Melitta 46894 Coffeemaker, 10 Cup Thermal Carafe, Silver

I bought this to replace a Hamilton Beech unit with thermos style pot. It finally died after 10 years. I think this particular unit is also made by Hamilton Beech. It's easy to setup and brews excellent coffee. This unit uses the cone style filter paper which are readily available and probably the best and easiest way to make coffee. We once tried the gold thing which would last forever but it was messy cleaning up and did not make better coffee. This unit does not leak like some reviewers report. It will leak if you fill with more than the 10 cups (the limit). All coffee makers leak if overfilled. There is a gauge on the side that shows how much water is in the pot. If you do put in 10 cups you should check this gauge on the right side, look at this to make sure there isn't too much water in the tank. The unit is very easy to program and one press makes coffee right away.It is fairly easy to clean and looks really nice in the kitchen. The stainless steel pot has double walls and provides some thermos like effect. The coffee when made is very hot and if left in the pot for over 4 hours you may need to reheat coffee mug in the microwave. Our original thermos style (glass interior) was better at preserving the heat. That unit held the coffee for over 6 hours before needing reheating.The manual recommends regular flushing with vinegar if the water is very hard. We do it every so often but the internal siphon mechanism could get fouled up if you never flush the water tank with vinegar. It's a pain but needs to be done for every pot like this. It actually recommends weekly but this is overkill. We like the unit a lot and recommend this over a glass pot with heater on the bottom to keep the coffee hot. Most coffee makers use the glass carafe and heater to keep the coffee hot. It's really an energy waste and the very hot coffee can burn. The glass style carafe is much harder to clean because the glass can become etched in time from the hot coffee. The stainless pot with this unit should last forever and is very easy to clean.The actual price for this unit is quite low and makes it a wonderful bargain. Most local stores sell similar units for more than twice the price. A good coffee maker should be easy to program, make great coffee, be easy to clean and look nice in the kitchen. This unit is a winner and I give it a highly recommended rating and would purchase this again.

April 2017: first sign of trouble: brew cycle quit/ light went off half way through the water. Tried a cleaning but quit early again. Because I will not stand beside the maker and press the button again to finish the cycle... think its time to put it to pasture. I expected it to last longer but December 2012 to April 2017 it made great coffee almost daily.March 2017: still love this thingJune 2015: love this product. Daily use. I preheat my travel mug on top of the unit in the mornings. After brewing I dump the filter and lay the basket sideways so the unit dries out during the day=no mildew. Have cleaned it maybe twice a year.-original review:I retired my basic B&D brewer for this upgrade and may be going from a general coffee drinker to a more discerning one with this purchase.After breaking the glass ones I like a metal carafe. I searched from there and bought this one based on sale price $59 and reviews.I actually had to read the directions to set the auto brew. Otherwise I find it easy to use.Coffee stays warm, not hot, for about 3 hours in the very large and well insulated carafe. If they could preheat the carafe before the brew cycle then the coffee would be hot longer. **Correction: Thought there wasn't a hot plate because it turns off so quickly and isn't very hot.*** I pulled the pot during brew cycle and got quite a bit of spillage from the spring stop under the filter so I won't do that again. The cycle is quick you won't wait long.The carafe is easy to pour and doesn't dribble or spill like my old B&D one did. It is a challenge to empty and dry as the opening is small relative to the top of the pot.The fresh coffee is hot and tastes great. Within the first hour it stays hot.Coffee is still warm in the carafe 13 hours later. Not really drinkable but definitely warm.I look forward to using this for a long time to come. (Jan 2013)August 2014... still runs great. Remember to empty out the carafe when making a fresh pot! Do the instructed vinegar cleaning a few times a year. Bleach water will remove the coffee stains from inside carafe (just let it sit).

