If you are reading these reviews on coffee makers you, like me, are amazed at how nearly every maker has very mixed reviews. Why can''t a good standard coffee maker be made? My first drip coffee maker lasted 15 years, my second about 8 years but after reading many of the reviews, it appears it''s now common for makers to only last 2-3 years! I do like to grind my own beans and my previous coffee maker was a Melitta but it was mediocre in grinding and started to leak at the end of its 8 years. I decided this medium priced coffee maker without a coffee grinder was a good compromise on price and functionality. I have been using it for a month now and have been very impressed. The cone filters do give a better brew but only if you get coffee that is medium fine ground, many commercial coffees are coarse ground.
Melitta also makes some coffee and I have found their Vienna Roast to be particularly good. I do believe that the setting on the machine allowing you to make stronger or weaker brews does work. It basically does a slower cycle if you want stronger coffee but again make sure you have medium fine ground coffee to make this work for you. For those of you who are fanatics about hot coffee, it stays plenty hot on the warmer, I had to actually change my setting to a cooler setting. My only criticism is the basket handle must be up when you insert it into the maker. Once you hear the basket snap then you fold down the handle. It took me several days to figure out why I was having difficulty with the basket. I would have given 5 stars had this feature worked better, but not a problem once you understand how to insert it correctly.
So after my frustration at researching coffee makers I am very happy with this one. Rest assured that I will update this review if I find the coffee maker doesn''t hold up over time... happy brewing!
UPDATE: I''m updating the review just to reinforce its pros and add another. After 4 months, it''s working like a champ(as expected). I''d like to add another pro: Sometimes when I pour the coffee too quickly, the coffee overcomes the spout and coffee drips along the carafe''s wall on to the table especially when the carafe is full. I always have to be careful not to pour it too quickly. However the spout on this carafe is made such that it prevents over-spill. I love it.
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Original review:
I usually brew my coffee with Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker with whole coffee beans ground by Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black. However, when we have guests, we need a regular coffee maker: I can''t brew enough coffee with Moka Express without running it 2-4 times and that just simply takes too long.
We used to have a braun coffee maker with served us well. When it started leaking, we had to look for an alternative. I was not too impressed with any of the cuisinarts and finally trimmed my selection down to this and Zojirushi coffee makers. While trying to decide, Woot.com had a Wolfgang Puck coffee maker on sale and I pulled the trigger. I shouldn''t have. When it arrived, I was let down by cheap-feeling plastics and "metals". The carafe had to be inserted with pressure and just right position to avoid spills. I had to send it back.
Then, this coffee maker price dropped to $50 and I had to try it. Am I ever glad that I did! Here are pros and cons:
PROS:
1. Makes a great cup of coffee. It''s not as good as Moka Express, but I''ve never found a drip coffee maker that even comes close. This one comes closer than any I''ve tasted. I only tried "Bold" mode, but you can also use "Regular" and "Robust" for lighter and darkest flavors respectively.
2. Coffee temperature is hot. I haven''t actually measured it, but it''s hotter than my braun and other cuisinarts I''ve tried. This adds to the taste of the coffee.
3. Carafe goes into the coffee maker without any fuss very smooth. Many coffee makers now use one of those round ball-like contact point between the carafe and the coffee maker. The problem with many of them is that the contact is awkward most of the time. This one fits smoothly.
4. Looks great on the counter. My finicky wife is satisfied with the looks that''s all I can ask. She says the plastic on the Wolfgang Puck was very cheap looking while this one looks descent. She''s the expert.
CONS:
1. This is slightly taller than other coffee makers. As other reviewers have mentioned, you may have to pull it out of under the cabinet in order to pour water into the bin.
2. There is no auto-shutoff. Not much of a problem for me.
3. When set at "Bold" setting, it does take longer to brew than I''m used to. "Robust" would certainly take even longer.
I would highly recommend this coffee maker just for the taste of the coffee. Other pros are bonus. :)
Buy Melitta 46893 12-Cup Coffee Maker Now
The reason for the title is due to this product being shown inaccurately on Amazon. The photo shows a stainless thermal carafe when indeed this is not the product being sold here. The thermal model is a 10-cup coffee maker while this is the 12-cup glass model. The seller was nice and made amends for the misleading page and my review of the product is in no way reflective of this incident. While true that the description does not state "thermal", I had looked at the other Melitta thermal 10-cup one and had selected this one because it was a 12-cup model. I think the coffee makers may be the same except for the carafe, the thermal being fewer cups because of the thickness of the carafe.
The product is attractive and the controls being above the carafe ensures they will not get soaked in the event of a spill, which can happen with other makers where the controls are in front of the hot plate. The Braun machine I am replacing (broken carafe) was like this. I will be using the Braun as a comparison in this review.
The controls on the Melitta are simple: A large round button for turning the maker on and off with a red LED in the center to indicate status. A similar button to the left of the display selects the brew strength of Regular, Bold, or Robust, which is displayed in small text at the bottom of the blue-backlit display. There seems to be a noticeable difference in Regular and Bold. I have not tried Robust. Near the brew select button is a small button for the hot plate temperature for LO, MED, or HI. Unlike some people who sue fast food chains for making hot coffee, I like my coffee hot so I set this to "HI". The downside is that since I make only enough coffee for a single serving and forget to turn off the unit, it scorches the small amount that might be remaining in the carafe. This is because the hot plate remains on for two hours and is not adjustable. My older Braun unit (about 10 years now) has an adjustable hot plate timer from zero (instant off) to four hours in 1-minute increments. I don''t see why any programmable coffee maker today would not have this feature. The other small buttons are to set the clock and the auto-brew time. A small LED lights up to indicate that auto-brew is enabled.
