Aqua Optima Aurora 10 Cup Drip Coffee Maker & Coffee Machine- SCA Certified

what our customer say this product:

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1. Me Verified Buyer – 7 September 2024

   I had difficulty setting up the dispenser before using it because it would not flush the water to clean the machine, though I followed the manual step-by-step. It eventually worked and was easy to use after the initial hurdles. I prefer using the machine for hot water rather than making coffee. That is because the water flow makes the ground coffee jump up and out of the filter to its edges, and I end up with grains of coffee in my drink, though the filter I use does not get folded. The filters I use are the same size as the one in the machine’s container, so the grains would stay at the bottom if the water flow was not so high. My other issue is that the machine triggers the surge protector when I use it simultaneously with the milk frother. I do not have the same problem with any other coffee machine. I have to use them one at a time, which leads me to believe that the dispenser uses more power than others. I like that you can choose from six drink sizes.

   

2. Breanna Verified Buyer – 4 January 2025

   I expected a lot more out of a $250 coffee maker. It looks fancy and all but it’s locking some basic features such as an automatic shut off. It does not keep the coffee warm. It’s big and awkward to move. A little tricky to learn how to operate. The hot water feature is really nice as long as it doesn’t need a rinse or more water. You can’t schedule it to run either.

   

3. Aaron Verified Buyer – 4 February 2025

   Mother-in-law loves it. She enjoy coffee daily and has been wanting a nice coffee maker. I do wish this was like an all in where it could do coffee grounds and k cups but so far this thing is fast. It keeps stuff warm. Has an energy saving mode. Very cool. A bit steep for the price but when you start using it feels like you’re operating a high quality peice of equipment. Do enjoy it very much if this is within your budget then it makes for a wonderful personal gift or a gift for others

   

4. Rob Verified Buyer – 22 February 2025

   Build Quality The unit is well made and has no defects. The design is very nice and it looks great. I was a bit surprised by how lightweight it is but other than that it meet my expectations for construction, materials, appearance. The coffee carafe with built in pour over is very nice and high quality and looks great. The touchscreen didn’t quite meet my expectations however, more details below. Touchscreen The touchscreen isn’t as responsive as I had hoped for and I sometimes have to press a button multiple times. For the most part most of the adjustments are done with the wheel control however you do need to use the touchscreen periodically to turn on/ off (unlock if left on) and to switch between coffee, water and to “select” temperature or volume (actual changes in temp and volume are done with the wheel.) The touchscreen seems to be a resistive membrane not a capacitive glass. Filtering The water reservoir has a built in filter that click into place. Brewing This does an excellent job at both brewing a great cup of coffee and delivering perfect temperature and volumes of water for tea. The coffee brewer is more or less a container that has a carafe with a built in pour over top. Fast Water is ready almost instantly! Taste: Water from this machine taste great! Cleanup Cleanup is fairly easy, The carafe separates from the pour over top and the filter is removeable as well. The water tray removes and separates for easy cleaning. Final thoughts This is a good system for fresh hot water on demand and excellent perfectly brewed coffee. I highly recommend it.

   

5. Sarah Verified Buyer – 1 March 2025

   This is an excellent sleek looking coffee pot. I like its larger capacity. For the most part, I use a smaller single serve coffee pot. However, with the holidays upon us and more family visiting, I like to have a large pot of coffee at the ready. This coffee pot works very well. I like that I get to use my own freshly ground coffee. I don’t have that option with my smaller by the cup machine. This is an excellent option for making a big pot of coffee.
   

