Tough and durable.

We bought this coffee maker for an office full of caffeine-heads -- people who make and drink at least 4-5 pots of coffee a day and are used to coffee that is strong enough to lift weights and kick over hot dog stands without assistance. We'd demolished 6 lesser appliances in as many months, and were tired of goofing around with cheap coffee makers -- time for a *serious* coffee maker that doesn't mess around.

After browsing through the local kitchen widget store, we settled on the Kitchenaid one because we have a lot of other Kitchenaid small appliances, and every one of them has been a trooper. This is no exception. It's a sturdy, well-thought-out device that has few faults, and most of the things I would consider faults are packaging, not engineering related.

The coffee machine itself is a good size to fit under cabinets, comes in a number of colors (the store we bought ours at had them in stock in red, black, blue, pink, and the classic Kitchenaid white with silver), and has a sturdy 3 prong plug. The carafe holds 12 cups without being prone to spilling, and the way the pouring spout and cover are designed, it's pretty tough to slop coffee over the side, even when you're pre-coffee in the morning. The handle on the carafe is large and easy to hold, and unless you're really careless, you can't burn your knuckles on the hot carafe unless you really try. Buttons are soft touch, and have easily visible indicator lights that show the status of the coffee maker functions clearly. The internal clock is displayed using red LED numerals, which are clear and easy to read, but somewhat small -- don't expect to see them from more than a few feet away.

The machine has a number of nice features -- simple, but nice. The clock keeps good time (accurate to about a second and a half a month), and setting it is simple (hour button for hour setting, minute for minutes). Programming the machine to come on at a designated time is accomplished by pressing a button labeled "auto on" and setting the time you want it to come on using the same process as setting the clock. There is an internal gauge for amounts of water, and the lid covering the water reservoir opens up and out of the way for pouring. The coffee filter holder swings out to the left to allow you to load it without worrying about getting grounds in the pot by accident, and supports both permanent metal filters and paper filters. There is also a time display that shows how long the coffee has been sitting (up to two hours) and an automatic shut-off timer that powers down the unit after 2 hours of idle time. A beeper sounds at the end of the brew cycle (and when it's clogged) to summon a human to do something if needed.

The machine includes a charcoal filter for water impurities but will run without it if your water is relatively soft or already filtered. You can remove the carafe during brewing and pour a cup without stopping the brew cycle (you get about a minute to do this without spills). There is a permanent metal filter available as an extra cost option.

What I like most about this machine is the ability to adjust the intensity of the coffee. If you like strong coffee, this machine comes set for wake-the-dead coffee. Works great for me, but folks with lower caffeine tolerances will probably want to turn the knob toward the weaker side to avoid a good case of the shakes. I also really like the heft and feel of the carafe -- it's comfortable to hold, and as mentioned above, darn hard to spill stuff when you're not quite with it or haven't had any coffee yet and really aren't functioning well.

The only negatives I've found so far are that the machine does emit a fair amount of steam from the top of the machine while brewing (which may mar really expensive cabinetry over time), and occasionally it will make some really loud bubbling noises while brewing (usually a good indication that it's time to run a cleaning cycle, but you'll wonder what the machine is considering doing to your walls and countertops when it makes noises -- it does make you question whether there are other substances generated in the output coffee and who in your office is out to get you...8-)).

A desirable feature would be to include the permanent filter in the package -- many of the competing machines included this feature, and buying paper filters does add up to a goodly sum after a while. It's not expensive to add it, but it seems like a strange oversight in a machine that is overall well-thought-out.

All-in-all, though, it's a really durable little item. We've had it for about 3 months now, and it's still cranking right along, happy as a clam. We wash it periodically, and clean out it's innards once or twice a month, and it's been a good buy.