Capresso 471.01 CoffeeTEC Digital 10-cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Vacuum Carafe and FrothXpress, Black
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Capresso 471.01 CoffeeTEC Digital 10-cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Vacuum Carafe and FrothXpress, Black
Customer Review: Couldn't be better
Summary: 5 Stars
After searching intensively for the perfect coffee maker for several weeks, I finally came across the CoffeeTec and decided to purchase it despite some people's complaints about it. These complaints mainly centered around the carafe and its ability to keep the coffee hot and around the frother.
I have now used the CoffeeTec for several weeks and cannot claim any problems with the carafe. The coffee enters it steaming hot and when I pour it into my cup it's still steaming - even after having let it sit in the carafe for a while.
Initially, I did have problems with the frother and couldn't get it to froth at all. All I would get was watered-down hot milk and zero froth. Mind you, the problem had nothing to do with there being "many" parts to the frother. Basically, Capresso has designed the frother parts in such a way that they are easily cleaned and I don't see anything complicated or confusing about re-assembling them since it is obvious where which part goes. The multi-part design is very easy to clean and I don't find that you need any special tools or straigthened paper-clips to do so. All you have to do to keep it clean is to disassemble it right after you use it and briefly rinse it under water. Voila, you are done. Sure, if you let the milk dry and clog the frother, you'll have to do some more work but that doesn't have anything to do with the design rather than with personal laziness.
At any rate, the reason that I couldn't get any froth had to do with the milk I was using. Most of the milk available where I live is 2% and I simply cannot get any froth with it. However, once I switched to 3% milk, I no longer had a problem and the CoffeeTec created beautiful froth.
By the way, I steam milk for four cups of coffee at a time and can keep on steaming for another 8 without ever running out of steam. In fact, after the normal four cups, the water reservoir for the frother has barely used any water at all.
I only have praise for this coffeemaker and although I initially had a lot of concern spending so much money for such a simple device, I am now happy that I did.
Customer Review: Broke after 2 months and Customer Service was Horrible
Summary: 2 Stars
I would rate the actually coffee pot very highly...if only it would work. For 2 months after I got it, it made delicious, very hot coffee, and the thermal carafe was fabulous. I didn't use the frother...just didn't really need it. But after 2 months, I poured the water into the reservoir as usual, and it just wouldn't brew through. In fact, it did nothing. I made sure everything was on, tried unplugging and replugging later, several attempts and days later, still nothing. So I called Capresso's number on the warranty information, and with only a couple of questions asked, was told a relacement would be sent to me within 48 hours. The conversation gave me a sense that this was not the first time they had heard of this. They never even asked for proof of purchase date on it! So a week later, I've still heard nothing and call back. I was told the sent the shipment by Ground, which in my mind is poor customer service right there. If your product breaks after 2 months and you want your name as a company to look good, wouldn't you want the customer to receive the replacement ASAP??? So they're sending it ground and it will arrive in 3 weeks on May 19. Well, on May 23, it is still not here, and upon investigation we find that UPS "Ground" has lost the replacement coffee maker, but they are showing that it did NOT get delivered. O.K., so Customer Service Mistake 2: Capresso informs me they cannot send me another unit until UPS has LOCATED and returned the original unit! Here again would be a perfect opportunity, and most great companies like Apple and Bose would have done just this:apologize profusely for the inconvenience and promise a new one will be sent out next day air. Problem solved---you'll always trust them to shop with again. But not Capresso. I have now been completely without a coffee maker for well over a month because of all this red tape. And if you are a true coffee lover, you can just imagine what that has been like.
Bottom line: coffee maker great IF it works. Capresso Coffee Brand Name the worst at fixing their own problems. I will never never buy Capresso again.
