All the top end drip machines really don't measure up to Philips! They do "make things better."
Positive Product Points
High brewing temprerature, speed of brewing, stylish, ergonomic
Negative Product Points
Thermal carafe difficult to clean thoroughly to remove stale odour, white glass carafe model stains
Detailed Commentary
Purchased this rather on a whim as I knew it was made in The Netherlands and everything else was starting to come from China or Mexico (including Krups and Braun). I had (have) a Capresso Coffee Team which has a great grinder but substandard brewing temps. Also have a Braun KF187 which has to make 12 cups for decent coffee. Bought a Bosch Porsche design thermal and to get the stale taste out of the carafe the hand blown glass jug has to be removed each time~ just great design, Porsche.
So I always return to my Philips 7610. With 1400W heating elements on the "gold" setting, it exceeds 200F, saturates the grounds thoroughly and does it at the rate of one cup/min. The carafe is designed to minimize evapouration and the hot plate shuts off after 2 hrs. I'll also use the automatic timer (heinous crime, I know) on those extra early morning awakenings. We have good quality water here so I do not use the "anti-chlorine" filter. Any setting other than the full pot gold uses lower wattage and hence lower brewing temps.
Liking the glass carafe model so much, I purchased the Thermos carafe model (double-walled insulated stainless steel in and out). It makes equivalently good, high brewing temp coffee, but lacks a timer; has automatic shut off when finished brewing. The carafe is difficult because in order to empty it, it has to be poured from a vertical position. Then, if you're not meticulous, a stale coffee flavour lingers. I've discovered that it is from the rubber gaskets on the lid and the carafe so special attention must be paid to cleaning those parts (with a brush). The stainless carafe will keep coffee hot and fresh tasting for about two hours if it is preheated with hot water.
These are discontinued models, but the replacement Essence model is available in Canada and I would expect similar performance (it's a similar design). There are some Chinese Philips coffeemakers with removable water reservoirs; my brother has one and it is a good performer but large on the countertop.
Buying Experience
First one came from www.thebuyersclub.com; responsive, good vendor. The thermal I bought from Canada Post (?!) via eBay; they were excellent.
