Customer Reviews

Black & Decker DCM500 SmartBrew 5-Cup Coffeemaker, White

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I bought this product to replace one that had broken that I really liked. I had to return this product THREE times because it does NOT (as it says in the description) come with the perfect pour carafe which is what I wanted since the standard carafe drips EVERYWHERE. On the third time of returning it, I asked why they kept sending me the wrong carafe and they said that the perfect pour was discontinued in this size. I then mentioned to Amazon that they might want to remove that part of the description, but they have not.

My mother-in-law bought this to make coffee for visitors. It worked fine at first but, after one or two months of use, started to experience water leaks of increasing severity. At first there were drips outside of the carafe. Then the leaks streamed around the carafe and out of body joints. We put the whole machine on a metal tray--to make clean-up easier. Finally it got so bad that, fearing an encounter with boiling hot water and/or the risk of an electrical shock, we stopped using it.

In the end, I was able to make coffee by removing the filter basket (it's a circular one-piece with a tiny hole in the middle) from the machine and placing the basket carefully on top of an empty mug. I then inserted a filter, coffee, and poured in hot water from a stove-top kettle. While this sounds ridiculous, it's a lot easier and less stressful than facing unpredictable streams of boiling water and the rancid smells of coffee residue trapped in the seams of the machine.

My recommendation: avoid this machine. It's disturbing that Black and Decker would produce a product so dangerous and lacking in quality.

I've just had this about a week, but so far am very pleased. My mother has an older model 4-cup Black & Decker coffee maker that makes great coffee and I was hoping for the same from this newer model. I've not been disappointed. The spray head has holes in a circle that sprays the water over all the coffee grounds, extracting more flavor than the ones with only one hole. One reviewer complained that it takes too long to make a pot of coffee, but I'm quite satisfied. A coffeemaker that cycles through too quickly doesn't extract the full flavor needed to make a good cup of coffee.

Yes, the carafe does drip a bit when pouring, but only if I'm in a hurry and pour too fast. When I pour the water into the reservoir I tip the carafe to the side and can pour much more quickly without any drips.

The plastic doesn't seem quite as sturdy as my Mother's older model, and I guess time will tell how it holds up. For now I'm very happy with it, though, especially for a coffeemaker below [..].

UPDATE: I'm still enjoying this little coffeemaker almost a year later. It's held up very well from daily use. Occasionally I run a cup of white distilled vinegar through it and that clears any mineral deposits from the water that have built up and clogged the holes. I've also discovered that if I tip the lid up slightly while pouring it doesn't drip at all. All in all I've been very pleased with this product.

The Carafe design on this coffeemaker is not very good. No matter how careful or how I adjust my grip, water/coffee leaks from the top and down the side. I have to place a towel under it to prevent a puddle on my counter.

After 6 months of use, the LED switch popped out of the coffeemaker's base, which turned the wired plug into an on/off device. I found that Black & Decker no longer services these products and the firm that does doesn't respond to e-mail.

When I first bought this 5-cup coffee maker, I was so thrilled I purchased 2 more as gifts. It's just 6 months later, and all 3 of us are experiencing hot water and some coffee liquid falling outside the carafe. I'm disappointed in this brand, which I trusted. Looking more closely inside, the poor design which houses the filter holder is the issue. I won't be buying another B&D again.

While the price is right, it brews a quick cup of joe, and its has a little more capacity than most 4-cup machines, thats about where the good news ends. My machine's heating element just crapped out after 5 months of use. Its under warranty, but I am just going out to buy a different brand. I find this unit is messy. The caraffe doesn't pour as well as the Mr Coffee I had for 3 years. Its ok if you pour very slowly, but if you are a little too fast you'll get liquid on the counter. While brewing, the lid is flimsy enough that it pushes up enough to release a lot of steam, which over time will ruin the finish on your cabinets. I also notice that if the warmer plate is left on more than about an hour, my countertop becomes extremely warm. I believe the bottom of the unit lacks sufficient height for proper air circulation. Rather than wreck your kitchen or burn the house down....buy another product!

My parents have this coffee maker and every time I'm at their house for a few days I have to use this very slow machine to make what amounts to a weak cup of coffee which I then have to proceed to (forgive me coffee gods) nuke for 10 seconds in order to get it hot enough. Of course if you like your coffee not much hotter than room temperature, this may be the perfect coffee maker for you; but keep in mind that the trade-off for this convenience is a very inefficient coffee maker. That is, warm water extracts far less coffee flavor than very hot water and on account of this you need to use far more beans to make a cup of coffee with this machine.

Overall this is a poor coffee maker that is slow, inefficient, and makes cold coffee.

while true it doesn't drip like others when pouring coffee, but nothing else about it is up to par. First it doesn't use a gold-tone filter basket, or will one fit. The standard filters I got were a bit too big. Okay those are things that are livable, but it took very long to make a pot of coffee compared to my other 4 cup makers I've had. Last the coffee it made was not very good. I would say continue looking.

This inexpensive coffeemaker performs very well. Its easy to fill and the glass flask pours without spilling. My only quarrel is that the off/on switch is not very pretty and glows red rather than green when it is on.