Cuisinart 4 Cup w/Stainless-Steel Carafe Coffeemaker, Black

This is hands-down the BEST 4-cup coffee-maker I've ever owned - and believe me, I've gone through more than my fair share of them! I can only surmise that most people who've rated it less than 5 stars are not that experienced with such smaller brewers.The base unit's lid is exceptionally well designed, such that it discourages the consumer from opening it up during the brewing cycle and thus scalding yourself from the hot steam. The carafe's lid is equally well designed... better than any other 4-cup model I've ever owned. Some people have complained that when pouring from it the coffee "dribbles all over the place" but that is because ALL 4-cup coffee-makers' carafe lids are designed to require a slow pour... but this one is better designed than others, actually allowing a slightly FASTER pour without the dribbling.Although some people have claimed that the stainless steel carafe imparts a "metallic" taste to the coffee, this is simply not true. The *perception* of such a taste is honestly purely "psychological." Nevertheless, everyone's certainly entitled to their own personal preferences so if you really BELIEVE that a stainless steel carafe somehow inexplicably imparts a "metallic" taste to coffee by all means do not purchase this model. But I can assure you it just isn't true, and this stainless steel carafe will never break so you will no longer find yourself having to replace it due to breakage (like everyone who had bought the cheaper "Kitchen Gourmet" brand from Walgreens - before they had to pull them from the market - has had to).What IS true is that this brewer makes a VERY good cup of coffee. It uses cone-shaped filters, which consistently brew coffee more thoroughly than do flat-bottomed basket filters. And whereas most coffee-makers - even smaller ones such as this one - often tend to deposit their hot water over the grounds in a manner that is uneven and does not thoroughly extract all of the coffee's flavor without having to open up the brewer's lid and redistribute the grounds during mid-cycle, THIS coffee-maker gets it "right" - even when brewing only 2 cups (that's 2 "European"-size cups by the way, not the larger "American" cup size) - so there is NO NEED to redistribute the grounds mid-cycle.While some buyers have stated that they thought this coffee-maker produces coffee that is not hot enough, upon deeper investigation I've determined that this may *seem* so to them because its 30-minute warming plate auto shutoff feature ACTUALLY WORKS! The fact of the matter is that ALL such coffee-makers supposedly have a 30-minute auto shutoff of their warming plate, but in the cheaper brands/models this feature more often than not DOES NOT WORK - resulting in over-heated coffee evaporating, drying and getting caked onto the inside bottom of the carafe, and potentially causing a fire hazard. The 30-minute auto shutoff on THIS model, however, ACTUALLY WORKS! So people who are not used to this feature actually WORKING will find that 45 mins. to an hour after the brewing is complete the coffee in the carafe is indeed cooler than proper serving temperature. In fact, if you try actually touching the stainless steel carafe within 30 mins. of completion of the brewing cycle you will find that it is VERY hot... the design of the plastic handle will PREVENT you from accidentally burning your knuckles when you go to pick it up and pour the coffee - again, an excellent and well-thought out design.The instructions that come with this model instruct the user to always use high quality, freshly ground coffee, and encourage you to grind your own in SMALL BATCHES. HEED THIS ADVICE. This coffee-maker does SUCH a good job of extracting the grounds' flavor that it will AMPLIFY any "off" taste of poor beans or stale ground coffee... as any really GOOD coffee-maker will. It comes with the proper-sized ("European," like Gevalia's) coffee measure... USE it; if you use an "American" sized one you will probably wind up with coffee that is too strong.If you are a true coffee connoisseur, love coffee that is brewed to *true* perfection, and looking for a 4-cup model that for all practical purposes will last virtually forever with minimal care, THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY. Any price under $25-$30 is a good buy; I bought mine from 6th Avenue Electronics via Amazon for $23 with free shipping - an *exceptionally* good price - but 6th Ave is now completely sold out of the model and I suspect that it may be harder and harder to find it as time goes on so if you can get one BUY IT NOW before it's too late; you will NOT regret it. I rate it 5 STARS.P.S. Like most "4-cup" coffeemakers these days, it ACTUALLY has a 5-cup capacity: If you fill its water tank up to the very bottom edge of its "emergency" water overflow hole in the upper back of the unit - and of course put an additional coffee-measure's worth of coffee in the filter basket - you'll get that fifth cup (which the carafe can accommodate without overflowing once the brew cycle has completed).

We use this in our camper with a little 1000 watt generator. It doesn't draw a lot of amps when brewing, so the generator can handle the load. Metal carafe is unbreakable.

My husband quit coffee several years ago. When he drank coffee, he ground it daily, and we used a Krups carafe style coffee maker that fit nicely under our cabinet. Those were the days! (the good coffee days, anyway)Fast forward a few years: the Krups didn't last forever, and the style we had and liked so much was discontinued. And with only one person (me) having coffee, I decided to switch to a 4 cup model. I bought the Mr Coffee basic coffee maker. It served me well for 2-3 years and then suddenly died.I was going to buy another Mr Coffee but was concerned that it might contained BPA. I emailed Mr Coffee and asked about that. After not hearing back from them in over a week, and inferring though google that Mr Coffee makers MAY have BPA, I decided to look at Cuisinart, as the brand is known for being BPA free AND they document they they are. I would have sprung for the full-sized Cuisinart DCC-1200 as I gave one to my dad, and it is great (has a 1-4 cup setting), but it would be inconvenient to use under our kitchen cabinets, due to its height and top-loading hatch.So I bought this little model on Amazon. As far as I know, it's the only 4 cup coffee maker offered by Cuisinart. Because of that, I chose it despite some of the the negative comments in the reviews. About the spillage: As long as I get the lid on right, id does not spill. You just have to use a little Zen to do that, and then you used to it right away. (At least that's how it is with mine, I realize it may be an improved design, and older ones could be different). About making weak coffee, that may be sorta true. If I use just a little more coffee than I would think, the coffee strength is just right. And when I buy coffee from the local barista and have it ground for a Melitta style filter (not flat bottom), the strength is perfect when made in this machine.Next, let me compare this coffee maker to the Mr Coffee 4-cup basic model that it replaced in our home: (1) this machine is way more expensive, (2) this one more assuredly is BPA free, (3) the Cuisinart makes hotter coffee: maybe a little too hot initially, but you get to enjoy it in your mug longer, (3) the Cuisinart uses Melitta cone-style filters instead of the basket style, which I think improves flavor (4) the Cuisinart looks a little more upscale in our kitchen, and (5) the Cuisinart has an auto shutoff at 30 minutes. Also (6), the Mr Coffee has a glass carafe, which I prefer to the metal of the Cuisinart, though I don't think the latter tastes "tinny" if well washed before initial use.I was thinking about returning this machine since it wasn't perfect, and it is a little pricey. But it's already become part of our kitchen and my routine, and I've adjusted to it. I like it better than the little Mr Coffee now.PS - if you decide to buy this coffee maker, make sure to also get some #2 Melitta cone-style filters (or you can cut down some #4s). There was no starter pack in my box, and it does not come with a permanent filter. Not a problem as long as you know in advance, since you'll want to try it the next morning!UPDATE: about the BPA issue, I finally got an reply, by email, from Mr Coffee. They say that their TF series of coffee makers is BPA free for all food-contact surfaces. That's good to know for next time, but I have adjusted to this little Cuisinart now, and am enjoying it too much to return it.