While I am, generally, pleased with this coffee maker, read the reviews carefully. It is exactly what it is, not what you would like. It makes a good - not great - cup of coffee. The coffee remains drinkably warm - not hot - for about 2 hours.Some reviews note that coffee remains hotter longer if one prewarms the caraffe. I don't doubt that, but I don't think this is useful advice. I - and I would assume many others - either make coffee the night before, and use the timer to start the brewing process in the morning. Or, I make coffee and drink it immediately. Warming the caraffe is not of much use in either case.I frequently make, and drink a cup of coffee several hours before my partner. Her cup is warm. On the other hand, having a pot of coffee sitting on a warmer for several hours does not yield a delcious cup, either.It is easy to use. The timer works well (I usually make my coffee before retiring, and wake up to a fresh, hot cup.) The cup marker (how much water is being used) is, curiously, only on the right. It should be on both sides, which I consider a design flaw. It is reasonably easy to clean. It looks sleek on the counter. The caraffe is attractive. There are three different "brew strengths," but I don't see a big difference between the settings.I know of no better coffee maker, and am not sorry that I bought it. I remain uncertain whether a thermal caraffe or a warmer is the way to go. This puchase replaced a Melitta 6-cup coffee maker that I had for about 20 years (do you think anything would last that long now??). I think the old coffeemaker made a better cup of coffee, and kept it warm longer.

I've gone through several coffee makers in the past 5 years. Ranging from the very inexpensive to the overly expensive. Even with proper maintenance they fell apart on a regular basis and the coffee was never hot enough and therefore didn't taste all that great. Our most recent coffee maker fell apart after a year so I purchased the Melitta 46894C 10-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe on Amazon. Not only was it the best priced on Amazon, but delivery was very speedy. This has to be one of the most stylish coffee makers out there, my husband thinks it looks like a Ferrari, with the red stripe on the carafe. There are also 3 brewing options, from regular to strong coffee, the end results are always a great tasting cup of coffee. I would highly recommend this coffee maker if you're in the market for a new one, its well priced, stylish and makes good coffee.

This coffee maker replaced a Quisinart that quit working. I think it makes better coffee than the Quisinart that it replaced.The coffee is hot and well brewed. I like very strong coffee and the robust brew feature is an excellent option for me. It seems to be well made. I usually only make 5 or 6 cups and some brewers don't make good coffee if you make a smaller amount than the full pot.I have only three complaints. The thermal carafe top is a bit tricky to get on and off, but I am getting used to it. The carafe also has a small opening which makes it harder to clean because you cannot put your hand in it. You have to improvise something to stick into it with a dish cloth on the end of it to clean it well and remove the coffee stain residue which does build up after a few uses. It is also a bit difficult to measure the water you pour in because the measurement window is difficult to view and does not go below 6 cups. These are minor complaints compared to the quality of coffee it makes. I think it is an excellent product for its price range.Update after a few weeks of use.The small spring loaded pressure cap on the bottom of the filter basket broke off, so I can no longer sneak a quick cup while the brewing is still in progress. It just fell off in my hands, not a result of dropping it or any thing like that.This is not a problem for me because I let the coffee completely brew before I pour a cup, but it leaves the hole on the bottom of the filter basket open and it is large. This allows the hot water to drain too quickly and does not completely extract or brew the coffee grinds, resulting in a very weak cup of coffee. This small item that is so simple and is obviously a cheap part of the machine design where there is a problem. Too bad, I thought it was going to be a great coffee maker, but did not last more than a few weeks before it was a headache.

we chucked another big brand coffee maker because of persistent plastic taste and no thermal carafe This Melitta, two thirds the price, is making perfect coffee and carafe keeps coffee hot for couple of hours. Looks much better than the one we gave up on, too.

I would have returned this coffee maker, but I was 1 day too late... I write this review on May 2 and I was considering returning it over the past 2 weeks, but then went on vacation.Cons: coffee gets cold faster than expected. I would consider exchanging for a glass model as the 'thermal carafe' won't really keep the heat in after 15-20 min, and annoyingly the hot plate underneath turns off 2 min after the coffee done brewing.Annoying blue light at night that won't dim or turn off.Filter holder needs to be inserted in a specific way that if the little handle breaks then you won't be able to keep it in and won't be able to brew.Pro: great brew! especially with the bamboo melitta filters.Sleek lookcompact relatively for a 10 cup.price was okay.

UNFORTUNATELY after not even 18 months the digital controls refuse to respond and the filter overflows putting coffee grounds into the pot. That is after Amazon replaced the original ordered pot that had the same problems.My old Philips cone coffee maker, with thermal carafe gave up the ghost after many years of faithful service. It was difficult to find a replacement with cone filter and thermal carafe, until I went to Amazon. Melitta is a well known brand and in the past I used the original German Melitta ceramic coffee makers. The clock and auto start are extra features I don't need, seems that most coffee makers now have that standard. After two months this unit works great with a great cup of coffee even four hours after brewing.