Mr. Coffee TFX20 / TFX23 12-Cup Coffee Maker ... I HATE IT!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Inexpensive; Glass carafe?

Cons: Read them all!

The Bottom Line: 
It makes coffee and for 40 bucks that isn't bad, it just isn't great.

Author's Review
I bought Mr. Coffee TFX20 / TFX23 12-Cup Coffee Maker in black when my beloved stainless carafe coffee maker by Mr Coffee died a very slow death. At the time I couldn't find anything better, and I was desperate. That being said......

Features

The Mr. Coffee TFX20 / TFX23 12-Cup Coffee Maker comes in black & white. I chose black because all of my appliances are black and stainless. White would just look odd.

It's a simple, anyone can use it coffee maker. Just the basics, no frills-just brew your coffee and you're set.

Mr Coffee says: (it has these features)

Brewing Pause 'n Serve lets you pour a cup of coffee while the coffee maker is still brewing. This feature DOES NOT work. As soon as you remove the carafe, coffee starts dripping out of the basket like mad. The cool part is watching it hit the heating element and then the drops bounce off & splatter all over your countertop. MESSY!

Removable Filter Insert lifts out of Brew Basket for fast and easy filling and cleaning. Yep it slips out & slips back in. Easy to clean, easy to replace, it's just easy.

2-hour Auto Shut-Off keeps your coffee warm for 2 hours and then automatically shuts off. Since when? I don't know about your Mr Coffee pot but mine doesn't stay on for 2 hours after it is done brewing. 45 minutes max and it is off. It does shut itself off which is a good thing because otherwise i'd forget and burn my house down.

Delay Brew allows you to program the clock up to 24 hours in advance to begin brewing at a specific time. this feature is handy especially if like me you're awake at 4 am and the last thing your mind can concentrate on is making coffee. Although some evenings I just say "whatever" and leave this feature alone and do all of it myself the next day. It really depends on my mood. The drawback of skipping this function is the long wait for your coffee to brew. Its like standing in line at a coffee shop, you can see the coffee you just cant have any yet.

Dual Water Windows show the amount of water in the reservoir for accurate filling. Accurate? Okay, if you'd call it being a 1/2 cup off accurate but I'm guessing that's as good as it gets with this style. Don't fill it up too far past the 12 cup marker because like other Mr Coffee makers there are holes in the back and water will spill over leaving a HUGE mess. However the water level indicator is handy even if it is off by a little bit. There are some days I can only tell how much water I have poured in by using the clear measuring table on the right side.

Stain Resistant Warming Plate is easy to clean and prevents stains. It is stain resistant, but I've never had a coffee maker that's warming plate wasn't stain resistant. Is this really that big of a sell?

Cord Storage safely stores excess cord to keep your countertop neat. This is a awesome feature however I use my coffee maker everyday so I have no use for storing my cord, i'd just have to get it out again,. It seems more trouble than it is worth. But if you only use yours occasionally this is a plus for countertop storage.

On/Off Indicator Light lets you know when your coffeemaker is On. This isn't just standard? Okayyyyyy..........There are two buttons that when sitting side by side look like one button. It says on and off. When you turn it on, the light, which is red, pops on. When it turns itself off, the red light goes black. Nifty isn't it?

Standard glass carafe holds up to 12 cups, the top (lid) is removable for ease in cleaning and the pot seems to be pretty stain resistant if cleaned properly. I use the dishwasher, it is safe!

It's BLACK! And it catches every bit of dust, food, stain you can imagine. I don't think the white would be any better so it's just a matter of preference.

It's a timer, it's a clock! This doesn't impress me much, we live where there are a lot of storms in the spring summer and fall and well we lose power quite a bit. I DESPISE resetting clocks. However if you live where you have power 99.9% of the time you'll love the large display and the red numbers. Its easy to read and amazingly accurate.

Buttons! They are flush with the maker and like a key pad are easy to use. Very simple even my 6 year old can figure out how to use this machine. It's bare bones.


Use

Fill carafe to desired water level. Insert basket, insert filter into basket, throw in some coffee (use the filter & basket). Pour water out of carafe into the water chamber. Check the water level indicator to make sure you're getting 6, 8, 10, 12 cups and not 5.5, 7.5, 9.5, or 11.5 cups or less.

Wait about 10 to 15 minutes and wha-la coffee is done!


And because its Mr. Coffee.......

You expect it to be good.

And it just isn't. When you remove the carafe it leaks. When the coffee hits the warmer it sprays. When you try filling up the water indicator it is off by 1/2 a cup or more.

The upside is the timer does work and it does make a good cup of coffee if its new or cleaned properly. Mr Coffee sells cleaner just for this purpose, don't buy it! What a waste of perfectly good money-buy vinegar. It works just as well and is cheap!

This is just a basic coffee maker. I've asked other coffee lovers, since I have to have my Starbucks everyday, what they recommend and never once uttered from their lips was MR. COFFEE.

It's brews a decent pot of coffee, looks decent on your counter, and if it breaks you wont be as distressed if you paid fifty dollars more.

Ill be buying a CUISINART as a Christmas gift to myself. So no I don't recommend this product unless you just like creating and cleaning up messes.




© MM 2006