Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsDon't bother searching for reviews online... Buy something else
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024
I will start by saying, I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 for two reasons. First, it's not a terrible machine. It makes good tasting coffee. Second, a lot of the things I will talk about, like the lack of features and the high price, are things I knew before buying it.
I ordered this machine on Christmas day, because our last coffee maker simply gave out. I read a ton of reviews online from from different sources... NY Times, Vice, NY Mag, and a bunch of others. The only conclusion I can make is that for some reason the writers aren't being honest and they are publishing VERY positive reviews for this machine. I'm not making any guesses or accusations to why they would do that.
So first here is my personal experience; the caveat again being that I knew it had no features going in, although I had no idea it would feel so cheaply made. Then afterward I will list the pros and cons.
I've had the machine for more than 7 months now. The best thing I can say is that it still works, and it makes a consistent brew of coffee, every single time. But within 3 months, the spring that controls the spring-loaded drip-stop functionality popped out. I only realized this a couple days later, but I was fortunate enough to find the spring, which had fallen out while I was rinsing out the coffee holder. It happened to fall into my garbage disposal in the sink, and stayed there long enough for me to find it and put it back in place. I haven't had an issue with the spring since then because I have been more careful when rinsing it.
Now however, the ONLY feature that the machine DOES have has stopped working. That singular feature is the ability to switch between a full carafe and a half carafe. My machine no longer recognizes that switch. So however much water I put in, the machine will run until the water runs out. This means if I want a half carafe, I have to measure the water first before putting it in the machine, because if I add too much water the machine doesn't stop at half carafe when it is switched to half carafe, and I wind up with a full pot of weak coffee.
Those are the only 2 problems I've had, but I think when you pay almost $400 for a coffee machine (after tax) that has no other features, those 2 problems are big problems! Maybe there was a time when these weren't mass-produced by the company and the quality was better, I don't know. But in current state, it's just a way overpriced coffee machine.
PROS -
-Consistent brew of coffee every single time.
-No-pump water dispenser is GREAT, and hassle-free.
CONS - everything else...
-The quality is not good. The machine is mostly plastic
-The glass carafe is made of very thin glass, it's small, and the shape of the spout causes it to spill VERY easily, requiring you to be extra careful when pouring.
-The 100-minute on-time after brewing is too short. You will read that this keeps the coffee fresh, etc. but having had to restart it many times, I can tell you that the coffee is just fine if left on longer. As long as the plate temperature isn't too hot, and there's a decent amount of coffee still in the carafe, it's not going to taste burnt, if it stays on longer.
-The lack of features, and early failure of both parts and features is astonishing given the price of the machine, even if you are aware going in.
- The price. It's a super-expensive coffee-only machine. For this price, understanding that it does nothing except make coffee... there's not even a timer... you should be able to expect a couple of things. There should NEVER be pieces falling off. The only feature that it does offer should not fail in less than a year. The build materials should be much better quality than they are. That's it. That was all I expected, knowing the price and lack of features. And somehow, it still failed to meet those minimum expectations.
I'm still using the machine, and will use it for a while, because I usually make a full carafe of coffee... I almost never need the now-broken, half-carafe feature; and also because I did, after all, pay almost $400 for the machine. So it'd be a waste to throw it out. I might reach out to support about the half/full switch that doesn't work. But honestly I feel like that's an extra hassle I shouldn't have to deal with for a product of this price. So I will just keep using it as-is. But I can't recommend ANYONE buying this machine for ANY reason, even if the price was to be cut in half.
Do yourself a favor and pass on this machine... either find another expensive machine, with more features and better build quality, or just buy a regular coffee machine for under $200, and use the other $200 on something else! Don't let the publications where you read reviews of this machine fool you into thinking that despite it's lack of features, and lack of build quality, that it makes such a great cup of coffee that the price is justified. There is nothing about this product that justifies the price.