Other reviewers have complained that the carafe pours very slowly. I may have discovered the answer. I put the carafe back in the coffeemaker between pours. The first pot I made poured normally. The second pot had the “slow pour” problem. I finally figured out what I did differently with the second pot. On the second pot, I went back to my old habit of opening the top of the coffeemaker to let condensation out and dump the filter as soon as the brewing was finished. I had the slow pour problem. Since then, I have left the top of the coffeemaker closed until the carafe was empty. This solved my “slow pour” problem.

The first most obvious thing that I decided NOT to do was to use my filtered refrigerator water. Placing the extra demand on the coffeemaker to heat cold water could not be an option for obvious reasons. The second thing I determined I would try was selecting the “1 – 4″ cup button to see if this made a difference. I noticed another reviewer felt it did. I’m not sure it made any difference at all. However, after some careful consideration on what could be causing this problem, I tried something else, which seemed to make all the difference in the world. I figured the water was not staying in the heating chamber long enough before it got sucked up into the hose (again, not sure why), so I decided to manipulate the on/off button to force the water to heat longer. So I would go through the normal brewing process, then just when the coffee started to spray out of the shower head, I would stop it, then let it sit for a few seconds, then turn it back on allowing it to heat a little more. Then when it started to spray again, I would turn it off. Repeat 3 – 5 times, pausing several seconds in between restarting. By doing this, I figured the water had more time to get heated by the coils. This seemed to do the trick and keep in mind, I have been using cold refrigerator watering my brewing process.

The obvious problem with this method is that it required me to be near the coffeemaker and pay attention to it’s cycle to be sure I stopped it just in time. It is a lot of manipulation, but I now actually enjoy a hot and flavorful cup of coffee with milk – and it seems to stay hot for several hours in the carafe. Since I only brew at home on the weekends, it is a doable option for me since I feel it is overall a quality product that brews one delicious pot of coffee.

If water is not heated adequately before showering over the coffee grounds, it will not pull out the full potential flavor from the coffee beans. This is important to know in case you are spending big bucks on expensive coffee, like me. I can’t help but think that since so many folks are having this same problem, that there is a coil issue with this coffee maker. Just know, it does have the potential to heat up adequately with a little manipulation.

1. Interior “cup” must snap into place — if you don’t feel the connection then there will be a problem.

2. Cone must fit snug w/in the cup and this is difficult due to the carrying straps both have.

3. If someone attemps to pour coffee before the entire pot is completely filled and the cup slips out of place, even slightly, the pot overflows.

I wouldn’t purchase this coffeemaker again as I get complaints from staff every day and we’ve probably wasted at least ten pots of Peet’s coffee which is not inexpensive!

My two big problems are with 1) the design of the carafe, and 2) the quality of the actual coffee. Several people have mentioned that the carafe pours oddly, and this (for me) is especially noticeable when trying to pour water into the coffee maker. The big problem is that it is difficult to *empty* the carafe in a controlled manner, as you have to almost completely up-end it and so you are not able to do this while pouring into a small opening. Additionally, the carafe is designed with a very small top. I have relatively narrow hands for a man and I can’t get in there with a sponge to clean it out. Consequently, you can only rinse the carafe, which means the possibility of old coffee residue (oils or acids) clinging to the side of carafe.

This probably contributes to the second problem I have experienced. At first, the quality of the coffee was fine. However over the past 2 weeks, the coffee has been tasting more and more bitter. I have tried experimenting with the amount of coffee I put in (relative to the amount of water), have used fresh beans (we have always used filtered water), and have also experimented with the size of the pot, and have done my best to clean the entire coffee maker (including the carafe). However, the coffee is still bitter – practically undrinkable for my taste.

I don’t know if this has to do with the brew cycle, or the possibility of old oils somewhere in the machine. But either way, it looks like I am going to have to purchase a new machine in the next month or so even though there is nothing *technically* wrong with this one (after all, it still creates something that looks and smells like coffee – even though it tastes like watered down battery acid). I really think that the design of the carafe (and the difficulty in cleaning both the carafe and the spout) are major contributors to this problem.