KitchenAid 12-Cup Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker, Countour Silver
by KitchenAid
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Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: KitchenAidBrand: KitchenAid
Model: KCM223CU
Color: Countour Silver
Product features:
- Easy-to-fill & clean removable water tank
- Refined brew process for optimal coffee flavor
- 24-hour programmability
- Digital display with variable brew strength selector
- Thermal carafe with drip-less spout
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of KitchenAid 12-Cup Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker, Countour Silver
Customer Review: Best coffee maker
Summary: 5 Stars
As a coffee addict/connoisseur, I have spent hundreds of dollars on a wide variety of different coffee makers. Out of all the fancy and expensive makers, the best one was still my 10 year old single cup Black and Decker brewer. It was completely basic, but brewed into a thermal travel mug and brewed a great cup of coffee. However, one cup isn't enough for me. Most larger machines use glass carafes with warmers, which ruins the coffee after about an hour. I drink coffee all morning and I don't enjoy burnt coffee. I have been searching for a good thermal carafe coffee maker for awhile now. Up until recently, there just weren't enough on the market, and the ones that were on the market received mostly terrible reviews.
First off, this one is very aesthetically pleasing. It looks great in the kitchen. The removable water tank with fill level marks makes adding water easy. The door on the front that secures the filter basket swings open and snaps shut snugly. The included gold tone filter is a nice touch, some feel you get a better cup of coffee than with paper filters. I agree, however paper filters provide easier cleanup since you have to clean out and rinse the permanent filter every time. You don't have to use the permanent filter, but it's nice that it is included if you want to. The included water tank filter is one of those things where I'll use it until it needs replaced and then throw it away and fill the tank with filtered water and not bother buying overpriced replacements. Most people have a Brita or water filtration system built into their fridge so in-tank filters are kind of overkill and unnecessary in my opinion. Using the filter is optional, the coffee maker will work the same without it.
The blue digital readout on the front is nice and easy to use. You can set the clock, brew strength (regular or bold), 1-4 cup brewing, cleaning cycle and automatic timer. I haven't tested the bold brew strength, so I don't know whether or not it really make any difference in the taste. The stainless carafe is very nice. The indicators on the lid are hard to read, but once you figure out the three positions (open, pour, lock) you don't need the indicators anyway. The carafe keeps the coffee plenty hot for 2-3 hours, depending on use and fullness of the carafe. When there is less coffee in the carafe, it will cool down more quickly. My only complaint is the pour volume and angle. The way the carafe is designed with the lid and rubber seal to keep the coffee as hot as possible inside, it limits the pouring ability. The carafe pours slowly and by the time you get to where the carafe is almost empty, you literally have to hold the carafe almost upside down to get the coffee to come out the pour spout. The good thing is that it is very well sealed and will not spill. It's just a little strange getting used to. This is a minor inconvenience, however you can take the lid off to help the situation if you are at the end of the pot.
As far as the coffee itself goes, once you get the right grind setting (I strongly recommend burr grinding your own coffee) and proper amount of ground coffee you need per cup, it tastes great. I tried using the recommended amount of 1 level scoop per cup stated in the manual, but this turned out to be too weak for me. The included scoop seems really small compared to my other scoops, so I just used a different one that was larger and followed the same 1 scoop per cup and got it tasting great. One thing I did note is that if you don't preheat the carafe before brewing, using the pause and pour feature too early on in the brewing process will produce luke warm coffee. This is because the cool carafe is absorbing a lot of the initial heat quickly. Either preheat the carafe with hot water or allow it to brew a full pot before pouring a mug.
Overall, this is definitely the best coffee maker I have ever used. I commented on one of the negative reviews, disputing about every claim. I wonder if KitchenAid has a quality control problem because I have not experienced any of the problems I see on other negative reviews. One thing to note is that I did not purchase the item here, it was purchased at BB&B. Different supply chain? There seems to be a trend of quality control problems nowadays in this economy of cost-cutting at every turn. It's too bad, because the coffee maker I received is a great one.
As with any coffee maker, there are always users who negatively review the product based on overflow problems. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this: size of filter basket, coarseness of grind, amount of ground coffee in filter basket and coffee roast. One of the easiest ways to help control issues with overflow is to play with the grind setting on your grinder. This is also why you need to purchase a good burr grinder and buy whole beans. Different roasts will typically need different grind coarseness and amount of ground coffee per cup brewed. It is not hard to overflow the filter basket with too fine of a grind. I've done it myself many times on different machines. Typically, it is not as much the machine's fault as it is the user. Another thing to take into account is the "pause and pour" feature of most brewers. Honestly, I never use this. Not only is the coffee not as good half way through, it backs up the filter basket and makes it more likely to overflow. My recommendation is to minimize the use of this feature.
Description of KitchenAid 12-Cup Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker, Countour Silver
Whether you enjoy freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning, as a refresher in the afternoon, or with a dessert after a meal, the KitchenAid collection of coffee makers are designed to brew rich, flavorful coffee.Drip Coffee Machines
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