2021, four years later.] I still love this coffeemaker. I not only have used it every day, I have taken to brewing tea in it, so that means I use it more than twice a day on average. A family-sized tea bag makes 5 cups, four brews fills the gallon jugs I used to buy at the supermarket. Way cheaper, I can make decaf or caffeinated tea, and no artificial sugar or high prices. I love that it just takes one button press, no "features". I don't want to program a computer with every product I use, I just want to press a button and have it brew and turn off automatically. I don't want a heater under the carafe.I had to buy two more double-walled glass carafes. One I dropped. Good thing, since its pour spout was hand-firmed and way too tiny, it was nearly impossible to pour without dribbling coffee down the side. The second was not properly sealed so condensation formed inside. There is a little glass nipple on the bottom where they are supposed to seal it off, and that was not sealed. The handle is two small as well, but it kinda works. My review for that will be "Italian style, Italian quality." I came back here today since I am considering buying a second one, since I don't want to go a day without the machine, when the first one wears out. I did learn that some people credit the cone filter with better coffee. Oh, I gave up on the permanent filter, it left little grounds in the coffee. I just use a #4 cone filter from Publix. They are cheap and work great.As someone who is not familiar with the scientific nuance of coffee brewing (grinds their Starbucks beans using a subpar Mr. Coffee grinder) this makes great coffee. I thought only the darkest of roasts were appealing until I tried a proper unit like this one. I used to fill my old $20 coffee maker so full of grounds it would spew out the basket and still not be 'strong enough'. I was always thinking: "Why can't coffee taste as great as it smells." This Bonavita makes coffee like that and I find myself experiencing the subtleties of different varieties and roasts.I personally enjoy the one-button simplicity of this unit. Setting it up is a little bit more involved than a maker with a swing basket and auto drip valve but I find it's worth it. I've used it every day for the past 4 months and it's holding up well. Cleaning is a bit difficult due to the carafe's shape and the complexity of the lid, but they both seem pretty durable. It seems like there are some potential leaky points of failure on the carafe in general—specifically the gasket. That said, mine hasn't leaked from anywhere yet. Maybe it helps that I never throw anything with rubberized materials or gaskets into the dishwasher.Overall, It's a great introduction to what a proper coffee maker is and can produce—worth every penny.As for flavor of brewed coffee, there was nothing outstanding or deficient noted when using freshly-ground coffee. Instructions provide detailed steps and several methods for measuring coffee, such as volume versus weight to adjust flavor. Temperature: Temperature of freshly-brewed coffee is only hot enough to be satisfactory, nothing more. Previous comments about the short time the carafe maintains the temperature of the coffee are accurate! Don't expect hot coffee an hour later. While the most significant heat loss comes from lacking a nicely sealed lid during brewing, even when first rinsing the pot with hot water, the coffee in the carafe loses temperature quickly after brewing, just not as quickly as a typical glass carafe.Handling: The lid of the carafe has to be removed in order to brew coffee with the filter basket resting on top. The gap between the top of the filter basket and brewer lid allows a lot of steam to escape during brewing, which may or may not affect overall brew quality. The spray nozzle array diameter seems to be better than many others, thus assisting in a wider dispersion of hot water over coffee grounds. Brew time was on par for a small coffeemaker.Luckily the filter basket holds standard 8-12 cup size coffee filters, so I was able to continue reusing my mesh filter. The filter basket has to be removed from the coffee maker and from the top of the pot in order to place the carafe lid on after brewing. The carafe lid has to be screwed on immediately after brewing to keep coffee warm. Pouring the coffee with the lid on requires depressing the lid lever, which is easy to do. Putting on and removing the lid took a few days to become accustomed to but once I realized it is exactly one full turn, then all I had to do was place the lid in the position it will be when closed and spin the top around clockwise once with the lever until if comes full stop. After brewing, to get the lid on quickly, a little care has to be exercised in removing the filter basket with coffee likely to drip from the hot grounds, set it down and then turn attention to screwing on the carafe lid. Although the unit requires the lid to be off during brewing, at least it is unlikely that overflowing will occur since the filter basket does not feature a a pause-and-serve valve on the bottom. Even without a pause-and-serve feature, the short brew time of a small coffeemaker like this one isn't very inconvenient, and much preferable to cleaning up big messes caused by the failure of pause-and-serve valves on other models. Due to the water reservoir being separated from the filter basket, there is no apparent chance of coffee grinds contaminating the reservoir if overflows happen. Cleaning the parts is easier and more effective when instructions are followed, since the carafe lid separates into sub-components. Cleaning the brewer lid (above the filter basket) and shower head is also easier when knowing how to separate the different sub-components. Separating some parts for cleaning required snapping the brew lid off and back on, and the first time was difficult. I'm concerned the connecting points will break if they don't become easier to separate in subsequent cleanings. The height of the unit is typical of small coffeemakers, so storing after use under a cupboard is easy. The width of the unit is wider than more stacked-style models due to the side-by-side design of the reservoir, but I like the concept because as mentioned above it reduces the chance of coffee grounds from the filter basket entering the reservoir. It was easy to follow instructions and turn on the pre-infusion feature. Don't repeat the process if you want it to always execute it, since it will stay in memory until the activation step is run again, so if you try to activate the feature again, it will turn off. (On/Off toggle function, same steps) This feature was one of the main reasons I selected this model. I hardly notice the time difference when running it versus running the brew cycle without the feature, so I'm leaving it on. I will have to measure