Capresso 455 CoffeeTEAM Therm Stainless Coffeemaker/Burr Grinder Combination
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Capresso 455 CoffeeTEAM Therm Stainless Coffeemaker/Burr Grinder Combination
Customer Review: A weak coffee disaster
Summary: 1 Stars
I have had the Capresso 455 CoffeeTEAM for two days and have experienced nearly all the problems reported in negative reviews. Twice I've had coffee all over the counter instead of in the pot. As a dark roast coffee lover, however, my biggest disappointment is that this machine makes coffee that tastes like dishwasher!! You can forget trying to get rich, flavorful coffee from this dud. I use Starbucks dark roast beans, set the Capresso to 10 cups strong and the result is horribly weak coffee. I've tried everything I can think of to "fool" the machine -- adding more ground beans manually, setting for ten cups strong and only putting in six cups of water, grinding beans myself in a separate grinder -- still weak coffee!! To add to this huge problem the Capresso has also been very inconsistent in its operation. In the strong setting it sometimes grinds a very, very small amount of beans, while other times it grinds much more. About half the time the basket will swing back over the coffee pot and, instead of starting the brewing process like its supposed to, the light will go out and nothing happens until you manually press the button. I am extremely disappointed in this product and am amazed that a company like Jura could sell such a poor performer. There's only one thing consistent about the Capresso and, unfortunately, that's weak, tasteless coffee!Customer Review: Great concept, but very poor execution
Summary: 2 Stars
We bought the Capresso Coffee Team Therm in October of 2008. Right away I was disappointed that I couldn't make 10 cups of reasonably strong coffee without pre-grinding some coffee to add to the meager amount that the Capresso ground. Capresso decided that 10 cups, brewed strong, would look like tea and taste watery. I still had a decent burr grinder, so for every pot of coffee for the last year and a half, I have had to grind extra beans. I appreciate that I haven't needed to clean the grinder mechanism after each use, but the swinging basket throws a fair amount of dry coffee grounds out on the counter. Another issue is that the coffee maker has always leaked a few ounces of water out onto the counter during brewing. When the Capresso power switch failed yesterday, I had it all loaded with water and coffee, but I was unable to get it to start. This morning, the water level had dropped from 10 cups down to 8 cups overnight.
It is very frustrating to have a machine that has every feature that was important to me, but for the machine to be so poorly executed. $299 for a marginally useable coffee maker that lasted 21 months! I am now wishing that I had paid for the pot with a Visa or Mastercard, as Discover does not extend the warranty. I see that the pot is being cleared out at about $150-160. It looks like I'm not the only one with problems.
Customer Review: it works perfectly, but broke after less than two years
Summary: 3 Stars
I was kind of afraid to buy this coffee maker after reading some of the reviews, but the idea of a well functioning combination grinder/coffee maker was too appealing to pass up.
I had the cusinart machine in the past, but only used it once---with the cusinart, the water goes right through the grinder mechanism making a big mess with each pot. This machine grinds the coffee into the filter, and then moves the filter away from under the grinder to over the carafe to add water.
Many of the posted reviews say if you use the machine as directed, it works perfectly. The machine comes with a short instructional dvd and well written easy to understand instructions. I followed the instructions, and haven't had any problem with malfunctions at all.
The coffee is good. I DO NOT preheat the carafe because I use it on a timer and have had no trouble with coffee being too cold. The carafe is very nice and travels well to the table.
All in all, this is a great machine!
Update: six months later, the machine is working fine! it even told me when cleaning was necessary.
Update: 15 months later, the mechanism stopped working and it can't be set to brew the next am. Downgrading review to three start. it did not last long enough for such an expensive machine.
Customer Review: Stick With The Cuisinart
Summary: 2 Stars
Like many folks who purchased this unit, I had a Cuisinart "Grind n Brew" on which the grinder became so noisy I finally decided to buy a new machine. I was attracted to the burr grinder and the fact that based on the design, it appeared to be much easier to clean than my old Cuisinart. So I ponied up $300 and ordered it.
The fact is, it was a major disappointment. I use a dark roasted bean and the beans get stuck and do not fall into the grinder which is on a timer, so the first morning, see-through coffee. Yuck! After a customer service call, I found out that , "oh no, dark roasted beans don't work unless you tap them down while the machine is grinding."
So much for waking up to coffee. So I tried a lighter roast bean and although more coffee did get ground, their programmed settings for a strong 10 cup pot was not really what I considered strong. Their solution-use less water. After I boxed up the Capresso to return, I brought the old Cuisinart from the garage, fired it up and brewed some fine coffee, noisy blade grinder and all, and cleaning up after didn't seem so bad.
Also the Capresso's thermal carafe is adequate at best and the alignment dot (to pour) is very hard to see.
In conclusion, if you really like a full-flavored cup of coffee, this is not the machine for you at any price.
Customer Review: I REALLY KNOW ABOUT THIS MACHINE
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading so many of the reviews, I decided to write one myself.
I have used the #455 Capresso for over two years, maybe over 3 years now on a daily basis. There is only one thing I don't like about this Capresso and that is it is that the pot is hard to clean, because you can't get your hand in it and, of course, don't put it in the dishwasher. I clean it with a baby brush and soap and water, but most days, just hot water.That is fine except when you want a better clean.
I ordered the larger bean holder for $10.00 and it is perfect.
I like good coffee and this is the BEST. I suspect when it says 2, 4, 6, etc. for the water, it might be European. So if I want 6 cups, I just put in up to 7 or 7 1/4 of water.
For strong coffee, which I like, I program it for strong and if it says 6 in the water, put in 7 cups water.Adjust the grind and water for how you like it and then it is set. Works perfecty.
I can't imagine any other coffee maker that is this good. I absolutely love it and have had no problem with it.
A good way to clean it (from the mfg) get some denture tablets and every once in a while dissolve two or 3 of them in the pot.
I have had experience with this coffeemaker and would recommend it as the best of the best.