Hamilton Beach One Press Programmable Dispensing Drip Coffee Maker with 12 Cup Internal Brew Pot Removable Water Reservoir

(Second update, July 3, one year later): My glowing review holds. The HB coffee maker still performs like it's brand new, and guests still get coffee envy and ask me where they got such a neat gizmo while they (not I) pour themselves another cup. Love its durability, and it continues to make outstanding coffee for a terrific price. It remains a truly Outstanding Value. (*Update, 1/1/25: I've had this for half a year now, and I still love it. It works flawlessly, and continues to deliver great coffee. However, that little bit of extra resistance at the pushbar/button continued to bug me, so I MacGyvered it (look it up, ye kiddies) and just trimmed the spring at the plug valve under the pot. Check my last pic- it was easy. Just a screwdriver and a pair of wire cutters, with a good brushing of that little filter (it gets grimy, and this is also a good time to clean the machine- use 1/3 distilled vinegar to water, and run a couple of cycles.) Anyway, presto! She is not so resistant now, is she? A caution, though- if you cut that spring too much, say more than 1/3, it won't have enough force to keep that rubber seal pushed shut, and your unit could drip. Finding another spring would mean a trip to Home Depot. Just go easy. It was a good mod, though, and the pushbar is more accommodating. Try it if you're like me- annoyed by the little things, with too much time on your hands. Ta, and happy New Year!) I first encountered the Hamilton Beach on a vacation, and was captivated by a machine that automatically dispensed coffee; why hadn't anyone thought of this before? I'm also a sucker for gadgets and buttons, so I couldn't wait for an excuse to get one. The excuse presented itself soon after, when I broke our second Ninja pot. At $25 a pop, I was already in for $50, and number three was gonna make it $75. I didn't like the math, and Ninja didn't make a steel carafe. If they had, I would have stayed with it- it's a nimble little machine that makes tasty coffee. But like printer cartridges, they soak you. And my trusty old Cuisinart finally gave up the ghost after one too many spills where I forgot to put the lid on. I kept the steel carafe, though, and I poured my coffee from the Ninja into the carafe. It stays hot and fresh longer, something no glass pot can do. Segue to the HB. It's pretty simple, with only a reservoir (the base unit) a "pot" (the plastic unit on top that the coffee brews into) and the filter. You fill up the reservoir (I use the pot to do this, which is easy to hold and has a pour spout that actually pours without dripping all over), grind your beans (medium to fine), stick it back together and press the button. The BOLD and 1-4 settings work well, and you can adjust the pot to stay hot for 0-4 hours (which is does because of the conductive heating plates which meet at the pot and the base). The zero hour setting is for cold coffee. But as long as a coffee machine works and is easy enough to clean, it's all about the taste. Here the HB also performs well; we've had it for a couple of weeks and the coffee is as rich and flavorful as anything that comes out of a sub-$300 machine or a French press (which I still like best). A traditional pot is easier to clean, because it's round, but a good brush takes care of the odd shape of the pot. The HB cost $59, and I opted for the 4-year Asurion warranty for an extra $11- I'm fed up with things that go kaput, and while I don't see that happening with this unit, it's worth the piece of mind. The fact that it won't break was one of the two big sells for the HB. The other was the auto-pour feature, which, while pretty neat, comes with an asterisk.* *It's got a bit of resistance. When I push my cup against it, the unit slides back, even though it has a couple of rubber pads, and it's on a granite counter. Easily solved by putting it against the wall, which doesn't impede the lid or machine in any way. But it does take a little more push than, say, a lever at a soda machine. No big deal, but some people may take umbrage at the audacity for it to push back a little. Hey, I'm the boss here, and you're gonna give me a cup whether you're in the mood or not, little button. Take away: The HB is solid unit that won't break, and it makes very good coffee that stays hot. It obviates spills and burns (smart for seniors who shake or drop things), and for less than the price of three replacement Ninja carafes, it's a bargain, and it's fun to get your morning going at the push of a button. Cheers, -Z Read more

