Bulbs & Fittings Ideas

Yes, I used to have to buy those overpriced, German coffee makers–but not any more. When my latest 0 coffee maker started leaking from both the underside and from the little, unreadable, glass tube on the side, I started looking around for a replacement.

I settled on this Black and Decker model because it does everything the high-priced models do, but at a quarter of the price. After three weeks, the clock still keeps excellent time, the machine still comes on when I’m sound asleep so that I wake up to coffee ready to drink. The coffee tastes very good (c’mon, drip coffee is drip coffee–and I am STILL a coffee snob) and is certainly hot enough. The coffee maker is absolutely EASY to program; each button serves but one function. Aside from the fact that it doesn’t LEAK, it seems I lose power here with disturbing regularity, so I like to be able to set the clock and the timer easily and quickly and feel assured that I’ll have coffee when I wake up.

What I don’t miss about the old coffee maker: leaks, erratic, confusing programming and multiple functions for one button, default ON for auto coffee making (and there’s no way to turn it OFF), special little (hard to find) charcoal filter gizmo, adjustable temperature settings on the hot plate, and did I mention LEAKS.

What I miss about the old coffee maker: ability to change length of time the hot plate stays hot, “CALC” calcium warning. Both of which are easy to overcome. If I want two more hours of hot plate all I do is hit the “power” button; if I want to decalcify my machine, all I have to do is run a load of vinegar through on the solstices and equinoxes.

I picked out this coffee maker because of a reasonable price and was a recommended best buy in Consumers Report magazine. I have only had a week or so and can’t address long term reliability. What it does do is NOT DRIP! It does not drip when pouring from the glass pot to the water reservoir or when pouring coffee into a cup. I do NOT have to be extra careful when pouring. It also stops the coffee flow from the filter as soon as I pull the pot out and does NOT drip on the warmer. Again, do NOT have to be extra careful here. It also does NOT leak condensation out of the water reservoir top when lifting the lid. The condensation on the reservoir lid drips back into the reservoir when the lid is lifted. The time and delay brew functions ARE easy to set and work fine. The coffee brewed fairly quickly and did not overflow the filter to allow grounds into the pot. So far, I am very happy with a product that someone spent some time making user friendly and practical. This is a well engineered inexpensive product.

This is, far and away, the best coffee maker I’ve ever bought. My previous was a Mr. Coffee, and the caraffe dribbled everywhere almost every time. This caraffe pours perfectly every time. The controls are so intuitive, I’ve yet to pull out the instructions. It brews a full 12 cups in 10 to 15 minutes. And the coffee is sooo delicious. Don’t waste your time looking at other machines. Buy this one.