This is a worthy unit to purchase. Read the manual. Be patient.
Positive Product Points
ST600 coffee comes out hot. Variable brewer for when brewing 4-6 cups, however made for 10-12 cups. Nice design, fits my modern kitchen well. Carafe keeps coffee hot for over an hour and is easy to clean. comes with gold-tone filter. Scheduled timer
Negative Product Points
When opening to remove brewed grinds, due to condensation, it drips a bit on the back of the machine. When removing the carafe after brewing, it drips a tiny bit from the filter holder which acts as a shutoff. Some had said to replace the spring, I am going to look for a better spring, but I think its just due to surface tension that a bit of coffee remains on the sides of the lever. I don't believe an actual mechanical failure of the holder. By drips, I mean a tiny amount of drip, drops...
Detailed Commentary
I have been experimenting with my burr grinder (old grinder was blade). I have been drinking copius amounts of coffee to test different grinds. I have no issues at all except the tiny dribble. This dribble is barely worth mentioning and front side dribble doesn't happen all the time, but i don't want to give the impression that it doesn't exist. i keep a microfiber towel in my kitchen and a quick swipe is all thats needed.
It looks a bit big but it truly isn't that much larger than the Mr. Coffee I had. Being monolithic, it appears imposng. I also can remove the carafe and keep on the kitch table or island prep area, where as before, I had to keep the glass carafe on the warming element and remember to shut it off. Its also nice that I can't forget to turn the machine off. It just doesn't work that way.
I absolutely love the coffee I have been brewing with this machine. I thought I would get away from drip when I bought the aeropress and nespresso last year. However, my wife wanted the convenience of drip. The coffee brewed is hot and as in I don't understand what my Mr. Coffee basic drip was doing.
I have had 100% success in scheduling coffee brew in the mornings with the timer.
i was keeping my Mr. Coffee out just in case, but it is heading for the garage just in case this unit has an issue.
Buying Experience
I don't know if the the unit was new or a refurb, but it was factory wrapped and had all of the components wrapped as well. Tuesday morning is like that. They have a very good return policy.
Three Month Followup
This machine is still running strong. The coffee is consistently hot. We've been using it for ~6 cups using the special setting with a low coarse grind at a ~5:6 ratio (coffee:water) using paper filter instead of gold tone. Timer works fine for morning.