Customer Review: A Competent Coffeemaker w/Valuable Unique Features
Summary: 4 Stars
We've been using our new Capresso CoffeeTEC 10-cup coffeemaker for roughly 30 days. We are impressed. Though priced ...higher than many coffeemakers - it is worth the extra expense. We have owned an array of coffeemakers including most recently a Krups w/carafe. The first notable plus is the overall manufactured quality of the total unit. Though mostly plastic, like all coffeemakers, the moving parts appear and feel substantial - a near commercial grade level. You get the sense this device will last a long time. The next plus is the carafe. Of the several carafes we've owned, the Capresso carafe is the best. And the carafe does hold the coffee hot for at least as long as the marketing materials suggest. The next plus is such a simple matter but it's made a difference - the brewing water reservoir is a separate unit which you remove from the maker, fill with water and return to its position. No more trying to pour water into the maker at 6am and hitting the counter top! Regards the most important demand, the Capresso DOES make an excellent cup of coffee. Finally, the valuable unique feature is, of course, the FrothXpress. If you like hot frothed milk w/your coffee - there is no better coffeemaker on the market anywhere near this price point. Though the "plumbing" for the frother is unusual, we've found it easy to assemble/disassemble and clean. I strongly suggest that you read the directions on this function and experiment a bit. It can be a little touchy but once you understand the frother specifics, it works great. The only negatives from our perspective are: [1] the included gold coffee filter is cheap - but easily replaced, and [2] the FrothXpress utility cycles on and off post brewing [does not stay on constantly, which makes sense] and seemingly is never ready to perform when I'm ready for my second cup. So, I spend a few more minutes each morning in the kitchen. Once again, we rate this coffeemaker as EXCELLENT for its own features and by comparison to other manufacturers.Customer Review: Blown away by a great coffeemaker
Summary: 5 Stars
Like the others in this forum I was hesitant about spending $200 on a coffee maker, especially when I was not a daily coffee drinker, only a lover of coffee house specialties and fancy flavors. The cost of that high-end taste was killing me, so I decided to switch to a machine that could make it at home.
I read all of the reviews on this site, hoping to find a solid yes or no. Unfortunately, for every rave I found a rant, and I hesitantly decided to go ahead and make the purchase.
I can say after two months of use, this machine is worth its weight in gold. It makes by far the best coffee I have ever tasted, well on par with Starbucks' and Seattle's Best. The unit, though it looks intimidating out of the box, is extremely simple to program, operate, and set up, and makes a perfect pitcher of coffee time after time.
I can't understand any of the complaints of its complexity nor the caraffe's ability to keep coffee hot. The frothXpress attachments are easy to assemble, and the caraffe keeps coffee hot for at least six hours, provided you keep it closed. I can only assume that those who can't make theirs work properly did not watch the included video, which made things quite simple to understand.
The instructions and other reviews say to expiriment with your coffee grinds and strengths to find what you like. I find that Starbuck's coffee makes a perfect cup every time, while I haven't yet found the right measurment for Seattle's Best. Millstone is working quite well also; their flavored coffees are great. What is working for us is one scoop per cup made. Yes, you will use more coffee, but the taste is really worth it.
In short-- BUY THIS MACHINE!! I went from driking one cup a week at home to at least two per day. I've recommended it to my friends and will continue to do so. While the cost is a little high, the rewards will far outweigh the price. I've stopped driking the $2.75 cups altogether.
Customer Review: Re-Review, Red-faced in San Martin
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the second review I have written for this product (Please see the review directly below this one by "bookdeep"). I am pleased to report that we now LOVE this machine, ever since we discovered the "trick," and I am writing again to try and rectify the embarrasingly harsh review that I sent before. As I said in the first review, the coffee machine works fine: it makes a great cup of coffee quickly and efficiently, and it is easy to clean. Initially, we had some difficulty with the frothing mechanism; however, the solution turned out to be very simple. In order to start the steaming/frothing mechanism, there is a large dial that must be turned one-quarter turn from "Twelve O'Clock" (Steam Off) to "Three O'Clock" (Steam On). We discovered that when you turn the dial to the Steam On position you have to bear down on the dial a tiny, tiny bit: maybe the dial would actually go to 3:01 on the clock face, maybe even less. When we do that, the frothing starts immediately, every time. It seems that our trouble was that we were a little too delicate turning the dial. Note that this "overturning" is very slight: we wouldn't want anyone to damage the machine. I wish that I could take back the previous review because that low rating will have an affect on the average for this product, but I cannot. I hope that writing to correct our error will help others who may consider this machine. Please note, that in spite of the brand name "Capresso" this is not an Espresso machine; it is a coffee maker with a frothing mechanism, which works amazingly well now that we know the trick. If this is the combination that you are looking for, then we cannot recommend this machine highly enough--it does do both of these jobs very well. And now that you know the trick, maybe there will be fewer frustrated, and more happy, coffee drinkers like us.