Small, sleek, black, clock and timer, seems reliable, good cup of coffee, very quiet, fast brew
Negative Product Points
Hard to get water into machine, plastic a little flimsy, the brew-stop feature is superfluous, carafe pours poorly
Detailed Commentary
I've only had this for about a week, so I cannot comment on its reliability.
However, overall this item brews a good cup of coffee, easily.
PROS:
It's very small, sleek and black, which means it will fit in small spaces and not show stains. I only drink one or two cups per day, so this machine is perfect for me. I hate the ones that brew 10-12 cups because they are huge.
This coffeemaker uses the flat-bottomed filters which are not, IMHO, as good as the V-shaped ones, but are substantially cheaper and work well enough with the brewing method mentioned below.
It also has a timer that you can set up to 24 hours in advance which does seem to work well the few times I've used it.
It brews quietly and seems to get hot enough. Since all coffeemakers use essentially the same method of getting water to the coffee -- that is, they boil it until it bubbles up through the tubing and into the basket -- I don't understand how some people can think that some coffeemakers don't get hot enough. They all HAVE to boil the water, or it won't rise through the machine! Yes if it has to rise a long way it may cool down a few degrees, but all makers at least at some point get the water to 212F.
CONS:
The worst part of this coffee maker is that the water reservoir is very small and difficult to get water into. You may very well spill the water down the side or into the filter basket while doing so. I suggest filling the reservoir before putting coffee in the machine, just in case.
Also the machine seems a bit flimsy. The plastic is lightweight and the top lid seems a bit bendy.
Also I'd like to see the clock/timer backlit. It is just an unlit LCD display that is hard to read in dim light and impossible at night. The other labels for the ON and OFF buttons are also hard to read. Fortunately, when the machine is on, a nice green light illuminates, but I think I'm going to put a little dot of white-out or a sticker on the ON button so it's easy to tell which is which.
TIPS:
First off, I have removed the "Pause 'n Serve" feature of this appliance. Honestly I can wait the 3 minutes for my 1-2 cups to be done. The Pause 'n Serve stopper can be pulled down through the basket without ruining anything, and can be replaced by reversing the process if desired.
When this feature is removed, I can use the old carafe from my 4-cup Melitta or I can use a (standard sized) mug rather than a carafe at all.
Second, I can't stand the taste of thin, watery, sour, under-extracted coffee. Utterly hate it. So I've found that with the brewer, and with any auto-drip brewer, I have to grind my coffee very very fine. Essentially espresso ground.
Since drip makers, especially dripping through only a couple of Tbsp of grounds, don't let the water contact the grounds enough to fully extract them, you need to grind your coffee extra fine. This is especially important when using a flat-bottomed filter rather than a V-shaped filter.
