- Coffee splitter fills two cups at once
- Ships with two travel mugs
- Removable coffee filter holder
- Small countertop footprint
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
- Slow
- No "stop-drip" feature
- Tight water reservoir lid
- Does not ship with filters
The Gist From Our Review Team:
The Zojirushi Gourmet Duet is a drip two-cup coffee maker that ships with two stainless steel travel mugs. Like its competitor, the Cuisinart Two To Go, the Zojirushi can brew one or two cups at a time. The unit has a smallish footprint, and fits easily on to most countertops.
The Zojirushi Gourmet Duet makes excellent drip coffee. In the words of one reviewer: "The drip seems just right." The unit accepts #2 filters and clocks in at 3 minutes for a cup (4 minutes for 2 cups), so it's a bit slow relative to pressurized, pod-based coffee makers such as the Philips Senseo and Melitta One:One, but a bit faster than the Cuisinart Two To Go. The unit does not have a "stop-drip" feature to pause the drip when a cup is removed, so you must wait until the drip has finished, or have another cup handy to catch the residual drips. The unit does not ship with any #2 filters, so you must either have some on hand or buy some online or at the local coffee shop.
The Zojirushi Gourmet Duet is constructed largely of plastic, but seems sufficiently sturdy and does not have many "breakable parts", according to one reviewer. The plastic makes the unit lightweight and easy to move around. Also, as one reviewer writes, "The buttons are responsive and easy to reach. As a safety feature, however, the buttons won't operate is the unit is too hot (eg if it was just run.)" The only flaw noted with the unit's construction is that the water reservoir's lid is a bit tight.
The two stainless steel travel mugs that ship with the Zojirushi Gourmet Duet have handles, and because the mugs get quite hot when filled, carrying the mugs by their handles until the coffee cools is a prudent move. The mugs keep the coffee warm for about an hour, fit well into most car cup holders, and do just fine in the dishwasher.