KitchenAid KCM0402CU 4-Cup Personal Coffee Maker - Stainless Steel Contour Silver - Perfect for Home, Office & Small Spaces

Just received this today and already I have run it through it's paces to see how I like it.I have the Onyx Black one, they have other brighter colors but I did choose the black one. It has some brushed silver steel parts and the rest is heavy duty black plastic. The water tank is translucent, the rest opaque. A very attractive, modern looking coffee machine. It is sturdy and well made.I first cleaned all removable parts in hot soapy water and dried everything thoroughly. Then I brewed a full tank of plain cold tap water (no coffee) to prime and clean all internal parts.I brewed the first time with regular medium grind canned coffee using the metal screen filter.I was astonished at how full bodied the coffee was, I drank a few sips and determined it to be a rich dark very flavorful coffee.I then cleaned the parts, set aside the metal filter and inserted a #2 cone filter. I filled it with a few tablespoons of my favorite brand of espresso and filled the tank only half way with water just to see how the coffee machine would react.This machine is very easy to use, add coffee, water and push one button which softly beeps and turns blue. No matter how much water you put in the water tank, the blue light turns off, it beeps and it turns itself off when the water tank runs out of water.The espresso coffee was better to my tastes, I prefer a heavy strong black brew.So, I think I will love this machine to make my coffee with everyday.It really does make a surprising good cup of Joe, it is versatile and is a good looking well made appliance.I'm very happy with this coffee machine.Okay, I'm editing this post several hours later.... Now I have run this machine through its paces several more times....I think paper filters actually harm the full flavor taste of coffee in this machine.The integrated metal filter is actually very good for the end resulting flavor.I have run espresso and regular grind coffee through this machine several times now with the metal filter and with the #2 paper cone filters.... Espresso runs through this machine just as well as regular medium grind with the metal filter... I still prefer the espresso grind myself for the flavor but the paper filters are really unnecessary, this machine is really very well thought out and will brew to your taste with no extra components necessary.Great fabulous coffee machine and very handsome on my kitchen counter but most importantly, it makes fabulous coffee.Edit:I've had this machine for about 3 weeks now and the coffee it makes gets better every day.The components work together so well, I would not even consider a paper filter now, the metal filter is excellence.I have always liked Starbucks regular black coffee but this machine beats that, it really does, I'm not exaggerating.I love good coffee and this single serve coffee maker is my favorite appliance now.If it ever breaks I'll just order another one, I'm hooked.Some hints: Use the freshest clearest coldest water you can obtain. Use any coffee of your choice but a medium grind seems to produce the best consistent quality- two simple things and your coffee will astonish you with every brew. I fill the thermos with water and pour it into the reservoir with it because the thermos has a very accurate pour spout, no dripping or splashing, easy to hit the hole with the water flow.I admit to being a bit of a KA junkie but not at the cost of being objective.I don't love this coffee maker, but I like it well enough to keep it. I bought it to replace my Keurig Platinum because aside from the K-cup waste issue, I wanted a higher brew capacity. I like that I can brew a maximum of 18 oz at a time, and that I can use my own freshly ground coffee in an amount and grind to suit my taste. I am using the thermos that comes with the machine, which fits very snugly into the base and has a tightly fitting plastic lid that has a cap you rotate for opened/closed. It is lined in the same plastic. You could take out the inner circle of the base and use any mug or thermos of the right height or less, but I suppose with a shorter container there would be some splashing. Most of the machine is plastic, which I don't care for, so aside from the aesthetic I'm not sure how durable it will be over time. The water reservoir has markings on it for capacity - the amount of water you fill it with is the same amount that will brew, so there will be no leftover water in the reservoir. You can fill the reservoir by flipping open the small lid and filling in place or after removing the entire reservoir. However, filling in place is a bit of challenge without spilling and the plastic handle that flips up worries me as to it's durability so I remove the unit by grabbing the whole thing which is awkward - 6 of one, half dozen of the other. The small grinds basket and gold filter are nice enough, although I have found that the container does not usually swing smoothly back into place without having to first fiddle with moving the basket and/or filter around. The only other thing I don't love is the location of the power button, which is at the front of the base. For some reason when I move the machine to fill with water and grinds I seem to inadvertently hit the power button when I don't want to. No big deal but just annoying. I'm sure with time it will be a smoother operation but right now it's all a bit clumsy and messy.Anyways, the coffee is as good as the water and grinds you use (I use the KitchenAid Pro Line Series Burr Coffee Mill), comparable to your typical run-of-the-mill coffee machine