Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

>1.5 YEAR UPDATE: The carafe leaks everywhere. Breville doesn't have a replacement. They told me to call back in a month and they may have inventory again. And even before it got leakier, I got pretty tired of the drippy mess everywhere around the pot that requires daily cleaning. I'm really regretting not getting a MochaMaster. > 1 YEAR UPDATE: After owning this for about 15 months, I really miss my old Cuisinart stainless carafe that could keep coffee hot for hours. This gives you 50 minutes of steamy hot coffee at most. It makes a delicious brew, but cannot keep it hot for long. I'm updating from 4 stars to 3, because this aspect has been consistently disappointing. Read the original review below. Coffee snob checking in. This is a great machine. It really fills a niche. I'll address the coffee it makes since most of the other reviews focus on aesthetics and build quality. Most of the snobby auto-drips are 8 cup only, cone filter only. This is the 'gold standard' of coffee (look up "SCA Standard"). I wanted that level of quality, my wife wanted something with a timer (to accommodate early rising guests). Twelve cups is better for my wife and I than 8; I'm a teacher at a night school and have nothing better to do in the morning than drink coffee, and you should see the size of her to-go mug she brings to work! Get you a girl that can do both. This is the only* machine I found that offers SCA standard coffee, and has a larger basket and tank to yield 12 cups. (*OXO has a 12 cup, SCA certified auto-timer auto-drip, but if you read the reviews it looks awfully problematic--so much so, Amazon isn't carrying it anymore.) The "gold" setting is great. Fast brew, perfect temp. Warm your carafe up with hot water first. The pump is quiet (I'll update if that changes with age), and it brews a perfect 8 cups. If you grind quality beans fresh with a decent grinder, any novice could get a great result with no problem. They include a scoop so you don't get your proportions wrong. For 12 cup, I like to grind just a bit more and use the "strong" setting. Strong doesn't scald the hell out of it like a drugstore coffee pot. It just gives the water a bit more time to hang out with the beans. It's still a fast brew. Using the basket filter and 12 cups, the quality isn't quite up to par with "gold" but it's 90% there. Coffee tastes great, has a rich flavor, cups well, ideal mouthfeel, all that stuff. This is the go-to SCA certified 12 cup brewer with a timer. If you can live with an 8 cup machine, there are cheaper options which I'd turn to first. If you want to pay more to get more, this is the one. Edit: I am unimpressed with the thermal carafe. My old Cuisinart retained heat much better. (I have the stainless steel carafe, not the glass) 2nd Edit: Day 25, I got the "descale" notice. Addendum 15 months later: I live in a mineral-rich area with very hard water. I simply descale once a month with white vinegar. The descale notice is constantly on, but it doesn't prevent the coffee maker from starting. I keep an eye on the machine for mineral build-up, but naturally I can't really monitor the important stuff like the pump.