Customer Reviews

Black & Decker DCM18 Brew 'N Go Coffeemaker

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(41)

 

 

I've seen other reviewers complaints about this coffee maker, but I've used it for years & haven't had any problems with it. It's easy to use, compact, & works quickly. My wife & I both drink coffee, but not the same type, so it doesn't make sense for us to use a 2+ cup coffee maker since we'd have to make two separate portions anyway. So we each have our own B&D, & use them simultaneously. The coffee comes out fine; I use Starbucks Verona (which my wife says tastes like burnt coffee from the bottom of a pot anyway), & she uses a decaff chocolate blueberry flavor. The only difficulty (& it's not a fault of the B&D) is that the #1 filters are hard to find, even on the internet, but this coffee maker comes with a permanent, dishwasher safe filter, so you really don't have to use paper filters if you don't want to. I recommend this product for anyone who wants a quick cup of coffee & doesn't need more than one cup at a time.

I have used this coffee maker for over 5 years now and it's still running great. In fact, I just bought another one to take on trips & bring to the office.

Pros:

1. I don't have to make more than one serving at a time for myself and it brews straight into the mug.

2. It comes with a permanent filter but you can also use cone filters size #1 which I can buy nearby. Less messy to clean up using the paper filter. I just toss the grounds in the trash.

3. Quick to brew; done in < 5 minutes

Cons:

1. Hard to find a replacement mug of the right size or permanent filter

2. No warming element

3. The grounds do soak up some water and less comes out that you put in but it also happens with larger coffee pots (which being larger, you don't notice as much because you aren't MEASURING with the same cup you drink from).

Hints:

1. To stop grounds from floating into the water resevoir, use drip or cone ground coffee. Avoid very finely ground (i.e., espresso)

2. To avoid overflows, leave the cover off while brewing.

I am the only coffee drinker in my family and had a Brew N' Go for over 6 years when the mesh filter began to separate from the plastic. Unfortunately, Black and Decker changed the design and I was unable to find a replacement filter from them or anybody. I looked for a replacement single cup coffee maker in several retailers and finally found one on Amazon at a very reasonable price.

However, newer is not better. The new model filter only has screen on the 2 sides and is mostly plastic, where as the original was mostly a fine screen with plastic reinforcement.

From the very first cup it was a disappointment, as coffee grounds overflowed into my cup and throughout the coffee maker. This new design filter does not let the water pass through quick enough when you use a fine or moderate grinds of coffee. With larger grinds the coffee comes out weak, or if you try to make it stronger by adding more grinds you can have the same overflow problem! For months I would put coarse coffee in the bottom and the better fine ground coffee on top and crossed my fingers.

Then the other day I was in CVS and saw a single cup coffee maker for 15 bucks. It has a mostly screen filter like the original B&D and works great! The next day I was in Big Lots and found another one that appears to use a #2 filter (so replacements can be easy in the future) and it works great for 10 bucks!!

The Black and Decker is going in the trash!! Save yourself the hassle and get something else and make sure it has a lot of screen area in the filter.

5 weeks after I purchased this coffee maker it quit working. I contacted Black and Decker about it and they sent me to another company (Applica Consumer Products) that actually manufacture and produce the coffee maker for them. This company responded only after a long while and simply said, "We're sorry, we have not experienced any problems with this coffee maker so we are unable to refund your money." Another comment from Applica worth noting was: "Applica Consumer Products does not have a money back guarantee policy." What this means is, if you are unhappy for any reason with your Black and Decker/Applica Consumer Product, well too bad! You bought it and if you don't like or it quits working, you're SOL!

If you are in the market for a personal-type coffee maker, such as the Black and Decker Brew N Go, I would suggest you avoid this one like the plaque!

Pros:
- Good tasting hot coffee.
- Includes permanent filter.