I think. I use the Gaggia 14101 Classic Espresso Machine for when I want to take the time to make a really good cup so this KA is just for morning convenience and it serves that purpose well enough as far as the output. The machine itself could use some reworking, it's not the quality I expect of KA but sadly it seems like other than their stand mixers, they are going to plastic for everything now and quality is sacrificed for quantity. I do like the sleek look of it and it has a much smaller footprint than the Keurig or other coffee makers. All in all, not the best, but better than many.So after 2 weeks of researching, testing, and buying & returning, why did I chose this one?NO K-CUP FALSEHOODSIt's not just that I get to use my own coffee. The problem with most "K-Cup Optional" machines is that even if you get to use your own grinds, the reuseable filter it comes with (which is usually crap-quality anyway) limits you in how much coffee you can put into it. Most people don't drink a genuine 1-cup coffee mug (Nespresso makes only one-cup and look how small they are). You have way more control in this one to use as much coffee grind as you want based on how strong you want your coffee to be.PAPER FILTER OPTIONThe reusable filter this comes with looks fancy and good quality, but just like all reuseable filters, I get coffee dust sediment at the bottom of my mug. Yuck. I'm sorry, but paper filters is the only way I'll go. There was a couple that allowed for #1 paper filters, but the price of those is about 3x what you pay for the #2 and #4. So that's not a great option. This one allows me to continue to use #2 cone filters that lets me put in as much ground coffee as I want for my perfect coffee strength! It's not a perfect fit. You need to fold the bottom flap of your paper filter (you know that part on the bottom where the paper is fused together), and you may have to smush the filter into the holder a little bit... but really it's not that difficult, and very little fuss for the return you get to use a proper paper filter!LOTS OF REMOVABLE PARTSThis thing comes apart like a lego set! Well, I exaggerate. But it feels like anything that normally has to be washed comes out. Even the cavity that the reuseable filter goes into comes out (which is good because there's plenty of coffee sediment that comes out). If you look carefully at other coffee makers, this part of the coffee maker is normally attached to your machine. Likewise, BOTH parts of the base comes out. The water tank is removable. It's great for someone like me who wants to be able to rinse and wash parts regularly.COFFEE QUALITYAfter about three attempts, I figured out the ratio to water and coffee grind to fit my taste... and WOW! Best coffee! I absolutely love the flavour! To me... the most important thing!VISUALLY STUNNINGSeriously, the red is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you amazon for the sale! :P $130 (MRP: $180).I am hoping this is a long-term coffee solution. Loving it so far!Okay, so I will always find something I don't like about a product, but it's just a matter of what I'm willing to live with in trade-off for the pluses. I just got mine and tried my first cup of coffee. Ease of use is basically the level of "no-brainer". Nothing complicated.I read A LOT of reviews over the last few days on many coffee makers, including this one. The main complaints, and I agree with them, is not being able to see the level of water in the holding tank, and the plastic inside the thermal cup that comes with it. Let me tackle these one by one:WATER TANK LEVELSEven though the water tank is translucent, it's very dark (probably to make the whole product look classy), so the water level is super difficult to see. It's almost useless. However, I would argue that it's also almost pointless. The machine claims to hold 4 cups, but this is a baker's measurement. It doesn't refer to you coffee cups because they are all different sizes. And truthfully, if you get one of those huge cups that are pretty much a soup holder, you are drinking up to 4 regular cups of coffee! So as you can see in the pic, the levels are labelled according to how much coffee you want. The confusion comes when it says it makes 4 cups as if they were 4 servings. The machine doesn't know to stop when your cup is full. If it has more water in the tank, it will keep going. So don't be fooled thinking this is a 4-cup coffee maker. It's a SINGLE SERVING machine. That said, fill up the water tank according to your mug size. Unfortunately, the hole to fill it is quite small, so if you're cup tends to dribble water when poured, you are going to have a HUGE mess on your hands. I'm using a glass measuring cup.PLASTIC INSIDE THE THERMOSOh my god! What were they thinking? Yes, the inside of the thermal cup is plastic, and even if it's BPA-free (I'm sure it is), I'm sorry but IT'S PLASTIC! I'm NOT drinking steaming hot coffee from a plastic cavity!! (This is also the reason I refuse to buy those Hamilton Beach "self-serve" machines. Brewing coffee and keeping it hot for 4-hours in a plastic container is not what I consider safe.) Yes, I'm very disappointed, and don't plan to use the thermal cup at all. The lid is a little awkward to remove as well -- particularly if you have small hands (okay, I know who just came to mind... stop that! :P )BREAKING DOWN:I read of some who say their machine broke down after only months. Now that I've had it for about month, I noticed something that may be contributing to that. Right after your coffee is ready and the machine turns off, it appears that the heater element inside is still very hot. If you pour fresh water