Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker

This coffeemaker was a bit more expensive than others available, but the engineering on this thing is just unbelievable. My wife and I have been using it for about three months now, and we still marvel at how well it works, and the quality of the coffee it makes. Some of the things we really like include the fact that we can take the removable resevoir to the sink to fill it rather than try to pour water into the machine with the possibility of spilling it; the conical container for the grounds is in the coffee pot, so it is very easy to empty the grounds, and coffee doesn't drip onto the heating plate after removing the pot; it uses a #2 paper filter, and I've found that a similarly sized Swiss Gold foil filter also works for those who don't want the paper filter to soak up the coffee bean oils (but you'll need to be a little more careful to hold the top on the pot when pouring the coffee if you don't remove the filter first; And I could go on with the good things. I don't believe it has an automatic shutoff on the hotplate, or at least we haven't found one, but we don't use it anyway. All in all, I think that using this is like driving a Lexus instead of a ten year old junker. It's a neat piece of equipment, and it makes great coffee.

I had never heard of Zojirushi before but I was being very picky, holding out for a coffeemaker that makes 4-6 "cups" (aka two mugs,) uses a cone-bottom filter, and isn't black or white. This is the ONLY coffe maker on Earth, apparently that met all my criteria. (OK I still would have liked it better if it came in red, but the soft gray color is kind of classy!) And I have to say I'm really pleased with it. The design is simple and elegant and the removable water reservoir is a great convenience; I don't have to pull the whole coffee maker out from under the overhanging cabinets to get enough room to put the water in.

It also makes really good coffee, mainly because of the cone-bottom filter (I'll never go back to flat-bottom filters!) And the built in carbon filter makes more of a difference than I had expected.

OK some reviewers below were on about how it doesn't make coffee "hot enough" and I was like, bonus! I still don't understand how the rest of the human race can drink hot coffee straight from the pot without scalding their tongues. I was really looking forward to being able to drink coffee without having to put an ice cube in the cup first. (To be fair, I do drink it black.) I was so confident about this due to the "not hot enough" reviews that when I poured my first cup, I just took a great big sip and scalded my tongue. Argh!! Maybe it's just that the warming plate doesn't keep coffee at boiling temperature, but it shouldn't: that would ruin the flavor of the coffee (and I've had a few cheap coffee makers that did scorch the coffee in a very short time.)

Anyway if you are the sole coffee drinker in your home and you like GOOD coffee, and you don't dig the flavor-limitations or wastefulness of those pod-based things, this is a perfect coffee-maker for you. (And if they ever make it in Red, I'll be the first in line!)

Buy Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker Now

I spent a lot of time online looking for a 4 to 5 cup coffeemaker to suit my needs. There are the usual suspects: Mr. Coffee, Braun, etc, that seem to get universally bad to mediocre reviews from people, especially people who know anything about coffee. I decided to skip all of those and look for something that would make a really good cup of coffee.

My choices became limited to two coffeemakers: one made by a company called Bodum (which looks like some kind of laboratory beaker) and the Zojirushi Zutto. The Bodum model supposedly performed well and made excellent coffee under ideal conditions, but many people who reviewed it said that it was prone to mishaps such as overboiling. So I went with the Zojirushi. I was not disappointed.

The Zutto is extremely well-designed and functional. The coffee filter is in the lid of the pot (not attached to the maker, like most autodrip models), and there is a removable charcoal water filter to remove chlorine, etc. It's very easy to clean, attractive and perfect for a small space. After running water through it a few times to remove the burned-plastic taste you would get from any new coffeemaker, I brewed up a pot of Green Mountain. The coffee was excellent, the best I've ever had from an automatic drip maker. After the pot was left on the burner for 10 minutes, the coffee still tasted good, with only a very slight hint of a burned taste. I'm assuming this means that the heating element is set to the correct temperature for keeping the coffee warm.

There were no problems with pouring; you just have to place your thumb over part of the lid when you pour. The Zojirushi Zutto is a well thought-out and sturdy product, far better than anything comparable from any American company.

