Great Coffee, but need to learn some nuances

My wife and I have had our MT500 for about a year now and we both really like it. It makes the best coffee we have ever had at home.

We fill it with water and grounds before going to bed. I used the instructions to set the clock and timer the first time I used it. Now it almost never needs to be changed, but it is fairly intuitive. In the morning one of us goes downstairs, gets 2 cups, the carafe and brings it back to bed. We then enjoy talking and having our morning coffee in bed. No need to worry about the coffee getting cold, since the carafe is insulted. Even without preheating the carafe with hot water, (since we use the timer), we usually finish long before it gets cold.

The 10 cup capacity is just right for us most of the time. The filter basket is easy to empty and replace.Also, since there is no hot plate there is no need to turn it off. When it's finished brewing it's off.

Now for the nuances. Since the carafe is stainless steel you can't tell if it is empty unless you take the lid off. We had it over flow a few times when we first got it because the carafe still had some coffee in it. Since there is no hot plate we broke ourselves of the habit of placing it back on the machine until it is rinsed and ready for another brewing. You can also avoid overflowing by making sure you don't over fill the tank.

The carafe lid must be lined up just right to pour without having it run down the side. There is a little bump on the lid to facilitate this, but it is the same color, (black) as the rest of the lid, so it is hard to see. Also to ensure the coffee stays hot you must remember to turn the lid shut when not pouring.

My wife has trouble with the one piece lid. When she dumps the grounds into the basket from the grinder she often gets some into the water tank. Since there is a water filter this does not affect the operation, but it does require that I spend a little time cleaning out the tank when replacing the filter. This could be prevented by simply using a little more care when filling.

Soap almost never touches our carafe or basket, so I have never had any problems with anything like that affecting flavor or brewing. I only rinse with hot water most days and occasionally use a brush and hot water.

These little nuances could be quite irritating if all you want is just a plain cup of Folgers. However, for the best cup of coffee I can adjust. In addition to that, we really like being able to have the entire carafe on the bed stand in the morning.