Customer Reviews

Braun KF580 AromaDeluxe 10-Cup TimeControl Coffemaker, White

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

When I married my wife she had a Braun and I had the Bunn. I was a smoker, and upon awaking I wanted a whole pot of coffee FAST for my Manhattan breakfast (coffee and cigarettes). My wife insisted the Braun brewed better coffee but I strongarmed her and the Bunn won the counter space. Two years later, I tucked my tail and bought a Braun KF580. I quit smoking a year ago and can taste now, and I had to admit the three minute Bunn makes a watery brew.

The Braun? Awesome! The 580 brews 8 cups in 7 minutes, a lot faster than the older model we had. Quite acceptable. It does brew hot, and this is important since perfect extraction takes place at 180 to 190 degrees. The pause and serve works well, the carafe does not leak if poured at the right rate (too fast and it will drip a bit), and the cone style filter is optimal for taste extraction from the grounds. It has proven reliable and consistent, and I use the same amount of coffee I would in any other brewer. I like strong coffee, and the Braun delivers!

The gold filter will let some dust through, but they all do. Use a paper filter if you have a problem with that. The water filter does help. If it is too expensive just use filtered water. The Braun functions without the Brita filter. It is sleek, stylish, and meets all my needs perfectly! Thanks Braun!!! Anyone want to buy a gently used Bunn? Email me!

My old Braun finally died ... well, not so much died, but I broke the pot while carelessly rinsing it out. I thought about replacing just the pot, however I felt it was time for a new unit. After tireless research, I settled on this unit. Permanent filter, clock, and just an all around great unit. AND it comes in white without needless stainless steel accents ... not as easy to find as you'd think.

I've owned Braun's basic coffee maker for over 15 years now, which has been absolutely great and has worked flawlessly all of this time. Last spring I decided to upgrade to their new model. After purchasing the new model. It developed a leak. I exchanged it at the home store where I purchased it from. The second one started to leak too. I've had nothing but leakage problems from 2 of them now, and the units were 4 months apart in the exchange process. The 2nd one I had to send back to Gillette. It just arrived last night and this morning as it finished brewing it started leaking again. Even more than before (around the electric cord in the back and the display and buttons in the front this time). I sent it in for servicing upon Gillette's request, which Gillette made me pay for the shipping. This is a brand new defective product. Why should the customer pay for shipping? They didn't even offer to provide me with any extra water filters or anything. I will email them later today to set up a call time. If they don't correct it this time around or provide me with a suitable replacement then my brand loyalty to them will cease to exist...

On the positive side. This is a truly stunning coffee maker. It brews an excellent pot of coffee. They finally got the carafe right. No drips at all!!! :^) I absolutely love the auto-timer on it. It was the coffee maker that fit all of my needs (size, color, features, etc...)

Features:

- Non Slip Open Handle Design
- Quick Release Filter Basket Button
- Pause and Serve Feature
- 24 Hour Digital Clock and Timer
- Adjustable Auto Shut-Off
- Gold Tone Filter
- Brita Water Filter
- Good Housekeeping Replacement/Refund Promise Stamped on
the box (Don't know the validity of that though so unable to comment on it)


Update as of 10/07/04:

Gillette is supposed to replace the unit with a brand new one from them. They have assured me that I should not have any further problems with the new unit. They will be sending me out a shipping label in order for me to return the 2nd bad unit first before they send out the new unit.

Hello.....Where is customer service here? They should be sending me the new unit first with the shipping label in it so I don't go without a coffee maker anymore.

I'm still awaiting the label so I can send in the defective unit. In Gillette's defense though they have been polite and courteous to date, and willing to work with me to get this resolved. I just think that some of the unnecessary steps could have been eliminated.

Update as of 10/28/04:

My new replacement unit arrived today. I had company over and was telling them about my ongoing problem. I opened the box and setup the brand new unit. I poured a carafe of water in and started the unit. As soon as the unit had finished its brew cycle you could see a lot of steam rising. As the unit cooled...Once Again the leak developed. At that point I made up my mind. I'm returning this unit/model. It's obvious that its a design defect. When you look closely at the design of the unit you can see the seams where the pieces of plastic have been put together and there is absolutely no gasket or sealant anywhere to be seen. I tried a quick seal with tape at the seams. It definitely helped reduce the size of the leakage puddle, but still puddled. This pretty much confirmed my thoughts on the unit.

In Conclusion:

Its such a shame that this unit couldn't have been properly designed and built to the standards that helped give them a name of dependability in the past. I will box this unit up and return it. My search for a good coffee maker appears to be in full swing once again.

PS - Mine was made in the Czech Republic. When having talked with Braun/Gillette they asked me if it was made there. Hello... They know of the problem and aren't making a recall...

A loyal Braun Customer no more. All the past Brauns I've owned were made in Germany, the last one lasted at least 10 years, worth the $100 ammortized over 10 years, $10 per year of flawless performance. This piece of junk is a joke, $59 per year will cost $600 over ten years.

