Wolf Coffee Maker: Is Water Filtration Key For Delicious Drip Coffee?

The technology of drip coffee makers has advanced a lot since their inception. Now we have a huge variety of modern features, such as integrated grinders and automatic brewing options. Wolf coffee maker is a great example of how far drip machines have advanced.

The Wolf Gourmet Programmable Coffee System is the Aston Martin of drip coffee makers. But is the high price really justified, and will you get a superior drip coffee experience?

Here’s how we rated its programmable options, design, and the cup of coffee it creates.

Summary: The Wolf Coffee Maker

• 10-cup thermal carafe
  
• Manual and Accu Brew modes
  
• Adjustable brew strength

This coffeemaker is well designed and produces an excellent cup of coffee every time and very quickly.

– Customer Review

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The Full Wolf Coffee Maker Review

Wolf Gourmet programmable coffee maker is one of the most user-friendly drip makers you’ll use. It’s also one of, if not the most expensive, drip coffee maker you’ll come across. Here’s a breakdown of all the features that account for the high price, so you can decide if this is the right prop for you.

Wolf Coffee Maker Review

• Design
• Programmability
• Performance
• Cleaning and Maintenance
• Value for Money

4.5

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Design – 4.5/5

Wolf coffee maker has a sleek stainless steel design. The large buttons and knobs located on the front make it somewhat industrial looking, but it’ll fit nicely in most kitchens.

This drip machine looks and feels durable and like it can withstand daily use for years to come. The stainless steel construction makes it feel heavy-duty (although it weighs just over 6 kg, which isn’t too heavy). It’s larger than most other drip coffee makers, with dimensions of 27.5 x 23 x 36.3 cm.. We liked that it’s rectangularly shaped, as the straight lines make it fit nicely next to your kitchen appliances and under the cabinets.

The manufacturer put a lot of thought into the design, which is best seen in the 1.5-litre removable water reservoir. It’s accessible from the front and has a handle so you can easily lift it in and out of the drip coffee maker. This is especially useful if you have low-hanging cabinets. There’s no need to pull the coffee maker to reach the water reservoir in the back.

The removable water reservoir comes with a filtration system that ensures the water is safe to drink. The water filter reduces chlorine and mineral buildup, so you have an improved coffee taste (1).

Overall, the Wolf coffee maker has a minimalist design. The LCD display panel is found on the left front side. It shows you the amount of ground coffee in the brew basket, how many hours ago your coffee was brewed, and when the automatic clean cycle should start.

There are also four buttons under the display:

• Start/Stop — To start or stop brewing
• Prog — Used to program the clock and brewing settings
• Zero — To reset the brew settings to zero
• Clock

The Prog and Start/Stop buttons have integrated LED lights that turn on when you activate the settings, which is a nice touch. We liked that all the buttons and knobs have clear labels, which make the interface more intuitive.

There are also two knobs. One for selecting the brew mode, the clean setting, and the strength level, and the other knob for the number of cups and programming the next brew.

Finally, you can open a removable brew basket by sliding it out like a drawer, and there’s a 1.48-litre double-walled stainless steel carafe. The coffee maker with a thermal carafe is the best option because a thermal carafe lets the coffee sit at the right temperature.

Programmability – 5/5

Wolf coffee machine has two brew functions:

• Manual — You need to manually insert the amount of ground coffee and water for your perfect drink, turn the knob to manual mode, and press start.
• Accu-brew cycle — The machine automatically weighs coffee grounds and chooses the correct amount of water for the perfect coffee-to-water ratio. This function also lets you choose the number of cups you want to brew (four to 10) and the coffee strength (mild or bold).

Both modes let you program the coffee maker, so it starts the next brew process automatically in the next 24 hours. For example, you can set up the drip coffee maker the night before and wake up to a morning cup of hot coffee.

Special features

We especially liked the Accu-brew mode and think newbies to drip coffee will love this option. One of the most difficult things when making drip coffee is figuring out the coffee-to-water ratio. This is an extremely delicate balance. Too much coffee and you’ll have a very strong cup, but too little and your drink will be watery. Wolf coffee maker takes care of the guesswork.

The Accu-brew feature has an integrated scale, so the machine weighs the coffee as you add the beans to the basket. The LCD panel lets you know when there’s the optimal amount of coffee grounds for the water in the reservoir. Accu-brew also lets you customize the brew strength by choosing between five boldness settings. Overall, it’ll take some time and trial and error to get the hang of the Accu-brew cycle, but once you do, you’ll have above-average drip coffee.

Wolf coffee maker also has a Last Brew Memory feature, which remembers the Accu-brew setting you used, so you can get the exact drink next time. The machine learns your preferences this way, so the next time you want coffee brewed exactly the same, you don’t have to mentally break down all the possible flavors.

The Auto Pause & Serve option lets you take out the stainless steel thermal carafe and have a cup of coffee before the machine finishes the brewing cycle. We feel that the Wolf drip coffee maker brews coffee quickly, so you won’t use this option a lot. But it’s handy if you’re in a rush and need caffeine stat.

