Hamilton Beachstay Digital Thermal Coffeemaker Survey I was given this as a gift. I found reviews for it (either the model in all black or brushed aluminum) favorable. Some people rated it negatively because they failed to read any directions and didn't press the "PRESS TO POUR" button on the carafe. Instead they unscrewed the top off and said it spilled when pouring. RTFM You always have to look to see if bad reveiws are due to the user's mistakes and lack of knowledge of the reviewer. They often are. The two most negative things is. . . 1. When making a full pot I almost always get a lot of grinds. The problem is that the filter cup fills too quickly and the water level goes over the height of the paper filter. I've tried to find a taller filter, but they seem to all be the same size. Usually I either do a single mug (three 6 oz. cup servings) or the full carafe(10 servings). I can't recall if I've tried 6 or 8 servings to see if grinds are an issue there. 2. the plastic travel mugs retain water between the stainless steel outer shell and the inner plastic shell. UNtil I realized what the issue was, they would dribble (dish/cleaning water not coffee) when I drank from them. I find water gets in between especially after a run in the dishwasher. To get the water out, hold them by the bottom. With them facing upside down wave the mug back and forth (like a pendulum). Do it very quickly and the water will shake out. Once I found the problem, the constant dribble from a clean cup stopped. They keep the coffee reasonably warm for a while. Especially if you run hot water in the mugs before you use them-so they don't leech heat from the coffee to equalize. 3. the Hour/Minute buttons might be too easy hit and change the clock time. They should have a set button. I haven't done it, but that's the only negative. For singles or a lone couple this is great. I like the double spout so I can brew one mug, two mugs or a whole pot. No need to dirty the carafe when I'm making small amounts which is 95% of the time. The Timed brew is easy to set and works well. I use unbleached paper cup filters. (this uses a bucket, not the cone shaped filters. ) The coffee bucket lifts out on a loop handle and is easy to dispose of grinds. The instructions it gave on measures of coffee were good. When I used the instruction on the brand of ground coffee, the coffee tasted terrible. The coffee company said to use almost twice as much ground coffee than Hamilton Beach says. I've already experimented with Torino's sugar free vanilla syrup, and some ground cinnamon in the coffee bucket add a great cinnamon spice without the sharp taste of the grains of cinnamon floating on top of the coffee. I've had the coffee maker about two years now. Despite being mostly plastic, I've had no breakdowns. Nothing has fallen off or cracked. UPDATE 2013 Coffee maker still going strong. I rarely use the carafe (due to grinds), but the travel mugs are still how I make coffee every day. I've ordered the 8-10 cup Bunn filters. They are a 1/4 or 1/2 inch taller than the standard ones in the supermarket. I'm also ordering Bunn 20116 filters, which is a narrow base, taller filter. That one is rarer to find, but both are here on Amazon. If those solve the grinds issue I can use the carafe and it would be a lot more convenient to make iced coffee at home. I also wanted to say that I have very good performance with the TASTE of coffee. This didn't occur to me for many years--I just assumed all coffee makers were consisitent. My friend's coffee often comes out weak and occasionally too strong/bitter. I never understand why it is so all over the place. I believe her machine was free with Gevalia subscription. She makes coffee at home all the time. She often uses refrigerated bottled water, which I think is a mistake. My coffee is amazingly consistent. . . even though I'm not religious about measuring. I do know that if I want a hotter cup of coffee, I should start with hot tap water. We have good tasting water here, so I always use tap, not bottled. The coffee level afterwards will be lower if I start with hot tap, versus luke warm or cold tap. I never have bitter/too strong coffee with the one-scoop per "cup" (6 oz). Three scoops per travel mug. I'm both a Starbucks & a Dunkin' Donuts coffee drinker. I think both have weaknesses amongst their products. However, at home I like D. D. coffee & Harry & David Moose Munch is fantastic. I have to try Starbucks Blonde at home. Currently I'm trying Boca Java coffees. Their coffees are very smooth, with very little acidity. Their flavored coffees tend to be more
aromatic than taste on the tongue. But I've found some good ones already. We bought this to keep in our Motorhome. We had a certain department that we wanted a coffee maker for since it has a slide down cover and only a certain size would fit and this one fit perfectly. We tested it first to be sure it worked and that we would know how to pour it like the other reviewer had said, read the instructions. It even stayed warm for about 7 hours, not hot but warm. I tested the mugs that came with it and I didn't have any dribbling, not to say we never will be when I tried it there weren't any. I give it a thumbs up as it is what we were looking for. When I buy a coffee maker I expect two things. I expect the unit to heat the water sufficiently to brew exceptional coffee, and it should pour without dribble. Regarding the former, this unit scores five stars, provided the reservoir is filled with room temperature water. The heated water travels through a plastic tube back through the reservoir on its way to the spray nozzle, so if the reservoir is filled with refridgerated water, there's a heat transfer issue at play that decreases the temp of the heated water before it reaches the coffee grounds. With ambient temp water I'm getting about 195F; very good. With refridge water, about 180F; not bad but certainly not optimal. Regarding dribble, I have not experienced the problems mentioned throughout these reviews; perhaps the spout has been redesigned due to complaints. And I'm no stranger to dribble; I've used many a Mr. Coffee machine so I've fought the dribble battle. So five stars from me for lack of dribble. As for the carafe, it's thick and it outperforms the Black and Decker I had. However, I don't have heightened expectations on any stainless steel carafe keeping coffee piping hot more than two hours, and this unit meets my two hour mark without issue. Finally, HB added a couple of bells and whistles to complete the product. - Programmable; always nice to have. - A "1-4 Cup" setting that adds 5-10 degrees and slows the spray to get more flavor from the grounds, but I don't detect much of a flavor difference. Bottom line: a solid machine and I'd purchase it again. I've read some of the other reviews here. First, my two mugs don't dribble. Second, the big container works fine. Don't put the lid in the dishwasher because the lid is not designed to be heated that way. I bought this because I wanted coffee to be made automatically in the morning at the perfect time and -- by gosh -- this works perfectly! I don't have to watch over it. I can be in the shower, getting ready for work, etc. , and when I go into the kitchen, I find the coffee has been made perfectly. No overflows -- unlike what happened routinely with my old Mr. Coffee machine, which I threw into the trash. I then simply pour the hot coffee into my Stanley vacuum bottle and drive to work. No more Starbucks. Don't need to go there anymore. I like the clock. It tells me the time when I walk into the kitchen. Even when the lights are out. The clock glows blue. I like how you don't have to worry about leaving the coffee maker "on" because this unit does not feature a heated base. There's no danger of fire or overheating. The hot coffee just goes into the insulated mugs or the big insulated container. I'm very pleased with this purchase! Whatever the design flaws of this coffee maker, one thing stands out for me - it makes the BEST coffee I have ever had! Not just the best I've ever made. . . the best I've ever HAD. I've had it for over a year now, and no problems whatsoever - no leaking from the mug, no issues with proper heating - the only difficulty I've had is figuring out how to set the timer, but I just set it up at night and start it when I go in the kitchen in the morning - five minutes later my coffee is ready to go, and it stays hot plenty long enough. I had to laugh at some other comments, especially about not knowing how much water was in the reservoir. . . it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how much water you've put into a coffee reservoir. But just in case, here's a little hint - measure it first! LOL! I paid $69 for this coffee maker, and it has paid for itself many times over. When it goes, I just hope they're still making them, because I will definitely get another one just like it. Come to think of it, maybe I'll go ahead and get a couple of back-up units, to be on the safe side.
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