So, let me start by saying that I am not a coffee drinker. However, you know how it is ladies. We know the ins and outs of every appliance in our house because we're always the ones hearing "Honey, could you start some coffee?" So by that definition, I am a seasoned coffee maker pro. My mother actually bought us this coffee maker a few years ago. We love the concept. I like that the coffee is all contained in the top and you pop your cup underneath for a fill up. I have broken more glass carafes over the years than I care to mention. Safer to give me plastic LOL! It brews hot, even after being several years old. The only issues I suppose we have are that it is kinda a small space to fill the reservoir and that makes it a bit of a pain. Additionally, when you fill it, even though we seem to get our full 12 cups out of it every time, it seems to always be wet underneath the machine. We've yet to understand if it leaks slightly or if we're simply missing when we're filling the reservoir. Regardless, we've just stuck a small hand towel under it and that soaks up the little bit of wetness so it's not a real big issue. Overall, we love it. Since my husband is the only coffee drinker, it's nice to have it all stay in the top and stay warm till he's ready to drink more. He enjoys not having the carafe ...even though it always seems to confuse friends when they come over. They can't seem to grasp the idea of instantly having coffee right in your cup.

baileyrose

Starke, FL

We put this coffee maker on our wedding registry. It looked great and the idea of keeping the coffee enclosed seemed great. We thought it would keep the coffee hot and fresh longer. And it did - for a short period of time. After the "newness" wore off the coffee didn't stay any hotter or fresher than it did in a regular coffee pot. It looks nice and there is little chance of spilling an entire pot of coffee all over yourself. While your coffee brews you can fill up a cup nicely without worrying about it getting all over your kitchen so that is a nice convenience (although most pots have a feature now that you can pause your coffee making). But for me, the negatives totally out weigh the little positives of this coffee pot. You can't get this coffee maker clean. The holding spot for the coffee is part of the coffee maker and isn't removable. Which means you can't really get it in the sink and scrub the coffee stains off and make sure it is completely clean in all the nooks and crannies. I never felt like it was clean enough. After a while I couldn't even drink coffee out of it because I couldn't get past that it seemed dirty. There was no easy way to remove the coffee we didn't drink. You either had to turn the entire coffee maker upside down to dump it out (and risk making a total mess all over your kitchen - did that only once) or empty it slowly cup by cup. Neither option is all that great. It's much easy to just pour the coffee pot out. If you enjoy a nice large cup of coffee or even a tall cup it likely won't fit in the coffee pot to get your coffee. We had to pull the coffee pot to the edge of the counter so the cup could actually hang below the counter to fit it the maker to get your coffee. Very easy to spill coffee all over the place as you try to angle your cup just right. The absolute worst part of this maker is the leaks. After using it for a short period of time it leaked terribly! It continued to work, but we replaced it because we couldn't take the leaking coffee anymore.

petuniapicklebottom

Yorktown, VA

we were not ever big coffee drinkers before we got married, a cup here and there, but nothing that would drive us to buy a coffee maker. however, as a wedding gift we received a hamilton beach brewstation. for the first year or so we were married, it simply sat on our counter collecting dust and was never used. but as we got older and our tastes changed, we became coffee drinkers and this coffee maker is absolutely marvelous. we use it about 2-3 times per week and it makes great coffee. not only that but it keeps it warm without making it taste burnt... which is a big pet peeve of mine. also it is so great that there is no pot to clean! the coffee just sits inside the maker and can get dumped out if not all of it is used. but there is no glass pot to wash (or break). yes this coffee make is simply the best i have come by, and i have tasted coffee from a lot of different makers. i would give this as a gift to any couple getting married!

lizzysue2

Rockford, MI

Not having much luck with coffee makers.  I purchased this coffee maker about 6 months ago.  Since my other high priced coffee maker quit brewing for me, I thought no more expensive machines.  All i want is my freshly brewed coffee!  I purchased the Hamilton at a local big name department store for less than 30 bucks.  While I was deciding which one to purchase, a gentleman walked by and pointed this one out and assured me that this was the best coffee maker he has ever owned.  Well, that was it for me! No more decision making.  I bought it.  It worked great for awhile.  I cleaned it everytime I used it.  By the 3rd month after purchase, I couldn't get the coffee to dispense when I put my coffee cup up against the lever that is supposed to release the coffee into my anxiously awaiting cup!  When I pushed the cup against the lever, the coffee would just run down the back side of the machine.  What a mess! So, I started over.  I cleaned it once again and especially the little spin thing that has the screen around it.  It worked a  little better after that but you never know when you're going to get coffee out of this thing.  Very disappointed.  Would not recommend.  I'd love to find a coffee maker that works well.