Cons:
- Coffee mug is plastic, which means hot coffee rapidly turns warm.
- Besides the removable lid, the coffee mug consists of two pieces, a black container and a brown outer housing. Water tends to seep between the container and housing after a few hand-washings or one run through the dishwasher. You must separate the two pieces to remove the water. That's when you'll discover the seal between the two is simply a thin rubber band.
- Coffee grounds ALWAYS attach to the overhead where the hot water enters the grounds chamber, which means a little extra effort cleaning the unit between brews.
- Coffee grounds frequently enter the water reservoir and seep between the permanent filter and the filter housing, which means even more effort cleaning the unit between brews. Recommend buying number 2 cone filters; less mess.

Note: Black & Decker has released an improved model, the DCM-18S. It has a stainless outer shell and they have solved the issue of the housing coming apart from the inner shell. I give it 5 stars!

I have had my current Brew 'n Go for 5 years. I don't know what others are complaining about because it makes a perfectly HOT, adequately strong cup of coffee EVERY TIME. On rare occasions when my wife made my coffee and put too much coffee in the filter, it overflowed slightly into the cup but it wasn't the fault of the product. I use a ladle, such as the ones supplied in many coffee cans. Put 2 ladles in and keep your basket and holder clean. Run a cup full of vinegar through once a month to clean it and you'll never have a problem. I suppose like any product, there may be the odd lemon out there waiting to be taken off some retailer's shelf but this is the second one of these coffeemakers I've had in the past 10 yrs and I've had no problems.

I used to drink no-name instant coffee at home, and generic brewed coffee at work from the community pot.

Got a bag o' ground coffee (S*******s Gold Coast) at Christmas, and I needed to get a coffee maker for it. Not sure I wanted to invest a lot in this new fangled technology, so I opted for this inexpensive coffee-maker. I actually wanted the stainless cup, but it was not in stock at the time, so I went with the available plastic version.

I guessed at the correct amount of coffee grounds, and luckily made what I call a perfect cup of coffee. And that Gold Coast is the best variety (strong) I've tried so far. The Sumatra blend from the big "A" supermarket chain is very similar for a few bucks less, however.

The pot makes almost 16 ounces, so I pour about half into a ceramic cup, add some half-and-half, and drink from that. Perhaps that is why I don't notice any plastic taste some others have commented on. I also use a filter, which will reduce the amount of grounds in your cup (though pouring it into the other cup helps as well).

It only takes a few minutes to brew, makes loud burbley-steamy sighing sounds when it nears completion, and turns itself off.

I find I drink more coffee at home after getting this machine. I'll get another when this one dies.

(As of 12/28/06...I finally noticed I threw out the plastic filter somewhere along the line a few months back :-) I could order a new one I guess, but the paper filters work fine. Oh, and I'm grinding (actually "milling") my own as of this XMas...)

Personally, I haven't had any problems with the unit and enjoy its ease and convenience. Making sure to add the proper amount of coffee and keeping the permanent filter clean after each use, which is easily done, should prevent any problems with the grounds floating out of the filter into the water container. No measuring cup is necessary as using the coffee mug itself to fill the water chamber works just fine. Depending upon the hardness of ones water, following the occasional cleaning of the unit with white vinegar should keep steam to a minimum and the brewer in good shape for years to come. As for the difficulty in locating #1 paper-cone filters in lieu of the permanent mesh filter than comes with the unit, I too am unable to find any locally but noticed that they can be ordered on-line through Melitta.com for less than $2.00 for a package of 40.

I love this coffeemaker. So often I want a cup of coffee during the day and I don't want to waste coffee. This little pot is perfect -- makes a single cup in 2 minutes or less. It is quick, easy, no waste, and the coffee is good and hot. I would highly recommend this product.

I made the mistake of buying my son a regular size coffeemaker in his Freshman year of college; he never used it even though he drinks coffee every morning. This year I bought him this one cup, ready to go, coffeemaker. He uses it every day! The cup is a "To-go-cup", so he doesn't have to brew a whole pot of coffee and then transfer the coffee to a cup that he can take out the door with him.

No wasted coffee and convenient to transport.