6. Nick Canduci Verified Buyer – 4 March 2025

   Over recent years, I’ve turned to French Press and pour-over coffee primarily for my daily brews. Although it became tedious after some time, I stuck with it for the freshness and cleanliness of boiling filtered water. Descaling a traditional drip brewer will only go so far, but I did begin to miss having a machine on my kitchen counter do most of the work for me. I received this coffee maker as a gift from a family member, so I will not be a verified review on coffeemakers.us.com, nor was I sponsored. The Aqua Optima Aurora boasts an advanced water filtration system dubbed Evolve+ and wears a few certifications to back itself. The filter itself sits within the water reservoir in the rear of the machine and is good for up to 150 liters of usage. Requiring replacement of a branded filter raises some concerns for longevity and total product lifespan, but it’s relieving to see Aqua Optima uses the same filter across their entire product catalog. The appliance can be drained from the bottom to allow for safe and dry storage or proper inactivity. This is a win for cleanliness too as water really shouldn’t sit inside a machine for longer than a few days. There is a twisty cap and a small plug to remove and retain – see photos. An automated rinse cycle can be run but only after 72 hours of non-use; the button to rinse will simply not respond if the lockout hasn’t triggered. This is a small oversight that I find comes at the cost of temperature. My hot water and coffee is noticeably hotter immediately after a rinse is run. Various other indicators will alert the user when the reservoir is empty, descaling is required, or the filter must be replaced. There is also a control lock feature that can only be partially disabled. Aurora is controlled by a dial in the center of a touch-receptive panel cleverly separating the two modes offered – coffee on the left, and hot water on the right. The hot water controls allow you to select the temperature and volume in ounces to dispense. Coffee mode displays icons that correspond to the lines on the carafe. Although the manual recommends an amount of coffee in grams for each setting, there’s no immediate indication of ounces. This creates a bit of a learning curve for those who drink more than one cup of coffee a day. The travel mug option is 16oz and falls before the 1L option – quite a gap there, considering the smallest available option is 4oz. I can’t see myself measuring to brew that small of a cup. What’s more difficult to navigate here is the hot plate and lack of configuration around it. Only the largest two settings, 1L and 1.25L, will enable the hot plate for exactly 30 minutes after brewing completes. This time frame cannot be customized. I can see why a single-cup dispense does not run the hot plate to keep coffee warm, and personally I wouldn’t want the burner on any longer than 30 minutes anyhow, but this missing option really jumps out. Brewing evokes an ambience similar to that of Keurig. Water is heated rapidly, and the Aurora finishes a pot of coffee without steaming like a conventional machine would. When powered on, the machine emits a subtle high-pitched hiss reminiscent of an old CRT monitor. I could go without that, but it’s pretty minor. The filter basket is fixed up top of the carafe and takes #4 paper cones. After remaining idle for some time, the control lock engages by default; it’s purpose is unclear to me. I’m not so sure a coffee machine warrants a child safety feature from accessing the display panel. The manual describes a command to disable the automatic lock, however, a different low-energy lock will initiate after 7 minutes instead of after 60 seconds. Getting back to some positives points, build quality is exceptional. The carafe glass feels like a beaker, the handle has brushed aluminum with a bronze accent to match the carafe, the dial clicks into place well, plastic components don’t feel cheap, and the bulk of the machine can hold strong. coffeemakers.us.com shipped my coffee maker in its original packaging only (no brown box). I hear they’ve been doing this more frequently, and unsurprisingly the box arrived with significant exterior damage. Upon opening, the appliance was slightly peeled upward from the front-left corner where the aluminum meets the black plastic. I wedged it back into position, and somehow it’s not visually apparent today that it had a rough time in transit. I would add bonus points to the power supply for being completely removable from the rear. It is much easier to relocate or empty the water reservoir with the cables out of the picture entirely. I wish that was more common in kitchen appliances in general. UPDATE: After about 7 months of regular usage, the heating element began to give out on me. I say “began to” because my coffee maker works inconsistently at this point. When selecting a brew or a dispense for hot water, it’s a bit of a toss up on whether or not I will hear the machine heat up. It does appear to be self-aware enough to error out and display the code as pictured. The manual indicates this does in fact pertain to a heating element malfunction. Customer service is currently only over a UK number, so be ready to pay up for that on your phone bill. Although I was connected to a human right away, the agent asked for my email to return back to me with information, and I have yet to hear anything. It seems for now that the resolution is to wait for the rinse cycle lockout to kick in. As mentioned in my second paragraph, this function can only be performed after 72 hours of inactivity. Quite a pity, as there is a whole button designated to the automatic rinse. For the price point, this coffee maker is eager to perform in a crowd of upscale drip brewers. Competitors may have a built-in grinder, more precise controls, a steam wand, or could be more willing to share counter space. If you’re coming from years on a single-serve machine and longing for cleaner water in your next brew, the Aqua Optima Aurora definitely deserves your consideration. Aqua Optima successfully converted their existing water filtration dispenser into a coffee maker, but all-in-all this product is very much ready for a model 2.

   

7. FaceofBoe Verified Buyer – 12 March 2025

   Pros: Excellent quality, solid build Fast, almost instant, hot water Large carafe Water temperature selectable and size selectable by ounces Coffee size selectable Large water holder, plus internal tank Rubberized non-slip cup holder (unheated) on top Large carbon filter Touch panel with dial Mug tray has drip pan Cons: Tall footprint Panel locks too quickly Small learning curve to figure out settings Not a fan of the carafe lip, which tends to splash out towards the end Tends to splatter water when filling cups (not using the carafe) Non-height adjustable mug tray No warmer for glass carafe Excellent packaging. I liked the fact that most of the packaging, including the cover bags, were made of paper and not plastic. Although it has plenty of coffee settings, it is still just a drip coffee maker, which uses #4 paper filters. Most of the coffee settings seem to be more trouble than it is worth. Just make a carafe and use that coffee to fill your travel mug. You’ll still have to fill the filter holder with coffee and clean out afterwards. I suppose the good thing is you don’t have to measure the water, which comes from the filtered tank. Choose the size of the pour and it will only use that amount of water. As for the water-only settings, those are more useful if you’re looking for no-wait (almost) hot water on demand for tea or other drinks. You can choose your perfect temperature and size as desired. The machine will remember that for you, so you don’t have to reselect every time. The best part is the large, filtered water tank, which bypassed the annoying refilling of the tank after every morning’s coffee. It pulls out easily, with a handle to carry. It is large, so filling up at the refrigerator’s water won’t work well, while the sink faucet does. For the tea drinker in your life, or even a coffee lover (or both) this device is a hard sell. It is well built and looks great, but I’d rather use my full-automatic for coffee (or a single serve) and a boiler for water. Giving it 4-stars for the quality but only 3 for being useful.