Braun AromaDeluxe KF 580 10-Cups Coffee Maker
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Similar in Espresso Machines & Coffee Makers
- Max. Power: 1100 Watts
- Operation: Electric
- Type: Coffee Maker
- Capacity: 10 Cups
Similar in Espresso Machines & Coffee Makers
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The Best Coffee Maker I've Ever Had - While It Lasted
Pros
Plenty of useful features. Easy to use.
Cons
Hard to find in stores. Short life.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
If you want an average quality coffee maker with a lot of useful features, Braun is for you. Just hope you get one that does not fail after two years.
Well, I purchased my Braun about a year ago when my Mr Coffee burst into flames on my counter top. I wanted to give it some use before I wrote my review.
When I found myself in need of a new coffee maker, only one name immediately came to mind, Braun. I looked at the other models out on the market, such as Krups and Cuisinart, but I found them cheap looking and of poor material quality, not to mention their, in my opinion, ugly. Braun has been a trusted name for a long time, my only problem was finding one. You will not find these coffee makers at Wal Mart or K Mart, but I didn't have much more luck at some high end stores either. I did find them however, and the price was reasonable for a machine with this many features.
The Braun KF580 is a black beauty, with an appealing shape that blends in easily with your other kitchen appliances. The display is well lit and easy to read, having rather large digits. The Braun comes with a lift out filter basket, so if you choose, you do not have to ever buy paper filters. I use them in conjunction with the filter basket for ease of cleaning out the grounds. The carafe is of the open handle style, and is extremely comfortable to hold and handle. It holds 10 cups, and I am very pleased with the lack of dripping and spillage when pouring a cup of coffee. There is also a built in water filter which is very easy to replace. The unit lifts apart in pieces for very easy cleaning. By this I mean that you do not have to unscrew or unsnap anything to get the unit apart to make a cleaning. Programming is very simple and easy to do. The buttons on the control/display are large enough for an adult to properly press them without making mistakes. The settings will even stay for a short period during a power outage. Another plus with this unit is that all coffee makers tend to make a racket when brewing. The Braun KF580 does gurgle a little, but is barely heard across the room. Freshly brewed coffee is HOT so there is no waiting for the hot plate to finish the heating the brewing process should have done. The Braun KF580 does have the sneak a cup feature for grabbing that cup on the fly.
Over all I have been very pleased with the Braun, and would buy another in a minute. I like the style, the color, the large easy to read display, the large control buttons, the design of the carafe, the filtration system, and the lift out filter basket. The Braun KF380 is a well thought out coffee maker, it has a lot of useful options, and feels and looks of the quality you would expect for $70 - $90 machine.
UPDATE: JUNE 13, 2008
Its been a little over two years since I purchased my Braun Coffee Maker, and I still love it and piping hot the coffee it brews. However, about 3 months ago I noticed water on the counter under the unit when I pulled it out in the evening to set it up for auto brewing the next morning. At first I thought I was being clumsy and was spilling when filling the water tank. But it was consistent with being wet under the unit no matter how careful I was. When I looked, it appeared that the water was coming from inside the unit, and coming out the vent holes under the hot plate on the base. There is NO way to get this unit open, I've tried to no avail. I'm not sure what the issue is, a burnt hose, or a crack somewhere or what. I am very dissapointed as I really like this unit, its fast, its quiet, and the coffee is HOT immediately after brewing ends. Right now I'm reading the various and very mixed reviews on all coffee makers. I'd like to get another Braun as I like this one so much, but I'm afraid that either new issues may have come up regarding this model or similar impressions model from Braun, or I may end up in two years with another leaky unit. No other manufacturers look as nice and have the features I wanted like the Braun offers. I'm in a condundrum!!
Another Update August 2008
I finally managed to get the bottom off of the unit, its all held together by a special torx screw with a pin in the center. You need a special torx driver to get it off. I happened to find my old one from when I was restoring cars about 25 years ago. Anyway, in the bottom you will see two flexible tubes, one clear and one red that go from the resivour to the pump and are connected to the hot plate assembly. Water is brought via the clear tube to an assembly that is basically two aluminum tubes fused together. One carrys the water, the other has the hot plate heating element. This is how Braun pre-heats the water for a super hot brew. Water travels around this hot aluminum tube and up to the pump which sends it to the spout over the grounds. Problem is that the heat must be too much for the water cooled aluminum and it cracked all along the front curve thus allowing water to slowly leak out and down through the bottom vent plate. If this were to occur on the inner side of this tube, the leaking water would run right over the hot plate electrical connections. Scary indeed. No way to repair the unit without replacing the whole hotplate assembly. Too much trouble after two years of age. She was replaced by a cuisinart unit this weekend and I can tell you so far that coffee is HOT!! Review to come soon.
