Customer Reviews

Capresso 465 CoffeeTeam TS 10-Cup Digital Coffeemaker with Conical Burr Grinder and Thermal Carafe

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

Let me start by saying that I've been a big fan of grind and brew coffee makers. I know full well what to expect. My last grind and brew was a Cuisinart DGB-550 which means I was already accustomed to cleaning 7 different parts every time I made a pot of coffee and having my cats run for cover when the grinding began. The Cusinart had served me well for over a year but I really wanted something with a thermal carafe and I was excited for the prospect of a burr grinder. On weekends it can take me hours to drink a pot and I hated having my coffee cook during that time. Not to mention the wasted electricity while keeping that carafe piping hot for hours.

PROS
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1) Conical burr grinder. The burr modules spin at lower speeds than standard burr grinders, imparting less heat to the beans.
2) SUPER easy clean up. I don't think anyone can beat this model when it comes to clean up. Just 4 parts -- 3 if you use paper filters. The carafe, carafe lid, basket and permanent filter. No filter lid, no dirty grinding chamber, etc.
3) Compared to blade style grind and brews, the noise volume is lower (still loud) and the tone is of a lower frequency. There is no way to make a grind and brew coffee maker quiet, but it would be nice if manufacturers started employing noise insulation or noise cancellation techniques. But overall, I found the noise very tolerable. My cats did not even care, normally they would bolt to the basement when the Cuisinart fired up.
4) Thermal carafe is designed very well. You activate a thumb button to pour and the flow rate is very good, maybe 75% of the flow rate you would get from a standard, glass carafe.
5) Backlit LCD display is large and easily legible both day and night, although like others have said it is very bright.
6) The little charcoal water filter seems to be the same size as the Cuisinart ones. I'm pleasantly surprised that they seem to be interchangeable. Helpful because I've seen the Cuisinart ones sold at several locations, but not the Capresso ones.

CONS
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1) Bean reservoir lid pops off during grinding. Yes, I made sure it was securely in place. It just snaps on, there is way to lock it in place. The machine vibrates during grinding, which eventually works the lid free.
2) Coffee was weak on the 4 cup setting, even bumping the aroma setting all the way to dark didn't help matters. For a $200+ coffee maker that determines the amount of beans to use itself, this was strange.
3) Thermal carafe, despite being well designed, is small (10 cup). The Cuisinart burr grinder models come with 12 cup thermal carafes.
4) No outside water gauge.
5) Top lid does not snap close easily and feels like it could be the first thing to break.
6) Capresso was stingy on the stainless steel. The sides and top are black plastic. Not a huge deal, but for this price I expected a more high-end look. To compare, the Cuisinart DGC-650 which is less than half the cost has stainless steel on both sides.
7) There are a couple of tablespoons of beans that are "in transit" to the grinder and inaccessible. They are processed when the next pot is brewed. So if you decide to brew a pot of decaf and were previously making regular, a portion of your pot will be made with regular beans. Or in my case, if you sometimes go several days between pots, your coffee is always made with somewhat stale beans. Unfortunately all of burr grind and brew coffee makers that I've seen work like this.

I usually buy through Amazon, but ordered from another site because I didn't want to wait another 3 weeks Amazon Time to get my hands on this coffee maker. I've had it for a little over a week now, it replaces a 7 year old Capresso CoffeeTeam, and I love the new design. The most noticeable design change is the narrow profile with direct feed grinding, thankfully doing away with the notoriously cantankerous swing-arm. I'm also glad to upgrade to the thermal carafe this time around, I don't always get around to drinking my coffee when I intend to, so it's nice not to have the coffee burning on the warmer. This is the best grind-and-brew system around, but there are still some tweaks Capresso could make to bring this to perfection.

1.) The thermal carafe is designed in a way that makes it impossible to get every last drop of coffee out, you'll always end out with 2-3 tablespoons of sad wasted coffee in the bottom. (I guess you could use a straw if you were desperate!) This design also makes it hard to clean. Unless you towel dry the inside, you'll end out with water in the bottom of the carafe, waiting to dilute your next cup.
2.) The brewing process creates a lot of steam! The coffee maker fits nicely under my cabinets, but the bottoms of my cabinets are dripping with water after brewing. I usually put a cotton towel over the steam hatch to save my poor cupboards.
3.) Between the steamy brewing and the lost coffee trapped in the carafe, plan on 1/2 cup of water "disappearing." If I want 12 ounces of coffee to fill my travel mug, I need to pour 16 ounces of water into the reservoir.
4.) The display is too bright! I've come into the kitchen a few times at night thinking I'd left a light on...they need to dim that down.

