Customer Reviews With Photos
It not only serves its purpose as a coffee maker but you can also use it to make a cup of tea which is nice. Also the build quality is great!
This machine is for industrial use, but I am using it at home! I love it!
Most of what I can say is pretty great so far. It shipped in a day, the Silicone grip is removable to clean it, it has a good texture, doesn't feel like it would slip out of your hand, keeps the handling area nice and cool. That being said there are two issues with the product that must be noted. The first is the filter. When I ordered this I had a feeling I should get a better quality filter, and I am glad I did. In the photo, the filter on the right is what comes with the decanter. It's not a terrible filter, but if you planned to use a finer coffee grind for stronger flavors, you would need to use paper filters. To me this eliminates versatility, so I have to mention it. Thankfully there are reasonably priced filters that you can purchase to improve your overall experience. The second issue for me would have to be packaging. It doesn't come in a box, but instead a little kinda cardboard piece that doesn't protect it at all. While I understand this is for aesthetic purposes to display the product, it is being shipped in the mail. I had ordered multiple items in bulk so thankfully the product was packaged with air pillows in a much larger box, but it's still something to consider when you realize any sort of the wrong bump in transit could have potentially broken it. Other than that it's a pretty solid product. Doesn't feel flimsy, easy to use, feels nice in the hand, the scoop and lid are a nice touch. Worth the purchase.
Box was super damaged, arrived with a broken lid
At first, we really impressed at the quality for the price. After using 4-5 times, and hand washing only, the handle is cracked and warped. The bottom of the percolator is also warped outward, so no longer sits flat on the cooktop. It would maybe still work on a gas stove, but there not enough contact now for the electric cooktop to get the water hot enough to brew. Product had great reviews, so maybe I just a bad one.
Ok...3rd one in 2 years...this time I got the 4 year warranty cuz I have had it !!!!
Purchased for our family weekend Camp-O-ween and did NOT work at all. Luckily, I took another coffee pot, if not, I would have been super pissed. First thing Monday morning, it was at the UPS for return and refund. I do NOT recommend
So easy to use. Great flavor to coffee. I bought a couple more to use on RV and Lake house.
>A few years later: it's a reliable machine at least. These constant descale messages haven't seemed to slow it down. I use a secondary carafe to keep my fresh coffee hot. I store the coffee maker under some cabinets and pull it out when I need it. This frayed the plug. I was disappointed it wasn't made better because the OEM plug and cord felt robust. I replaced the plug (pictured) and I hope this is the last compromise I have to make for this machine's inferior engineering. >1.5 YEAR UPDATE: The carafe leaks everywhere. Breville doesn't have a replacement. They told me to call back in a month and they may have inventory again. And even before it got leakier, I got pretty tired of the drippy mess everywhere around the pot that requires daily cleaning. I'm really regretting not getting a MochaMaster. > 1 YEAR UPDATE: After owning this for about 15 months, I really miss my old Cuisinart stainless carafe that could keep coffee hot for hours. This gives you 50 minutes of steamy hot coffee at most. It makes a delicious brew, but cannot keep it hot for long. I'm updating from 4 stars to 3, because this aspect has been consistently disappointing. Read the original review below. Coffee snob checking in. This is a great machine. It really fills a niche. I'll address the coffee it makes since most of the other reviews focus on aesthetics and build quality. Most of the snobby auto-drips are 8 cup only, cone filter only. This is the 'gold standard' of coffee (look up "SCA Standard"). I wanted that level of quality, my wife wanted something with a timer (to accommodate early rising guests). Twelve cups is better for my wife and I than 8; I'm a teacher at a night school and have nothing better to do in the morning than drink coffee, and you should see the size of her to-go mug she brings to work! Get you a girl that can do both. This is the only* machine I found that offers SCA standard coffee, and has a larger basket and tank to yield 12 cups. (*OXO has a 12 cup, SCA certified auto-timer auto-drip, but if you read the reviews it looks awfully problematic--so much so, coffeemakers.us.com isn't carrying it anymore.) The "gold" setting is great. Fast brew, perfect temp. Warm your carafe up with hot water first. The pump is quiet (I'll update if that changes with age), and it brews a perfect 8 cups. If you grind quality beans fresh with a decent grinder, any novice could get a great result with no problem. They include a scoop so you don't get your proportions wrong. For 12 cup, I like to grind just a bit more and use the "strong" setting. Strong doesn't scald the hell out of it like a drugstore coffee pot. It just gives the water a bit more time to hang out with the beans. It's still a fast brew. Using the basket filter and 12 cups, the quality isn't quite up to par with "gold" but it's 90% there. Coffee tastes great, has a rich flavor, cups well, ideal mouthfeel, all that stuff. This is the go-to SCA certified 12 cup brewer with a timer. If you can live with an 8 cup machine, there are cheaper options which I'd turn to first. If you want to pay more to get more, this is the one. Edit: I am unimpressed with the thermal carafe. My old Cuisinart retained heat much better. (I have the stainless steel carafe, not the glass) 2nd Edit: Day 25, I got the "descale" notice. Addendum 15 months later: I live in a mineral-rich area with very hard water. I simply descale once a month with white vinegar. The descale notice is constantly on, but it doesn't prevent the coffee maker from starting. I keep an eye on the machine for mineral build-up, but naturally I can't really monitor the important stuff like the pump.
