Minor design flaws keep this good coffeemaker from greatness, May 3, 2003
Would I buy this coffee maker for the full price of the new model? Probably not. But the reconditioned one is a great value.It looks great, as is apparent from the photo. Keep in mind, though, that as a reconditioned unit, it may have some minor blemishes to its appearance. Mine, for example, has a very small dent in the stainless steel on its...read full review
Would I buy this coffee maker for the full price of the new model? Probably not. But the reconditioned one is a great value.It looks great, as is apparent from the photo. Keep in mind, though, that as a reconditioned unit, it may have some minor blemishes to its appearance. Mine, for example, has a very small dent in the stainless steel on its left side. It's not noticable unless you're looking for it, and that alone wouldn't keep me from recommending this coffee maker. (Also, as previous reviewers have noted, this model does NOT come with a permanent filter like the new model does.)
What's a little iffier about it, though, are a couple strange design issues that affect usability.
Every coffee maker I've ever owned has had a flip-top carafe--but not this one. You have to physically remove the lid to pour water into the carafe--a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
You need the carafe to measure water, because there's no water-level indicator on the coffee maker itself. Additionally, the water filter takes up a lot of the space under the lid, meaning that there's a relatively small space to pour the water into from the carafe. It's enough room that someone without any mobility problems shouldn't have any issues getting the water in, but it takes a little getting used to.
Overall, I'd recommend the reconditioned model of the Brew Central. It's not so great that I'd replace it with another one of the same model if it became unusable, but good enough that I'm glad to have it on the counter. minimize
Better to Buy New., May 5, 2003
I purchased four of these coffee pots from Amazon. I would like to start by stating facts:
My coffee pots did not come with reusable gold colored filter.
Three of my coffee pots did not come with the white strip with black number labeling in the maker for measuring cups.
One of my "Cuisinart Brewcentral Coffee Pots" HAS QUIT WORKING DO TO ...read full review
I purchased four of these coffee pots from Amazon. I would like to start by stating facts:
My coffee pots did not come with reusable gold colored filter.
Three of my coffee pots did not come with the white strip with black number labeling in the maker for measuring cups.
One of my "Cuisinart Brewcentral Coffee Pots" HAS QUIT WORKING DO TO FAULTY ON/OFF SWITCH.
I contacted cuisinart about the problem" here's the story: I must send at my own expense the non functioning coffee pot with a ten dollar check for return shipping after repair because the 90 day warranty does not cover shipping.
From my empircal experience these are not reconditioned to new.
Also thay are not a bargain.
Joy to the world... minimize
I now own two., June 16, 2003
I bought one full price and one refurbished (for the office) and I love both. Very easy to use, the self cleaning function is what I really appreciate. I run the simple cleaning process every week and the coffee maker always brews fresh, clean coffee without that dirty bitter flavor found in most cups of office coffee. My only caution is to be...read full review
I bought one full price and one refurbished (for the office) and I love both. Very easy to use, the self cleaning function is what I really appreciate. I run the simple cleaning process every week and the coffee maker always brews fresh, clean coffee without that dirty bitter flavor found in most cups of office coffee. My only caution is to be careful pouring the water into the maker -- the drain opening is rather small so be careful. Otherwise, a dependable coffee maker (I've had my first one for over a year) that looks great on the counter. minimize
So far, so good!, April 15, 2004
This is my second attempt into the "higher end" coffeemaker ranks, and I can honestly say the Cuisinart Brew Central has fulfilled all my expectations.The coffee is just marvelous! It works fast and quick, and it's H-O-T, which is fine by me since the previous Krups disaster absolutely blew big time and produced marginally warm coffee at...read full review
This is my second attempt into the "higher end" coffeemaker ranks, and I can honestly say the Cuisinart Brew Central has fulfilled all my expectations.The coffee is just marvelous! It works fast and quick, and it's H-O-T, which is fine by me since the previous Krups disaster absolutely blew big time and produced marginally warm coffee at best.
I'm no coffee diva, but I grind my own beans and have for years. Of course it takes a little fine-tuning to get the right measure of coffee vs. water, but I hit the mark on the second pot.
My local tap water is actually very good, so I didn't think the charcoal filter would do much. But actually, the coffee tastes even better - so who knows? I think I'd try brewing coffee without the filter once this one wears out, just to see if there's much of a difference.
I purposely bought a reconditioned machine, since I spent $100 on the previous Krups horror, and I didn't want another repeat of a waste of money. My Cuisinart arrived without the gold filter (which is fine by me; I don't like permanent filters anyway), but the machine itself looked absolutely unused. No dents or dings. As to the "seeing inside to pour the water" thing, my machine has white marks with numbers on it, so it's easy to get the right water level. (I'm also tall, so that probably didn't hurt. I can see where a shortie would need a stepladder to look inside - this is a tall, imposing machine!)
My only complaint, if you can even call it one, is that the price of the filters can add up. I've been looking around on ebay and on amazon, and the average price per filter is about $3. Now that doesn't sound like much, since you replace it every 60 pots, but we're BIG coffee drinkers here, so that filter isn't going to last a month.
Oh well. It's probably a small price to pay for a machine that so far (knock wood!) has exceeded all my expectations.
But if anyone does know of a good place to buy DISCOUNT charcoal filters, lemme know! Between air purifiers and hypoallergenic vaccum cleaners, filter replacement can chew your wallet up! minimize
best coffee ever!, March 19, 2003
forget the other review, i've had this for a week now and don't have this problem. the coffee tastes great and the maker looks sharp. only problem with this unit is the 90 day warranty (refurbished) versus the 3 year warranty for the new unit ... so hopefully this thing wont break down on me!!otherwise, no problems here!!