When I found myself in need of a new coffee maker, only one name immediately came to mind, Braun. I looked at the other models out on the market, such as Krups and Cuisinart, but I found them cheap looking and of poor material quality, not to mention their, in my opinion, ugly. Braun has been a trusted name for a long time, my only problem was finding one. You will not find these coffee makers at Wal Mart or K Mart, but I didn't have much more luck at some high end stores either. I did find them however, and the price was reasonable for a machine with this many features.
The Braun KF580 is a black beauty, with an appealing shape that blends in easily with your other kitchen appliances. The display is well lit and easy to read, having rather large digits. The Braun comes with a lift out filter basket, so if you choose, you do not have to ever buy paper filters. I use them in conjunction with the filter basket for ease of cleaning out the grounds. The carafe is of the open handle style, and is extremely comfortable to hold and handle. It holds 10 cups, and I am very pleased with the lack of dripping and spillage when pouring a cup of coffee. There is also a built in water filter which is very easy to replace. The unit lifts apart in pieces for very easy cleaning. By this I mean that you do not have to unscrew or unsnap anything to get the unit apart to make a cleaning. Programming is very simple and easy to do. The buttons on the control/display are large enough for an adult to properly press them without making mistakes. The settings will even stay for a short period during a power outage. Another plus with this unit is that all coffee makers tend to make a racket when brewing. The Braun KF580 does gurgle a little, but is barely heard across the room. Freshly brewed coffee is HOT so there is no waiting for the hot plate to finish the heating the brewing process should have done. The Braun KF580 does have the sneak a cup feature for grabbing that cup on the fly.
Over all I have been very pleased with the Braun, and would buy another in a minute. I like the style, the color, the large easy to read display, the large control buttons, the design of the carafe, the filtration system, and the lift out filter basket. The Braun KF380 is a well thought out coffee maker, it has a lot of useful options, and feels and looks of the quality you would expect for $70 - $90 machine.
UPDATE: JUNE 13, 2008
Its been a little over two years since I purchased my Braun Coffee Maker, and I still love it and piping hot the coffee it brews. However, about 3 months ago I noticed water on the counter under the unit when I pulled it out in the evening to set it up for auto brewing the next morning. At first I thought I was being clumsy and was spilling when filling the water tank. But it was consistent with being wet under the unit no matter how careful I was. When I looked, it appeared that the water was coming from inside the unit, and coming out the vent holes under the hot plate on the base. There is NO way to get this unit open, I've tried to no avail. I'm not sure what the issue is, a burnt hose, or a crack somewhere or what. I am very dissapointed as I really like this unit, its fast, its quiet, and the coffee is HOT immediately after brewing ends. Right now I'm reading the various and very mixed reviews on all coffee makers. I'd like to get another Braun as I like this one so much, but I'm afraid that either new issues may have come up regarding this model or similar impressions model from Braun, or I may end up in two years with another leaky unit. No other manufacturers look as nice and have the features I wanted like the Braun offers. I'm in a condundrum!!
Another Update August 2008
I finally managed to get the bottom off of the unit, its all held together by a special torx screw with a pin in the center. You need a special torx driver to get it off. I happened to find my old one from when I was restoring cars about 25 years ago. Anyway, in the bottom you will see two flexible tubes, one clear and one red that go from the resivour to the pump and are connected to the hot plate assembly. Water is brought via the clear tube to an assembly that is basically two aluminum tubes fused together. One carrys the water, the other has the hot plate heating element. This is how Braun pre-heats the water for a super hot brew. Water travels around this hot aluminum tube and up to the pump which sends it to the spout over the grounds. Problem is that the heat must be too much for the water cooled aluminum and it cracked all along the front curve thus allowing water to slowly leak out and down through the bottom vent plate. If this were to occur on the inner side of this tube, the leaking water would run right over the hot plate electrical connections. Scary indeed. No way to repair the unit without replacing the whole hotplate assembly. Too much trouble after two years of age. She was replaced by a cuisinart unit this weekend and I can tell you so far that coffee is HOT!! Review to come soon.
