Customer Reviews

Braun KF550-BK AromaDeluxe 10-Cup Coffeemaker, Black

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Please note, the KF550 was released around January of 2004. If you're seeing reviews (and espcially negative reviews) prior to that time it's because reviewers should have been reviewing the similar KF510 which preceded this one but the KF550 had reviews on amazon.com for months before you could even order it so people were simply adding reviews to a similar looking but different machine.

By all accounts the KF510 made FAST coffee -- too fast. This improved version (KF550) makes it slower for better flavor (longer contact between water and ground beans). So watch for reviews on this one AFTER January 2004 and ignore any before. The problems with the KF510 have been fixed and this is by all accounts one of the most stylish (and tasty) coffee makers you can buy.

ADDENDUM:

After usign this for several months it's still a great coffee maker but I notice we pay the price for the gorgeous/shiny coffee filter basket -- the plastic seems to be coming apart in layers after this time due to heat of washing in the dishwasher. If you're going to buy this coffee maker you may want to wash the filter basket manually. Also of note, when you want to replace the filter basket you can ($5 to $10 online) but only in black or white, not in the slick, rich looking silver color that came with the coffee maker and was one of the reasons I liked it.

On the bright side, however, when I wrote to Braun to complain about this they sent me a replacement of the correct silver filter basket for free. Good service. Good product.

...I bought it ...about 4 months ago.

When the sales person recommended it to me, I told him I was not a coffee drinker and did not need a coffee maker for now, but it was such a good deal and he couldn't stop talking about it, plus it matched my silver/black kitchen (silly reason to buy a coffee maker, I know!), that I decided to purchase it.

Right away when I brought it home I was impressed by it's looks and the fact that it has not one but 2 water filters, and this was before I saw the performance!

After 4 months of light use, here is what I think:
*APPEARANCE: It is gorgeous looking, weird thing to say about a coffee maker but they have to be pretty too! It's compact and the black on gray look makes it really chic looking. I actually had a friend admire and said it was too pretty to brew coffee in.

*EASE OF USE: Scrap the manual, everything you need is right there and not hidden, pretty self explanitory and very easy to use.

*PERFORMANCE: After 4 months of light use, the performance is that of a very high quality and expensive coffee maker without the big bucks. It is an aroma-maker, it brews slowly, and the filter makes for better tasting water and hense better tasting coffee.

*OTHER PROS: The three things I love about this coffee maker, the autoshut off - which is a must have when you are getting ready in the morning and busy with other things and will most likely leave the coffee on to brew for much longer than you need to. The water lever is in clear blue plastic - it's good looking and handy. The two filtration systems - first being the filter within the coffee maker for better filtered water, the second is what they call the gold filter, where you place the coffee grinds, these are included and would actually cost about $20 to buy seperately.

Stop looking, for the price you are getting top of the line!
Take out that Don Franciso coffee and brew in this AromaDeluxe!

We bought this Braun to replace an aging Braun of 15 years. Funny reason we replaced our older Braun; it was still brewing coffee just fine; however it was an old white model that the white had just simply become so 'dingy' that we were getting embarrased to leave it out on the counter!

It's hard to describe a kitchen appliance as 'elegant' but that's the only thing that fits for this Braun. Thankfully being black maybe it will look presentable far longer than a white appliance. Definitely 'high tech' or 'European' looking, it simply exudes good design. The coffee pot itself has a rubber-lined handle for a good grip; FAR better than the simple plastic handles of prior models. Holding 10 cups (and believe me, that's got to be 'European' cups; consider it five good 'American' cups) it's a handy size. You may want to consider a bigger model if you host frequently.

Setup and working the Braun is simplicity itself; nothing could be easier. In fact, here's everything you need to do, once you get the package:

>Open box
>Unpack coffeemaker.
>Open filter and install in water tank. All that you do is insert it into a well and it 'clicks' in place.
>Plug it in
>Set clock
>Set time you'd like the 'Auto' brewing cycle to take place; i.e. 7:00 a.m.