Physically, the maker is fairly trim width-wise but is pretty tall. It is nearly 2 inches taller than my Braun and while it will fit below my cabinets, you can''t open the filler doors, so it has to remain out front of the cabinets. The flip-up doors are a bad design. The coffee area cannot be opened without also opening the water reservoir door as well. You can open the water door without open the coffee door, but not the other way ''round. This makes it possible to spill some coffee grounds into the water reservoir if you''re not very careful. The filter basket has a handle that swings up and the basket can be inserted only one way and the handle must be raised or the basket will not seat properly. I''m not certain of the reasoning behind this design but it isn''t a critical thing once you''re used to it.
The carafe is well-designed. It has a piece near the pouring spout inside the carafe that makes it a bit difficult for large hands to reach inside for cleaning, but it is a small price to pay for the way it pours, which is excellent. There is never any back-pouring of the coffee which I believe is why this piece is in the carafe. The lid will attempt to fall open when the carafe is nearly empty, but I prevent this now by keeping my thumb pressed lightly against the flipper part of the lid. It would have been nice if there had been a spring or more friction in the hinge to prevent this. The water level indicator matches the indicator on the reservoir perfectly. I''m not sure if Melitta has compensated for water loss in the filter and evaporation with these measurements. I typically pour a 16.9-oz. container of bottled water that fills my travel cup almost perfectly.
I purchased the whole bean Kicking Horse "Kick Ass" coffee with this and it''s pretty good. I like the Bold setting. I have also ordered a burr grinder and will delegate my Cuisinart blade grinder to spices only. So far, this coffee maker is satisfactory for my needs. I am hoping to be able to find the thermal carafe (if indeed it is compatible. The only thing is, it seems odd that the hot plate will still be on unless manually turned off.
P.S. For some reason, the Amazon link and page for this lists "Hamilton Beach" as the manufacturer, but it is a Melitta product.
Read Best Reviews of Melitta 46893 12-Cup Coffee Maker Here
I purchased this item after returning the stainless-steel carafe version (because the SS version leaked all the water out of the tank onto my counter). I was skeptical, but presumed that the SS one was simply defective.
The glass version has worked out perfectly, and is the best drip coffee maker I have had in several years.
PROS:
Brew-strength selector-I like the "bold" setting-the coffee tastes great! No need to add extra coffee for a bolder flavor, the temp of the water automatically adjusts to create the perfect brew based on your selection.
Timer: easy to set the night before for hot coffee when you wake up
Auto-off: always a nice feature, also, unlike some others, you can turn the hot plate back on to reheat the pot. Other machines I have had will not allow repat-on without adding water to make a new pot.
Hot plate temp adjust: I live at altitude, so I really like being able to set the hot plate to "high" to actually keep the coffee HOT.
Carafe: it doesn''t leak or drip! It really doesnt! No more icky rag on the counter to catch drips.
CONS: (quite minor)
The filter basket is a bit shallow; this is the first coffee maker I''ve had that you really must fold the filter edges over . If you don''t fold them, it doesn''t fit very well.
The LCD is quite bright-doesnt'' bother me as I don''t sleep near the kitchen. Would be an issue in a dorm-room or a small apartment where the LCD is visible from sleeping areas.
Overall this is a great coffee maker with all the features you need, plus some really nice ones like the brew strength.
The price is reasonanble . Definitely beats the Mr. Coffees and Cuisinarts out there.
Want Melitta 46893 12-Cup Coffee Maker Discount?
I''ve had this Melitta coffee maker for about 2 months. It works fine and makes great tasting coffee, that is when the included carafe isn''t broken!!!
One month ago, my mother in law broke the carafe glass when she bumped the carafe against the toaster. From speaking with her, she was clearly shocked that the glass broke, but given that I didn''t see this happen, I figured it was an accident and that she was being klutzy, nuff said. I ordered a new carafe directly through Melitta that cost $25. Also, since this is a custom non-standard carafe, this carafe is ONLY available through Melitta and you cannot purchase a replacement anywhere else. When you call Melitta, they actually don''t sell this carafe, they will give you a different phone number to call to order the part through 3rd party vendor.
So going forward, a few weeks go by and we''re happily making coffee again. Then, this past Saturday the carafe broke again and this time I saw it happen! Basically, I sat the carafe down on the counter, it moved about one inch back and bumped the other side of counter wall with VERY minimal force. I mean, it barely touched it. In disbelief, I saw the glass crack right in front of my eyes. The glass on this carafe is extremely weak and will break at some point unless you treat it like a $5,000 Faberge egg! You know, I''ve been drinking coffee for many years and this $50 Melitta coffee maker replaced a Mr. Coffee that I used for 8 years without problem and cost $20. I never had any issues like this with that Mr. Coffee or any other coffee maker I''ve owned, just this Melitta, so nothing has changed with regard to how I handle the carafe and I''m not being careless with it.
To finish the story, I again called Melitta customer service (only available on weekdays) about my experience and they told me to take a hike. In other words, there is nothing they could do and told me to buy another carafe for $25 (which would make my investment in this product over $100!). After this conversation with Melitta customer service, I''m calling it a $75 loss and I''m going back to buy a more inexpensive Mr. Coffee with a carafe that doesn''t come with a standard shatter feature!
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I have used Berkey filters for some time, and been very satisfied, but these replacement filters are not the quality that I had come to expect from Berkey. They are glued together at the bottom with the glue showing, and they came unglued after just a couple of weeks of usage, making them virtually useless. In previous replacement filters, the water dripped through slowly and in these they went through very fast, meaning that they really aren''t doing a very good filtering job. Either Berkey has compromised their formerly high standards, or these are incredibly cheap knock-offs, and I don''t trust thme to filter the water to any degree of the standard that they claim.
