Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using this coffee maker for about a week. I bought it as an upgrade over a Black and Decker coffee maker that was generally good, but I wanted a new one with a cone filter. The cone filter gets more flavor out of the coffee than the basket filter: it's a must. The other must, for me, is the thermal carafe. I wake up earlier than my wife and if we're both drinking out of the same pot the coffee can't continue to cook on a warming plate. The coffee quickly turns bitter. The thermal carafe keeps it near the brew temperature for a couple of hours, and you can keep it hot longer if you heat the pot before brewing the coffee. If you brew it into a room temperature pot, the coffee is 177 degrees. If you brew it into a pot which you've filled with hot water (and emptied, of course) the coffee will be 182 degrees. Both temperatures were hotter than my old pot. I tested the heat degredation and found: 182 -- fresh 174 -- 1.5 hours later 168 -- 3 hours later 162 -- 4.5 hours later I've read a lot of reviews of this product, and it's clear that some buyers didn't follow instructions. Thermal carafes punish you if you don't. You have to position the carafe properly or you'll have a mess to clean up. I've done it a few times with my old coffee maker. It's always my fault, never the coffee maker's. This is a well designed thermal carafe since you can pour without having to open it and letting too much air into it. This is a good product, and at a good price compared to more expensive models from Bunn or Zojirushi. It is more expensive than the Black and Decker but worth the cost because you get more out of your coffee beans.