All in all, I'm a happy camper. The grinder sensor on my old Capresso failed after 2 years, so I couldn't set the timer for magic AM coffee. I love having my magic coffee fairy back again!

I can't say enough about this machine. I bought this baby about 3 weeks ago and I could not be happier. Let me start by simply saying this combination grinder/brewer makes the BEST COFFEE I've ever tasted out of a home machine. And, after all, isn't that the most important thing? There are multiple user available tool to change the coarsness of the grind, the amount of grounds that enter the filter, and the "aroma" of the overall process. If you like strong coffee the 10 setting, even with a full pot, is as strong as any cup of Starbucks I've ever had. If you like "weaker coffee" you can can simply reduce the amount of beans you use. So, for coffee taste and flexibility/adjustability this machine gets an A+

Probably the next most important thing is the appearance. We looked at the Coffeeteam Therm - I really liked the idea of the grinding process being separated from the brewing process. That seemed important to avoid the problem the Cuisinart's have where the brewing process seems to gum up the grinding area (more on this in a bit). The problem with the Coffeeteam therm is it's not such a good looking machine. I also thought there was a high likelihood of having to clean up grounds off the counter every morning. Anyway, this machine is very sharp looking. Some folks have complained that it puts out a lot of steam and to be sure there is steam (as with any coffee maker). We don't have ours under a cabinet so it's no problem. But even if you are going to put this under cabinet again, I'm not sure it puts out that much more steam than any other coffee maker...maybe a little. So, looks, at least in our kitchen - solid A!

Clean up is important. This coffee maker comes with the gold tone filter so if you like you don't have to use a paper filter. We still do because it speeds cleanup. After each use (or before the next) just open the filter door, dump the paper filter and grounds, lightly wash the gold tone filter and thermal carafe and you're ready to start a new brew. I think once every other week it's probably important to wash the filter holder etc. I also wipe down the surfaces after starting each new pot. Bottom line - VERY EASY to clean. I give it an A.

Over all build quality. Yes, for $200+ one might expect more stainless steel but this baby is a well built solid, compact machine. I have no issues with the overall build - A solid B

Other points:
Grinder Noise: Some have complained about the noise the grinder made. Heck, I was prepared for the worst when I bought it. I used to have a blade grinder that seemed very loud so my expectations were fairly low. Still, I'd live through 30-45 seconds of grinding for a nice cup of joe in the morning. Well, to my surprise this grinder made A LOT LESS NOISE than my blade grinder. In fact I don't even hear it in the morning. Now, our bedroom is upstairs so it is a bit away from the machine but when I used the blade grinder everyone in the house would be up. This machine - you can barely hear it unless your either in the kitchen or in an adjacent room with the radio or TV off.

Coffee In Transit: Some have mentioned there are "beans in transit to the grinder" that hinder ability to go from caffinated to de-caf. The simple answer to this is to grind what's in transit into an empty filter, put in your de-caf and off you go. Yes, this means holding some already ground beans aside for future use but I'm not sure other machines have any answer to that one.

Coffee Ground in Transit: Yes, there is some coffee already ground that doesn't make into the filter that rests in the channel between the grinder and the filter basket. This is a nominal amount and will be used for your next pot- most likely the next day. I'm not sure this changes the flavor - it's such a small amount.

Gumming Up: This is a problem with the Cuisinart so I was a bit fearful with this machine because the grind process is above and a bit set back from the brewing process. However the automatic seal device that closes off the channel between the brew and grind does a fantastic job. This baby doesn't have any issues with gumming up - AT ALL.

Top of Bean Reservoir popping off: Well, all I can say it, not on mine. Not once. Never seen it.

Internal Water Line View: Yes, there is not externally exposed view for the water reservoir. Uh, I don't see this as a big deal. When you open the bin there is one inside. Quite functional. No issue there.

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS:
The bean reservoir could be larger. I've heard there's an attachment for that. It holds about 3 days (Full Pots) of coffee.
The water reservoir lid needs to be reviewed a little. It's functional but a bit hard to open and close. Probably would suggest a different material.

Anyway, LOVE THIS MACHINE. JUST LOVE IT!

Let me start by qualifying my comments, not that they are any more valid than anyone else but, I'm VP of R&D for a high end hobby company. I develop products for a living and I'm very critical of poor designs.