That's it. To use, just insert coffee into the basket, using either the included gold filter or a #4 'cone' filter. Pour water in. Hit either the 'ON' button or 'AUTO' button. NOTHING could be simpler.

One reviewer stated that this coffeemaker produced weak brew; I've never seen it; it's always been perfect. The included gold filter (a $20 value) is nice, but I only use it if I run out of regular filters. I've never had good luck with the re-usable gold filters in ANY coffeemaker; try as hard as you may, some grinds ALWAYS escape. And I'm a freak about grinds in my coffee, so I don't bother. But some may like the re-usability of this filter; it DOES catch about 90% of the grinds and it IS economical. Just not for me; jeesh filters are so cheap!

Overall, outstanding value, typical Braun build (read: VERY WELL designed and made) and a great maker of Java!

Highly recommended.

Not only is the coffee wonderful, but the construction of the coffee maker is superb. You don't often see something made this well any more. I do have a remark about trouble I've had. There are times I've made a pot and it brewed very weak, after removing the gold filter I noticed the sprayer had sparayed the coffee against the sides of the cone and only the small amount of coffee at the bottom of the cone was being used to brew the coffee. I think possibly the cone handle was in an upright position while brewing and caused the sprayer to direct it's spary towards the sides rather than downward. I try now to make sure the cone handle is towards me and down. I hope I have found that small problem.
Enjoy this wonderful coffee sensation!

Best coffee maker I've owned! I like everything about the design and appearance. The basket is very easy to access with the release button and the basket lifts out easily if you need to clean it. Also, the coffee gets very hot. I like the filtration system too. If you don't want to use the Britta water filters there is an insert that comes with the coffee maker that can be used in place of the filter. The only negative is that the carafe will spill/leak coffee around the lid because the spout is narrow. I've gotten used to this, but others who make coffee with my machine tend to be messy.

October 2009--I'm still using this coffee maker and haven't had to replace it. It's still great. Everyone who comes over to use it compliments it and I've had several friends/family get one for themselves.

Braun Aroma Deluxe KF550 is a very good small appliance from a company that is generally associated with better than average quality. Not all Braun products are exemplary, but the majority of them are easily better than the competition with a price that reflects the higher level of quality. This coffee maker from Braun looks nice and stylish; offers some extra bells and whistles that my most coffee maker don't have; and carries the Braun name- a brand name I have grown to know and trust.

I like the added features that the Braun Aroma Deluxe KF550 offers, like the permanent filter, the pause & serve feature, and the Brita water filter. Each of these items helps to make the process simpler and smoother than before and the added feature of a Brita filter not only helps to brew better tasting coffee, it also helps to keep the coffee maker clean. Purified water means less calcification and that means less cleaning with vinegar or other decalcifying agents.

I really like having a permanent coffee filter but there is one drawback I have noticed: The tendency for coffee granules to get into the pot of brewed coffee. The permanent filter is nice but depending on how finely ground the coffee is, it can cause problems. For example, if the coffee is ground very fine, like powder, it may end up seeping through the permanent filter and dripping into the coffee pot, leaving a murky mess at the bottom of each cup of coffee. The other potential problem is overflow. Depending on the size of the grinds, they can clog the permanent filter and cause the basket to overflow, transferring grounds of coffee into your cup and making a small mess on the kitchen counter.

One thing the Braun Aroma Deluxe KF550 doesn't offer is the ability to program. This could be a deal breaker for many consumers and it's a little surprising that Braun doesn't include this in its list of features. It offers just about everything else you could want in a coffee maker but there is no ability to program and no clock. Personally, I have no use for a feature like this and that is why I decided to exclude it from my list of requirements when I went shopping for a coffee maker. For its price, this coffee maker is more expensive than most but I think the price is fair, even if it doesn't include programming.

