Produuces quantities of very good, very hot coffee. Ergonomic and attractive design.
Negative Product Points
More features than I need. Big countertop footpriint. List price is a little high, but product quality matches.
Detailed Commentary
Other writers have covered the technical aspects in good detail and with good analysis.
Overall design includes removable plastic water and milk bins. Capresso suggests the covered milk bin can be stored in the 'fridge between uses. Coffee is collected in a high quality and rather attractive all-stainless thermal carafe capable of holding coffee at drinking temperature for many hours. The controls and display appear well-built, sturdy and their operation is relatively obvious.
Coffee grounds are held in a gold-tone filter (included) which sits in a removable plastic cone. The plastic cone is held in a fixed swing-out hinged housing. The housing is released to swing by a mechanical button located on top of the unit. This mechanical button release *may* be a weak point for this design, but no worse than others and it has yet to be demonstrated that this is a point of failure. I'd personally prefer a removable combined inner/outer filter holder+housing along the lines of many Krups and Braun auto-drips, as this is easier to clean.
After loading coffee and water a single button press is needed to start the brewing process. Of course this maker includes a delayed brewing feature, clock, reduced or half-pot brewing cycle, and the milk frothing/steamer - all features I will use only infrequently.
I have tested the milk frother and it seems to work extremely well and between the available steam and the removable parts, cleanup is mindlessly easy. Drawing the milk through the steam tube by venturi force prevents the inevitable "baked-on" milk that appears on most expresso milk steamer tubes. This part of the design is excellent tho' it's a feature I'll use only occasionally.
With half a pot of pre-heat water cycled through the system the initial carafe coffee temperature is a stunning 189.6F/87.5C. Here are my carafe coffee temps vs time.
It seems to lose only 8F or 9F per hour which is an excellent result.
My goal was to purchase a replacement maker for use several times a day for personal use. The requirements were for simple & quick operation, a good thermal carafe to keep coffee for extended periods, large capacity (10 cups minimum) easy cleanup and good coffee flavor. The Capresso seems to be at the top of the heap in terms of auto-drip coffee flavor. This maker meets or exceeds all of my other requirements.
I had considered several other units, but thanks to "dodge1", Keith Beam and others I was made aware that the CoffeeTec was available as a like-new refurb for less than the cost of others in this class. The MT500 from Capresso was a possible alternative, but there are a few reports of units making too-cool coffee. Cuisinarts either lack the thermal carafe or include a marginal grinder that I would find useless. The Bosch lacks enough good reviews.
After two weeks use I can honestly state that this Capresso CoffeeTec makes the best tasting auto-drip coffee I've ever had. I am very pleased with the CoffeeTec.
Buying Experience
Excellent on-line purchase experience of a refurbished unit from the manufacturer's website. Delivery was extremely quick (under 48 hours!) using their default shipping option. My follow-up phone question was quickly and competently answered.