Performance – 4.5/5

Wolf coffee maker consistently produces great-tasting drip coffee. This is one of the most efficient and fastest drip machines you’ll find! It brews a full 10-cup batch of coffee (1.48 litres) in around seven minutes.

Wolf Gourmet programmable coffee maker has optimal brewing temperature, extraction, and brewing time. The coffee machine sprays water over the coffee grounds evenly, which ensures optimal extraction. This system resembles pre-infusion, which lets the coffee bloom and results in better extraction of flavour from the beans (2).

The machine is quiet, which you’ll appreciate first thing in the morning. It doesn’t have issues reaching the necessary brewing temperature or keeping the drink hot. Drip coffee makers should reach a temperature between 90 and 96 °C for best extraction when brewing coffee, and Wolf consistently does this (3).

Moreover, the coffee maker has a keep warm function. This feature lasts for an hour, and the time is shown on display. It helps you have hot coffee, although the warm-up time could be longer. A timer keeps track of when the coffee was brewed and how long it’s been sitting in the pot, which lets you know the freshness.

Wolf coffee maker uses cone filters. The shape of the filters is crucial for determining the final coffee quality (4). You get four filters with the machine, so you have to buy additional ones, which is a recurring expense.

Overall, the Wolf Gourmet coffee maker reaches optimal brewing temperatures, has an excellent extraction method, and doesn’t take too long to produce a delicious cup of coffee. It takes care of measuring the grounds, eliminates the guesswork, and it’s as close as you can get to a perfect cup of coffee. No matter how many cups of coffee you make, the taste is the same. The only con is that the carafe is on the heavy side, and you need to take the lid off to get to the last 1/2 cup of coffee.

Cleaning and Maintenance – 4/5

The cleaning and maintenance for the Wolf coffee maker are manageable as there are only a few parts you need to wash by hand.

You need to clean the Wolf Gourmet programmable coffee maker to ensure a long life. Unplug the machine and let it cool for some time. Once the coffee maker cools down, spray the surfaces with a non-abrasive stainless steel cleaner and wipe with a cloth.

Wash the water reservoir, carafe, and brew basket by hand in warm water with soap. Don’t submerge the carafe in water completely, and don’t use abrasive pads. You can also wash the brewing basket in the dishwasher.

Note: The machine’s LCD display will show the word “clean” after 300 cycles. This means it’s time to descale the coffee system. You can still use the coffee maker normally, but make sure to clean it in a reasonable time. You should also change the water filter after 30 cycles.

Wolf’s coffee system goes through three stages of cleaning. Cycle 3 is a 20-minute soaking cycle that removes mineral deposits. Cycles 1 and 2 rinse the vinegar from the Coffee system. You can find detailed instructions on how to perform the cleaning in the user manual.

Value for Money – 4.5/5

This is one of the more expensive drip coffee machines on the market. But this isn’t the average drip coffee maker. It has a heavy-duty design, a 5-year warranty, manual and an Accu-brew mode, and a superior drinking experience, all packed into an elegant coffee machine.

Wolf Gourmet programmable coffee maker will last for years. This device is a durable investment that will pay off during the many years you’ll use it. However, one thing it doesn’t have is the grinder. A quality grinder is a big but necessary investment because the grind size determines the quality of your coffee (6).

Overall, even without the grinder, we think the price-to-value ratio is reasonable considering all the options the Wolf has. This coffee maker will appeal to users who want high-quality, reliability, and automatic brewing.

Do Not Buy Wolf Gourmet Programmable Coffee Maker If…

You want complete control over the brewing process: If you aren’t interested in the automatic brewing process but want to have complete control, there’s no reason to pay Wolf’s high price. Instead, there’s a huge range of electric drip machines that come at a lower price and let you measure, grind, and determine the coffee-to-water ratio yourself.

You want an affordable drip coffee maker: The main drawback of the Wolf coffee maker is its extravagantly high price which makes it out of budget for many users. Luckily, there are other coffee makers that do the job just as well at a lower price. OXO Brew 8 Cup is built to last with hardly any removable parts. It also has a double-wall, vacuum-insulated carafe that keeps your drink hot, and the Rainmaker Bloom cycle ensures optimal extraction. You get all this at a fraction of Wolf’s price.

You want a larger capacity coffee maker: Wolf Gourmet coffee maker has a capacity of 1.48 litres, which is 10 cups of coffee. While this isn’t a small capacity, it isn’t enough if you plan to use it in a group of coffee lovers or have a large coffee-drinking household. Check out the KitchenAid 12-cup coffee machine. It’s another drip coffee maker with thermal carafe, but it has an impressive capacity of 12 cups.

The Verdict

Wolf coffee maker is a great choice if you want a quality device that makes delicious coffee. You can choose a manual mode which gives you freedom and room to experiment with coffee strength and flavor. Or, use the Accu-brew setting and let the coffee machine adjust the brew strength and quantity of grounds according to how many cups you want.

Overall, if you want a convenient drip coffee maker with pour-over brew quality, this is the machine for you.

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