Black & Decker DCM2500B SmartBrew Coffeemaker
by Black & Decker
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List Price: Our Price: $36.45 You Save: $3.54 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $34.99 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker DCM2500B SmartBrew Coffeemaker
Customer Review: An excellent coffee maker
Summary: 5 Stars
Because we're serious about our coffee, we sold our old $100+ Cuisinart coffeemaker to be replaced with this much better designed and much easier to use coffee maker.
A motel room we stayed at had this model coffee maker. We used it twice a day for 10 days. The coffee was delicious and we found no minuses at all, so I bought one. We've been using it daily now for about three months.
The carafe is made of heavy duty glass and doesn't drip at all. The hole to pour water into is large and easy to get to. There are convenient and accurate water level windows on both sides of the unit. The controls are convenient, easy to understand, and easy to use. The basket is easily removed for cleaning, easy to position, and uses standard flat bottomed filters. The time and function displays are large and bright. All of these are comparative problem areas in the Cuisinart.
Programming works perfectly and is so simple to use we didn't need the manual. To set the time of day press the "Hours" button until it reaches the current hour and then the "Minutes" button. To set the "Auto on" time, press the "Program" button, and then set the start time the same way. Press the "Program" button again to go back to time of day. For auto start, press the "Auto on" button, which lights up. That's it.
In addition, the water enters the drip chamber in a shower rather than a stream, resulting in consistently smooth and uniform tasting coffee. I can't comment on the warming plate because we put what we don't drink immediately into a Thermos for all day use. The warming plate shuts itself off after two hours if you forget.
The negative reviews are a puzzle to me. We found none of the problems mentioned.
This is an addendum in mid Nov, 2007. The coffeemaker still makes perfect coffee and everything works like new. The only negative I'd add is that the warming plate is quite rusty, probably because I put a pot of tap water on it at night to have chlorine free water in the morning. Often the pot is damp. When we need to replace this coffeemaker, I'll paint the new warming plate with bar-b-cue paint before the first use, for rust protection.
This is an update, dated 11/20/07. The coffeemaker still works perfectly and still looks good. I sanded the rust off of the base plate, painted it with bar-b-cue paint, and as expected there is no more rust problem. I don't think the rust would occur for most people. I caused it by putting a wet pot on the plate overnight seven days a week.
Customer Review: Perfect coffee pot for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this coffee pot. Mostly because I've never had one with a timer before and that feature rocks! It is so awesome to wake up to fresh, hot coffee already made!
I read a lot of the reviews on here before I purchased it and I agree with the positive comments. The two side windows are great for pouring the water in, the large handle is comfortable and the whole thing is easy to keep clean. My last coffee maker used the cone filters and I've found I actually like the basket filters better! The cone filters can fold back up before you put the grounds in so I was always trying to use water to make it stick to the sides. The baskets are easier and they cost less.
If you want to use the timer feature you'll most likely want to keep the pot plugged in so you don't have to set the clock each time, and the red numbers did throw me off at first - I had to do a double take to make sure I hadn't left the pot on. But the 2-hour shut off works great and the warmer keeps the coffee hot and fresh tasting without burning it.
I was a bit nervous after reading that some people had the coffee pot overflow if they didn't put the pot in the right spot so I took the advice of one reviewer and removed the little rubber stopper they put in for the "sneak a cup" feature. It was easy to pop out and if I want I can always pop it back in.
The only "negative" in my opinion is the plastic they used to make it is kind of cheap looking (I had a prettier coffee maker before) but hey, for the price you can't be too picky. Fortunately the all black design is pretty non-descript so you really don't notice it. And most importantly, it makes a great cup of coffee.
I definitely recommend this coffee maker.
Customer Review: Great coffee maker!
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with the reviewers who have said "what is the fuss about?". This is a GREAT coffee maker. I have had no problems at all so far and having owned several different brands previously, I would say this one is the best I've owned for being so inexpensive.
The automatic setting is really fantastic as you can set the maker to make coffee whenever you need it to. You don't have to use this feature and if you want to, you can make coffee in the pot even if you have it set on the automatic feature and the automatic settings won't be disturbed.
The coffee stays hot in the pot for a long time and doesn't get any of the overdone or burnt flavor that I've experienced with some other makers.
I haven't had a single problem with drips from the pot and think that it does a really fine job when you pour. I don't know what some people's problem is with this feature. I think maybe it says more about the sloppiness of those pouring than the design of the coffeemaker!
I can't say I've used the interrupt feature because this machine doesn't take long at all to brew a pot and I have not needed to interrupt it in order to grab a quick cup.
I honestly don't know what the negative reviewers were expecting. This is a fine machine that does the job and is a great value for all of its features. It also looks great in the black model and fits very nicely in my stainless kitchen.
I highly recommend this coffeemaker! I am so glad I ignored the negative reviews because this machine works great and was a bargain.
Customer Review: This is a good basic coffeemaker.
Summary: 5 Stars
As we drove away from home, I was always asking my wife if she remembered to turn off our old Mr. Coffee. Our new Black and Decker removed that worry, its 2 hour shut off was worth the price alone. It makes great coffee, and is hotter than our old one. The program features are simple, and easy to remember, so our coffee is ready when we get up. I like the tall glass pot, it does not spill when you pour. You will need to buy the paper filters, our old Mr. Coffee had a strainer basket, but its no big deal, I think the paper filter makes the coffee taste better anyway. Most of the coffeemakers today have all the fancy gadgets on them which we didn't need. This is a good basic coffeemaker, and the price was lower than Wal-Mart. We even got in on the free shipping special, life is good.
UPDATE AFTER 3 YEARS OF USE.
The finish on the hot plate under the glass pot has come off, not sure if it was teflon or paint or what. No big deal, but makes the coffee maker look bad.
My wife wanted a new Mr. Coffee anyway, so we retired the Black and Decker.
Customer Review: GOODBYE MR. COFFEE
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many people, I was a DIEHARD Mr. Coffee fan for 20 years....but no more. It is the current syndrome that has hit many companies, where a name used to mean something when it came to a product, this is what has happened to Mr. Coffee, it has cheapened itself down so much that it is a waste of money for the consumer to keep buying their products that promise the world and deliver nothing. The only reason I purchased this product was from reading another review that gave it high praise, so I figured -why not- at least try it and if it doesnt work I'll go back to my trusted drippy, sloppy, Mr. Coffee.....
I have only had this B&D DCM2500B for 3 days...and no way will I be going back to a Mr. Coffe product EVER again. FROM THE VERY START, from the unpacking, to the setup, to the first cup, I am sold with this product. NO SPILLS,(something Mr. Coffee still promises) easy clean, and easy use. It makes me sad but.....goodbye Mr. Coffee, at one time you were the best, but no longer.