Hamilton Beach Programmable Front-Fill Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe (4639...

A few years ago, I purchased a basic Keurig coffee maker upon the recommendation of my daughters who have used them for years. I had been using a smaller drip coffee maker, and thought the Keurig would be more convenient for me. I was immediately disappointed. I never cared for the taste of the coffee brewed by the Keurig, and the cost for the individual K-cup packets was ridiculous. And using the optional basket for brewing with regular coffee, while much more economical, it was a very unacceptable and inconvenient hassle. The Hamilton Beach coffee maker has allowed me to enjoy the taste and convenience of using a good quality drip coffee maker again. The programming feature means the coffee is freshly brewed and ready when I wake up in the morning. I can fill my thermos to take to work, and have enough left to enjoy a cup before leaving the house. I can also set up the coffee maker for the next morning and hit the program button so I don’t have to try to remember to do this in the evening. I also appreciate the insulated carafe, the fact that it is not hot to the touch is a definite bonus. And I am a fan of the brewer turning off at the end of the brew cycle because the system is immediately cool to the touch, and with the limited counter space we have in the kitchen, it’s pretty common to be bumping and touching the coffee maker. When deciding whether or not to make this purchase, I read many of the customer reviews and noted a often repeated comment about the carafe dripping when pouring. I have experienced this a couple times, but have been able to minimize the dripping or eliminate it by paying closer attention to how I pour the coffee. About the only negatives I can find is the need to nearly completely invert the carafe to empty it (traditional glass carafes generally empty without needing to turn them all the way over), and the fact that the only way I can see how much liquid is left in the carafe is by removing the locking lid to look inside. This final con could be fixed by providing a view window to the side of the carafe. This window can be kept relatively narrow which would have minimal effect on the thermal quality of the carafe. Oh, and the locking lid on the carafe is greatly appreciated. It took a little bit to get used to hitting the correct place to seat the locking tab when placing the lid on the carafe, but since the pot has to be completely inverted when pouring the last of the coffee into a cup, not worrying about the lid opening or falling off is a plus. And the front fill for the coffee, filter and water allows me to set the coffee maker under the overhead cabinets and fill without pulling it out. Overall, I love this coffee maker and would highly recommend it to anyone considering pulling the trigger on a decision whether to buy or not.

Well, this died after 15 months of use. Needless to say, I won't be purchasing any Hamilton Beach products in the future. I had high hopes for this coffee maker that began to die shortly after unpackaging and setup. All of this is due to the carafe itself. Hamilton Beach stripped away all the benefits of a thermal carafe for no good reason. The carafe can be considered a thermal carafe but it's not as well insulated as much of it's competition. For example, it is simply not cool to the touch on the outside like most others. Being able to take the carafe and set it down on a table, etc is one of the benefits of a thermal carafe that is lost here. In fact, despite this having a thermal carafe, there's a heated plate that the carafe sits on which is completely unnecessary for a thermal carafe. It's defaulted to a 1 hr heat time but the coffee stays warm in the carafe for multiple hours without being heated so it's just a complete waste on so many levels. I immediately set it to just 10 mins and my coffee stays warm for at least 2 hours. After the first few days i didn't understand what anyone was talking about with the dripping and spilling issues. And then, after a couple days, that's all the carafe does. I tried pouring heavy. I tried pouring light. Nothing worked. I do notice that a fuller carafe is less likely to spill and/or create smaller spills. But as you empty it, it will no doubt make a big mess on your counter. I really wanted to think that i was going to find the magic way to hold and pour it to tell everyone else they were crazy but it's just a terrible design. And because this drips so badly and there's a heated plate, it drips and burns onto the plate requiring further scrubbing and cleaning aside from my counters.

