Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemakers

I purchased this coffee maker at the recommendation of a friend and I'm really happy with it so far. It has a selectable brew strength, a defeatable audio alarm that beeps when brewing is complete, a clock, and a delayed brew timer.

The delayed brew timer is nice to have if you want to wake up in the morning with a pot of coffee waiting for you. I've used the feature a few times, and I like having it, although most of the time I grind my own beans, so I don't like to let the grounds sit in the coffee machine overnight because they can get stale. Of course, that's unavoidable unless you spend the extra money on a machine that also grinds beans before brewing.

This coffee machine comes with a permanent, washable coffee filter that is sturdy, well-made, and washes out in the sink in a matter of seconds. It also comes with a charcoal water filter that is placed above the brew basket. The manual states that these should be changed every month (I wouldn't be surprised if they last longer than that, though). The replacement filters are inexpensive, but if you already have filtered water, you can leave it out.

Another feature that I really appreciate is the Fresh Brew timer, which allows you to see exactly how long that pot of coffee has been sitting there. If you're in a hurry, you can also pull the carafe out while the coffee is brewing to pour a cup. Once you put the carafe back in its spot, it continues normally. I've tried it a few times, and not a single drop has ever hit the hot plate. Oh, and the temperature of the hot plate is adjustable -I got mine set at the perfect temperature so it doesn't burn the coffee if it's sitting there for a while.

My only complaints (and believe me, I'm trying pretty hard to come up with them): the display, while attractive, is a little on the bright side -a switch to adjust the brightness would be nice, even if it was just a High/Low 2-way switch. An internal battery to keep the clock accurate in case of a power outage would have been a bonus too. Finally, even though it looks great and feels pretty strong, it's almost entirely plastic, so it doesn't have that solid "I'm going to outlast your children" feel to it that it might have if it had more metal in the construction.

All in all, I feel like I'm cheating it by giving it only four stars, but it's not quite 5 stars either. It would be a 4.5 for me if I could do that. :)

So what we have here is my stubborn insistence that all my kitchen appliances be red and fairly inexpensive. Thus this Mr. Coffee unit got dumped into my shopping cart last year. This coffee maker has numerous problems but with some careful planning, as long as it doesn't quit, you can make it work for you.

First, the carafe leaks at the top under the rim. No problem--just keep a towel handy and once you've poured the water in the unit *very* carefully (keeping it absolutlely level) bring the pot to the sink and rotate/tip it so all the water comes out here and doesn't leak onto your counter. Then use a towel to wipe it dry, place it in its brewing spot on the hotplate and you are good to go.

Next, make sure you put the coffee pot on a cutting board or other similar surface--this will allow you to catch the leaks (from underneath and the top) when the water drips down without staining your countertop. As an added convenience the handle on the cutting board can be used to pull the unit out to fill the water. Very handy!

Lastly, make sure you put in twice as much water as you think you need but 1/2 the coffee grounds needed for that amount of coffee--because somehow between the pouring of the water and the finished cup of coffee about 35-50% of the water will go MIA. Where it goes remains a mystery and even my want-to-be-a-detective 12 year old can't figure out where it could be going. We'll just consider that the 8th wonder o.k.?

So, after all that (what's a little work after all...for my java) you should be in receipt of a perfectly well brewed cup of coffee. No problem.

Seriously---best look elsewhere. Unless you are addicted to red appliances and are broke--and if that's the case don't forget if you position it by a window it could function as a homing beacon for your spouse in the dark or rain OR as a great nightlight for your child who needs to make that middle of the night potty run--yes folks the lighted clock is really great but I would recommend you cover your eyes and, much like the sun, do not look at it directly. It must be some military patented thing meant for the troops or something.

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I wish I did some research before I purchased this machine. Well.. for the 1st week, everything seemed good. Made great tasting coffee and worked as it should.(I've always used the timer function so I never actually watched while it was brewing). Well, one day, I came down stairs little bit earlier than normal and observed some steam escaping from the top while it was brewing. It didn't bother me too much and I didn't make an issue out of it because I assumed this was normal for all coffee machines.. or is it??

next day, while I was observing, I heard something pop from the machine. What happened was that because the top lid gets hot from the steam, it expands and it popped the lid off and would not close properly.(so even more steam escaping....)

Again, because it was still making great coffee, I let it do it's thing.(and the lid closed fine after it cooled down)

Well, starting 3rd week, I noticed that the machine would not make full use of the water in the reservoir. Lets say if I put in 8 cups of water, it would brew about 5-6 cups and stops (Leaving rest of the water still in the reservoir)

4th week, it just stopped brewing period. No coffee in the decanter. Machine turns on and you can hear the water sucking noise and bit of steam coming off from the top for few mins and nothing. luckily, I still had my receipt and returned it.

I just think this coffeemaker is poorly designed. Or maybe I just had a lemon. But, if you are going with this one, save your receipt/box just in case. (and yes, I cleaned it regularly as it was recommended on the manual)

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I have had the older version of this coffee maker for years, maybe 5 years and have had no problems with it until I dropped the filter holder and it broke. My fault, not the coffee makers fault. For the previous negative reviews: What coffee maker do you not have to place the decanter just right to get the coffee in it? Also, there is a temperature knob that will keep your coffee as hot or cool as you want it, just turn the knob to the highest setting. Also, how long does it take someone to pour a cup of coffee? The pause feature is for 30 seconds. I can pour three cups in that amount of time. Great machine at a great price. Going to buy another one since they don't sell the filter holder separately.

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Don't know why there was so many bad reviews on this coffee maker, i have had no problems at all and has been the best coffee pot i have ever owned. only had it for a couple of months so we will see.

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