Received as a gift to replace an older coffee maker we had. I like the design and it looks good in the kitchen. It's not hard to figure out the controls and how to set everything up. Brew Performance It has two brew options - regular and strong. I've tried both and did not notice too much of a difference but that was with smaller pots (i.e. about 4 cups and not the full 12 cups). Perhaps the difference would be more noticeable with a full pot? It brews in a reasonable time and will beep when finished to let you know. Ease of Cleaning The decanter and filter basket are top rack dishwasher safe. The included filter can be hand washed. The coffee maker also has a cleaning cycle you can use when you're ready to run cleaning solution or vinegar through the coffee maker to clean it. Instructions for cleaning and tips are included in the manual. Initial cleaning is simple enough, wash the decanter and filter basket, fill the decanter and pour into the reservoir and then run through a brew cycle. Ease of Use As with most drip coffee makers, you fill the decanter with the desired amount of water, pour it in the reservoir (there is also a side "window" to see the amount of water being used), measure out your grounds into either a paper filter or the provided filter, place into the machine through the top, close the top, turn it on and let it brew your coffee. The buttons are straight forward - Time Hour & Minutes with a delay button, there's a "time brewed" button that tells you how long the coffee's been sitting there, Brew Strength button and the power button. Design Very simply and has nice touches for some of the features. The back has a hollow area to store excess power cord length or even the plug when not in use. There is a side window to allow you to see how much water is in the reservoir. The entire top opens up to allow access to the filter basket area and water reservoir or you can just open the back of the top to pour water into the reservoir. The inside front has the area where the filter basket sits snugly in place. There is an "arm" where the water is poured from, This arm swings out of the way so you can have easy access to the basket filter area. The basket itself has a nice design making it easy to grasp and remove. They have also included a reusable filter and water filters. The water filters are round "disk" that you snap into a water filter holder (also round) that has a tab to help you keep track of when the filter was initially used. This sits on top of the filter basket so the water pours through it when coffee is being brewed. My only problem with the design is the clock, it's not visible when enough light is shining on it. On a bright sunny morning you may have a hard time reading the display. Just thought of another thing - although you can "pause" brewing and pour a cup of coffee, it's not a true pause and the coffee is still brewing so you have a certain time you have before coffee will overflow from the basket. The mechanism used is a spring that closes the drip hole when the decanter is removed. If you are not careful some coffee will drip either down the side of the decanter or directly down onto the hot plate. Durability Haven't had this too long, but so far so good. The parts feel sturdy enough and the only weak piece would be the small carrying "handle" for the reusable filter - but since you should only have coffee grounds in it, in theory it shouldn't matter.

The1Lion

Woodridge, IL