The thermal pot upgrade is so worth the additional expense! I can brew my coffee pot with full 12 cups of coffee in the morning and even after I turn off the keep fresh warmer option, it stays fresh for hours and perfect drinking temp! I love the mesh coffee filter that’s built into the machine so that I don’t waste money and resources buying paper filters :) it’s very easy to take out filter with click of a button and knock it out in trash and spray it off with kitchen sink hose. I really like how easy and mess free it is to pour water into tank because you just flip up the lid on top and pour so water slides back into reserve. Programming this coffee pot and learning how to use it is so simple and it’s really a great product if you’re the type to brew large pots of coffee because I can put some in the fridge for my iced coffees later too :))))

It don't drip at all when pouring , I was a little worried about that due to some of the other reviews. But mine is perfect. The pour spout may have been improved or I was just lucky to get a good one. The coffee is exactly 180 degrees when it is done brewing. PERFECT TEMP . Taste of the coffee is about as good as you can expect and it stays drinkable for hours without putting in microwave. What a pleasant surprise compared to some of the other makers I have had. The front fill for the grounds and the water was something I really appreciate because the machine can sit under the cabinet and be filled with the sprayer hose from the sink. Plus it brewes 12 cups in 11 minutes, pretty fast. The only noise it makes is at the end of the brew , it makes a couple of noises when the heating element is out of the water. I would buy this one again in a heart beat, very impressed with it. If you are like me and like good coffee and read as many reviews as possible, then use this honest review and buy this maker. UPDATE; THE FILL DOOR POPS OPEN WHEN BREWING, SENDING THIS ONE BACK FOR A REPLACEMENT.

I've had this coffee maker for about a week or two and it works great, and I have experienced no dribbling like many of the reviews. Maybe they changed the pot. I do like the reusable filter, the carafe, and that it doesn't stay on all the time or like burn the coffee down to nothing. I drink quite a bit of coffee and so this machine makes the right amount of coffee for me. I don't have a lot else to say about it other than that it works well and is pretty easy to clean.

It's a great coffee maker. The cone filters give coffee a superior flavor over the cupcake type filters. it's easy to use and program. The reason I'm giving it three stars is because the charcoal water filter doesn't seat in the recess and water flows around it to get to the coffee grounds. The three responses I received from Hamilton Beach tell me it's not supposed to seat, but just float in the reservoir. They say just contacting the filter will dispel chlorine and mineral taste. I had a Cuisinart and I have a Keurig that have charcoal water filters that actually seat and the water flows through them to reach the coffee grounds. I'm not an engineer, but I've never heard of a water filtration system that doesn't have water flow through the filter. The YouTube videos for their other models show the filter actually seating in the recess, so I'm not buying their response. Kudos for customer service though, they did respond promptly although the phone numbers provided just run you in circles and direct you to their web page where you can use a contact form. UPDATE: I bought this almost two years ago and it's been great. I noticed what appeared to be calcium sticking to the side and floating in the reservoir regularly. I'd have to dump the water and clean it with a sponge, but it would come back after a couple of brews. I finally realized it was lint (?) from the charcoal filter and I stopped using them. It's been five brews now and not a hint of lint or calcium. Final thoughts: It's a great machine, I'd buy it again, but the charcoal filter is worse than worthless.

Makes a great pot of coffee! Easy to fill the water and grounds! The carafe keeps the coffee warm for several hours, but..... it dribbles when pouring!! I have never had a coffee pot/carafe that was such a pain in the butt like this one! If I hadn't paid so much for this maker, I would throw it away!!

I bought this to replace a Ninja coffeemaker that started leaking water after only about a year and a half of use. I’m very happy with it so far after about 2 months of using it almost every day. The insulated pot was something I was looking for and this one does a good job of keeping coffee hot for about 3 hours so i can take it downstairs with me while I work and have hot coffee within reach. I use the bold brewing setting and it’s strong enough for me, not quite as strong as the Ninja, but the Ninja brewed with much hotter water, making the coffee undrinkable for at least 5 minutes while cooling. This one breed at a hot-enough temp that results ina cup that I can drink almost right out of the pot. Easier to clean than the Ninja, less parts and less condensation. I use #4 paper filters because I prefer that over the metal filter due to less particulates in the coffee, but I believe the metal reusable filter that comes with this is superior to the one that came with my Ninja.