Absolutely love it!

This is my third thermal carafe coffee maker this year. The Zojirushi I started with died after six weeks. I moved on to a Barista from Starbux that I loathed and returned. After reading many good reviews of this Capresso on epinions and some coffee snob site, I decided to pony up the cash and try it. I've had a Capresso burr grinder (model #560) for a year and LOVE it, so I hoped the brand would be good.

I'm a bit of a coffee snob - I buy top notch beans and grind them fresh in a burr grinder, and I'm very picky about temperature and depth of flavor in my brews. I absolutely love this coffeemaker! It makes excellent, rich coffee fairly quickly and it keeps it hot for a reasonable amount of time. We entertain a lot and everyone I've served from this machine has commented on how neat and easy-to-use the carafe is and how delicious and hot the coffee is. I usually use the machine to make small amounts for myself (3-4 cups). I swirl some hot water in the carafe before I brew and use the special 3-5 cup setting the machine has. I have never gotten anything but hot, delicious coffee out of this machine. I have ZERO complaints or problems with it and I hope the machine lasts forever! I do not use the optional carbon water filter as we are blessed with the most delicious, pure well water.

I do want to address some common complaints that I have seen about this machine and many other thermal carafe machines. My purpose is not to insult or upset anyone who has made these complaints, just to offer my take on these situations.

First, many people complain about having to seat the carafe just right or a mess ensues. I think this is the nature of any thermal carafe set up (at least it was for the three I've owned). For the carafe to seal in heat it has to be tightly closed and the coffee must enter through as small an opening as possible. I've never had a problem with any thermal carafe leaking during brewing, and I think this Capresso model is especially easy to seat correctly - the obvious point at the bottom of the filter basket needs to sit in the equally obvious indentation on the carafe lid.

Second, I've read several complaints that coffee pours out of the carafe at a trickle. You just need to make sure the lid is unscrewed enough for the coffee to flow freely without letting the lid pop off.

Third, some people have complained this machine is noisy. It doesn't seem to make any more noise than any other auto-drip I've owned. And not to be snarky, but since I don't require my beverages to be made in stealth-mode, I really don't get this complaint.

Fourth, I've read complaints that the carafe doesn't keep coffee hot for hours and hours. To me, the advantage of a thermal carafe is that it keeps the coffee hot for a "reasonable" amount of time without ruining it the way a glass carafe on a warming plate does. I just want my coffee to stay hot through dinner and dessert or a leisurely morning of nibbling breakfast and reading the paper. This carafe does a good job of keeping a full pot hot for a long time, but it doesn't keep that last cup hot for long. However, I think the latter is an unreasonable expectation. I always prewarm the carafe with hot water before brewing and this seems to help the coffee stay HOT.

Finally, I've seen complaints about the water level indicator being hard to read or keep clean. I find it easy to read, but you do have to get on its level and well, I need reading glasses so maybe I'm not the best judge of "easy to read". As far as keeping it from getting slime mold in it, I let the machine "breathe" after each cycle by leaving the tank lid up for an hour or so. This has always been my habit with any coffee or iced tea maker. If you repeatedly trap water in a dark place, you are going to get slime (go look at your shower)! Leaving the tank lid up for awhile after a cycle lets the tank dry out. No remaining water = no environment for slime.

No machine is going to make everyone flip, but this machine is "perfect" to me!

4/16/07 UPDATE: We are still loving this machine - no problems at all and it still makes great, hot coffee. The burr grinder is still rocking too!