grammagirl

Jacksonville, FL

The first thing my husband and I do every morning is brew a pot of coffee.  We then go about our morning chores such as reading email, feeding the critters (and the kid).  We both enjoy several cups of coffee.  My husband sometimes gets up an hour before me and with our old coffee pot by the time I had my first cup of java it would taste burnt.  We bought the brewstation to see if that would remedy the situation -and it has. We have now had the brewstation for about 2 years which is probably a record around here. Usually our well water gets it all plugged up before then. It brews a nice cup of coffee which isn't every burnt. It may not be quite as piping hot as I like but I prefer that to burnt. After 2 years of use we did find that the coffee dispenser was really running slow. It'd take a minute (maybe a little exaggeration here) to fill a cup.  We gave it a good scrubbing and still had problems.  I think something may have been logged in there as after another scrubbing it's working great. I do have some complaints about the machine. First of all it's a bit tall -it fits under our kitchen cabinets but to fill it I have to pull it out from under them.  Where you pour the water into the machine is in the back and for me it's awkward as I'm not too tall and it's very hard to see where the water level is (and my husband obviously has issues with this too as I often find water spilt over the counter.  The meter for how much coffee is left is almost useless -it is full of condensation and very tough to read.    

equinecpa

Gainesville, TX

We drink a lot of coffe and we love this coffee maker. We went through so many glass carafe regular coffee makers and with kids they broke within a month. We found that we were throwing out coffee makers all the time even buying them cheap it was such a waste to throw an entire coffee maker in the trash just because the carafe broke. SO we began out search for something without a carafe and found hamilton beach had for for a reasonable price. We are on our second in about 5 years and will buy another once this one dies. We brew coffee every day sometimes more then once and it makes a very good cup of coffee. I like how you can program it for when to start and also how strong you want the coffee. It makes the coffee in no times and keeps it warm for hours. We will never go back to the regular ones. It's easy to clean and really takes up no more space than a traditional coffee maker. You will not be dissapointed with this purchase.

mom2-8

Rolesville, NC

   I have owned several of these coffee makers and, while I give Hamilton Beach props for the great concept, they have never really mastered their design...    While I love the convenience of one hand coffee retrieval, I *hate* that every single one of these has developed a leak at the dispensing tap. This first one started leaking after about three months. I attributed this to frequent use and purchased another. That one died completely, after three days. It was promptly replaced by the store. The replacement worked, but developed that annoying drip, after a couple of weeks. I just tolerated it, placing a dishcloth on the counter below and used it till is croaked, a few months later.    I'm sure one must wonder why I kept buying this particular coffee pot. Well, as with a bad botfriend, or naughty pet, I was so in love with it's good points, that I made excuses for it's huge shortcomings. On to the next pot...    This one arrived a few days before last Thankgiving. It worked like a dream! Right up to ten minutes before my Turkey Day guests were to arrive and it began *gushing* hot coffee all over the counter. I tapped the dispenser button, which sometimes will make it seal back off, but nothing helped. I had a huge mess to clean up and no way to serve coffee. I was super annoyed. The place of purchase again replaced this pot. I was impressed that the new one had a small filter that pops over the inside of the dispenser, stopping any stray grounds from lodging inside and holding open the flap. This did the trick for a while, but the pot has developed a new drip, just this week. I think it is a lost cause.

SusanFlippin

Mount Airy, NC

My mother is a big coffee drinker and I wanted to get her something for Christmas that she would appreciate and get a lot of use out of.  It didn't take me long to decide on the Hamilton Beach Brew Station because of it's high quality and many features.  It is a 12 cup coffeemaker with an enclosed brewing system.  The tank is insulated and keeps coffee hot and fresh for longer than a lot of other coffee makers.  It's one handed dispensing makes it easy to get your coffee and you don't have to worry about a carafe that could break, spill and you won't burn your hand on a hot plate.  The front of the pot is clear so you can easily see how many cups of coffee remain.  There are times where we forget to turn the coffee maker off, so it's nice that it has a 2 hour automatic shut off.  There are a couple drawbacks to the system though.  After having it a couple years, we noticed it's started to leak from where the coffee comes out into the cup.  The cup level window has also become a bit stained despite several attempts to clean it but you would expect that after a couple years of use.  All in all, this is a great coffeemaker and a sound investment.

krazyfungrl79

Trenton, NJ

I like all the features of the Hamilton Beach 13 cup coffee maker; one hand dispensing, no carafe and the coffee does stay fresh longer, But it is hard to use large coffee mugs. My favorite feature of this coffee maker is you do not have to wait for all the coffee to brew to get a cup of coffee.

noahsark6

Villa Rica, GA