Love my BrewStation!
Pros:
Great for people with arthritis; keeps coffee piping hot.
Cons:
No water gauge on tank, only pot itself.
The Bottom Line:
Love it and would buy it again.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I really like the Brew Station. I think it is a great deal for the money.
The coffee comes out quickly, not in a dribble, yet does not splash. It stays hot and fresh w/o scorching.
The no-carafe system is definitely a hard concept to learn, esp for me who had a Melita thermos style for 7 years. But, now that I have it, I love it. The big bucket is easy to clean out. My old carafe was too small to get a hand into to clean.
One negative is that NONE of the components can go in the dishwasher, but that works out OK b/c it is a huge open bucket so very easy to clean.
I was worried it would be hard to pour the water from the bucket into the tank while filling it, but it is not.
The one big con is the water gauge is not super accurate, and you MUST view it prior to pouring the water in the tank, not after. There is no external viewing gauge to tell you how much you just put in. You cannot sit the bucket on the counter due to the little dispensing gadget on the bottom. So you have to hold it as steady and still as you can. The line on the inside of the pot are virtually useless, and don't seem to correlate to the window gauge! I find the window, while awkward, to be your best bet for measuring.
There is definitely a learning curve to this system, but once you get used to it you'll love it.
I have arthritis in my wrist and thumb, which makes lifting a full carafe of hot coffee painful and potentially dangerous. This dispensing system alleviates that concern. It is just like getting water out of the fridge door.
I viewed other models that were more than twice the price of this, and it is hard for me to imagine that they are that much better. I think this is a good value for the money.
I had a thermal style carafe for years and the coffee stayed warmISH for hours. This stays piping hot w/o burning for two hours. After it shuts off, the coffee does get cold quickly. So, I guess you have to weigh whether you want piping hot for 2 hrs or lukewarm all day.
The other con is size. It is huge. It only clears my upper cabinets by 2 inches, if that. And during brewing, big puffs of steam come out a little slot in the top, so it could potentially warp wood cabinets if it is placed under them.
I have only had it a month, so provided it keeps working like it is right now, I am very happy with it and would buy it again.