That said, the Capresso 465 arrived at my office earlier today so, I unpacked it and took it for a spin. It would have shipped back the same day if it didn't pass muster but, I took it home at lunch and it's on my counter, set up, filled, and programmed to make coffee tomorrow morning.

The guys and I evaluated the machine and the overall design quality, materials, and construction are quite good. We cleaned it up a little and then brewed a pot of coffee. The maker worked flawlessly and the coffee was excellent. We grind beans and use a Bunn at the office so, myself and the guys are more than just coffee drinkers.

OK, to keep things brief, the best feature is the simple and elegant design that makes using and clean up about as simple as it could be. We essentially never referred to the manual except to confirm why it changed to 10 cups from 6 when run in auto mode (there are separate settings for auto vs. immediate brewing and they both default to 10 cups). Other than that, turning it on, setting the current time, programming the auto on time, etc., is just so simple. Also, the settings for the grind level and strength or, "aroma" as they call it, are obvious and intuitive. It took about 12 minutes from start to finish (when the machine shut off) to brew 6 cups of coffee. We used the medium aroma and 2nd to finest grind size for light roast Colombian beans. The coffee came out hot, too hot to drink immediately (which I think is how it should be) and the taste was excellent. It was noticeably better than the Bunn especially after the coffee "cooks" for a half hour or so on the burner. So, it passes with flying colors on making coffee and the quality of same. Clean up is simply rinsing the filter, filter cup, and carafe under water and you're ready to go again.

Now, for a couple of downsides. The bean hopper lid vibrated up (not off) as others have reported. This is just a press fit and a matter of tolerances. I think it may be better to have a simple twist/lock feature in the future. For me, fixing this minor issue is as simple as a couple of very small unnoticeable pieces of black electrical tape to snug up the fit. No big deal. The other semi-down side for me is that I like to brew different kinds of coffee. Especially on weekends. There is no way to easily empty the bean hopper. You would have to tip the entire machine over, which can be done. So, in order to use a different type of coffee bean, you need to run out of what is in the hopper and then add the new beans. Also, there will be a tablespoon or so of ground coffee "in transit" that will end up in the new pot. The grind channel, as they call it, can be cleaned out by simply removing the cover and brushing the ground coffee into the basket. Again, not a big deal, just a point for those that often switch types of coffee. For example, if you had a decaf drinker in the house along with someone who preferred leaded, this could become a bit of a hassle if the decaf drinker can't handle a tablespoon of caffeinated coffee in their pot or vise-versa.

In terms of other reviews, and since I based my purchase solely on them (never saw the pot until it arrived today) I think there may be some knit picking out there. For example, someone talked about leaving some coffee/water in the carafe. Well, coffee I get. You may loose a couple tablespoons each pot but, in terms of water, just tip it completely upside down and shake it a little and all the water will come out. Of course, it's not bone dry at that point but, no more water remains than in any glass carafe I've used. And, in terms of the LCD being too bright, unless you're sleeping in the same room with the maker, no big deal. I kinda like the idea of a night light in the kitchen anyway. In terms of noise, the Melitta Mill & Brew I used for 8+ years is at least twice as loud. The burr type grinder is lower pitch and much more tolerable than the Melitta was. Oh ya, the cats always left the kitchen when the Melitta went off! It was pretty obnoxious but, to me, worth 20 seconds of noise for a fresh ground pot of coffee. By the way, the Melitta was the best coffee maker I've ever owned previously. They are no longer made. We'll see if the Capresso can overtake that title going forward.

I absolutely love this thing already and unless something very unexpected starts to happen, this is a very well designed machine for making excellent fresh ground coffee. If I have reason to update this review, either positively or negatively, I will. Those of you on the fence, I recommend you give the Capresso 465 serious consideration - even at the price.

I just bought this coffeemaker to replace my grind and brew Cuisinart which was a horrible grind and brew machine. The Capresso makes an outstanding cup of coffee and is very easy to use. The beans remain dry and the burr grinder is superior to other coffee grinders on the market.
This coffee maker has everything you need, thermal carafe, water filter, burr grinder and auto feature which allows you to have the perfect pot of coffee ready at a pre programmed time. I like the size of this machine it takes up less counter space than previous models.

Let me preface this review by saying I'm more engineer than coffee connoisseur.

I think this is an extremely well designed machine, not only in the creative engineering, but the high quality manufacturing. All parts fit together tightly and are of solid construction. Extremely compact. Quite a good looking addition to our kitchen.

