Will always be a boutique product for the quality-conscious coffee drinker who isn't so price-sensitive.
Positive Product Points
--quality of the coffee brewed and the accuracy (apparent, didn't measure) of the brewing temperature.
--The footprint size is reasonable for a kitchen countertop even in compact kitchens
--materials are generally of high quality, plastics excepted
Negative Product Points
--Cost. I suspect part of this is the premium of EU sourcing vs manufacturing in China.
--The base of the platform for the carafe is a bit of a puzzle, it seems more of an afterthought and amounts to little more than a clip-on plastic trivet.
--The quality of the plastic parts, particularly the filter basket housing, is fairly basic, which makes the machine resemble much lower cost mass-market brewers.
--No automatic seal to the carafe lid as on the Capressos
Detailed Commentary
I bought the Technivorm CD Thermo, the "designer" cylinder-shaped model with the stainless conical thermal carafe. There is no carafe heater. The coffee quality is the equal or better than the coffee from any of the other brewers I have tried recently, including the Capresso MT500 and the Cuisinart DC-900. It is a simple machine, lacking any of the automatic features of these other two machines and a very simple operator interface, basically an on-off switch. The reservoir is open to view, which is nice for ease of use and the filter holder has a simple open-closed sliding closure. The carafe is robust but unfortunately lacks a spring-loaded seal like the Capresso, which is useful if you want to preserve the brew at as high a temperature as possible after brewing. The unit is unique in appearance; it won't be confused with some other machine, and the size is reasonable for a counter-top appliance. Cleaning is reasonably easy. The plastics are of similar quality to lower-priced brewers which is a drawback and suggests the pricing is a result of high assembly costs in the EU and not of overall superior quality of the materials. The metal surfaces are reasonably well-finished, but the forming technology is basic and the marking is inexpensive screening. That said, the coffee quality is very high.
