KitchenAid 12 Cup Drip Coffee Maker with Spiral Showerhead - KCM1208

I literally was about to write a long term (5 year) review on how great my last coffee maker was when it started leaking! It still worked great and brewed good coffee but there was a hose split way up in the top of the machine where it went into the lid/drip head and isn't easy, if even possible, to fix. So I was on the hunt for a new pot and found this one. Had it for 4 months now so not a great deal of time to go on but figured I'd write a review on my current thoughts. First, I avoided buying it initially due to the fact that I look for consistent complaints on a product and the number of them when making a decision on a purchase and this one was the carafe cracking or shattering. Incidentally, after reading reviews on the last coffee maker I had, the leaking was a consistent complaint! Anyway...I had my selection down to about 3 different machines but my first pick didn't have the color I wanted available and the other 2 had issues with either the readout getting condensation in it or not working at all after a short time or the machine itself quit working too soon. Kept coming back to the KitchenAid despite the carafe concerns and decided to take the chance as I'm always super careful with them anyway since I'm already concerned about breaking the glass. So far 4 months in and alls well in that area! I really like how the reservoir is separate and can be pulled out for filling/cleaning even though I just fill it from a jug. It's easy to fill from a container and separates the coffee/filter from any chance of splash. I do wish it was a different color since we have a teal accent theme for the kitchen but the last coffee maker was black and stainless steel so not a huge deal. I do like the design-looks like their mixer which we also have- although it is bigger front to back than your average machine. The features are nice, especially the cleaning feature which I just recently used. It lets you know when it's time to run a clean cycle and it does take a while-at least 20-30 minutes for a pot not just a regular brew cycle! It has a beep when you turn it on and 3 beeps when its done brewing that you can't turn off unfortunately but it's fairly muted so not that bad. My last one was thankfully able to be turned off because it was obnoxiously loud! It uses cone paper filters (#4 I believe?) or reusable mesh which is what I use. The basket is easily removable for cleaning as well. Now for my biggest complaint/warning-the design of the lid allows for a good amount of condensation retention and nowhere for it to go so it will leak down the side or sides when you open it, be ready! I always have a dishrag in hand to shove under the lid behind the brew basket when I open it and leave it there for a few minutes opening it halfway and fully open to catch the runoff, then wipe the inside of the lid down. Personally not a deal breaker but it is annoying and I've noticed others had the same complaint. So far I'm very happy with this coffee maker, has some pluses over my last one and a couple minuses but overall I think the only thing that would make the choice of this one over the last one tough is that the last one could brew 14 cups where most only brew 12, this one included.

Year Year Review: Still like everything about this pot, highly recommend. .. Two Month review, what we’ve learned. This is an above average coffee maker. We have owned everything from Mr. Coffee to Cuisinart. Removable water reservoir – Nice lift handle to remove and replace. Lid is an exact fit, tilt it up just a bit and it will sit right in place. Easy to clean. Basket – Use the lift ring to put the basket back in place, it will line up perfect and drop in place, it does not like the get close and release method. Pot – No plastic taste others reported, but we did run the clean cycle before first use, read the manual for cleaning instructions, cleaning proportion was a surprise vs. other brewers. Daily Cleaning – No issues for us, let the pot cool down, one drop of dawn, sprayer used to mix up dawn/water then a wash rag around and around, pot is as clean as the day purchased. Cleaning – an icon will lite up after 100 brews to clean the appliance, use the manual. We really like this feature. In the past we did our best to remember to clean the brewer once a month…most of the time we remembered. :-) Alarm – When the bottom is pressed to set the alarm to brew based on the alarm time, it will display the alarm clock time for about ten seconds, this allows you to review the am/pm (who hasn’t gotten that wrong after resetting time after a power outage). The alarm is in edit mode so making adjustments is easy pease. Pot – Oversized spout is GREAT helps prevent the drool/drips on the counter when the pot is full. Burner – It is oversized but not greatly just enough to allow for expansion and contraction, brewer this is replacing was an exact fit after six months of use, the pot no longer sits flat on the burner, pot will not stay warm. Reheat – if you drink coffee most or all of the day, the two-hour keep warm timer with auto shut off that most brewers have can be a pain. This brewer shows a count down, nice, very nice feature. Important note!! This brewer is engineered to monitor for no water in the heating “pipes” and it will auto shut off to prevent damage to the heater/burner etc. At first this was a pain, a real turn off, thought about returning the product. Then I got to thinking, what was the problem with previous brewers, they start leaking or the warmer burns out….Hmm…To avoid the auto shut off mentioned above…before turning the warmer back on because you still have half a pot to drink, add about a finger of water (1/2” ??) to the water reservoir. This is not enough to change the taste of the current pot but its enough to fill the “pipes” and the timer will set for another two hours. Beep – Yes it beeps when it is ready and when the warming timer runs out and it turns off. Nope don’t think there is a way to disable it. If there is absolutely no noise in the house and doors/windows are closed, I can hear it in the next room, but not two rooms away where my home office is. In fact, it is quieter than others we have owned. I like hearing the beep ten minutes before its time to get, I wake with a smile on my face knowing the coffee is ready.

Love this coffee maker. Makes a good cup of coffee and we like being able to program an auto brew for the weekdays and a different time for the weekends. Believe it or not, it is hard to find that feature in a coffee maker. I will warn you though, the first one we got, the carafe leaked. When we poured coffee, it leaked into the plastic rim across the top and when you placed it back on the hot plate, it would leak down the inside of the handle onto the hot plate. We sent it back for a replacement and the replacement is just fine! No problems now. love it

Pros: great taste, programmation is easy, permanent filter is nice, everything is quality. The removable water tank is more than nice! Cons: its quite big, its the size of smaller espresso machines. The beep sound when it begins and ends. I’d rather have a silent machine In my opinion the pro largely overcome the cons.

Excelente cafetera, la combinación perfecta para disfrutar de un café recién molido.

Satisfecha nada complicada , me gustaría poder tener refacción de jarra ya que son delicadas del cristal

I have been very happy with this coffee maker. It is easy to use, looks great, and makes good coffee. The timer on the hot plate is a great feature so that I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn it off.

25 juin 2025 Je rectifie mon commentaire. Cela fait 4 ans que je l'ai et elle vient de rendre l'âme malheureusement. L'eau ne coule plus, le réchaud ne chauffe plus et toute l'électronique des boutons de fonctions sur le côté a cesser de fonctionner. Je n'ai jamais eu de problèmes avec cette cafetière mais j'ai déjà vue une durée de vie plus longue. Au prix quelle se vend, je suis déçus qu'elle n'a pas duré dans le temps. Avant celle-ci, j'achetais toujours des Cuisinart et elle me duraient 10 bonnes années sans problème. Je me suis retourné chez Ninja cafetière filtre modèle CFP301C à 229$ avec mousseur à lait et adaptateur de pod pour les K-Cup de kurig. J'espère que celle ci va durée plus longtemps que 4 ans. Commentaire à l'achat Très belle cafetière. La chaleur du café n'est pas très chaud après infusion comme tout autre cafetière. Même si pas recommandé par le fabricant, je mets de l'eau chaude du robinet et le café est bien chaud. J'ai lu quelques commentaires qu'elle a coulé par le réservoir et effectivement elle a coulé une fois moi aussi. Il suffit de bien repositionner le réservoir et le tour est jouer ! Très jolie modèle qui ça bien avec mes autres accessoires Kitchenaid . Je la recommande