The Braun Aromaster KF 20 (1972), designed by Florian Seiffert, comes from time when even Braun was ope to pops of brighter colors. Dieter Rams pushed for a more sculptural design reminiscent of a Samovar: the vertical water reservoir gives the KF its totemic silhouette and required a split heating layout to make it work.Our KF 21 (an update by Hartwig Kahlcke) adds an adjustable hotplate.

We fed our Fellow grinder a bag of Meyer’s Manx coffee, hit the switch, and the machine quickly bubbled to life. Four minutes later we had… the sourest cup I’ve had in years. A thermometer showed 150°F water, about 50°F below the recommended brew range so the extraction was likely undercooked. A finer grind lengthened contact time a bit, but couldn’t overcome the low temp. Still: it runs!

Next, I disassembled the KF21 to find a simple layout; heating element that boils water through a raised tube, check valve on one end, and almost no electronics. All very clean.