Customer Reviews

Braun KF580-BK AromaDeluxe 10-Cup TimeControl Coffeemaker, Black

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I had a Braun KF187 for years - a few months ago, it died after long, excellent service. So it was time to shop, and I bought one of these. This machine makes coffee that's at least as good as the (highly rated) KF187, in my view. It does not have all the bells and whistles of the other - hot plate temperature is not adjustable, no beep(s) when the coffee is ready...but I don't miss them at all. This machine brews coffee very quickly, and, if you're near it, you hear a clearly audible "click" when brewing's finished.

Three quick points -

1. This machine looks really sharp. Elegant modern European design in grey and black.
2. It's actually made in Europe, and has a nice build quality.
3. Yes, the coffee is not super hot - but it's hot enough - and as hot as the coffee from any drip machine I've tried. I think that if you want really hot coffee, you've got to boil the water; and that takes time...

And as for the hot plate, I don't leave the carafe on the hot plate. Hot plates are not good for coffee flavour. Immediately after brewing, I pour the coffee into a glass-vaccuum insulated container. (You know the famous name.) Keeps the coffee at the brew temperature for hours, fresh tasting.

4 stars only because the coffee is not really hot (like all drip machines I've tried), but as a drip machine, I rate it 5 stars.

I unhesitatingly recommend this coffeemaker.

This is a fine coffee pot for making very hot coffee. I'm not sure how hot people need their coffee to be, but I'd burn my lips if i tried to drink the coffee from my Braun right away. The auto-shut off timer can be set to last up to 4 hours, but that's too long if you want good tasting coffee. Coffee on a hot plate starts tasting burnt pretty quickly and should be in a vacuum container to save the fresh taste. Before i bought this maker, i was using a melitta drip connected to a thermal carafe that i bought years ago and the coffee always tasted fresh nearly all day if i had the screw cap on tightly. Next time i will buy a thermal carafe coffee maker. But for now, this Braun works just fine and i'm content with it.

The carafe does drip when pouring, so i lift the lid a little to pour, and that usually helps. Also, when lifting the water resevoir flap if there are any condensed water droplets on the underside, the droplets leak down behind the unit instead of back into the resevoir, but that hasn't been a big issue for me... until i get electrocuted, i suppose.

Over all the Braun coffee maker is a fine unit and i just wipe up the water spills when they happen.

Here is the comparison: we tried a high end model of Mr. Coffee. Very disappointed with it because the coffee it brewed just wasn't hot enough. Bought the Braun KF580 and did the following test: ran equal amount of H2O (about 5 cups) through both coffee makers. The H2O temp out of Mr. Coffee is 65C whereas the H2O temp out of the Braun is 85C. Programmable timer without beeping is also more desirable to us.

I am very impressed with the new KF-580. This coffee maker is smartly designed and makes the best and smoothest coffee I've brewed at home in a long time. In the past, I have used Krups coffee makers but this Braun model Trumps the Krups. First, the style and design is the best I have seen and used. It's easy to pour water into the holder, comes with a flawless carafe design that never spills when pouring, and the sounds the KF-580 makes are really cool.

This coffee maker rocks and totally surpassed my expectations. Highly recommended!

Overall, we're pretty happy with this machine. LOVE the filtered water, the auto on, handle and pouring ability, wide basket and easy to open/clean and this particular machine brews and keeps the coffee hot. Not fast-food restaurant hot but hot. The auto-off is great, you can program it from 20 minutes up to 4 hours. Gold filter basket is great, espresso grind gets through so if you don't like sludge but like espresso grind, get a paper filter. I wish it would beep when the pot has finished brewing. The water filter expiration reminder is okay, it'd be way cooler if it had a red line letting you know (like the Pure filters) it's time for a new one. I like it, not too pricey considering how long coffee makers last by Braun. I'm an addict and this satiates my addiction.

Pros:
-doesn't spill all over when pouring
-auto timer on
-auto timer off
-filtered water
-gold filter basket
-good tasting coffee (I do buy "good" coffee - I recommend Cafe Bustelo for a budget conscious yet flavor conscious drinker!)
-coffee stays hot
-it feels sturdy
-the water measure on the outside is accurate to lines inside the tank
-easy to remove carafe and coffee basket

Cons:
-doesn't alert when finished brewing
Ever so slight drip when getting coffee mid-brew (so says my mate)

Ok, that's it.

At last, I finally found a good coffee maker. I believe this is the spiritual successor to my beloved KF187. This new machine is the Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker. You can find it on Amazon or for $80 at Costco, at least in the SF Bay Area.

