Insultated carafe better than glass pot on warmer. Works well, easy to use. Removable water reservoire is convenient. Automatic timer lets me wake to the smell of fresh coffee.
Negative Product Points
Carafe lid has so many nooks and crannies, it gets disgusting and is hard to clean. A glass lined carafe would hold the heat better.
Detailed Commentary
This coffee maker is generally very good. I had to fool around with the amount of coffee in the filter to get the flavor I prefer, but now I have a formula for any amount between 4 and 8 cups (translation: 2 to 4 proper mugs).
The carafe must be seated properly. It usually does, but it is possible to set it in place improperly, in which case, the filter fills up with water and the unit stops. No spillage except when I opened the filter which surprised me and I splashed.
The all metal carafe is durable and effective for a couple of hours. However, if I need to keep the coffee warm for longer, like on a long drive, I pour it into a glass lined Thermos.
The carafe lid, with it's push-to-pour mechanism, works like a click top ball point pen. Click it once it's open, click again, it's closed. This complex mechanism is housed in a hollow plastic structure which has vents that allow the coffee to get into the lid, and drain out again. They also let dishwater in and out. The result is it gets gross and disgusting. It's possible to take the thing apart and clean it with vinegar, but this only keeps it clean until the next use, and I expect that one of these times I'll break it getting it apart. The best solution to this is to not think about it, or maybe just write about it on CoffeeGeek.com.
Other than this asthetic problem, however, this makes a good cup of coffee reliably.
That said, I probably would not buy this again, at least not without shopping around a lot more. This was the first machine I saw with an insulated carafe instead of the glass pot on a warmer (burner), now there are many to choose from.
Buying Experience
I got this through a friend who manages a Starbucks, so I got the employee discount and she gave us her monthly pound of coffee.
