Great little coffeemaker!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Quick brew, don't have to make a full pot

Cons: Hard to clean

The Bottom Line: 
Great for a single person, only wants one cup of coffee in the morning type person - but rather hard to clean.

Author's Review
I like coffee - in moderation. I don't depend on my starbucks latte in the morning (I *hate* starbucks...overroasted coffee) but I like have a nice cup first thing in the morning while putting on my makeup, or when I need a shot of caffiene to keep me going while I write that last auction description.

In our house, it's just me and my husband (so far. ;-) ) and he doesn't drink coffee. I know! Weird! Anyways, I don't need to brew a whole huge pot of coffee for just one cup. I picked this little brewer up on sale for $10 from Canadian Tire. I figured it would be just the perfect thing for those mornings when I want a cup of coffee, and this way I don't have to drink that crud they make at work.

It's a really simple design, you open the top lid and put in a scoop or two of coffee grounds into the removeable non disposeable filter, pour some water in, press the button and it brews a single cup into your own mug (not included).

The problem is - the permanent filter is easy to clean, but the rest of the machine isn't. The basket that the filter sits in eventually builds up a film of coffee oil, or whatever the heck that stuff is, and it's just about impossible to clean the grooved bottom. The lid doesn't remove from the machine, so cramming your hand in there requires child labour trying to get your 6 year olds hand in there, or some serious work with a cloth.

The coffee grounds and fresh water are right side by side each other, and sometimes the coffeewater (not yet dripped down, but mixed with coffeegrounds) burbles over into the fresh water side. The freshwater side is a curved portion tapering to a thin end. (think of one half of the yin/yang symbol) So again, it's impossible to clean.

Other than that, permanent filter itself is great - you don't have to buy any paper filters, and when it gets messy, just pop it in the dishwasher.

It brews a cup in about 3-4 mins... I think. I usually put the thing on and then go have my shower, so by the time I'm ready, it's cooled down to a drinkable state - that thing really does get the coffee hot, for those that like scalding hot coffee. :-)

So... my final thoughts on this? I like it. I don't mind cleaning it out once in awhile when it gets really scungy, and I imagine you could do one of the vinegar/baking soda/water rounds to get it clean inbetween - but I've never been a total neatfreak myself. :-) It makes a decent cup, in decent time, it's just a pain in the patootie to clean. I don't have a huge coffeemaker cluttering up my countertops, but on the other hand, I can't really offer my dinner guests coffee to follow their meal. :-)

If you like more than a couple of cups a day (even spaced apart) then you probably would want to look into a full sized coffeemaker with a keep-warm carafe - that way you don't get the "burnt" coffee taste from having it sit on a heater. If you're the occasional coffee drinker, this is perfect for you.