I was just about to recommend Cuisinart - but the one with the thermal carafe. I love that I can make a pot in the morning - not have to worry about shutting it off (as it is off as soon as its done brewing) & then being able to have hot coffee ready all day without that burnt taste.

This one - Grinds, Brews, easy to clean.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/535105/review_capresso_coffee_maker_burr_grinder.html

Hands down the Capresso. I've got the coffee team Therm with grinder. Simple to use, programmable, doesn't have all the steam/condensation issues of the Cuisinarts. Enjoying my yummy cup of fresh brew right now!

Technivorm - brews at the proper temperature. I had a Capresso which also brewed good coffee but the carafe overflowed too often because of a bad design.

Bunn.

I just went through this. I had a Krupp's for years and loved it it finally gave out. I wanted to replace it but they did not make that model anymore. I did not care for the new model (no auto shutoff) I looked at the 10cup Cuisinart but it did not have a visible fill line indicator. I found this on line at Bed Bath and Beyond they did not have it in the store. I did not really need a 12 cup but It had everything I needed plus I like the looks of it the best. I am very happy with it. PHEW...all I wanted was to replace a coffee pot!

Here is a link that might be useful: coffee maker

We've also had the Cuisinart for several years and it's done terrific for us. I have a feeling you might've gotten a "monday morning" coffee pot! :-)

I just saw someplace that one of the best rated coffee makers was the $20.00 Black and Decker.

DO not get the Black and Decker. We have one at work and it is awful. Very slow to brewing coffee. It is only a month old. I have a Bunn and have had it for seven years.

Received the Keurig as a gift and absolutely love it! One fresh cup in less than 30 seconds, various flavors and strengths, iced tea or hot tea, cocoa, etc.

See the link below for the very best site for customer reviews on coffee machines. I'm not sure if you can put them in order of best reviews or if it's just alphabetical (the latter would be more of a hassle since you'd have to scroll through them all unless you have a couple of brand names you're sure you want to look up) but it's well worth it either way. It's an excellent coffee snob site/forum!

My machine's a few years old now but I still love it- it's a Capresso basic auto drip kind. Also be sure to use a real burr grinder. The Capresso w/ built-in auto grinder appears to also have good reviews. The only reason I got mind separately is cause I didn't have enough height between my counter and the bottom of my cabinets to fit in in there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best customer reviews for coffee makers

We really like our Breville Kurig. It is stainless and looks great and the coffee is fantastic (there are so many choices it would be tough not to like one).

If you are truly a lover of good coffee and don't mind spending more money:

http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/technivorm_thermal_coffee_maker_KBT741_silver.html#ReviewHeader

Posted below is a rather long (sorry) review of coffee makers from Cook's Illustrated test kitchen:

COFFEE MAKERS

Published September 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

Most models turn costly beans into mediocre coffee: too weak, too flat, or too bitter. Whats so hard about making a decent drip coffee maker?

products tested (listed alphabetically)
Black & Decker 10-Cup Thermal Stainless Steel Coffeemaker
Bunn-O-Matic Home Brewer
Capresso CoffeeTEAM Therm
Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker
Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Deluxe 10-Cup Thermal Coffemaker
Krups 10-Cup Programmable Thermal Coffee Machine
Mr. Coffee 10-Cup Thermal Programmable Coffee Maker
Technivorm Moccamaster Coffeemaker
See Product Comparison Chart

In this age of Starbucks, Americans have gotten much more sophisticated about the complexities of coffee flavor. As we surveyed the latest models on store shelves, we wondered if manufacturers might have caught up with our coffee obsession and finally developed an automatic drip coffee maker that can produce a terrific brew.

From previous tests, we knew that a thermal carafe would be essential; the usual hot plate under a glass carafe starts turning fresh coffee acrid in a matter of minutes. We found eight brands with thermal carafes and at least a 10-cup capacity at prices from $47 to nearly $300. Most were programmable, meaning you can fill them with coffee and water and set the time you want the pot to turn itself on. Two came with an attached burr-style coffee grinder.

Better Brew
Brewing a full pot in each machine, we asked tasters to judge the coffees aroma, body, complexity of flavor, level of bitterness, and overall appeal. Our hopes for the new generation of coffee makers were quickly crushed. Most of those eight stainless steel machines made the same kind of mediocre coffee weÂve come to expect: bitter, weak, or one-dimensional.

What was the problem? Aside from using fresh, high-quality coffee beans and good-tasting cold water, the two most important factors in making good coffee are the water temperature as it passes through the grounds and the length of time the grounds are exposed to the water. These factors determine which of the more than 1,000 volatile flavor and aroma compounds identified in roasted coffee beans make it into your cup and which get left behind (only a limited number of themÂapproximately 30Âproduce the best-tasting coffee). Studies have shown that the most flavorful, aromatic compounds are released by water between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, at a brew time of six minutes, for drip coffee makers. The ideal cup of coffee contains 18 to 22 percent suspended solids extracted from the ground coffee. Too fast a brew time and the extraction of solids will be less than 18 percent, and your coffee will be weak; too slow a brew time leads to overextraction (more than 22 percent suspended solids) and a bitter brew. If the coffee maker is too slow and the water is not sufficiently hot, you can even wind up with coffee that is both weak and bitter.

