I recently bought this model and liked it so much that I ditched my Cuisinart thermal carafe (see my other review) AND bought another Melitta as a gift for my parents. Now that I've had this model for a few weeks, I can report on the good/not-so-good aspects of it. Again: Everyone in coffee pot reviews says they're a coffee aficionado; I'm no different. I have a French press espresso machine, backpacking espresso machine...I love coffee. I spent a long time finding the right Burr grinder (old Kitchenaid A-9), the right filters (unbleached or gold), and personally satisfying ratio of grounds to water for this particular cone filter drip maker.
The Good:
1. After getting the coffee grind right, the flavor is exactly what I want. I like coffee that is strong (but don't always want to make French Press) so that took a few brews. Cone filters are definitely better than flat ones, but when you've spent years with the flat filter and become accustomed to the taste and measurements, it's a little funky to re-tune your taste buds. The Melitta has a Regular, Bold, Robust setting that changes how the water is heated and dispensed over the grounds. I make Regular for when guests that don't like Mississippi mud coffee and then crank it back up to Robust when it's just me making coffee for myself and my GF in the mornings. The difference is noticeable, taste-wise. Regular setting drenches the grounds and your pot brews quickly. Bold, a little slower, and Robust, does a nice hot trickle of water over the grounds giving it plenty of time to soak up the oils and roasted flavor.
2. The thermal carafe keeps it piping hot! The Melitta actually heats up the carafe just like a coffee pot warming plate BUT IT DOESN'T STAY ON. It's a nice feature, believe me. If you want to take that a step further you should "pre-heat" the carafe with hot tap water before brewing, especially in the winter months if you live someplace cold like Fargo, ND.
3. It's not that big or bulky so counter space isn't really affected any more than most other coffee pots.
4. The controls are straightforward. An added plus is that they are placed vertically, on the front and not at the bottom and horizontal or slanted like others. Even the best coffee pot (or sleepy operator) can cause an overflow, so putting the buttons and electronics at the bottom has always been a peeve of mine.
5. It comes with a starter pack of Melitta brand paper filters. I'll eventually spring for one of the SwissGold filters. I have a love/hate with paper filters. If I use them, they have to be unbleached paper but i don't like having the wasted trees. Conversely, I don't like the water waste associated with cleaning a metal filter but that's just me. Either way, nature gets the short end of the stick with coffee pots. Whatever. IF you do go with paper, the unbleached ones are healthier and keep coffee taste as true as possible. I've always used Melitta brand filters even when I had a Mr. Coffee because they make good filters. It just so happens that I now have a coffee pot of the same brand.
6. It doesn't come with, but you can get a water filter plug that fits in the reservoir above the intake valve to the heating element. When you flip the top open, it would go on the left side. I don't use it since I put filtered water into it to begin with.
7. It is programmable. If you get up early and rushed to get out the door, or like to have coffee ready for you then this is a huge plus.
8. It brews fast. It'll do 6 cups on the Robust setting in about as many minutes.
9. It's got a nice, clean style to it. Not space-agey, not drab.
Whatever/Bad:
1. The clock is a very bright blue. You won't have to put a nightlight into your kitchen if you have this coffee pot.
2. The water reservoir gauge on the left side starts at 4 cups. I'm fine with this because I make 4-6 cups, but anyone only wishing to make 2 cups will have to come up with a "2 cups of water" method that works. Why you would only make 2 cups (two 5 oz. cups...or, you know, ONE 10 oz. mug) is beyond me but that's the addict typing.
3. There's a hole drilled into the back of the water reservoir at the 10 cup height; this way, you cannot brew more coffee than that which fits in the 10 cup carafe.
4. I'd have preferred a removable water reservoir instead of a top-fill but that's based on my kitchen counter space and cupboards.
Conclusion:
Buy this coffee pot if you:
1. Like Coffee
2. Want a thermal carafe that works for hours instead of a hot plate that burns your coffee
To the "Chinese junk" reviewer: Whatever, dude. Some people just can't ever be happy. Melitta 10-Cup Thermal Coffee Brewer
DAY 2 - will update later but so far great machine.
The faithful Krups duo finally died after 15 + years of service. This time we wanted a thermal carafe type to reduce the burn on the coffee. Spent a lot of time reading the reviews and it seemed like there weren't any choices that were consistently highly rated. All had issues that caused me to keep looking, until I found this one. Not many reviews to go with, but the one negative review seemed overly harsh, and the non-thermal unit got good reviews, so took a chance.
First the quality of the product is NOT cheap Chinese junk!
With so many things being produced in China these days, you are hard pressed too find things that are NOT made in China. And as Apple and others have shown, that with good design and careful sourcing companies can produce quality products in China.
The coffee maker seems solid and well made, the plastic parts fit well and the overall design is functional and stylish enough. Overall while maybe not the ultimate, a good value.
Have not had a chance to truly test all the brewing options vs coffee amounts etc., the first pot tasted very good.
PROS:
The carafe pre-heat is a nice feature that starts the coffee out hot. The riser tub is double walled to reduce heat loss from the water in the reservoir.
The carafe has a nice wide mouth for easy access. the top twists off with a 30 degree turn. The pour is fast and drip free. All of the coffee can be poured without any drama.
Coffee remained hot for the first 3 hours or so then it started cooling. If you drink it black still hot enough but if you add cream it's going to seem closer to warm. Good enough for me.
The top has a wide area to collect the coffee so alignment is not super critical. The carafe does fit nicely into place so it is unlikely to be off.
The clock and timer functions are easy and obvious enough to figure out.
Its quiet when brewing.
There is a hole in the back at the max level to prevent overfilling if you don't fill from the carafe
There is a pour stop feature which does effectively stop the coffee without drips. This feature has one of the cons - see below.
CONS
Only two so far and minor IMHO
Pour stop was hard to replace the pot when the basket was full with water due to the weight and close tolerance, and perhaps the newness of the plastic. I noticed this when i was testing with a pot of water to rinse it out. Have not tried it out "for real" yet. It may improve with use.
The clock uses the fadish blue led look, which makes for a low contrast display. Not so much a problem if you are up close and straight on, but from a distance hard to read.
Will add some more as time goes by, so far not disappointed. Definitely recommend considering this model'
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