Enjoying my cup of coffee in front of my garden is something that I often do, especially on my day off. I tend to brew filter coffee when at home because I feel that is more an enjoyable and relaxing moment instead of drinking an espresso or a milk-based coffee. I also love brewing a batch of coffee having full control of the brewing process, while sitting down and looking it dripping and then shared it with a bunch of people. That’s how I love to spend my free time!
To do that, I need my Wilfa Classic Plus, a perfect example that combines design, ease of use and high performance all in one.
Wilfa classic plus coffee machine review
So, today, I’m reviewing the Wilfa Classic Plus Coffee Maker, a coffee brewer made by Wilfa, a Norwegian company that is a leading supplier of electric goods in the Scandinavian market. But just before starting with that, let’s have a look backwards at the history of the company.
Wilfa History
The Norwegian company started in 1948 manufacturing exclusively small electrical tools for home. Just recently it has also entered the coffee market, manufacturing a series of coffee grinders and brewers grouped under the name of “Wilfa Black”. The company has now become one of the leading suppliers of the Scandinavian countries with thousands of electric appliances sold in the Nordic countries and much more with innovation at the very heart of its business.
The WIlfa Classic Plus brewer performance
The WIlfa Classic plus is a filter coffee brewer that suits perfectly the need of being caffeinated at home or while working in the office. Its Scandinavian design is perfectly suitable for home, adding that little extra to your kitchen. It’s user-friendly and practical use make this brewer a great option to enjoy great coffee not only for enthusiast coffee lover but also for the professional barista.
The Wilfa Classic CMC-1550 has been awarded by ECBC, the European Coffee Brewing Center which means it meets high standards regarding such things as proper water temperature and brewing time.
With the WIlfa Classic plus the brewing temperature can range from 92 and 96 degrees, assuring a stable temperature during all the brewing time which is around 4 to 6 minutes (I recommended not more than 5). This is a general rule, no matter what brewing method we do, as most of the espresso-based and filter-based drinks required a similar temperature of extraction.
And speaking of that, stable temperature of extraction ensures the coffee to be extracted as its best with a complex result in the cup. Let’s now have a look at the features.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE WILFA CLASSIC + BREWER
- As I said before, the brewer delivers high standards thanks to the 9-hole brewing arm which ensures homogenous distribution, wetting all the coffee grounds;
- Perfect control of the entire brewing process by adjusting the flow rate as desired: keep looking at the flow rate to make sure you achieve the proper brewing time
- Easy and practical as you just need to fill the tank with fresh water and put the coffee grounds on the filter holder. After pushing the button, the brewer is going to warm the water and start the extraction itself, easy peasy! ;
- A hot plate that keeps the coffee warm: after the extraction is finished, you can leave the coffee in the hot plate for 40 minutes. After this time, the coffee brewer switches itself off if not used, thanks to the automatic switch-off. I don’t recommend to leave the coffee in the hotplate for longer as it’s going to be bitter as the time passed by;
- A drip-stop function that allows stopping the brewing process while taking out the coffee server preventing any spills on the hotplate;
- A cleaning indicator that is going to tell you when the brewer needs to be clean: after 60 brews the button is going to flash advising you that it need to be cleaned or descaled. Regarding of cleaning the brewer, just remember to not put it in the dishwasher and to not use any steel wool or an abrasive sponge that may scratch the hotplate of the brewer, the server and the carafe.
HOW TO USE THE WILFA CLASSIC + BREWER
Step by step instruction
- Fill the water tank with the desire fresh filter water according to your recipe: I recommend to use Waitrose Essential for a sweet and balanced result. To start with I would go for a standard ratio of about 60 grams of coffee per litre. I then first work with the amount of coffee, increasing or lowering the dose in case of increase or lower the body and then changing the grinding size in case you need to bring more sweetness and acidity to the brew;
- Grind the coffee pretty coarse like if you were brewing for the french press brewing method. As I always said in several previous articles it’s better to avoid any pre-ground coffee and grind fresh coffee just before brewing it with a burr grinder or a high-quality hand grinder like the Comandante grinder or the Aergrind hand grinder. It’s too important to grind fresh coffee if you want to extract the best flavour from it;
- Pre-wet the filter with a large amount of water to avoid any paper taste in the cup: remember, the paper has a strong smell! I saw barista pour 3 litres of water before competing in the Brewers cup to make sure to get rid of that smell;
- Press the start/stop button to start the brewing process: the brewer is going to heat the water first and then starting the extraction. You can now fully control the brewing process by adjusting the flow rate of the extraction. As soon as the water starts spreading out from the brewer’s arm, you can choose to close the filter holder and go for a little bloom;
- Wait for the entire process and modify the flow rate according to your recipe;
- Enjoy your coffee
The “WIlfa Black Series” has a water tank capacity of 1 litre so it can brew up to 6 flat white cups (6ounces) within 5 minutes. The brewer comes in black (CMC-1550B), white (CMC-1550W) and steel (CMC-1550S), it has a stainless steel surface and it’s my favourite filter coffee machine of this price segment. It’s BPA-free and it also has a 5-year warranty.
The Wilfa Classic Plus brewer price
The Wilfa Classic Plus brewer is on sale for around £150.00
This coffee brewer fully meets my expectations.
Enjoying your coffee with the Wilfa Classic Plus, it’s not only about aesthetics.
I am an Italian coffee lover that pushed for the love of this “amazing drug” decided to come to London to study about coffee and its different extraction procedures and tastes.
I admittedly have a very cheap, average coffee maker. it does the job but nothing special. This review makes me feel like the Wilfa Classic Plus Brewer is what I’m clearly missing out on!
That’s something you need to consider if you want to achieve a consistent result even at home.