the time difference between the two modes to see if the pre-infusion function is really doing something different. I've seen a complaint on here that claimed it did not.After two weeks of daily use, the only complaint I have is that the coffee loses heat rapidly in the carafe. For people who really want the longest heat retention, you'd have to instill nearly boiling-hot water to preheat the carafe for maybe 10-20 minutes before brewing coffee. Otherwise, just count on the microwave to warm up that 3rd cup. 3.5 true cups is about the capacity of this unit, since manufacturers are allowed to call 5-6 oz. a cup of coffee, even though 8 oz. is a true cup. All coffeemakers use this fudge factor in describing their products.My only complaint is the pitcher is very difficult to fully empty. You need to turn it upside down and shake a little to dispose the last bit of coffee, which is awkward. This also makes it tough to clean. All of this is avoidable if you use it for a single cup and set the cone filter holder right atop your mug. The whole thing reminds me of the machines they use in diners, and I love the single switch simplicity. Coffee produced will hardly be different than any other pour over.My last coffee maker lasted 20 years (RIP Cara Mia). At first I was not so impressed with this new machine: too finicky, too messy. Finally I realized my grumbles had more to do with me having to retrain my body to make coffee while still half asleep. Now after a week I'm happy; I have the little dance: rinse and warm the pot, this much water, this much grounds, this is how you pour...First the little quibbles, minor things really:- How to get water into the reservoir? What to do with the dripping basket when you screw the lid on? My answer is a wide mouth jar that measures the perfect amount of water, and on which the drippy coffee basket sits nicely. (Thank you Adams peanut butter)- Five cups, to me, is an odd number. I drink exactly two mugs in the morning, about 870 ml or 30 fl oz. Happily I've found I can over-fill the reservoir to the proper 6 cups/2 mugs without problems.- Like every coffee machine ever made the carafe drips when you pour. The answer is patience (pour slower) and technique (hold your wrist like this).- The cord is too short. I've had to rearrange my counter-top for this. (grrr) After using this for a while, two things made me come back and remove two stars:-The too short power cord and a reservoir lid that when opened is higher that the standard 18" cabinet space, means a daily struggle to fill the water.-The carafe lid will not seal easily, causing a drip on the counter every single pour.I have seen reviews claiming that it wasn't certified by the sca and that it was doing "bad coffee". This is incorrect. While this product did not recieve the certification that the 8 cup got, it brews at the exact same temperature using a 1 100 watt heating element. It consumes less electricity but still brews between 195-205f, i know, i tested the temperature. And for those who don't know, it wasn't certified because it only brews 25oz of coffee, the sca only certifies batch brewers that do 32oz and more.The coffee maker is very simple to use and intuitive. You only have an on switch to push, that's it. The design of the way it brews is where it is considered a shortcoming: you have to place the basket on top of the open carafe and let the machine do its work. Then you should proceed to manually screw the lid and fine somewhere to drop the basket and let it cool down. Other than this weird design choice, it's an incredibly intuitive machine to use.It brews excellent coffee, provided you have a quality burr grinder, a precise scale and quality beans and by quality, i mean those more expensive beans selling at around $21,50 the 300g. As long as you invest in proper, quality coffee beans, this brewer will be a solid option as using grocery pre-ground coffee is deffinitely not a proper option for this one because like i said at the beginning, it brews at higher temperature than cheaper machines, so pre-ground coffee just won't be good.Overall, it is a very solid and competent drip machine and as long as you only use quality beans and measure your doses, you won't be disappointed by this one.I previously owned the 8 cup version and rarely used all 8 cups. If you are making coffee for more than one person, this 5 cup unit may not be enough. For me it is perfect. Bonavita is a high quality unit with no bells and whistles - no timers, keep warm functions, etc. It IS about getting the coffee to the higher temperature when brewing for delicious infused coffee. The latter is what is most important to me. I set it up at night so in the morning, all I have to do is push the button and wait 5 minutes. That is enough convenience - for me, it is all about the quality and that is why this gets 5 stars.I have a Moccamaster KBG but now I'm the only one in the house drinking coffee. I only make 500ml, so there is a fair amount of babysitting with the Moccamaster when it comes to making smaller batches. You have to preheat the machine and leave the carafe out for 60-90 seconds to let the coffee steep, which results in an optimal brew time of about 3:30 to 4 minutes. Results are pretty outstanding but It is almost as much effort as manual pour over.So I wanted a machine that could make smaller batches without a lot of effort (grind coffee, rinse filter, put in water and press start).The Bonavita 5 cup certainly fit the bill on paper, but no matter what I do, the coffee is bitter. Coarser grind, less coffee to the point of underextraction, it doesn't matter. I am using fresh, lighter roast beans that has fruity notes but in this machine it tastes like Tim Hortons dark roast that has been sitting on the hot plate for way too long. Yuck. I suspect the brew temperature is too high.On the positive side, it takes No 4 filters so if you have a larger capacity coffee maker you don't need to stock different types. Coffee comes out piping hot.The machine itself is very well designed for cleaning and all parts such as the cover, brew head and carafe can all be disassembled and are dishwasher safe.On the negative side, having the filter basket sit on top of the carafe and having no place to put it once brewing is done is not convenient. The carafe also needs to be preheated or it cools off too fast. I didn't experience the problems others have had with the dribbling carafe and lid, but you cannot completely empty it...there is always about a teaspoon of water (or coffee) in the bottom so you have to wipe it dry.So in the end there is not much of a time saving. and the results are just not worth the extra 90 seconds it takes to brew in the Moccamaster.In fact I have used a small 4 cup Cuisinart where I used to stay on weekends and I have to say it makes better coffee than this.