Black & Decker DCM7 Cup-at-a-Time Personal 12-Ounce Coffeemaker, White
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker DCM7 Cup-at-a-Time Personal 12-Ounce Coffeemaker, White
Customer Review: Hope these are made forever! No pods needed. Just brew.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using this for what seems like over 10 years. It's been that long or longer. This is my third one. I use it several times a day each and every day. It lasts just about as long as I could ever expect an appliance of this type to last.
I'm the only coffee drinker in the house. A single cup maker is exactly what I need.
This cup-at-a-time brewer doesn't require those expensive "pods." It works with plain paper filters and it also provides a reusable nylon mesh filter basket if you don't want to use paper. Extra tall mugs won't fit but an 8-ounce mug fits nicely. (There is a larger version of this coffee maker that will take taller mugs but it comes only in black.)
I use standard 12 cup full sized brew basket paper filters because they are least expensive. Once you practice placing them in the filter holder, you realize there's no need to spend extra money for the #1 filter that it is designed to accomodate. It's hard to find #1 size filters anyway. You can use 4 cup filters in this thing, too, but I think the 12 cup filter works best. You just learn to insert the filter so that only one layer of the paper covers the basket drain hole. (More than one layer of paper causes the grounds and water to spill over into the cup--absolutely won't spill onto the countertop--you'll just have grounds in your coffee. A little practice and, like me, you can insert a standard full sized paper filter in about 1 second even when you're sleepy-tired in the morning.)
It brews quickly and it shuts itself off automatically when done. Plain, simple, effective, reliable, with low cost of ownership. Use any coffee you like. Use any filters you like. Lasts for years. I hope they never stop making this thing.
You can even make pseudo-expresso with this thing. Use your burr grinder to grind beans into the fine dust you'd use for an expresso maker. There is a reusable nylon mesh filter provided in case you don't want to use paper filters. The nylon mesh won't filter out the oils like paper does. I use disposable paper to make it easy to discard the messy grounds for most of my coffee drinking. I use the nylon mesh filter when I want a super strong drink with an oil slick floating on the surface of the coffee.
Customer Review: Black & Decker DCM7 Cup-At-A-Time: Thumbs Up!
Summary: 4 Stars
First, many thanks to all the other reviewers who posted their opinions for this product. They were a big help in deciding which item to buy. I did in fact buy this Cup-At-A-Time coffeemaker, and it's worked out well. The details....
--- I had no problem with the temperature, and found the coffee plenty hot enough. For those who prefer super hot coffee (like my dad), I suggest you warm up the mug with hot water from the tap just before use. This will keep the coffee at brewing temperature significantly longer than when using a cold mug.
--- I've been using this item always with the addition of a paper filter, on top of the reusable filter. This makes the coffee nice and strong. I found that either Melita cone filters or 4-cup basket filters will work, with a little modification. The Melita cone filters need to be trimmed with scissors along the top, to remove about half an inch of paper. This makes them a perfect fit. Round basket filters (4 cup size) need no trimming. First you flatten them, then fold them in quarters, then fold up the point a little bit. Finally open the "cone" to create a suitable pocket for the coffee. Works great.
--- I've had no problem with coffee grounds getting into the water reservoir. I think this will only happen if you try to add coffee grounds to the filter while the filter unit is still inside the machine. Bad idea. Just lift the filter basket out, put it on the countertop, and add the grounds there. Then put the filter basket back in the coffee maker. It drops into place very easily.
--- Note that the maximum height for a mug to fit this coffeemaker is 4 inches. Taller mugs will not work.
--- And that's about it. Overall, I am very please with this item, especially for this price.
Customer Review: Very good coffee maker
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this coffee maker for about 10 years now. I use it mainly on weekends - maybe 5 cups/week. I have never had a problem with it. It makes very good coffee without the waste of making a whole pot (I'm single).
It's not an eye catcher sitting on the counter - but, what do you want for [...] bucks. It's very good at it's intended purpose.
The only issue that I have is with cleaning the inside water tank. It's pretty nearly impossible to get anything in there to clean it. After a while, a calcium build up will result with a change in color of the plastic in the tank in the areas that you can't get at. I control it by running vinegar through the unit (without coffee :) ) and then flushing it out with water.
Any coffee connoisseur knows that it's imperative to keep a coffee maker spotlessly clean in order to make really good coffee.
Also, the coffee grinds will invariably get into the holes in the top cover where the hot water comes out. To clean that, I wipe it off with a sponge, and then carefully turn the unit upside down and run the top section under the kitchen fawcet to flush out the grinds. There are no electrical components in the top section - so if you are careful not to get water inside the main unit, you will be OK. Just let it dry out real good before you turn the unit back on.
I have been cleaning it this way for 10 years and the unit is still going strong.
In so far as the temperature, the coffee turns out better if you use cold water. I use a mug warmer to keep the coffee hot while I'm sipping it. It works for me!
Customer Review: You can make tea (or hot chocolate) too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my bathroom, so I could easily have tea during long baths. I didn't want a big, bulky machine to store under the sink, so this was nice and small (it's sorta cylindrical--about 8.5" high, 7" wide & 6" deep). I figured it was so inexpensive, that I wouldn't be too upset if it didn't work well. Heck, people pay almost this much for one cup of coffee at one of those fancy-schmacy places. It does work great, though!
Unlike some other brands, it does indeed have an on/off switch. I just stick a tea bag in the permanent filter, some sugar in the cup and in 2 minutes, hot tea! You can also make hot chocolate..of course with cocoa mix (land o' lakes..which they sell here at amazon, rocks!)and water. I suppose if you filled your cup with ice, you could have iced tea, too, but I haven't tried that yet.
This model requires you to have your own cup, but if you're like most people, you have extra mugs around (you need one under 4 inches high!) The machine takes up to 12 oz of water, but I couldn't quickly find a cup short and fat enough to make a whole 12...only 10oz. That is fine though...in 2 minutes, just make 10oz more! It doesn't have a warming plate under the cup, but you're likely making it to drink right away. Totally worth the price.
Now I'm thinking of getting them for all my friends at work for Christmas with a cute mug and a bunch of hot chocolate mix...that would be a fun present.
Customer Review: Makes good coffee, little impractical size for mugs
Summary: 3 Stars
Got this about a month ago.
PROS:
- Makes a good-tasting cup of coffee. No plastic taste from cup number one.
- Good price.
- Easy to use
- Takes regular coffee grounds, no expensive pods
- reusable filter. Unlike other reviews state, I've only used the filter without paper filters and have had no problems with ground getting thru to the cup.
- Easy clean up
- Unit overall is very small and doesn't take up a lot of counter space
- Perfect for a single person or household that drink little coffee
CONS:
- The small height of the mug space is WAY TOO SMALL!!! Only one of my probably 10 mugs fit under here. Big dissadvantage. All mugs are over-sized nowadays. Accommdate this please!
- Tends to be messy from the start to finish. Water is always spilled when putting water in the unit because it's an odd shape to pour into. The drip is constant well after the coffee has finished brewing. I put a paper-towel down to take the remaining drips.
- Coffee really isn't that hot, but not a huge deal to me.
Overall I'm happy. I think I will buy a small glass Pyrex measuring cup to make it easier to pour water into the unit as well as for catching the coffee and transfering it into one of the many mugs I have that don't fit the unit. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a coffee maker that will make it right into your cup.