Overall, I am happy with my Braun Aroma Deluxe KF550. It brews a tasty cup of coffee without any fuss and it offers the ability to stop the brewing cycle in order to pour a quick cup as well as the security of knowing that the coffee maker will automatically shut off in two hours. I have a few question marks with this device- durability questions that can only be answered in due time. But I like what I have seen thus far and I recommend this appliance to anyone who wants a better cup of coffee.

I bought mine nearly a year ago. It has not disappointed me once. I often use fine "espresso ground" and have never had an overflow problem. Probably because I don't overfill the filter basket in an attempt to brew something stronger than normal coffee. Nor have I ever had any problem with grounds showing up in my cup. Probably because I use a paper filter inside the mesh filter. Coffee brewed properly SHOULD be too hot to drink straight away after brewing. Have a caffeinated soda if you're in such a hurry. Likewise, pour at a reasonable rate and the pot will not spill. The design of this coffemaker is excellent. It looks good and functions well. The entire filter basket assembly can be easily removed for cleaning. And the fact that you can place the washed pot on the hotplate with the lid propped open to allow air drying is a welcome and useful feature.

We had a Mr. Coffee 12-cup timer-unit for about 8 years before it started leaking--so, judging from other reports on newer Mr. Coffee leakers, we were lucky. This Braun coffeemaker is as good as it gets. Filling it to the "10-cup" level makes four regular 8-ounce MUGS of delicious coffee. We've always used a permanent "gold" filter and if you're careful with it, it'll last longer than the coffee maker. Our unit turns off after about 75 minutes, so we just turn it back on to keep our second cups hot. No bells and whistles to break down, just a solid great coffeemaker.

This is the best coffee maker I've ever owned. It brews and keeps the coffee hot. It is easy to use--there's a button for the basket to swing out. Plus, after brewing there is not an accumulation of steam under the water resevoir lid like the previous Mr. Coffee I had. This doesn't have any bells and whistles, but it just makes great coffee.

June 5, 2005 update: After 15 months of heavy use the coffee maker is showing no signs of wear and still makes great coffee. About 4 pots a day are made. A few weeks ago, I knocked the carafe from the countertop onto a poured concrete floor covered in linoleum. The carafe didn't even break, chip or crack. I don't know if it was designed to withstand this abuse, but it was refreshing to see something well made for a change. The auto shutoff is nice too.

I highly recommend this coffee maker.

I bought Braun KF550-B because it was simple (I don't want to spend more time making coffee than drinking it) and looked extremely good. The surprise was the amazing attention to detail Braun's designers paid to the features.

First the look: Black and smoky gray, dark, shiny. I hate to say this, but it looks "masculine" and elegant.

It comes with gold tone filter. I prefer to use paper filters, but having this one handy when I run out (happens often) will be very convenient.

Comes with Brita water filter. I don't know if this really makes a differnce. At least I don't taste the difference with or without Brita -- the coffee comes out great either way. And Braun is not forcing you into using the filter -- the coffeemaker will work fine without it.

But the details I mentioned are those little things that one doesn't expect. For example, you can store the power cord inside of the unit if you don't need the full length and leave only as much out as you need.

Or the carafe has a lip that doesn't spill coffee when you pour it. And the handle is open-ended and has very easy grip. This is important if you have someone older in your family.

Also, the carafe has big enough opening for me to easily put my hand in and clean it. This is important -- I don't want to be cleaning it with brushes because I can't get my hand in.

The on/off switch is flush with the unit, so you will not turn it on by bumping into it. Oh and it turns off automatically after about 2 hours. That I love! And that is also another good feature if you want to give this to someone older and forgetful.

The filter basket even has a release button. Opening it up is simple push of a button. Tthe basket that holds the filter swings out so if you want, you can remove it completely very easily. If you put it on your counter, it will not fall over! Which is another nice detail.

There is also a reminder slider to remind you went to replace the Brita filter.

And you can pour your first cup while the rest is still brewing.

This is a really well designed, easy to use and convenient coffeemaker.