Wow, is this easy. Add water. Hit start. Drink your coffee. Really folks, it's that simple. I think it's very good coffee, and I'm still experimenting with the settings.

Clean-up is a few seconds of rinsing the carafe/lid, filter, and filter cup. I've only had it for a week, but no clogs or issues whatsoever. I have not tried dark beans yet.

I chose this product over the Cuisinart because a) the reviews on the Capresso overall seemed more positive, with less clogging issues, and b) it's slightly shorter than the Cuisinart, which would have been a tight fit under our cabinets. I did like the stainless steel sides on the Cuisinart. However, in hindsight now that I look at the coffee maker where I placed it, I think all stainless steel would have been too much "bling" anyway.

Oh, one concern I hadturned out not to be an issue due to the smart folks at Capresso. I was concerned that given the lack of a clear water tank like on the Cuisinart (I believe), I thought it would be difficult to read the water level marks on the inside tank wall when peering down into the tank. Not an issue: the tank has a piece of clear, bright plastic inside the tank with "steps" -- each step contains a large easy-to-read number (e.g., "4" for 4 cups), facing directly up. Works great.

As for the common complaints, a few are true but I think probably inherent in any similar design (thermal carafe, burr grinder), and not an issue for me. So I give this 5 stars but at least acknowledge the small issues others mention frequently:

- Coffee is pretty hot, but sometimes I do give it a quick 10 second zap in the microwave, especially if I make a small pot (cooling effect of small amount of liquid in big pot), or I wait a bit before drinking. But I prefer a quick zap in the microwave vs. drinking "cooked" coffee from a glass carafe/ heating element design. NOTE: I like HOT coffee, my wife thinks it's fine.

- The thermal carafe lip does make it difficult to get the last bit of coffee out of the carafe, and you have the thing practically upside down getting the last cup out. My guess is this is a trade-off for better thermal protection, though.

- Yes it's loud, it did wake up my wife. She needed to get up anyway.....

I highly recommend the Capresso CoffeeTEAM TS.

I really wanted this machine to work because there is nothing better than a cup of just-ground coffee. Received it from Amazon last week and have brewed eight pots with it in quantities varying from 4 to 8 cups. Terrible, awful coffee! The reason is simple -- this coffee maker cannot hit it's advertised brew temperature of 200 F. I checked each pot with a digital thermometer immediately after the brew cycle completed and the machine shut off. The temperature of the just-brewed coffee ranged from 159 F to 164 F -- way too cold for good extraction. It had this weird sour-metallic taste and was thin and weak (using French roast beans no less). No surprise, that's exactly what happens when the water isn't hot enough (optimal brew temperature is 200 F, anything from 195-205 F should be OK). No amount of tinkering with aroma settings or grind quantity can fix it, you're just wasting good coffee trying to brew with lukewarm water.

Just to be sure, I called Capresso customer service today and described the problem to them. The rep I got on the phone told me that this is completely normal, that unless I brewed a full 10-cup pot, the temp in the carafe would be around 160 F. Well, first, I very seldom need to brew a 10-cup pot; most of the time all I need is 4-cups. Second, bulls---. Regardless of the quantity of water and grounds, if you start with 200 F water, you should wind up with coffee that's 185 F to 190 F, worst-case. The water is dripping through ground coffee, not ice chips. There's no way for it to lose 35-40 degrees of heat if the initial temperature is anywhere near 200 F.

There's a lot more I could say about the Capresso 465, both very good and not-so-good, but what's the point? Low brew temperature is a fundamental flaw. You can't brew coffee at this temperature. Period. Their own customer service rep admits that it can't meet the advertised specs of "1000-watt, 200-degree brew temperature" -- which makes it a dishonest representation. Or a lie, if you prefer. It only gets one star because I can't give it zero.

I've had this coffee maker for about a month, and am very pleased overall. I previously owned a Cuisinart Grind-Brew that broke twice, so it was definitely time for a manufacturer change. Most of the reviews so far are right on, so I'll just add my two-cents for what it is worth:

Pros
- A very tasty cup of coffee. Whether it is the conical grinder or something else, the result is a good strong brew (unless you are looking for a full 10 cups of Starbucks knock-your-socks-off syrup).
- Coffee comes out piping hot. No luke-warm problems here!
- Programable settings are easy to understand and set. Love the filter reminder. Backlight is bright and easily readable.
- Cleanup is a breeze, especially since you aren't dealing with the grinding blades like my old coffee maker. Rinse and dry 4 parts takes 20 seconds. The carafe mouth is wide enough to accommodate a hand and dishcloth for those times when a full soap wash is in order.
- Grind mechanism works quite well, depositing grounds into the basket with no mess. No evidence that steam is working its way back into the grinding section, great design in keeping the two sections separate.
- Hopper holds approx. 2 1/2 full pots worth of beans, nice to just add water and press Go. I only brew 6 cups/day, so I have to refill the hopper about every 4 days...very nice!