The Cuisinart coffee maker has a number of plusses over the Braun KF580:

(1) it uses a shower head design to disperse water into the brew chamber. The coffee has a noticeably stronger and more consistent taste than the KF580. The coffee quality is simply superb. You can really savor all the taste of your coffee, especially if you grind your own beans.

(2) The carafe pours very well -- accurately and driplessly.

(3) The heat levels for the carafe warmer are well chosen. The medium setting keeps coffee at a temperature that is hot but doesn't burn. This is a minor miracle in coffee maker world.

(4) Very little burning plastic smell!!! I invented a do-it-yourself carcinogen test for coffee makers -- after running 1-3 loads of water through your new machine, now fill your carafe with 10 cups purified water. Pour 1/2 up or so into a clear glass. Run the rest through the machine using white filter paper. Pour 1/2 cup or so into a second clear glass. Compare color and compare taste. If the through-the-machine water does not taste clean and pure like the original water, return the machine as you are drinking plastic.

All in all, bravo to Cuisinart. They made an excellent coffee maker. The plastic is still a small step down from the Braun KF187, but the overall quality is definitely there, something that cannot be said of the KF580.

=== original review below ===

After three years of excellent quality coffee, my KF187 finally died on me, likely due to a power surge during a storm.

So I went to Best Buy and picked up the KF580 which I was told was the new replacement for the KF187. Even on Amazon, the KF187 shows up as discontinued. Since I get caffeine withdrawal, I didn't want to wait for Amazon to ship me a coffee maker.

As I put together the machine and got it going, I noticed the manufacture of just about every part has been downgraded in quality. The coffee maker itself is no longer made in Germany, but in Czechoslovakia. The plastic is not the hard durable plastic of the KF187, but cheap soft plastic. The machine itself seems like it weighs half as much as the KF187 -- what did they take out?

After running a batch of water through the machine, as per the manual, I noticed a very strong "hot plastic" smell. So I ran two more batches of water through the machine and the smell is still there. My guess is that the new low quality plastic is not up to par. If the plastic is getting hotter than the temperature it is rated for, there is a significant chance that highly toxic carcinogens from the plastic are getting into your coffee.

So I brewed up a batch of coffee using freshly ground beans, just as I would have on the KF187. I figure I will take a sip or two and trust I am not getting too many carcinogens from the plastic.

My first taste and I was struck by how weak the coffee is compared to the KF187 (which I ran on the strongest setting). The coffee was very watery. The new brewing system is a complete failure when it comes to the quality of the brew vs. the brew speed.

So the machine is going back. I am greatly disappointed in this new Braun machine. I don't know what machine to get in its place. No matter where I called to get a new KF187, no one had them.

Please Braun... bring back the old KF187. That was an excellent coffee maker. This new one is a cheap low quality knock-off. I gave the machine 2 stars because it looks nice and is straightforward to use. It misses out on the other 3 stars because it does not make good coffee. If the hot plastic issue turns out to be a health risk, then it would get zero stars.

This is a competent coffee maker, but not as good as the previous generation of Brauns. The pot is smaller - 10 cups vs. 12 - and construction is not as robust as the previous model. That said, it makes very good coffee. It's reliable, consistent, and a good buy.

I bought this coffee machine to replace my old Braun 10 cup machine.
Good things: I wanted to get the programmable timer, which is nice. The machine brews coffee very quickly and it is nice and hot, hotter than my old machine. The button which makes the filter basket swing out is fun to use and the carafe has a nice feel to it. It's also relatively easy to get the carafe in and out without the filter basket getting caught on it, which I notice is a problem with a lot of coffee makers that have a pause-and-serve feature.
Bad things: The coffee it brews is weaker than I expect and I have to add more grounds than I did with my old machine. Also, it's kind of expensive for being imperfect and for the price of the carafe alone you can buy a whole new coffee machine.

I was impressed with this coffeemaker. The coffee tastes just super. No more need to use my Brita jug to filter the water since there is a Brita filter already in the machine. Controls are real easy to handle. All parts are detachable - real easy for cleaning.
I regret that I have wasted my time with cheapy products (Mr. Coffee). It's a real difference. Even my friends of mine that have a more expensive metal coffeemaker (Cuisinart) kicked theirs out for this one due to the much better coffee taste.

It's sturdy, delivers premium tasting coffee, looks chique, what else can I ask for. I love it.

This coffeemaker is a huge disappointment! The stop when you remove the coffee pot rarely works, when pouring coffee the lid is not well made so coffee spills everywhere, and if you do not use additional paper filters, you get coffee grains. In summary, a huge mess everytime you make a pot of coffee. The plus? the water filter, but that is it!