A Great Addition to Your Coffee Collection
Written: Mar 19 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: No carafe to clean or replace; no messes or spills
Cons: Two hour shut off
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this product to anyone who is an avid coffee drinker and wanting it the old fashion way.
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| patricia63126's Full Review: Hamilton Beach Brew Station Coffee Maker 47224 |
My coffee pot stays on all evening after work, all day on the weekends and anytime in between. I am the only coffee drinker in my family, but with the amount of use I put a coffee pot through, I am extremely rough on them.
After going through at least 3 different coffee makers in the past year alone, I got extremely tired of paying $40.00 or so on a coffee pot that was no different than a $15.00 coffee maker except maybe it would have a timer feature or a brew strength button, and the type of filter it took (standard or cone shaped). But eventually no matter what maker I bought, no matter what brand it was, the same things always happened. The coffee would not pour correctly out of pot, dribble down the front and spill all over the counter; the pot would stain or crack; the protective coating on the heating element would begin to come off; the pot would stay on too long and cause a leakage from the water tank on the bottom of the machine.
I looked at restaurant type machines, machines with travel mugs, etc. Not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a restaurant type machine and not wanting a cup of coffee all the time out of a travel mug, I was stuck. Until...
For my birthday in February this year, my parents bought me this new Brew Station. Now, surprisingly this machine is bigger than a standard maker, with everything housed in one product. Instead of trying to fill up the pot and put the water into the machine, the coffee brewing area and the water basket are all the same. I know that when I poured water into my old machines using the coffee pot, again water spilled everywhere, with the Brew Station the water basket has a special lip/spout that no water spills when pouring into the machine. There is no carafe/pot to wash or replace when broken. It takes standard coffee filters. Brews 12 cups of coffee with the press of a button (even though most coffee makers can do that) this machine compared to the other Brew Station does have a timer setting.
If you compare this product with another coffee maker in it's price range, there really, to me is no real difference on what it can do, brew coffee but I love not having a mess to clean up every time I pour a cup. Because there is no pouring. This machine has a dispenser button, right on the front, that when you press your cup up to it, similar to that of a fountain soda machine, out it comes. When you remove your cup from the machine, it stops. So far no drips or spills. The basket and water container are dishwasher safe and the machine wipes down in a breeze.
Since I have coffee in this machine almost all the time, I have noticed that the coffee holding area and water basket has begun to show some signs of staining. But I heard the trick if you run vinegar through the machine and wash everything in the dishwasher right after, the stains will come out. I have not tried this yet, not keeping coffee out of it long enough. The other thing is the lid, this lid is much bigger than on a standard coffee maker. I covers the whole top. I have it under my overhead cabinets on my counter, and when filling it with water and adding new grounds, I have to completely move it out from under the cabinet just to open it. But that's really not a big issue.
The flavor of the coffee seems much better than that of other makers that I have used. Much "cleaner" more flavorful. When the coffee sits in the pot, the heating element which is stronger on standard coffee pots, basically have to heat the glass of the pot to keep the coffee warm, can change the flavor of your coffee. Without have this strong heating element the coffee's flavor is much better. The heating element inside this machine is weaker, due to just have to heat the coffee. I know to make the coffee taste even better, they do sell water filters for the pot, I currently do not use them but have seen them in the store for around $20.00 in the stores but on-line you can get them from $10.00 and up.
I know that this model, along with the model that does not have the timer, come in two standard colors - black or white. I currently have the white model and with it's easy clean up, is wonderful.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
patricia63126
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Member: Patricia Ceriotti
Location: Arnold, Missouri
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 0 members
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