There are several things I like about this coffee maker. It is nice looking. The display is large and bright, making it much easier to read than any we've had before. The buttons are also large and easy to read and you have separate buttons for separate features, unlike other brands where you have to run through options using a mode type of button. The operation to brew, set clocks, etc., is very straightforward and easy. It brews a decent cup of coffee, though even on bold it is not as bold as previous coffee makers produced. I like strong cup of coffee. It's smaller than we need (10 cups) but we work around that. After dh brews the pot in the morning and fills he thermal cup, he adds more water and so we can get the 12 cups we're accustomed to. Those get it to three stars. The carafe is a nightmare, IMO. Mind you it keeps it warm as it should. But the design of the carafe leaves much to be desired. The lid removes by rotating it counter clockwise. Nice that it's removeable. When the coffee brews it runs through the button opening on the lid into the carafe, but not directly into the pot. There is a compartment within the lid that has a small opening toward the carafe handle and that's where the coffee exits. It is impossible to clean that, so I'm sure oils will be building up over time. When you go to pour the first cup and the carafe is rather full, if you tip the carafe up too high, the coffee will enter that opening in the lid and pour out of the button on top. It doesn't necessarily make it into your cup when that happens. We work around by pouring over the sink. Because of the way the interior of the carafe is made, you will end up having to almost upend the carafe completely - as in hold it almost completely upside down - to get the last of the coffee out. The carafe itself has a 2.5" diameter opening that has sharp edges that stick out. These seem to be what locks the rotating lid in place, so I understand the purpose. Unless you have small hands, be very careful if you try to wash this thing out by hand. The edges will tear up your hand. The carafe is deep enough that if you want to wash it by hand, you have to get your entire hand in there. Since we have large hands and dislike pain, we drop a dishrag into the pot and then use a bottle cleaner or other utensil to drag the rag around to clean it. We've had it a week, and so far this seems to be getting it clean. But then comes the rinsing and drying. Because of the way the top of the carafe is made it is impossible to pour all of the water out after rinsing. If washing by hand, you are going to have to put a dishtowel in there and dry it. Leaving it turned upside down in the dish drainer won't take care of it. There will still be about 1/4 teaspoon of water in there. Again, you risk tearing your hand up to dry it, so again, we drop a towel in there and move it around with a utensil. The filter is an angled one, rather than one with a flat bottom. We grind our own coffee. Rather than risk dumping coffee grounds into places they don't belong, I stand the filter up in a cup and put the grounds in, then place it within the basket. I've always had flat bottomed filter baskets and I can say I prefer those 100% over this. The lid to the maker is removable in one piece, which may come in handy since there is quite a bit of reside accumulating in the "shower" area after about a week of use. We wipe that area off after every brew cycle, but it's going to need a good scrub anyway. So while I like the maker itself, the carafe is a big NO. It performs as expected to keep the coffee warm. Next time, I'll get a coffee maker without a thermal carafe and we'll purchase a better designed, yet separate, thermal carafe. Downgraded my rating to a 1 because I've become even more dissatisfied than I originally was. I've discovered that in addition to my other issues with this coffee maker: 1. The oils indeed build up in the lid and the only way to clean that area is with a Q tip - every single week I remove a lot of residue. 2. The inside/lining of the carafe is stained. A kitchen scrub brush daily doesn't prevent the build up, vinegar and baking soda have no effect. A white scrubber pad works, but you can't get your hand in there to use it. 3. There seems to be a place in the lid that isn't water tight. There seems to be water that has accumulated within the lid that can't be drained out, but I can hear it when I shake the lid. Don't bother with this coffee maker. Less expensive models that are not aggravating on a daily basis are available for purchase.