A friend owns the same one made in Czechoslovakia, there is no comparison. The materials (plastic) are completely differet. The carafe lid on the Chinese one started to crack in the first month. The top of the coffeemaker and filter basket are discoloring. The Czech unit, which is older.. has none of these problems.

The drip stop is aptly named, because when you pull out the carafe, it Drips.... then stops.

The timer and clock are not the same to set as previous Brauns, requiring yet another learning curve. The clock is SLOW to set too.

The water fill guage on the side is nearly impossible to see, light blue...doh!

The overflow on the back of the water tank is so close to the full water level, it spills if you move it.

There does not seem to be a filter basket overflow..... fill the basket with too much coffee and it makes a giant mess on the counter and in the water tank.

The coffee sloshes and spills when you pull the carafe from the warming plate.

+The rubber handle on the carafe is nice.
+The filter basket button is nice.
+The coffee brews quickly and tastes good.

Next pot will be a Portugese Capresso.

This is a better coffeemaker than I thought I would get. Must be the water filter. The coffee is excellent. I grind my own and found I like using the paper filter better than the included gold reusable one. I grind it pretty fine and the instructions said not to do that or sediment would be in the coffee. Hubby actually liked that - I did not. I won. Great coffee maker. Will buy it again.

I bought this coffee maker about a month ago and so far am pleased. The coffee is much hotter and richer than my previous Braun, which is great. The only quirks are that the fill line is difficult to see--would have been easier if the reservoir were clear instead of light blue, and it's a bit awkward to position the machine to pour in the water. But the timer works well, and it's easy to clean.

I bought this coffee maker to replace a Braun KF180 (given to my daughter) that replaced a KF187. (The KF187 was the best coffee maker I ever owned, so I doubt if anything else will ever earn 5 stars.) I have had the KF580 for about a month and have been very pleased with it. I would rate it four-and-a-half stars, but that option is not available.

Pros:
-I like that the filter basket latches (seemed that on the KF180 and KF187 the basket occasionally would not seat properly).
-The carafe seems more sturdy than the one from the KF180/187. More comfortable handle. I was making 10-cup pots with the KF180, so I find the 10-cup carafe works just fine for my needs. I get a full 10 cups per pot when I fill the water reservoir. (My experience, obviously, differs from that of some other reviewers.) The carafe was a little persnickety at first, but I have learned how to pour it so I no longer have problems with drips.
-The coffee is HOT. Seems much hotter than with my previous Braun machines.
-I prefer cone filters to basket-style, so this is a good feature for me.
-The style of the coffee maker is attractive.
-I have always liked the replaceable water filters. They are pricey, but I can get at least three months out of one and I believe they do make for a better tasting cup of coffee.
-Cord storage was an unexpected feature that is very nice. Being able to put extra cord into the body of the coffee maker is very handy and keeps the counter less cluttered.

Cons:
-I miss the FlavorAdjust feature. I could never figure out how it worked, but this coffee maker seems to need a bit more coffee to make the same strength pot as the KF180.
-The water indicator is a bit harder to read on this coffee maker vs. the KF180. It is easy to get used to, but I (and my aging eyes) prefer the older style with floating indicator.
-The angle of the clock and lights on the base require you to be closer to the coffee maker to see the time, or if the indicators are on or not.

Overall, I am happy with my purchase. I have had very good luck with Braun. Certainly one's feelings about coffee makers, like many things, are influenced by personal preference and some features are more important to some people than others. This one works very well for my one-pot-a-day, two-pots-on-weekends needs.

We have had braun coffee pots for several years and have been happy with the coffee maker. Unfortunately, the two coffee makers that we had ordered from Amazon had a persistent leaking problem unlike the exact same models that we have had in the past.

I bought one of these, based on the postive reviews here, for my wife after she complained about the relatively new Mr. Coffee leaking and dripping. She says (I'm not a coffee driner myself) this is the best coffee maker she's ever had. It doesn't leak or drip. It makes excellent tasting coffee. The no-drip feature that allows you to remove the carafe while the coffee is still brewing really works! Also, the non-slip handle on the carafe is really nice and helps you keep a firm grip on the pot. Last, but not least, the compact size fits nicely on the counter, under cupboards, etc.

After owning many Mr. Coffee and similar coffee makers over the years, this one is by far the best.

I've been using the Braun KF580 AromaDeluxe 10-Cup TimeControl Coffemaker for five (5) weeks now and I love it. I had a Braun 12-Cup coffemaker, for years and loved it, so when it 'died of old age' I wanted another Braun coffemaker. I purchased this 10-Cup one and found it to be just as good as the 12-Cup one. It does keep the coffee warmer, than the 12-Cup one, but I've learned to like that. It overflows down the back of the unit, through an overflow notch, if you overfill it past the visible 10 cup marker, so be aware of that. If asked would I buy this unit again, the answer is a definite YES!