Most consumers agree that selecting the right coffee to suit ones’ taste is the most important step in brewing an excellent pot of coffee. But the coffee maker itself can also make a difference and those with added features and conveniences can improve the chances for an excellent tasting cup of coffee. One coffee maker I have used with moderate success is the Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker.

Coffee Maker Facts and Figures:

Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker is a programmable coffee maker made from plastic with stainless steel highlights. It includes a glass carafe with a plastic cover and a small water filter disk that is placed on top of the filter basket for instant filtration of water just before it touches the coffee grounds.

Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker features an analog clock that allows precise programming of the time you wish the brewing cycle to begin. The unit also has a special cleaning cycle to make cleaning easier and a pause and serve that lets you pour yourself a cup of coffee during the brewing cycle. Coffee stays hot in the glass carafe, but for safety purposes, it will shutoff automatically after two hours. The coffee makers dimensions are approximately 15 by 13 by 9 inches.

Final Thoughts:

Mr. Coffee wrote the book on automatic drip coffee makers and among manufacturers, I have used more Mr. Coffee brand coffee makers than any other. The company has come a long way from the Mr. Coffee makers of old, which featured short, stubby carafes that looked odd and were difficult to clean. Today’s Mr. Coffee is more up with the times and offers enough different models that consumers can easily find one to suit their individual preferences.

The Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker is one of the newer generations of Mr. Coffee appliances. It catches your eye immediately due to its sharp appearance and the combination of black and stainless steel looks great in a modern kitchen. It is a little taller than other coffee makers, but it should still fit on most kitchen counters and it will have no problem blending in with other small appliances.

I like the Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker most for its slick appearance, but I also agree that it brews a very good cup of coffee. A good part for the reason for its success is the water filter. Many coffee makers feature filtered water, so this is nothing new, but the water filter in this unit is unique because it is right there, on top of the coffee filter basket, making it easy to retrieve and replace. Yes, you will have to periodically replace your water filters, but because they are part of the brewing routine, you cannot forget about them, like is often the case with other coffee makers which often have their water filters located inside, out of your immediate sight. These filters are seen and used in such a way that you cannot forget or neglect them so easily and are more likely to replace them as needed.

The Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker scores points in the two areas that matter most: Coffee quality and appearance and this could be enough to satisfy most customers and result in a good percentage of five star ratings. But after using this coffee maker for a while, I have noticed several things that are less convenient and convince me to lower my overall product rating. One is the short cord. True, coffee makers usually do not need a long cord because they sit on a countertop and are often right there, close to the outlet. But the cord here is short enough that it could force you to rearrange your kitchen.  Just a little more length would have made all the difference.

Once the coffee maker is plugged in and ready to go, the next annoyance is adding water. The filter basket is on top of the unit and it requires flipping open the plastic lid to add the coffee, filter, and water. The lid will likely scrape the cabinet above, so you will have to pull the unit out from the wall first. Then, there is the pouring itself. The reservoir isn’t large and wide like it is with some coffee makers. Here, you have to be very careful to pour the water just right, on either side right behind the filter basket, in a narrow space. It is very easy to accidentally spill water into the filter basket on top of the coffee grounds, or onto the countertop. It takes a steady hand to get it just right and you have to pour slowly to avoid making a mess.

I like the water filter in general and as I stated above, it leads to a better tasting cup of java. But the filter has to be placed ever- so- perfectly on top of the filter basket to fit into place. It doesn’t snap in- you just have to lie it down, making sure to get the three extensions in their proper place. It is easy to misplace and if you do, there is a chance that it will fall onto the coffee in the basket below and the water will not filter through it. If only it snapped into place, everything would be okay, but it doesn’t so you have to be careful.

With the water, there is another issue you must concern yourself with, and that is not to overfill. As long as you use the included carafe as your measuring cup and you are the only one using the machine, you will be okay. But if you overfill, you will notice immediately because the water will start to leak out from a small overfill hole in the back of the unit. This has already happened to me once. I didn’t realize that there was already some water in the reservoir (there is a viewing window, but it is placed low and to the back side, so you don’t notice it) and I filled the carafe to the top and started to pour. Suddenly, I noticed the counter top was getting wet. I pulled the unit out, away from the wall and sure enough, there was water pouring out from a hole in the back of the unit! Before you say “well, why not just plug the hole”, you have to realize that if you do and someone overfills and then starts the brewing cycle, the hot coffee will overflow the carafe. Basically, it means you have to be careful and remember to check the reservoir before you start to pour.

The flaws listed above are something to consider and they most definitely have factored into my overall rating, but even with these issues, I still like the Mr. Coffee LMX27 12 Cup Coffee Maker for its appearance and for its ability to make a good, tasty cup of coffee. I would like it much more if Mr. Coffee would address the issues above, but this is still a good coffee maker with enough positive qualities to earn it a slight recommendation.

Recommended: Yes