Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsAlways a Good Product
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2020
I bought this flex brew coffee maker to replace a cheaper one that I instantly regretted buying. I love the convenience of K-Cups for making a cup here and there, but nothing beats the shear capacity of a drip pot. I was tired of having two chunky coffee makers taking up valuable counter space! I bought a Hamilton-Beach Flex Brew before and just didn't care for the way it worked. So I spent more money on this product hoping for better results, and I got them! I love that it has a water reservoir for the single cup side (something my last brewer was missing). The drip side works twice as fast and tastes way better. I personally like to use it without a filter and utilize the metal mesh basket (I like my coffee super strong). I wish the single serve side worked a little better, I have some cappuccino cups that i use and it never gets all of the mix. I end up with sticky residue all through the single serve side. My first K-cup machine was a cheap Keurig knock off but had one genius modification, it rotated the K-cup on a tilt throughout the brewing process to ensure all the grounds/mix was activated. I also wish that they could implement a removable reservoir for the carafe side. I have cabinets above my maker, so every time I have to pull the maker out far enough to flip the lid up and pour water in through the tiny holes behind the basket. It's a good thing the carafe has a controlled pour! The carafe itself is very well insulated and sturdy, the lid might be a little hard to get off for older people with arthritis. It has a slow controlled pour, so full tilt its still wont fly out of there. What bothers me the most about the carafe is that it's very hard to get all of the water or coffee poured out. There's usually about 1/4 cup left in it after you completely turn it upside down.
With all that said, I still like the machine and will keep it for a long time. I just think Cuisinart needs to step up their game on this for the price!