-Nice looking -Ease of use -Ease of clean-up -Great coffee
Negative Product Points
-No auto-timer (not important to me because I hate to leave coffee in filter overnight - it loses freshness) -KitchenAid has moved on to newer series - can't find replacement carafe anywhere.
Detailed Commentary
This coffee maker is the best my wife and I have owned. Simple to use, makes great coffee at the right temperature, and easy to clean. Wife bought it for the market name and to match the appliance ascetics of our new house. This has been a daily work horse for us. Makes a pot quickly and keeps it fresh tasting (read hot) for up to 2 hours. Very nice design. Use of conical hopper & filter instead of the basket type leads to a fuller brew. Did not care for the optional screen filter due to liking a finer grind than it would handle. Brewed pot after pot of Lavazza's 'Crema de Gusto' which resulted in the best cup I've ever had, each consecutive day. Will brew flavored decafs well also.
Sometime in the last two years KitchenAid has moved on to their newer series of auto-drips. When I broke the carafe, I first tried their website for replacement support. A search in the 'older model' database came up empty! Disturbed, I spent 3 days searching every nook & cranny of the internet for a replacement and found ONE, unaffiliated site (w/ KA) who sold a replacement for nearly 1/2 the price of what we paid for the whole machine! And it was out of stock. To be fair, I am awaiting a response from KA concerning a replacement.
Buying Experience
Easiest possible - came home from work and wife showed me what she purchased ;) She had no problems with Lowes.
Three Month Followup
UPDATE - Kitchenaid was great once I contacted their Customer Service dept. They had some carafes still in stock & sent out a new one right away. The carafe costs nearly as much as the complete original maker, however.
