Fetching looks conceal serious problems
Written: Aug 03 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice design; thermal carafe a plus.
Cons: Big overflow risk; occasional filter flop-over.
The Bottom Line: Unless you're a barista or an instruction reader, take a nice huge pass. Starbucks should stay out of the hardware business!
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| tim2's Full Review: Starbucks Starbucks Aroma Thermal Brewer |
In my ongoing quest to become a homebody, I decided one day to bring Starbucks home. I bought a Starbucks Aroma Thermal Brewer, and thought, "I'm going to be my very own BARISTA!".
Ooh boy, no thanks. I'll be returning to the everlasting Starbucks store lines instead. Why? This coffee-maker promises so much, but doesn't always deliver.
It certainly looks nice. And the fetishization of the coffee experience continues -- you are expected to sterilize and de-stench the coffeemaker with an elaborate lemon juice and vinegar process that bored me to tears. An hour later I was ready to brew coffee.
In the three months since my purchase, I've had wide-ranging experiences with this coffee maker. Here are the pros and cons:
PROS
- Nice design. It looks good on your countertop.
- Thermal carafe is handy for a morning's worth of extended coffee drinking.
- Modular water reservoir makes refilling an easy task.
- Relatively sturdy construction, though it's still plastic.
CONS
- OVERFLOW! For some reason, this coffeemaker overflows repeatedly, even when you do everything correctly (reservoir filled to 8 cup mark, carafe and basket aligned, filter positioned correctly). If you go above 7 cups, though the carafe can contain it, the grounds and filter back up the water, even when you are using proper filters and finely milled grounds. Extremely annoying.
- Filter flop-over. Using the sample filters, occasionally the water forces the filter to flop over, preventing proper brewing.
Now look, I assure you I'm doing everything as best I can. I'm using standard and correct filters, not overfilling either the basket and reservoir, and aligning everything correctly. And yet, still the headaches.
Seriously, the best coffee-maker I ever owned was a Proctor-Silex cheapo $20 system. Perfect coffee, no fuss. This Starbucks coffeemaker is just plain surly. I actually tossed it in the garbage, but retrieved it to give it one more chance. It has sat unused on my counter ever since.
Back to Starbucks. =(
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
tim2
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Location: Los Angeles
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 5 members
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