into the reservoir right away, there's this "whoosh" of steam that comes out (through a steam hole). Right now, I'm always pouring a little water just to cool down that element right away. It suggests that if you leave it blazing hot to cool down by itself, it may be degrading the life of the water heater. Not a big deal or hassle in my opinion.SPLASH ZONENow after a month, yes, there's definitely a little splash, particularly if you use a mug that's not that tall. In fact, if you use a mug that's really short, be prepared to do a lot of spill clean up all around the machine. Mine's on my desk in my office, so I have to watch what documents are around the coffee maker when I turn it on. It's unfortunate that the tumbler it comes with is plastic inside, making it useless to me. Bought a really tall ceramic coffee cup, and it helps, but not perfect.I no longer drink coffee so we only need a single cup brewer for my wife. I had the Hamilton Beach "The Scoop" and it gave us hundreds of coffee mugs before giving the ghost a few months ago.I was searching the various stores to get a machine that allows to use your own coffee. Not a fan at all of the capsules machines, either the Keurig, Tassimo and all the others.This looked like a worthy contender and it is. It has a sleek look and fits perfectly in any kitchen decor.Preparation is a little more awkward than the HB machine we had before. The filter assembly is a cone, which gives a better extraction than a flat basket like in the HB Scoop but when you open the door of the coffee basket, there is always some condensation of the previous brew that remains and it inevitably drips on the countertop. A kitchen towel is needed and once you know what to expect, it is no big deal.Also, the water reservoir is removable and a bit of a hit and miss. It is practical to get it under the faucet to fill it...but how can you be sure to not overfill it and it will spill out of your mug? Easily done you say, just fill it with the mug you will be using. Yes , but the top filling hole is about the size of a dollar coin and you need to have great aim to pour a mug content down there without spilling water everywhere. If you use the same mug everyday, no problem but you get the idea.Coffee tastes great and it is way hotter than our HB machine was even when new. The supplied travel mug is plastic lined inside and semi decent; my better ones won't fit in the machine but your mileage may vary.So it serves it's purpose of brewing great coffee but has a few minor drawbacks.My review on the Kitchen Aid 4-cup Personal Coffee MakerTo start, I agree with others here that the cup is a waste of time and one should just pass on it.Now regarding the coffee maker, well that's a different story. Once I figured out my coffee to water measurements, I now get the perfect cup of coffee every time I brew. It's also very fast, and easy to setup. I'm at the point where I now can't stand buying a coffee when I'm out. They're always too old, and taste like the bottom of a burned coffee pot. I will spend the extra time, or plan ahead of time to make a coffee to go.The bad thing about this coffee maker is that I have a habit of making too many cups of coffee. Thus , feeling the affects of too much caffeine. Definitely a case of too much of a good thing.I've yet to have anything go wrong. The unit is very simple, so really not much there to go wrong. I don't know what some of the other reviews are saying about getting a plastic filter. My filter has a plastic frame, but the mesh part of it is metal.I got the red one, and it stands out on my counter top, in a good way. If your not in a rush, they do come on sale once and a while. That's how I got my unit. Outside of that, if you're looking for a dam good cup of coffee at home.The opening hole in the water reservoir is too small to pour into. We have to use a measuring cup with a proper pour spout. First you fill your mug with water, pour it into the measuring cup then pour the contents of the measuring cup into the ridiculously small fill hole and then it makes a pretty decent cup of coffee.The basket doesn't clear the underside of the brewing part of the machine and you have to kind of twist the basket filter down a bit to get it to close up under the brewing part. It closes well but there's something weird in the engineering that the basket does't close easily. This should never happen for a "premium priced" appliance.If you use a regular size mug be prepared to wipe the counter up afterwards as the coffee splashed out and makes quite a mess. It was obviously designed for the carafe mug.For a "premium" product like this they cheeped out on the mug. It should be stainless. We never use the travel mug provided as it's made out of plastic.Cool looking but scores a 2.5 from me. Too expensive, cheap mug, makes a mess, and is hard to fill. I guess it's kind of an epic fail if you look at it from these points.Believe it or not, you can get coffee as good as my much more expensive Moccamaster. However you will have to get yourself a decent burr grinder and be prepared to go through a pound or so of coffee to get things just right.At current retail price, I don't think this brewer represents good value. But these brewers are frequently discounted and often good rebates, so if you see one cheap, you can't go wrong. Also if you really need a personal brewer, you can get more than acceptable results with the 4 cup mini Cuisinart, especially if you buy pre ground coffee.I'm taking off 2 stars...1 for value for money, and the other for the plasticky construction and cheap non-replaceable parts. I don't expect much in the way of durability.