Customer Reviews

Black & Decker CM5050 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

If I could have waited for delivery, I'd have purchased this from Amazon. I don't know a coffee drinker who will even wait for a day, much less up to two weeks for a coffee maker. That said, this would make a great gift for any occasion.

I've only had this coffee maker for two weeks but that's time enough to discover quirks that might make it unappealing to others.

The coffee maker I replaced was the Mr. Coffee, IS series. It was great while it lasted, but it only lasted four years. I expect more for my money than that.

To comapare the two above mentioned models, both brew great coffee, and the B&D CM5050 brews 12 cups in ten minutes, where Mr. Coffee took twelve. That's a plus if you don't use the auto brew.

The B&D has a big digital clock; the Mr. Coffee had a hard-to-read analog.

B&D allows you to set your brew strength, but if you like "strong", it defaults back to "regular" at the end of the brewing cycle, so it must be reset with each new brew. Mr. Coffee saved the option; I liked that.

Mr. Coffee allowed a temperature control for the hot plate (a plus in my book), B&D doesn't, and the coffee is scalding when you pour it. Mr. Coffee also has a special cleaning cycle, this B&D doesn't.

The permanent coffee filter in the B&D is a great addition. I hesitated using it because of my poor experience with permanent filters. If you've rejected the use of these permanent filters because of a fine silt that settles in the bottom of the carafe, this permanent filter allows none of that. Use it; it will save money on paper filters.

I haven't used the 1 - 4 cup brewing feature. I brew a full pot in the morning, and never drink coffee for the remainder of the day.

My main complaint with B&D is the preset warmer plate, but all other aspects are either equal or superior to the Mr. Coffee. So, it's a matter of personal choice. I would have been happy to buy another Mr. Coffee, but I really expected a longer lifespan.

When I went "pot shoping", the B&D won because it was $10 cheaper, and I was already disappointed with the premature death of my Mr. Coffee. If this brewer dies at four years, I'll look for a new model. So far, I'm pleased with what my money bought.

I'll start by saying the coffee tastes great. However, I can get great coffee from other machines. The problems start immediately. Filling the water reservoir is awkward at best and I end up dripping water on the floor, in the filter basket and onto the hot plate where the carafe sits. Then, as others have noted, pouring the coffee results in puddles on the floor. What a waste of money.

The coffee maker itself works great but the carafe is absolutely the worst I have ever had. You need to have a kitchen towel under it or you had better pour your coffee over the sink. I have resorted to using a pitcher to fill the water reservoir instead of the carafe to avoid water all over the place but what do you do once the coffee is made? Anyway--I would not recommend this coffee maker. Definitely a waste of $50.00!!!!

Totally agree with N MESSMORE... a miserable messmaker from an otherwise reputable manufacturer. And I called B&D Customer Service to be told it was my fault... I needed to pour more slowly. So I did. And still had a coffee puddle. And No, they will not send a carafe of better design either. Sorry. Don't waste your money here.

Was any usability testing ever done on this product? It's almost impossible to pour the coffee without it coming out and spilling all over the counter. The inside of the pot is designed so you can't pour ALL of the water inside of the pot into the reservoir -- the water gets caught in the inside curve of the glass. Then, trying to get the pot into a position to pour the water is really awkward. These issues far outway enjoying the coffee.

Decent cup of coffee, but too many flaws to recommend this product to anyone. Like some others, one of the flimsy nubs that holds the lid on the carafe broke off after a week. I have to fill the carafe with a little extra water when preparing to fill the tank since there's no way to pour it all out of the carafe into the reservoir with the 90 degree lid. Biggest complaint is that the lid for the reservoir holds the hot water sprinkler head over the grounds. So when you open the lid, all of the condensation leaks down the lid and back into your water reservoir, taking any splashed coffee, grounds, and I hate to admit it sometimes between an hour to a day's worth of germies with it. Gross. Think this went right from the drawing board to the shipping dock with no user testing.

Black and Decker CM5050. Paid $45.

Pro's:
coffee tastes good
stylish looking in kitchen
brew strength
re-usable filter
coffee is hot

Con's:
can not pour all the water from the carafe to the maker due to construction of maker, leaves a couple teaspoons of water in the carafe which I just pour out in the sink.
although coffee is hot, it could be hotter - although this B&D makes hotter coffee than a Mr. Coffee maker I tried from Costco.

Overall a very nice looking, good coffee maker. The carafe does have a flat bottom, is not hard to pour from and the coffee maker does not leak - can't understand where other's negative comments about these issues arise.

Finally, a coffee maker that is not a hassle to use!! I'm replacing a Mr. Coffee I purchased only two months ago. This carafe pours without a mess, the top stays on and the coffee is delicious. What more could one ask for? Except the cool blue light that matches my other appliances. It has that too!!

Okay, I'm a sloppy person and I have no trouble pouring water or coffee from the carafe or into the tank without spilling a drop. The price and big bright numbers on the clock are great. I don't understand the other reviews. Maybe the carafe has been re-designed since the previous reviews? The coffee taste great too! Love the internal carbon filter, easy to maintain and makes the coffee taste great. I would recommend this unit in heartbeat! The mesh basket when used leaves a small amount of coffee bean residue in your cup which I don't mind. But others can use paper filters if they do mind. Most bang for buck.

The carafe design has issues. When the pot is mostly full you cannot pour a cup of coffee without spilling. I would NOT recommend this product.