We made more coffee, this time measuring the water temperature throughout the brew cycle. And here we made a key discovery: Most of these machines were too cool, spending most of the brewing cycle struggling to bring the water into the right temperature range. Many didnÂt reach the correct temperature until the last minute or two of brewingÂand then kept climbing, scorching the grounds as the last few cups dripped into the carafe.

Next, we timed three pots in each coffee maker with a stopwatch and averaged the results. Once again, our lousy coffee could be explained: Most of the machines never reached that ideal time frame for water to pass through the coffee grounds, though two came much closer than the rest. The slowest machine took 18 minutes to make one pot of very bitter coffee. The fastest took just four minutes, and tasters found its coffee weak, thin, and flat.

Tasters Choice
How can manufacturers keep getting away with these crimes against good coffee? They know consumers canÂt taste the coffee before they buy the machine; most choose a coffee maker based on looks and price. New models are dressed up to be enticing, with graceful carafes, backlit digital displays, and multiple features. Why canÂt the flavor match up? To sell these coffee makers competitively, the machines have to be made cheaply, and the most expensive part of the coffee maker is the heating element."

In the end, only one coffee maker stood out in our tests as exceptional. Unlike any of the other coffee makers, its internal heating element brought the brewing water to the correct temperature range within seconds and kept it there through the brewing cycle. In contrast to most coffee maker heating elements, which are made of aluminum, our winnerÂs heating element is made of far more expensive copper. In coffee makers, the heating element usually runs alongside a tube containing water. As the cool water drips down from the tank, it passes through the heated channel, then boils up to the top of the machine, and finally drips down onto the grounds. A copper heating element has higher thermal conductivity than aluminum, meaning it is more responsive and can reach a higher temperature more quickly.

There was just one problem with our winnerÂits price. Could we really justify spending almost $250 when we know that great coffee can be had through far cheaper methods? To make sure, we compared the machine made coffee to coffee from a French press, the method favored by many coffee connoisseurs. To our surprise, while our tasters enjoyed the French press coffeeÂs rich aroma and flavor, the machine still won the day with even better flavorÂand with no need to go through the French pressÂs multiple steps of separately heating the water to 200 degrees, then pouring, stirring, waiting four minutes (according to manufacturer instructions), and pressing.
See the Results:

PRODUCT TESTED BREWING FLAVOR USER-FRIENDLINESS PRICE*
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Technivorm Moccamaster Coffeemaker
Fast, very simple to operate. Tasters described coffee as "a dynamic and clean cup, flavorful and expressive," "very good; robust but smooth." Achieved perfect temperatures for brewing and serving and was the closest of all the coffee makers to reaching the ideal brewing time. Pieces disassemble easily for cleaning. Though not programmable, this machine was so fast and easy to use, we didnÂt mind.

$239.95
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Krups 10-Cup Programmable Thermal Coffee Machine
Compact and attractive, this programmable machine is simple to use, but it lost points for too-slow and slightly too-hot brewing. Thin water line down front of machine magnifies as water is added, making it easy to read levels. Optional beeper indicates when brewing is complete. Tasters deemed its coffee "slightly too bitter." Half-pot was weaker than the full pot.

$95.93
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Cuisinart Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker
"As loud as a jet taking off," the attached burr grinder will wake anyone who isnÂt already up in the morning. Controls and carafe were well designed, but brewing water spent most of the cycle well below optimal temperature, reaching it only for the last three minutes. While a few tasters called the coffee "mellow," others deemed it "watery," "bitter," and "thin."

$199.00
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Black & Decker 10-Cup Thermal Stainless Steel Coffeemaker
Innovative lift-out water reservoir you can take to the sink and fill, but controls could use improvement: A temporary sticker explained that one button turned the machine on and off and set programs with different numbers of pushes. Tasters found the coffee "strong," but "nothing exceptional"; some remarked on its bitterness. Brewing water remained too cool for most of the cycle, then spiked up too high near the end. Half-pot was slightly weaker.

$59.99
NOT RECOMMENDED
Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Deluxe 10-Cup Thermal Coffemaker
This programmable machine is easy to use and fill, with simple controls, and we liked the two commuter cups you can brew into directly. But itÂs one of the slowest coffee makers in the lineup, taking 12 minutes, 23 seconds to produce a pot. Brewing water was too cool and took 16 minutes of the brew cycle to reach the proper temperature. Tasters found the coffee "strong" but too "bitter."

$89.99
NOT RECOMMENDED
Mr. Coffee 10-Cup Thermal Programmable Coffee Maker
Attractive machine, but water filter is fussy to put in correct direction, with tiny, raised print the only indication. Condensation dripped neatly into tank when lid was opened. Tasters found the coffee the most bitter of the lineup, calling it "harsh," "like cowboy coffee," and rated it near the bottom for complexity of flavor. Brewing temperature fluctuated between too high and too low.

