Too many problems

I have had to send back this coffee maker once as the clock did not work properly and the machine gurgled constantly, overflowed and generally made a mess. Received another machine back from Capresso after a hassle and a rude customer service rep. This one is having problems as well. For $180 dollars, Capresso should be making a much better product than this.

The Krups we had lasted a long time and was of a better quality than this. Capresso does get kudos for making a machine that brews a superior cup of coffee but the fact that it does not work properly is enough to give it a very poor review.

I would think long and hard before buying Capresso ever again.

[Tuesday, December 23, 2008]

Good but not great

I had high hopes for this coffeemaker--lots of great reviews from some coffee aficionado websites. And it does make decent coffee. But there are certain little things mentioned in other reviews that proved to be not only true, but very bothersome. My unit never did produce hot coffee. Pre-heated carafe or no, the coffee was never as hot as any other coffeemaker I have ever had, and therefore is pretty useless in my opinion. Also, it is true that the alignment of the carafe has to be perfect to avoid coffee leaking all out on the counter. I never had spillage like this to happen, because I was always very careful to line the thing up exactly right, but it was a needlessly tedious task to have to do and never feel sure if you got it just right. The metal finish on the unit is extremely nice, as it does not show fingerprints. I sent this unit back and decided to keep my Krups Moka Brew as a backup for when I need a pot full--excellent coffee but takes a bit of extra work. My new everyday brewer? The Breville/Keurig--great coffee and almost no work involved!

[Sunday, November 23, 2008]

Best Coffemaker I Ever Owned!

This is the best darned coffeemaker I have ever owned & I bought it refurbished for seventy bucks off the regular price while still getting the same warranty as a brand new machine. I have owned it for 9 months now.

BTW this is the ONLY drip coffeemaker with a stainless steel boiler widely available on the consumer market! That alone is worth the price. Why, you may ask? It's because my family members are susceptible to Alzheimer's (genealogy research has shown that of 10 brothers, 5 moved to west coast & 5 remained on east coast of mountains of Virginia...the 5 who moved to west coast all died of Alzheimer's while the 5 who remained in Virginia never had it which means it is environmental/diet/consumer product orientated). Aluminum, such as is found in every single consumer coffee machine's boiler unit, except the Capresso line, is scientifically linked to Alzheimer's. If aluminum is a major factor in this disease, why would anyone want to drink it daily in their coffee??

I have measured the temp. of coffee brewed with this machine & it is very close to the ideal 197-201 temp. range. My unit's temp was exactly 197. One reviewer below measured his temp from the carafe itself after it was completely done brewing. That isn't a true measure of the unit's brewing temp. You must measure it in the filter basket right after it comes out of the machine, otherwise variables come into play, such as whether or not the carafe was preheated? If you're putting something hot into a cold conatiner of course it won't be the same temp as when it first came out of the machine! To get a fairly accurate reading don't put the carafe under right away. Let some pool into the filter housing, then read the temp. I let it pool into the filter housing every time anyway because I like to be sure every particle of coffee I have just ground gets wet. Just don't forget to put the carafe under very soon or you will get an overflow! I have owned nearly every brand of coffeemaker made out there, including Mr. Coffee, Cuisinart & Krups, & none have completely soaked the grounds before dripping into their respective carafes. Not even the brands that have the so-called "patented spray head" design have managed to wet all the grounds.

The ball in the lid has never stuck on my unit, but then again I keep it clean. You must, at the very least, rinse the various parts before each use or you run the risk of clogging as another reviewer pointed out below.

This machine does indeed brew fast! I timed mine at just slightly over 8 minutes. The carafe could be better insulated, but if you like to spread your cups of coffee out over several hours or half the day, then invest in a good insulated stainless steel carafe like the Thermos brand. Granted, you shouldn't have to, but it's the price I'm willing to pay just to get a stainless steel boiler unit in my coffee machine (Boyd's Coffee Co. does make another stainless steel boiler coffeemaker for consumer use, but you must order it directly from them, it is a behemoth on the counter, quite ugly & costs around $300).

I don't use my unit's electronic features because, as someone else pointed out, why grind coffee grounds just to let them sit in the filter all night to get stale? Might as well use pre-ground coffee in a can if you're going to do that. I like my coffee tasting fresh for sure! I also unplug my unit after brewing to save juice (started doing this after seeing a program on tv about "vampire" appliances & how much a person can save in electric costs by turning them off). If Capresso made a basic unit I would have bought that one.

This is hands down THE BEST drip coffee machine on the consumer market. Granted, it's not the perfect machine, but so far that machine doesn't exist yet!

[Thursday, October 30, 2008]

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