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I was a bit worried buying the DCM485 after reading so many poor reviews but now think the reviews are poor not the coffee maker. Oh, it is a bit large as maybe Robbie the robot's child. Seems very logical and a smart design.
The top of the carafe has two setting positions marked with arrows, one for brew mode (closed down)and the second for puring mode(open spout). Left button is to make coffee now or if flashing indicates it is in the auto mode so one just presses again it toggles back to brew now mode(light on solid) and will start to make coffee which has an active indicator you hear it start to perk too, just take your pick which mode you want. I have not had mine for more than a month but using it twice a day, I have not seen any issues as pouring the carafe or having overflow shutoff valve problems.
Also setting the functions is not obvious but after seeing the clock time(defaults to time of day set)come up after a few minutes lets one know the other clock is the auto time clock for brewing. There is even a detent when turning the top lets you feel the brewing position has been achieved. The overflowing problem others mention is a bit strange as the carafe sets down in a lower area sort of a base detent so one only needs to align the carafe strait centered handle out which opens the fill valve without fail on my maker.
Bottom line is it makes great coffee and I would give it five stars if there was a keep warm plate under the carafe but most of the time coffee is gone before it gets cool in my home. Would be nice when done if in some manner it could say "Coffee's On".
I love the theory of a carafe, since I can just brew a pot and plop it down on the dining room table after Thanksgiving dinner.That being said.I have never been able to plop this carafe down on the table and let anyone serve themselves because it would ruin my tablecloth and soak my guests. I'm used to it, but it's not self evident to anyone first using it. Held up well and brews a good pot of coffee. Bought it from Starbucks about two years ago and use it at least once every day. I'd love to spend all day writing this review, but I'm short of time. Even my husband, who is a programmer and engineer (and we're both early adopters, not 12-o'clock-flashers) couldn't figure out either how to start it brewing OR how to get the lid to unseal to pour without an explanation.This coffee pot works, but Delonghi went too far into the "form over function" ethos. My father has ruined a tablecloth and a pair of slacks with coffee.In addition, the lid is very hard to explain to people how to use. As in, you probably lose a half cup of coffee for every one you pour.
Never have a ever found a piece of electrical equipment that I've needed to read the manual to do basic set up and use (ie: Set the clock and turn on). If the carafe is full, it pours fine, but when you get down to less than half a pot, it dribbles down the front. Bottom line: I have had no mechanical problems with this machine. You should not have to go through training to learn how to pour a cup of coffee.Other downsides: This is NOT an easy-to-use coffee maker. The lid on this pot is NOT well designed. And not a little dribble. I could not even figure out how to get the thing to start brewing without the user's guide. They've actually made an exceptionally stylish coffee maker that is just about the most difficult to use and unfortunate to own appliance in history.
I bought this machine from Starbucks and found it only made lukewarm coffee, so I took it back and planned to find a different model. I've had it for about 3 years and have used it every day, both my wife and I love it and it looks great in the kitchen. The Starbucks manager who also owned the same model contended it was a great coffee maker and convinced me to try again with another unit. I'm glad he did, with the new unit the coffee is steaming hot and stays hot and fresh for hours. The only thing I'd change would be the precision required to line up the lid to get the coffee out without drips. But once you've done it once or twice it is no problem.
It took 15 minutes to find the manual, etc. You learn to adapt. I can't complain about the coffee it makes.Many of the reviewer note that everything has to be lined up just so in order to make it work, prevent spills, etc. Totally.
But, that isn't enoguh to kill this. Nice looking machine. Painful, non intuitive controls.One of the features of the machine is that it has a place to tuck the cord, but if you unplug it then you have to figure out how to reset the clock and timers, etc.The handle on the gold basket broke after about 3 months and I didn't bother to get it replaced. I give this a pass. (Not a good machine though if there are lots of causal users like in a workplace).A few also note that the timer controls are archaic and confusing.
Now, about 1.5 years after receiving this as a gift it is dead. If it hadn't broken down I would have given it two stars. It's true. No lights, no life, nothing.For $129 you should get much more than this machine delivers. It's true.
We used the timer for a while, but then the power went out at our house and we had to reset it. A better warranty beyond the 1 year would help too. As it is, 1.
To clear up some things other reviews said; -you can get the water filters for $2.50 online now.so that isn't a big deal-if you have problems pouring the coffee out it is because you can't read, just aline one big arrow with the other big arrow and BAM you have coffee pouring perfectly. I don't know why there are so many bad reviews on this wonderful coffee maker. I recieved this as a gift from my Mom a couple years ago and I have never had a single problem with it. If you don't line up the arrows it only partially comes out or comes out the top, your problem not the machine's lol -I also agree with the fact that you have to use good coffee beans to get good tasting coffee, if you use preground crap from the market then it probably will still taste like crap. So I love this coffeemaker, no problems at all if you know how to use it and take the time to read.
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