FULL DISCLOSURE: We paid the full listed price and received no discounts. I purchased this "older" model (48464) as a factory re-certified coffee maker for $29, about $10 cheaper than a new item from Amazon Prime. The note included with the machine stated it was re-certified in the USA by local folks at the facility in North Carolina. I ordered it on a Sunday and it arrived the following Tuesday. Pretty darn good for a non-Prime order! It came in the original (but new) box showing correctly what's inside. A label on the outside indicated it was rebuilt in August 2016. The coffee maker showed zero signs of previous use and i would not have been able to tell it from a new product. The is our second Brew Master. The one it replaced is 5+ years old and tired. It pretty much got used every day for 2-4 brewings but the dispense rate got slow and no amount of cleaning would resolve this. Brewed coffee is rather oily and overtime can build up around the small parts of the dispensing mechanism. This can lead to a slow dispensing rate as well as a tendency to drip a bit after you remove your cup. Hamilton Beach recommends the usual vinegar and water mix to remove scale buildup that might occur in the pump and dispensing lines and they also recommend an overnite soak of hot water and 2 tablespoons of automatic dishwasher detergent. Whichever method you use, be sure to run at least 2 full brewing cycles using plain water. Also, if you have the time, run a plain water cycle through the machine after a week's use as a preventative measure. This model is obviously an improvement over our previous model. The LCD screen is much easier to see, it has brew https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-48464-Capacity-Brewstation/dp/B001K66LPQ/ref=sr_1_13?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1544104775&sr=1-13&keywords=hamilton+beach+coffee+makersettings that actually work---if you like a stronger brew you can select "BOLD" and it slows down the rate at which hot water is poured into the brewing basket. It has a timer to shut off the heating element. There is also a 1-4 cup setting that slows down the rate but not quite as much as the BOLD setting. If you're an iced coffee lover (we are), you can actually make a pot of ice cold coffee. Basically, you double the amount of coffee, select the ICED brew, and fill the empty dispensing tank with ice cubes. Then just brew up a pot of iced coffee! Easy Peasy. The brewing basket has many brewing holes unlike our old model which has just one hole for the coffee to drip through. This model also has an automatic shut off gizmo which stops the flow of hot water if you lift the lid during the brewing cycle, like you might do to add some more coffee. The old model did not have this feature. This machine is the 12 cup version while our old machine was a 10 cup model. We found that if you brewed 10 cups in the old one, it made a mess with splashed coffee grounds. Brewing 10 cups in this one did not make a mess. We have not tried to brew 12 cups. Perhaps it is because this is the taller 12 cup model, but you can dispense coffee into one of those tall travel cups. Our old 10 cupper did not have the clearance to do this. Lastly, all Hamilton Beach Brew Master machines do in fact keep the coffee hot for a longer period of time without imparting that burnt taste. This is a great machine with a proven track record for reliability. It's inexpensive and highly recommended for all coffee lovers. The only nit to pick is this is not truly a one hand dispensing operation. Once you get the available coffee down to 4 cups or so, you'll need to use your other hand to stop the machine from sliding when you push your cup against the dispensing button. The sleeker your counter top is, the greater the tendency to slide, A non-issue. [UPDATE 12-18] After almost 3 years of daily use, the heating element died. This means there is no heat to keep the brewed coffee warm resulting in trips to the microwave (several reviewers have complained that it doesn't keep the coffee hot even when the heating element is working.) Personally, I don't care for microwave re-heated coffee so this Brew Station is kaput. I also noted shortly after receiving it back in 2016 that the tank which holds the brewed coffee was a little wobbly when in place. Also, it developed a drip after using the push bar to dispense a cup of coffee----fortunately, the drips drop into an easily removed base which is simply rinsed out. So, all things considered would I buy this again? Yes I would and I did. This time, however, I ponied up a couple bucks for the 3 yr replacement plan. Read more