Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Great coffee maker for those who want a compact unit with a 12 cup thermal carafe. Makes a nice cup of coffee especially when put it on the bold setting. I did a temperature check after two hours - it held at 149 degrees - fine for us. The brewing cycle is quite long. If you are impatient or can't plan ahead using the programable feature, buy something else. The carafe is well balanced, easy to pour from, easy to clean and not too heavy. Be sure to thoroughly wash the manufacturing oils off the brew basket and the reservoir. Then run a few brew cycles with just water before your first true brew. There is an initial plastic odor. But it doesn't last, especially if you do the above. Highly recommended - especially for the price. "Black and Decker" doesn't have the branding cachet of Cuisinart, but this model performs. I have had several of the Cuisinarts at twice the price - only to have the control panel fail. Followup after several months: the unit is still performing very well. Just returned from a visit to a friend who is using a Bonavita. It also makes great coffee, but is not worth twice the price. Same plastic construction. And you have to "be there" when the brewing is complete to seal the carafe or the coffee begins cooling. And the Bonavita brews just 8 cups. Considering that Cuisinart has now established itself as the maker with the most quality issues, the B&D remains the front runner for a thermal carafe coffee maker. Have not experienced any negatives such as labels wearing off, etc. How many times does one touch that anyway?