BLACK+DECKER12 Cup Thermal Programmable Coffee Maker with Brew Strength and VORTEX Technology, Black/Steel

This coffee maker does an excellent job of making great coffee. I wanted something simpler than the previous pod system that I had been using for years. In my opinion, pods are convenient, but don't provide the same coffee flavor. I like that this unit doesn't have a heating pad for the carafe, but instead uses a vacuum sealed carafe that keeps coffee warm for a couple of hours. We usually use up all of the coffee that we make within that time.This machine makes a full 12 cups of coffee and the flow of water seems to be pretty fast, but I've never timed it. The machine isn't quiet, but doesn't make too much noise either. The noise is tolerable for me, but if you need peace and quiet, this might disturb your zen.Overall, this is a nice coffee maker that is well-designed, simple to use, and consistently good.

I've had this coffee maker now for about 3 weeks. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. I'm also not 100% sure if I would recommend it either. Here's why. PLEASE READ ENTIRE REVIEW FOR IMPORTANT INFO.Before purchasing this, I read lots of the reviews, and watched all of the video reviews before I decided on this one. Because everyone seemed happy with theirs, I went ahead and bought it. It was pricier than others, but I always go by the old saying, "you get what you pay for". It shipped very quickly and arrived the next day. When I got mine, I went through the setup procedure and I was ready to enjoy my first pot of coffee. The first thing I noticed was the lid was very loose, and I knew it was supposed to "lock" into place. After all, that's how the coffee is supposed to stay hot, in the carafe, and not on a warming plate, right? Even the description states:• 4 LAYER VACUUM SEALED THERMAL CARAFE: keeps coffee hot for up to two hours with the 4-layer vacuum sealed thermal carafe.On mine, I quickly discovered that there was a plastic seal missing from the carafe lid, which supposedly makes the carafe air tight. I reached out to Black+Decker and they quickly sent me a replacement lid (thank you Black+Decker). Finally, after getting the new lid I would be able to enjoy nice hot coffee. And I did...sort of. After using it for a few weeks now, I've noticed that the first cup of coffee that comes out is piping hot. By the time I get my second cup (maybe 45 minutes later) the coffee is what I would describe as "very warm", not hot. By the time I get to my 3rd cup, (don't judge) the coffee in the carafe is just lukewarm, (hello Mr. Microwave). I think I expected it to remain closer to hot much longer. BUT, while writing this review, I noticed in the product description it says:• IMPORTANT PRO TIP: To help coffee stay at brewed temperature, warm the carafe by filling with hot tap water and then discarding before brewing.So, I tried that this morning, and, it did help somewhat to keep the coffee in the carafe hotter, longer. I'm going to keep doing this and experiment to get the best results. My feeling on this is that it's just an extra step in the morning I wouldn't have to do with a traditional coffee maker with a glass carafe. One thing I do like is that the carafe does stay cool to the touch on the outside and also the no-drip spout feature.What I used to like about my old coffee maker is being able to use the glass carafe to measure the water and pour it right into the reservoir. With this carafe, there's no way to do that so I have to use a measuring cup. This is a minor inconvenience though.One other feature I wish this coffee maker had is that the clock display does not illuminate when power button is pushed (see picture) or while brewing coffee. It seems like a very dim display.Bottom line, typically if I don't like something I buy, I return it. However, I'm not going to return this simply because I don't want to go through the hassle of packing it all up and returning it, and I still get my coffee every morning.

When my most important appliance (coffee maker) died last month, I replaced it with this B+D 12 cup maker. The most important feature I needed was the ability to make iced coffee* in the summer - so a glass carafe wasn't a good idea. And since iced coffee lasts much longer than hot coffee, being able to make 12 cups, instead of the standard 10, is another good idea.I like the wide opening of the carafe, for cleaning (and filling it with ice is easier) but I wish the lids designed for all coffee makers with a 'sneak a cup' feature came apart for cleaning. They can hold several ounces of liquid inside the lid and get gunky if not thoroughly rinsed out. I like that the water indicator is a window, rather than some sort of separate tube gage (that was impossible to clean on my last one).The 'strong' feature saves a bit of coffee (it uses a longer brewing cycle, so you could use a little less, but the regular cycle makes a pretty good cup of coffee. I use the strong feature for iced coffee though, since the coffee needs to be double strength to hold up to the ice.I like that the power light pulses when the coffee is being made, and goes solid when done - often you never really know when things are done, even with that nice gurgling sound every drip maker makes at the end.As others have noted - if you leave the carafe in the coffee maker after it's done, the valve at the top will remain open, letting heat out. You can solve this just by taking the coffee filter holder out, since you're going to clean it at some point anyway.The water indicator, the 'strong' indicator and the time, is hard to read if you kitchen lighting isn't good. That's the only thing that effects the 'easy to use' rating.Otherwise it's a coffee pot, and if you can't figure it out, you are either in need of some coffee before operating this appliance, or should just let professional at a coffee shop make your coffee.*How To Make Iced Coffee:Please follow any manufacturers instructions for safety. Test with less ice the first few times and keep an eye on things since your ice trays may vary, and you don't want to thing to overflow.Fill the water reservoir to 6 cups (indicated in the window), fill the coffee filter with as much ground coffee as you normally would for 12 cups (12 T's or so) and fill the carafe with 2 trays of large ice cubes. I can get away with 3 trays - you are trying to almost fill it, but like I said, don't make it overflow, or it'll be messy. The 'strong' feature can save you a little coffee or as you might expect, make it stronger.As soon as it is done (when the light stops pulsing) put the carafe in your fridge (third most important appliance, after the furnace) and the ice will last for 24 hours.