Black & Decker DCM18 Brew 'N Go Coffeemaker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker DCM18 Brew 'N Go Coffeemaker
Customer Review: great little coffeemaker!
Summary: 5 Stars
When it arrived, I immediately put it to the test. I filled it with purified water and put my WORST tasting coffee into the permanent filter to see how it would come out. It heats up pretty fast and very hot, unlike my old coffee which you either have to fill with partially hot water or have cold water run through it twice just to make a decent coffee. It makes some noise when brewing, but at least you'll know when it's done! The coffee actually came out surprisingly well, and I must say it tasted better then that coffee i bought from Starbucks a couple days ago. And those were my worst coffee grounds, too... Another pleasant surprise was it's ease of cleaning. I thought the permanent filter would get clogged very easily, but it washed out just fine.
Overall, a very good little coffeemaker that makes a quick and wonderfully robust cup of coffee. 5 stars!
*an update: after some time, the filter won't sift out the finest grains of coffee bean, so you might have some grit at the bottom of your cup. I would change my rating to 4 because of that, but I can't so I'll just say it here. I use disposable filters now (just stuffing in larger ones works fine) so otherwise, still works great.
Customer Review: Worst Cup-at-a-Time Ever
Summary: 1 Stars
The worst problem for this coffee maker is the shape of the lid and water compartment. It is IMPOSSIBLE to pour a cup of water into this without spilling it all over the counter. The width of the water compartment is narrow, so you have to almost launch the water up and in to get a majority of it in the coffee maker. If that weren't bad enough, the lid has a point on it that gets in the way of the "launch". Terrible design.
If they had put a window in the side so you could see how much water you were putting in, some of the inconvenience would have been eliminated.
Their previous model was so much better than this. It had a semi-circular lid and wider water compartment, and you could pour water into this easily. Unfortunately, it was white and the stains were impossible to get out. "Lets get a new coffee maker!" the wife said. So, here we are.
I don't have the problem others do with waiting a long time for the coffee filter to drain through the small hole. Just tilting the basket toward you for three or four seconds lets it drain thoroughly.
My suggestion: wait for B&D to put a little thought into the human factors in their next design.
Customer Review: Good Coffee but a Few Drawbacks
Summary: 3 Stars
Pros:
- Good tasting hot coffee.
- Includes permanent filter.
Cons:
- Coffee mug is plastic, which means hot coffee rapidly turns warm.
- Besides the removable lid, the coffee mug consists of two pieces, a black container and a brown outer housing. Water tends to seep between the container and housing after a few hand-washings or one run through the dishwasher. You must separate the two pieces to remove the water. That's when you'll discover the seal between the two is simply a thin rubber band.
- Coffee grounds ALWAYS attach to the overhead where the hot water enters the grounds chamber, which means a little extra effort cleaning the unit between brews.
- Coffee grounds frequently enter the water reservoir and seep between the permanent filter and the filter housing, which means even more effort cleaning the unit between brews. Recommend buying number 2 cone filters; less mess.
Note: Black & Decker has released an improved model, the DCM-18S. It has a stainless outer shell and they have solved the issue of the housing coming apart from the inner shell. I give it 5 stars!
Customer Review: Great for single cup coffee drinkers
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used this coffee maker for over 5 years now and it's still running great. In fact, I just bought another one to take on trips & bring to the office.
Pros:
1. I don't have to make more than one serving at a time for myself and it brews straight into the mug.
2. It comes with a permanent filter but you can also use cone filters size #1 which I can buy nearby. Less messy to clean up using the paper filter. I just toss the grounds in the trash.
3. Quick to brew; done in < 5 minutes
Cons:
1. Hard to find a replacement mug of the right size or permanent filter
2. No warming element
3. The grounds do soak up some water and less comes out that you put in but it also happens with larger coffee pots (which being larger, you don't notice as much because you aren't MEASURING with the same cup you drink from).
Hints:
1. To stop grounds from floating into the water resevoir, use drip or cone ground coffee. Avoid very finely ground (i.e., espresso)
2. To avoid overflows, leave the cover off while brewing.
Customer Review: Quirky "dribble mug" but overall very good
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned this "DCM18 Type 1" - written on the bottom of the unit - for 3 months. Overall, It works very well, makes good coffee. The one odd thing about it is the mug. I use the mug to fill the water reservoir and the mug dribbles water. Over time, I have found just the right way to pour the water into the reservoir without the water also dribbling down the side of the mug. I do not use the mug to drink the coffee though. Instead I pour the coffee from the mug into another mug or a big cup. When I do this, coffee inevitably runs down the side of the mug while I am pouring it. So I do it over the sink so I don't have to wipe down the counter. I have not been able to master pouring coffee out of the mug into another container without the dribbling. Perhaps I should be instead drinking right out of the mug and that would solve the problem - but I don't want to do it that way.
I use a #1 filter in the filter basket for easier cleanup, trimming a #2 filter back a 1/2" also works well.
The coffee is hot and tasty.