An Honest Review of 3 Top Rated Coffee Makers

Gevalia Starbrand (Stainless Steel)

Gevalia is the maker of coffee and coffee makers. The Gevalia coffee maker used to come as part of the company’s major offer for joining their coffee club.

Consumers rave about Gevalia coffee being some of the best on the market. This gourmet coffee is said to be fresh with a smooth taste.

The coffee maker that comes along with the special offer is a reasonable price that allows you to brew up this amazing tasting coffee. Buyers wonder, though, if the coffee maker is something worth using.

The following review will let you know what people think about the Gevalia coffee maker.

Review of Gevalia Starbrand Stainless Steel

The Starbrand Stainless Steel is a special price that consumers receive when they decide to try out Gevalia coffee. This coffee maker brews 12 cups of coffee, comes with a digital clock and stands at 16 ½ inches tall. It features different programming options, including an auto brew option.

Pros of Gevalia Starbrand:

• Many found a lot of points about this coffee maker that they liked.
• The look of the coffee maker is exquisite. It was described as a gorgeous machine by a few consumers. The coffee maker has an auto brew setting which works well.
• Customers were overall happy with the brewing of the machine and thought it is an easy machine to clean. Many also liked that the basket snaps securely into place.

Cons of Gevalia Starbrand:

• On the other hand, there were some complaints about this coffee machine. Despite the impressive row of programming buttons, quite a few buyers complained that the buttons are flimsy and often very difficult to use. The buttons are hard to push.
• Another issue of concern was that the water reservoir area is rather small, making it difficult to pour in the water without making a mess.
• Some also thought that the machine was made rather cheaply with some parts, such as the spring, that operates the pause option during brewing, breaking after a short period of use.

Conclusion of Gevalia Starbrand Stainless Steel

For a low price, this coffee maker is a good deal.

It is not the best made product with common problems cropping up after a short time of use. It does do the job of brewing a nice cup of coffee and looks good sitting on the counter.

For many this may easily become a back up coffee maker instead of one for everyday use. The flimsy construction makes it almost impossible to use as a main coffee maker without a lot of hassle or frustration.

Most consumers were more than happy to accept this very reasonable offer due to the fact that the Gevalia coffee gets very good reviews.

Cuisinart DCC-450BK

The Cuisinart 4 cup coffee maker will basically deliver a fine cup of coffee for a reasonable price. Cuisinart is well known for its kitchen appliances and since 1994 has produced coffee makers.

In 2001, Cuisinart introduced their Premier Series Coffee Makers which utilized new technology while maintaining a sleek, modern design. These days, Cuisinart’s range includes a basic coffee percolator, espresso machines and drip coffee makers which include the Two to Go travel coffee maker, the 12 cup coffee maker, the single cup coffee maker and the 4 cup coffee maker.

This review is focused on the Cuisinart 4 cup coffee maker.

The Cuisinart DCC-450 4-cup coffee maker is a basic coffee machine that still includes features that make for easy use and a good cup of coffee while remaining a reasonable price ($30).

Here are the main features of this model:

• Shuts off after thirty minutes automatically.
• Brew pause and serve function which allows you to interrupt brewing process to pour a cup of coffee in thirty seconds
• Stainless steel carafe.
• Compact design which fits easily into most spaces.
• Cone shaped filters to make better coffee.
• Even distribution of water through filter using showerhead water delivery.
• Limited three year warranty.

For many people, these features are also the pros for buying this coffee maker however, some of them are considered cons by other users.

For example, the automatic shut off can be very annoying for people who would prefer their coffee to remain hot for a couple of hours and the stainless steel carafe can be annoying for those who like to see through a glass carafe. The stainless steel carafe not only prevents people from knowing when their coffee is ready, it also gets a lot hotter than a glass carafe and care needs to be taken with children.

Additional Benefits of the Cuisinart 4 cup Coffee Maker:

• Fairly quiet operation.
• Easy to clean.
• Produces a great flavored brew in four to five minutes.
• Compact and attractive.
• Unbreakable carafe.
• Makes great coffee.
• Commonly mentioned cons of buying Cuisinart 4 cup coffee makers include:
• Poor design leading to leaks and spills. It is hard to control where the liquid goes when you pour.
• Cheap plastic connections which break.
• The plastic carafe lid uses a plastic tab to hold it in place above the handle. This appears to be a weakness in design and quality.
• The flip top reservoir cover is awkward to use and a potential weakness.
• The filter basket cannot be taken out so you can add coffee; it must be done in the machine.
• Lacks an external window to see reservoir water level.

Conclusions

For those who only require a four cup coffee maker, The Cuisinart 4 cup coffee maker DCC-450 is an economical, attractive coffee maker which makes an excellent cup of coffee.

By and large, the negative reviews it has received are because of the tendency to spill and design attributes such as an opaque carafe which do not appeal to everyone.

The DCC-450 is not for people who need to see the coffee brewing or who will be irritated by the thirty minute shut off and are not interested in the safety value of this feature. Neither is it for those who are looking for a product made without cheap plastic components.

However, it is the conclusion of this coffee makers review that this little machine offers excellent value for money. It fits on most bench tops, has a thirty minute cut-off safety feature to prevent electrical fires, and produces a great tasting cup of coffee.

Braun Tassimo TA1200

The TA1200 features a 50-ounce water reservoir. It is silver with black accents. It also features easily removable dishwasher-safe components The Braun brews your drink one cup at a time in approximately three minutes. You can preset the unit for the exact size of the drink you want, up to eleven ounces.

Probably the one feature of the Braun coffee maker Tassimo that makes it a stand-out is its versatility. You come home from wherever with your child or hubby or mom, and you can quickly brew up whatever beverage each of you prefers. It makes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and other beverages such as cappuccino, espresso, and latte drinks.

It’s ideal for the camaraderie of the neighborhood coffee klatch, with you as host or hostess quickly dispensing whatever drink each person favors. And you don’t have to clean it to serve different drinks; just pick the T disc you want to use. The brewing itself occurs in that disc.

Single-serve machines have been issued by a couple different manufacturers, and there are a variety of T discs available for you to choose from. People are just loving the flexibility of being able to experiment with Italian coffees or English teas. There is a consensus at many coffee makers review columns that while this cup of coffee doesn’t quite match up with those sold by the big-name vendors, the Tassimo still offers a much better brew than the old standby twelve-cup machine.

Drawbacks of the Braun Coffee Maker Tassimo

The most universal complaint comes from people who haven’t really explored the technical capabilities of their machines. Many of them are complaining that the coffee is too strong or not strong enough, or not hot enough.

What they don’t realize is that even though the barcode contains instructions for the machine, you can override those preset instructions so that the beverage is brewed to your liking.

Another complaint specifically about the Braun Coffee Maker Tassimo unit comes from those who like to brew a tall travel mug for on-the-go use. There is a platform that you can remove so that your tall mug will fit, but it does cause a little bit of dripping if you do that.

A few have complained of coffee grounds, but the complaints came from people who had difficulties in puncturing the pod. You’ll pay more for the T discs than you will for a freshly ground sack of Eight O’Clock. But the cost is less than visiting the local coffee shop.

Others simply prefer Keurig’s model because it offers the capability to make your own blend with a reusable coffee filter, using either freshly ground coffee or tea leaves.

Conclusions

Those who bought the Braun Coffee Maker Tassimo were eager to ignore the few complaints floating around. At over a hundred dollars it’s a little expensive, but then again so are those coffee vendor’s lattes. Overall, this unit gets good grades.