There's a reason it's been discontinued!
Written: May 31 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Has never needed repair
Cons: Stylish but impractical and awkward design, very fussy about seating the carafe, tends to leak
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| Ledermann's Full Review: Krups Crystal Arome Plus 467-71 |
When my trusty, if unremarkable, old Braun coffeemaker died a few years back, I bought the Krups Crystal Arome. I thought the idea of the globe-shaped carafe seemed like a good one: it would hold the heat and the flavour, besides looking very stylish. I'd looked at a couple of the ultra-high-end models at the local Starbuck's, but this **seemed** like the best compromise between price and features. It wasn't....
The filter didn't really affect me much one way or the other (as a sales tool), because I already had filtered water in the house. Still, I found that the filter configuration made the arrangement awkward to work with when filling the reservoir, and tended to "collect" any stray bits of coffee that might have spilled during loading. Eventually, these would gunk things up to the point that performance was affected.
The reservoir itself is very difficult to fill. The opening is small and very oddly shaped, with a larger end that tapers to a very narrow opening. Aim carefully! It also works better if you do not use the carafe to do this --- particularly if you're left-handed, as I am. It's nearly impossible to fill the reservoir from the left, as the hinged lid gets in the way and pretty much guarantees that you'll spill (if you're lucky, you'll just spill into the coffee grounds in the filter).
The carafe does do a slightly better job of retaining warmth than the traditional "straight line" models, but it's a real &*($%&^# to pour. You must pour very slowly and very carefully to avoid dribbling all over everything. It may look very enticing in the commercials, but it's not practical when you just want a quick cup of coffee. It's also ironic, because although this model will allow you to pull out the carafe and pour, there is a "time limit" of about 20 seconds --- longer than that, and it starts to leak all over the hot plate!
Positioning the carafe is EXTREMELY important, because of the unusual design. It must be seated exactly head-on to the drip unit, and you must ensure that it's pushed all the way back. If it's off-kilter by as much as 1/4 of an inch, coffee dribbles down the outside of the carafe instead of going into it, and you'll end up with coffee all over your kitchen.
On the plus side, this thing has never needed repair. It continues to chug along, making good (but not stellar) coffee and occasionally dumping it in a big puddle on the kitchen counter. I paid a slightly discounted price ($89.99), so I can't just throw it out, but it mostly seems like one of those "it was a good idea on paper" things that just don't work quite right in the real world. Not recommended.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Ledermann
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Location: Aptos, CA
Reviews written: 53
Trusted by: 12 members
About Me:
Silicon Valley guy reviews appliances, movies, & music -- film at 11!
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