I owned a Nespresso machine that just quit working, leaving me with many unused pods. I did not use the machine enough to justify the expense of replacing it. This item allows me to use my pods quickly and easily. And while I understand that this is a portable espresso maker, I use it in my home regularly. It doesn’t take up the counter space that the Nespresso did and it makes a great cup of coffee. And it cleans up easily. I feel like I got more than I expected. I am very pleased with this purchase.
I have purchased this item twice and neither of the packages came with the filter. Once, maybe it's a lemon. But twice, obviously need better quality control. Returned both and planning on buying a different one.
I mainly use this for camping. It’s great that it’s small and seems robust. OXO makes a folding version, which isn’t quite as nice. Only complaint is that I wish they included a storage case for it. It takes about the same amount of time to boil 12oz of water in a jet boil as it does to make a cup of coffee with this (~2 mins), so making multiple cups is quite streamlined. It fits nicely in the $4 IKEA Kuggis 7x10x6 box, along with a small bag of coffee and filters.
Your coffee house won't miss you, but you may arrive after your first cup when you start using this B&D mill & brew! I was (kinda) hoping to get that coffee house flavor with this. I figure it's a "regular" drip coffee maker, with a grinder. It pretty much is. No blooming, no rain shower brew head so get the best beans that you can. Because those are what makes the cup. I have been playing around with beans for some time now, since getting this coffee maker & I actually came across the ones which make the brew house coffee that I have been trying to make at home (see review elsewhere here). The pot helps, but it's the beans! "I don't want a decent cup of coffee. I want a great cup of coffee". Before finding the right coffee (I'm not done by any means). The bottom line is that it's about the beans, & so few miss the mark. I was only rating this machine at about a 3.5. It behaves very well, & the nearly direct brew is good. My 12 dollar drip does that. I really like the flavor that comes from the brews on this B&D. I don't like that you can't add a paper filter, as I "found" it helps with reducing cholesterol, but I can actually. You don't always have to grind in the unit. You can pre grind. you beans. I am happy that I purchased this one, over the "other" popular one. As you can hear from the video, this really is super quiet! Which was one of the factors in it's purchase, the other was that the path is more direct, after grinding. Which gives you all of the oils & flavor. Even simple beans taste decent. For the most part it grinds up all of the beans (and quickly), leaving only a few on top sometimes. You can use the 6 grind for a four if you'd like, which will give it more grind time, but often I think it should stop sooner. Strength settings. When on max, it tends to get close to over flowing the grounds (grinds) into the pot, so be careful there. If you're trying to extract as much as you can, you may want to find something else, or use the 6 scoops for 4 grind & hope it works better for you. Clean up isn't bad. It does take WAY more time than a basket. I compost my grounds, but can't get everything out. There are less grounds or dust than other machines, but there are more crevices on this. Overall I am very happy that I picked this Black & Decker Mill & brew machine up. I have a bunch of B&D stuff in my house, & now I have some fresh B&D coffee to start my day with. Who doesn't like a little to start their day? It's a twelve cup carafe, so it's large compared to the 5 cup units I usually buy. For those who want more control over the amount of coffee they use. You can grind 4 but add any amount of water. It grinds on one setting, but always brews what's in the tank. Which is an easy way to overcome the extra strong overflow mentioned above. Anyhow, bottom line after using a few bags of beans. I am very glad that I went with this Black & Decker Mill & Brew coffee maker. I really was leaning towards two other ones, as well as a commercial maker, but saw this one suggested so pondered it for nearly a month. Stop pondering & get the cup of coffee you deserve. Sunday's breakfast is so much more delightful with a little B&D brewing in the kitchen. Oh, one more thing. I detest the translucent side fill window. They (and everyone) have to make it darker). The second pot is okay, the condensation marks where you were at the last time.
Works well! Happy with the purchase.
Bought this the beginning of May. The first 2 times we used it, it worked great. The last 2 times I have made coffee it has leaked so bad I have to leave it in the fridge on top of a towel IN a bowl. It makes great coffee, but for the price it should not be leaking like it is.