$47.24
NOT RECOMMENDED
Bunn-O-Matic Home Brewer
This super-fast machine brews a full pot in just four minutes, but the coffee is "weak," "thin," and "flat." You canÂt see into the water reservoir or check water level; you must leave unit on at all times to keep water preheated and ready to brew (at the cost of fresh flavor), or wait 15 minutes for preheating before brewing. No "on" button; closing reservoir lid starts brewing. Turbulent water spray strews grounds over and around filter. Water never reached 195 degrees.

$131.32
NOT RECOMMENDED
Capresso CoffeeTEAM Therm
Deluxe machine is enjoyable to watch as the filter fills, then swings over to begin brewing, but for the price, the coffee should taste better, and it takes up too much counter space. Coffee was brewed at too high a temperature, making it "too hot to drink," "weak and watery," and "too bitter"; it received the lowest overall tasting scores. Delicate, tiny parts for top of brew basket were fussy, easily lost, and had to be in exactly the right place for proper function.

$299.00

Sorry that was so long, but hope it helps! :)

I think it depends on which kind of coffee you like and
how strong. Espresso? (Caffè macchiato ) American style?
Latte? Starbucks or French heavy roast? Cappucchino,
Frappucchino, ..... I drink American style with plenty
of cream and sugar.

This is my dream coffee maker

but since this is not in my budget I use this one that
my mom got me at least 5 years ago and I love it.

Sorry it is a Cuisinart 12 cup programmable called
Brewmaster. I like it, it works and has never given us
trouble.
But, I read on epinions has some serious complaints about
Cuisinart. The link is below. You might try a search
for coffee makers and how much you want to spend.
They list Aerobie AeroPressâ and Bunn as some of the best.

~Boxer

French Press

Melitta woven filters and a plastic cone (the glass drip cone having broken or gotten lost long ago). Cheap, simple, and incredible coffee when using a top-quality French Roast in superfine grind. Paper filters simply do not compare.

I have the Capresso MT500 and I love it. Never had any issues with it at all. I believe a new model just replaced this one, but it is still basically the exact same thing, they just dropped the price a little for the new one. I also recommend a good burr grinder. Never knew how much of a difference that made until I bought one.

I've had bad luck with the carafe ones that turn themselves off before the coffee is brewed. I have been using the Cuisinart stainless steel programmable one pictured above for several years now and really like it. You can set the temperature of brewing and it has a timer to turn itself off after one hour or two.

We use a stovetop espresso maker (Bialetti type) for strong coffee. French press for ordinary brew. Another French press for tea. A manual frother for the frothed/foamed milk. It works and when we're camping, the coffee can be just like at home.

I'd kind of like one of those big bartop espresso machines, that baristas use to prepare two or three espresso drinks at once. They are remarkably expensive, but sometime turn up used for $1K or so. Then you need to find room for it . . .

no epresso making here
just coffee - lots and lots of coffee.

I need a pot than can handle being turned on up to 3x a day - occasionally more to brew fresh pots. We do love our coffee.

Bunn = thumbs down.

We have been using ours for about 4 years and I will be so thrilled to get a new one once our new home is complete. The Bunn was a gift from my MIL, and at first we thought it was great because it brewed so fast. But realizing that it is not programmable and that you have to leave it on all the time to keep the water inside hot were big down falls to us. The glass pot cracked and chipped very easily while being used gently.

I don't know what kind I will buy next, but it will not be a Bunn.

We'll soon have the Miele built-in coffee machine, delivery is scheduled for the middle of this month. Expensive yes, but we justify it because we LOVE good coffee and don't drop $10 per day at Starbucks, although there is one on every corner here.
Currently we have the Kitchenaid Pro and it makes good hot coffee.

I have a Keurig with those K-cups. I love the variety and the fact that if it is a one cup day, I only make one cup instead of making a pot and throwing most of it away. If it's a 3 or 4 cup day, well then maybe I start with Kona, go to Sumatra Gold, followed by a Gingerbread....

I have the cuisinart that Boxer has & posted. We love it! My brother in law loved our coffee when he came to our house, so we surprised him with one last year & he loves his, too. We've had ours for about 6 years now & no problems. It's funny 'cause when we watch HGTV shows, hubby & I always notice they always have "our" coffee maker in their kitchens!

ejbrymom, we also have the Cuisinart and it also started turning off randomly and then not turning on at all when you use the "on" switch. However, I learned about a workaround online. It's kind of a pain (especially if you want to make three pots a day), but while you are searching for your perfect coffeemaker you can give it a try.

Instead of using the "on" switch, use the timer (just set it to go on in one minute). For some reason, at least on many of these defective machines, if you turn it on that way it works properly (brewing the entire pot and keeping it hot for two hours, rather than randomly turning itself off or never brewing the coffee at all).

Good luck!

I have a Bunn, I have to agree with CI that it makes a thin brew.

I don't use it that much after I got a Moka pot: