OXOBrew 9 Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker,Silver, Black

I have owned two Capresso machines for a total of six years and I have owned two Bonavita machines for another six years. I find this machine to be better than either. At their best I would say that all three coffee makers are capable of making very good coffee, and I would be hard pressed to support the claim that the coffee made in this machine is consistently better than the best coffee from either of the previous brands. That said, it is very good. At Starbucks or at good restaurants I rarely find coffee that I enjoy so much. I don't seek out coffee esoterica and I don't consider myself a coffee snob; but I do buy good beans and I grind them for each use.If the coffee made in this machine is not measureably better, why would one spring for the extra money for the OXO machine instead of the Bonavita or the Capresso?Before we answer that question, we must explain why the thermal caraffe. The answer is that burners that keep uninsulated caraffes warm invariably burn coffee and they do not keep out air. The combination of oxygen and excess heat too quickly turn the tasty brew from beverage to burnt battery acid. Keep excess heat and air from fresh-brewed coffee and it can taste good for hours. Need it to be warmer? Pop your mug of coffee in the microwave for half a minute or so. A good thermal caraffe can keep coffee tasting fresh-brewed for four hours or more. And the caraffe on the OXO is that good.WHAT MAKES OXO BETTER? --1) The caraffe on this machine works better. It keeps coffee tasting fresh from the time it is made at 5:00 AM until lunchtime, around noon. None of the previous machines did this - although all were ten or fifty times better than open pots, there was always a bit of oxidation bitterness, even if the lid was kept on the thermal caraffe. A constant irritation with the Bonavita was that the pour spout was so poorly designed that (it seemed like) fully 10 percent of the coffee ran down the side of the caraffe onto the counter. Of course, pouring slowly could sometimes help a bit, but I never could do this. The people who will benefit most from this difference are absentminded guys whose wives hate cleaning up their reckless coffee spills. In such a case, this difference alone could help save a marriage.2) The OXO machine's fit and finish are better. I cannot tell why, but this machine just looks better sitting on my black granite countertops. Perhaps it is the shiny black plastic. Or the sculptural curves. In any case, it has the presence of a work of art, FWIW. This machine is, however, taller by about two inches. It has a greater kitchen presence. This extra size may sometimes be a tiny drawback - especially in a tiny galley kitchen.3) The brew-stop feature really works. Remove the caraffe and two things happen: 1) a spring loaded plunger closes to stop coffee flow. 2) the machine senses the absence of the pot and pauses the brewing cycle. With the Bonavita, I always scalded my hand if I wanted coffee before the cycle finished; both features are missing from it.4) Number 4 coffee filters actually fit. With the Bonavita, one must fold the paper filters over at the bottom and side joints, then hope that sliding the pot into position does not nudge the top of the filter closed - the consequence of which is a plugged machine with scalding hot water and coffee grounds flowing across the kitchen counter and floor. This little accident has happened probably two dozen times in the six years I've operated Bonavita machines. Diligence and determination reduced the frequency of occurrance, but it was always a hazard. With the OXO, the bin that holds the filter is deep enough that this kind of problem is much less likely. No folding, no sliding, no scalding coffee floes.5) The clear water reservoir helps one see how far the brewing cycle has gotten. The Bonavita and the Capresso coffee makers had smoke tinted plastic reservoirs which allowed one to observe the water level from nearby; but not from acrosss the room. With the OXO I can observe the progress from across the kitchen.6) Of course, once the novelty of it wears off I'm sure that this won't count for much, but I happen to think it's mildly amusing watch the water bubble up through the central heating tube. So does my wife. Who buys a coffee maker as a source of entertainment? I admit it's not much, but we take our amusement where we can find it.7) "The caraffe is not in place." Fortunately, this coffee maker does not scold you for being neglectful as some cars did in the 1980's with spoken phrases like "your door is a jar;" but it does turn on a red light when it senses that the pot is not in place. Absentminded people might find this of some help when they have started the machine by pushing the start button, but nothing has started happening ... because the caraffe is in another room!8) The microprocessor counts how many times you have brewed coffee since descaling. When it gets to 90 it tells you to descale the machine. Since I have lost 4 machines to scale, I like the idea that this might extend the life of this machine to the point that it actually has a lower cost of ownership than my previous machines. I know that it is saving me on electricity already because in my old Bonavita it now takes two cups of water to make one cup of coffee -- it's evaporating half of the water. That's very energy intensive. It did not do this when it was new. Sadly, my experience with Bonavita machines is that once I notice that they need descaling, it is too late. So a friendly reminder might help me extend the life of my machine and keep brewing costs down.My impression of OXO kitchen tools has always been that they are very carefully and thoughtfully designed. And that they are well executed. This coffee machine extends those brand values to coffee makers. At the point it completes the cycle, the coffee made by this machine is certainly as good as, if not perceptibly better than that of the Bonavita or Capresso; but the coffee keeps better in the caraffe, it pours into the cup better, and it is much less susceptible to filter handling errors that result in rivers of hot coffee running across the counters, down the cabinets, and onto the floor. It looks better, and I have reason to hope it will ultimately have a lower cost of ownership thanks to its descaling reminders. I've had it for a week and I am very pleased with it.

I rarely leave reviews, but I wanted to pass onmy take on the 9-cup Oxo in case my research and early experience with the machine helps others. I’ve only used it twice so far, but my early experience is as hoped. I’m a coffee geek, buying good beans online, grinding them in a nice Baratza grinder, heating water properly in a kettle with a temp gauge, and using a Chemex pour-over brewing method or a Bodum French Press. After using this manual method for years for my wife and me (and friends), I decided to see if there were auto drip machines that might emulate my coffee while making the process easier. Even though I’ve learned a lot about coffee over the years, I was surprised at how confusing this purchase was. Initially, I settled on either a Technivorm Moccamaster (a coffee geek favorite) or a Zojirushi (a less obvious choice). However, I finally acknowledged to myself that the Moccamaster defeated my goal of much greater simplicity-it’s fairly complicated for an auto brewer and it’s not programmable-and the Zojirushi wasn’t up to my standards for coffee making but was the same price as the Oxo (I bought the machine at 20% off on Cyber Monday). Ultimately I went with the Oxo after reading reviews in Consumer Reports, the NYTs, specialty coffee sites and Amazon. The Amazon reviews were the only ones I found less uniform, but I ultimately wrote those off to individual differences in expectations and knowledge, which I sometimes find on Amazon. The NYTs ranked this machine number 1, Consumer Reports ranked the reliability of Oxo and customer satisfaction high, and the machine was one of a handful of drip machines certified as meeting its recognizd brewing standards. To cut to the chase, I used the machine for the first time today, and my wife and I felt the coffee was very similar or the same as my manual brew. Last night, I ground my beans (something I’d never do with a manual brew), placed them in the Oxo along with our filtered water I use, and programmed the machine to brew at 730 am. The process went off without a hitch this morning, with freshly brewed coffee waiting for us with much less work. The coffee was so good that I made second cups for us, grinding the beans right there with a slightly coarser grind than the strictly medium one Oxo suggests, and around five to six minutes later we had an even slightly better cup than the first (I believe this slight improvement was due to the coarser grimd level rather than the fresher grind). I realize this is a very early take, but I personally expect my experience will stay the same so long as the machine’s long-term reliability is as Consumer Reports predicts. I should add that this machine is sleek looking and extremely easy to use. It gives you the control and brewing method you need, without the bells and whistles you see on many other machines, which I personally believe are unnecessary and only complicating the process. I hope my research, which took longer than I expected, and this review helps some others wade through the confusion of buying a more serious progammable drip coffer maker.

TL;DR version:Thoroughly disappointing. I wish I could return this.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Longer version:I was in a time crunch and didn’t have much time to read reviews when I bought this. I picked it after seeing it on several big media sites’ recommendation pages, and I’ve come to regret not spending at least five minutes looking through the negative feedback here.Before I ran my first brew through this, I thoroughly washed all removable parts, ran four cycles of plain water through the machine, and then re-washed all removable parts. Despite that prep work, my first batch of coffee tasted like weak, watered-down java with heaps of rubber and melted plastic on the back end. Batches two and three were much the same. I was able to get rid of the rubbery, plastic-y taste by soaking all the removable parts in a 60/40 mix of vinegar and water for about 24 hours, but I’m left with no solution for how weak and underwhelming the coffee tastes. This machine is incapable of delivering the shot of wake-up juice I need in the morning.I would have returned this after the first brew, but I stupidly put the packaging out in the recycling almost immediately after I opened it, and the box was long gone before I discovered how disappointing the machine is. Hopefully getting burnt for $200 reminds me not to make this series of mistakes ever again, and hopefully this review saves someone else from suffering through the same feeling of failure I have right now.

OXO HONORS THEIR WARRANTY.Prior to failure it worked quite well and the carafe extremely well in keeping brew hot. After 9 months it refused too work properly. MAKES A GOOD POT ( but required quite a washings to rid of plastic smell ). Easy to use and predictable.