No Fuss, No Muss Coffee Maker
Written: Jan 22 '05 (Updated Jan 22 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quick, convenient, no burnt coffee, no spills or breaks
Cons: small clock, a little tall
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended product for the coffee drinker frustrated with glass carafes and burnt coffee.
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| phoenixx's Full Review: Hamilton Beach Brew Station 12-Cup Coffee Maker 47... |
I purchased this coffee maker a few months ago for under $45 and I love it!
I got tired of carafe coffee makers that dripped all over the counter, or broke in the dishwasher, or shattered at the slightest scrubbing in the sink. I tried a "pod" coffee maker, which I think would be great for the office but was awful at home, where I drink over a pot of coffee a day - it was a pain to make a new "pod" of coffee every cup. I tried the carafe coffee makers with the carafe that works like a thermos, but found them hard to clean and fairly ill-fitting under the actual coffee maker, causing horrible spills and overfills and drips.
Then, I saw the Hamilton Beach Brew Station and thought it was such a fantastic idea that I bought it, and I've never looked back.
It has several nice features, notably the lack of a carafe to worry about and the nice warmer, which keeps your coffee hot without burning it. It has a timer, although the clock needs to be a different color so you can read it better (grey screen, black digital numbers, small). It has a water filter built in, which is a huge improvement over coffee in a drip pot - the water in my town is horrible. It has a basket system, which I prefer over a cone system (easier to clean, in my opinion, and no difference in coffee quality or taste). It runs the water through it's filter then "showers" it over the coffee, which helps ensure even penetration of the grounds.
It has a few minor drawbacks, though nothing insurmountable. The size of the clock and style of the readout are a poor choice for this machine. If they can't make the clock bigger, then a change of colors would help immensely. If you grind your coffee too fine, it can clog the gasket, causing leakage (learned that the hard way). Luckily the customer service at Hamilton Beach is great - they were happy to send me a new gasket for free and explain how to fix the problem, and quick to state that if the problem continued they'd replace the unit completely with a new Brew Station. Though not an issue for me, as I have plenty of height under my cabinets, it is a tall unit - standard height between counter and cabinet bottom is too little space for the machine. I would prefer it if it didn't have a two hour auto shut off feature, but that's just me - I drink my coffee all day and don't want to have to remember to run down and turn the machine back on periodically.
While the appliance is easy to clean, it can not go into the dishwasher - it has moving parts and electrical components that can't be submerged. I find that handwashing mine every couple of days works fine. Regular soap and warm water and a sponge do the trick - no scraping necessary.
As far as changing the filter - it is a stick filter, and took me about ten minutes to change the first time around - five the second. They recommend changing every six months, but due to the iron content of our water I find every two months necessary here.
All in all I'm quite pleased with this purchase. It does exactly what I wanted it to do, the coffee tastes better than the other machines I tried thanks to the filter, it doesn't burn anymore since there is no carafe to burn to, and it is very easy to use and maintain.
Highly Recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
phoenixx
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Member: Leslie
Location: New Hampshire
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
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