Cons
- Steam goes everywhere! It is almost comical to watch this thing brew if I weren't so worried about the water making its way into the electronics. Lots of condensation on the control panel, drips a bunch of water onto the counter and carafe base. Hopefully the moisture protection for the guts is quality, because it is definitely being tested every brew.
- Carafe pour is a little messy. Not sure if it is the spout design, but I end up with a few drips around the target mug every time.
- This thing is loud. Yes it is a deeper tone, but it goes on for longer. I could sleep through my Cuisinart's whine, but this one gives me a "start" every morning. Now I use it as an alarm clock, setting it to go off when I want to get out of bed.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the coffee, the conical burr grinder and the design of the hopper-grinder-brew interfaces. We'll see if the electronics hold up to the amount of steam/condensation it puts out. So far, so good with my change of Grind-Brew manufacturers!

I purchased my Capresso Coffee Team TS back in March 2010. Had the unit for 2 weeks. Makes a decent cup of coffee, however there are tricks to this process...
First, if you brew into a cold caraffe or use the caraffe to load the machine w/ cold water... you will get COLD coffee....
TIP: after you fill or use the machine, pre heat the caraffe with hot water (HOT Tap water is fine)... let it sit for a min or two dump and then brew.... Not really a "green" machine, when you do this!!!

Second, if you need to have this machine brew for you (aka program auto start) this MACHINE IS NOT FOR YOU!!!!! I have had cheap knock off watches keep better time than this machine does... expect to constantly resetting the time on this machine. Forget capresso helping you on this! (more on that later). The machine will run fast 5-35 min, will eventually make you wonder why it has a clock at all...

Finally, piss poor customer service. I called Capresso and complained about the time. I was told that the electronics sometimes need to be reset and instructed to unplug the machine for 5-10 min. Then I was told that they would arrange to get a replacement machine if that did not work. I did that in fact I left it unplugged for over an hour. Plugged it back in... and it kept time.. all day.. went to bed... woke up.. and low and behold... it was fast by 5 min again... So I called back, left a message, no response, e-mailed and got a call a day and a half later to call them. When I called them I was told that "clock issues" were not going to be replaced rather repaired. I was miffed since I was promised a replacement, but I was assured that the repair facility was close by and and that the repair would take a very short time about a week.

So I boxed it up, included a letter with all my contact info, shipped it out and WAITED... two weeks went by and nothing.. not a e-mail, no calls, nada... So I wrote them... They tell me that the past 2 weeks they were testing it and could find no problem (which I find funny, since reading Amazon's reviews, I am not the only one with this problem#, and they can continue testing it or send it back... I ask how long they would need to continue testing it, they would not give me a answer besides they can arrange to ship it back.... WTF!

So my review:
Styling Appearence - 10
Ease of Use - 5
Realibility - #-375#
Customer Service #-94,733,473,125)

I urge you to read the other comments... pay note to the other clock issues...

UPDATE - September 2010 - After getting 3 replacements (after sending letters and complaining to the CEO!) I finally got one that worked.. Its noiser than the previous units but it works and keeps time!!! For almost 6 months! I have experienced no other issue with the machine!

I really do like the machine it makes a great cup of coffee.. however there is a process.. (ie pre-heating the caraffe BEFORE brewing, so there is no heat loss during brewing process). But in my opinion it is well worth the extra effort! Keeps the coffee hot for hours!

As a stand alone review, the coffee maker portion is excellent. It makes strong coffee and grinds the beans well. Easy clean up and clearly marked buttons make it simple to operate. However, I am now on my third machine going on my fourth. The timer on all of them has been off. We'll set the time and the timer to go off at a specific time. Within a few hours the clock is running 10 mins fast. By the next day it is off by several hours. We contacted Capresso and they admitted that this machine has had that problem. They promptly shipped me another machine and within a few days of running that the same issue occurred. I called back and they again shipped me another machine. Within a few days what happened?, you guessed it, it happened again. On the plus side their customer service is refreshingly honest and helpful. But come on, seriously, 4 freaking machines, are you kidding me?