Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I got this free from a Gevalia offer - bought 2 pounds of coffee, didn't even have to pay s/h. I liked the looks of it - we got the black with stainless steel.
That said, I would never have paid any amount of money for this. The first one broke within a week. It worked for a few days. Then, the coffee came out cold. Then, it stopped working completely.
Gevalia sent a free replacement (the guy on the phone admitted, off the record, that these things break often). They didn't need the old one back, so I opened it up to see if it could be repaired (a hobby of mine).
No surprise that ALL the parts came from Asia. I also discovered that BOTH the pump and the heating element broke, separately. So even if I fixed/replaced the pump, the coffee would still come out cold. This is quite amazing to me, since my previous coffee maker still works after nearly 20 years, and after having been dropped many times. Oddly, the wiring was sturdy & just fine (side note: a high percent of appliance problems/failures are simply frayed wires, which can be easily mended with electrical tape, even by a novice, in under 5 minutes).
The replacement unit came & works (almost 2 years old now). But I still have major problems with it:
Pros:
* Stainless/black steel looks sleek
* Digital clock
* Auto-shutoff
* Reservoir float indicator is nice
Cons:
* "Pause & pour" does NOT work well. Only works 50% of the time, again, due to bad design. The rest of the time it makes a huge mess. This was the case on both my units.
* The stainless finish gets dirty easily
* There is no backup battery, so the clock resets every time you unplug the unit.
* The pump will definitely not last long - it's overworked due to poor design/layout.
* Because it's a top-load pump & filter, the steam comes up through the top. You cannot change the filter for 20 minutes, without risk of scalding yourself. It would be very difficult to make 2 consecutive pots of coffee (i.e., if you have guests). Plus, the excessive steam warped the cabinets above the unit.
* The worst problem - the reservoir is only about 1" in diameter. It's impossible to load it without spilling.-> Bottom line: Looks nice, but I've never heard of such a difficult, problematic coffee maker. This almost seems like a practical joke by some engineers, or perhaps designed by someone who has never used a coffee maker before. Avoid this one.
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Gevalia 12-Cup SS CoffeemakerPut this high-tech coffeemaker on your counter and enjoy its beauty as well as its brewing. Designed with the latest features, including a 12-cup glass carafe, 24-hour programmable clock/timer, Pause 'N Serve feature, 2-hour auto shut-off, water level indicator, lift-out basket and warming plate. Stainless with black. 11"W x 16 1/2"H. 1 Year Warranty Included
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