Read Best Reviews of Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker Here

I agree with most of the other posters here that this is a fine coffee maker. BUT... it has a major flaw in that the carafe handle design is flawed. It works by a metal strap tight around the neck of the carafe, holding the handle on. Other coffee makers I've used with this design, also have some means of attaching the bottom of the handle to the side of the carafe, which lessons the pressure created on the strap when you pour. The Zojirushi does not, and when you pour, there's a lot of pressure on the neck of the carafe. I've had to replace the carafe twice, because after time, it develops a crack in the glass at the neck, which eventually leads to breakage. As I say, this has happened twice, and at @20.00+ a pop for new carafes, it begins to add up to being way to expensive to keep. I've had my Zojirushi for about a year and a half, and other than the carafe problem, it has worked well.

Feb, 2012.

I seem to be taking a lot of flack here for my review. I hate to tell the people who think I have it in for this coffee maker that that's not the case, and that I'm not some clumsy clod who can't keep from breaking the carafe myself. The first two did develop cracks at the neck without any help from me and I did have to replace them. That being said, It's now 2012, (the first review written in June of 2009), and I'm still using this coffee maker daily, and the third carafe I purchased has not developed any cracks at the neck. And... it still makes great coffee!

Want Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker Discount?

I am not a true believer, but a coffee agnostic. I allow for the existence of an angry coffee god whose strict rules must be followed to the letter, but I don't operate under that assumption. Instead, I bask in the earthly pleasures of a daily cup of hot, black, strong coffee, and the Zishoruji is a perfect device of such hedonism.

The believers say that the Zujishori doesn't heat the water to optimal extraction temperature. I like my coffee blow-before-sipping hot and thicker-than-mud strong, and I get both. They say that the water temperature impacts the bitterness as well. I take my coffee black, and I find the bitterness level just right to balance the acidity and create a wonderful complexity.

The believers say that coffee beans should be ground mere seconds before brewing. I grind mine at the store where I buy them, and lightning has yet to strike me.

The believers say that a five-cup coffee maker ought to serve two mugs of coffee. I say that filling the Zishoriju's removable water tank to the brim produces two 13-oz mugs of coffee. That does require filling past the 5-cup tick mark of the tank, but then again, I do not recognize the infallibility of the tick mark.

The believers say that coffee grinds should not spill into the pot. I agree, and find that if I shape the five scoops of coffee into a cone in the filter of the Zoshujiri--that is, if I form a depression instead of a mound in the middle--then the dripping water does not splash the grinds into the pot. See, we can agree on something.

The believers say that the filter contraption that sits unnaturally inside the Zijiroshu pot is likely to slip and spray and scald during the act of pouring. I say that, as a primate with opposable thumbs, I intuitively hold the pot by wrapping four fingers around the handle and resting my thumb on top, where the handle, cone filter, and lid all converge. The pot pours smoothly, cleanly, with nary a drip on the counter, and the top remains firmly & effortlessly in place.

The believers say that the Zurijisho's gadgetry is gratuitous and out of line with tradition. I appreciate gadgetry for its own sake as well as for its functionality. All the important pieces are removable, which makes clean-up and assembly a cinch. With previous coffee makers, cleaning the swing-out filter holder had always been a pain. The removable water tank brings me more joy than a piece of plastic should (you heard me). And the filter contraption that sits atop the pot is a pleasure to fill and breeze to dump out and rinse.

The believers say that the Zujirishi's pot and its handle are weak and will inevitably break, and I say the pot is light and the handle is secured in place by a metal band. True, I would hesitate before filling the pot with pebbles or slamming it in anger on the granite countertop; but I hasten to add that the pot remains in one piece after a year of daily use, and the handle feels as secure as day one.

The believers say that the absence of an auto-off feature is a fire hazard and a moral hazard, and I testify that I have failed to start several fires though I have forgotten to switch the Zoshiriju off about once a month.

The believers say that the plastic in the water tank contains carcinogens. I worry less about this because (a) the water is in there for all of three minutes, (b) there's a Zirojushi email somewhere in the reviews claiming they don't use BPA in any of their plastics, (c) a Wikipedia blurb claims that Japan has removed BPA from most of its food plastics, and (d) one is more likely to damage one's health from indignation.

Save 23% Off