Customer Reviews

DeLonghi DCR902T Retro Drip Coffee Maker with Timer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Below is my ORIGINAL review...and one year later, I am adding these notes:

February 2005

As others have noted - the carafe does seem to have a "loose" seal around the rim where the plastic doesn't seal well to the glass. However, I don't notice more than a bit of leakage once in awhile...and I'm sure a little silicone could be used to repair it. It is still a very nice carafe with a great handle & hinged lid and has stood up well with lots of use.

We've also had the "flashing light" syndrome...but customer service told us how to reset...not a big deal now that we know.

Sometimes water does pool under the coffee maker - I don't really mind wiping it up when it does.

The bottom line is that I still LOVE this machine. I like the looks, the ease of use (especially the removable water basket for filling) and ease of cleaning. But most important...it makes great coffee and I haven't been sorry for a minute that I bought it. Maybe I'm just not as fussy as some...but I still recommend it highly.


ORIGINAL REVIEW - January 2004
Finally decided to upgrade to a better coffee maker after years with a cheap one. Christmas seemed the perfect time to buy it for my coffee addicted husband. Read dozens of reviews. Didn't want to spend over $100. Couldn't find any reviews of this newer Delonghi maker and it was priced over my limit wherever I saw it. So, I went out and bought the Cuisinart retro maker despite a few small reservations about some features. It looked like it was almost perfect and the reviews were great. Then, the Delonghi was advertised as a sale item at a store where I had a discount coupon, and I was able to purchase it for much less than the Cuisnart. So I returned that one and risked the "unreviewed" Delonghi.

After a week of coffee making, I know I made a great choice. The first pot of coffee Christmas morning was before unwrapping. The second was with the Delonghi - same water, same coffee...but a world of difference! I wouldn't have believed it could be so much better.

The features that convinced me to buy this one over the Cuisinart were the swing out filter basket, the water level indicator and the hinged top carafe. Little things lacking on the Cuisinart that I knew were going to bug me.

The design of the Delonghi makes coffee prep a pleasure and clean up easy. Being able to remove the water reservoir for filling and cleaning is something I wouldn't have imagined as a big plus, but now I can't imagine not having this feature. I don't think we ever really cleaned the water reservoir on our old maker and I shudder to think about that...but like most makers, it is not very easy or accessible. And the Delonghi "bucket-like" reservoir lifts out and in easily and really makes a water indicator superfluous.

Programming is very simple. Setting the start time is a no-brainer. Auto light button and regular "start on demand" button are easy to use. Setting it to turn off any time after the coffee is made - from 2 to 12 hours - is equally easy to figure out. And setting 1-6 or 7-12 cups as well. Each day now starts with coffee that has been perfectly brewed at the same time each morning...just before we wake up!

Other features include a "dark" or "light" setting for coffee strength (we only use dark), a swivel control panel for easy access if your maker is in a less accessible counter place (not something we use but I imagine others might)a replaceable charcoal filter for better water taste, and a platinum fiter that fits in the basket, if you don't want to use paper filters (something else we probably won't use unless we run out of paper filters which we prefer).

The only small drawback is that the outside water level indicator is hard to read because it's so dark and the water doesn't easily show inside the tube - but since I use the removeable reservoir which is clearly marked, I don't even look at the indicator.

No problems with spilling water or coffee and the carafe is very well designed and seems quite durable and comfortable to handle.

You won't go wrong with this coffee maker. Consider it HIGHLY reviewed!

Update:
We still own the machine, and it's still working beautifully after one year. We have experienced none of the carafe problems that other reviewers have had, so I'm led to believe that they have fixed the problem, and/or that there were some hit or miss quality problems with the carafe at some point. Anyway, it's still a great machine IMO and still makes the best tasting coffee I've ever had from a drip machine.

Original Review February 10, 2004:
After using this product for two months, I have to say that I am satisfied with it overall. There are only two complaints that I have about the machine. First, the machine's "on" light will flash to tell you that it either needs to be descaled or a new charcoal filter or whatever, but it doesn't tell you how to turn it off in the included documentation. I had to call customer service. So if you are having this problem, hold the "hour" and "minute" buttons in simultaneously for about ten seconds and it will reset. I believe this comes on after every 80 cycles or so. Also, the carafe's lid doesn't come completely off for easy cleaning; it only hinges open. The platinum mesh filter is nice, but you need to make sure you don't grind your beans to powder or your coffee ends up slightly "muddy."

Now for the good stuff: This coffee pot makes one fantastic pot of coffee, whether you use premium beans and grind them yourself, or plain old ground coffee out of the can. The "flavor savor" channel in the brew chamber allows the coffee to steep just the right amount, and the temperature of this machine is just right. The control panel is a snap once you get the hang of it. The machine looks great on the counter, too, though it does take up quite a bit of space. For the price, it is a good machine, and I do recommend it.

If you want a coffeemaker that looks good and makes great coffee this one fits the bill....but it has some drawbacks. I find some of the features rather pointless, such as the swivel control center, but others may find them useful.

I do have two issues with this item:

1. The clock, being positioned on top of the control center is unviewable unles you are looking directly down at it...at almost any other angle it appears to read "8888." However, we don't buy a coffeemaker for the clock so it's merely annoying.

2. The carafe could be designed much better. In less than two weeks the top, which is glued on poorly, has come off. The manufacturer has told us the carafe alone is not available yet, so we have no way to pour coffee without spilling it all over the counter.

The bottom line is it makes a great cup of coffee and it really looks quite stylish...but it needs a carafe that is functional.

I received the coffee maker in January 2004 and love the coffee maker part -- but the coffee pot or decanter is a complete disaster. You cannot pour coffee without spilling. No matter how hard you try or which way you might pour, it simply will not pour correctly. If there should be another "pot" or decanter available for this coffee maker I would certainly appreciate your notifying me. Thank you.

...or you're screwed. Mine didn't leak like other reviewers have mentioned, but I broke mine and have been waiting over two months for a replacement. Delonghi is of little help. If any unsatisfied reviewers are ditching their coffeemaker I'll buy the carafe!!

Although this machine looks great and makes great coffee, I am inclined to agree with the other reviews that it offers a very poor engineering design. Whatever you do, do not break the water reservoir as there is NO replacement whatsoever. Alas, here I am buying an entirely new machine... it gets one more chance to make great coffee. Any troubles and it goes out (both of them!) in the next garage sale!

Makes good coffee, cool design, and thanks to a kind reviewer, I was well warned about the blinking light and how to cancel.

They must have fixed the pot design as it does not break. It does "pop" off from the lid, but can easily be popped back in once you get the hang of it. I like the no teflon warmer plate, as other coffee makers have then, they tend to wear off, and then in short order, diminish the hot plate feature. I recommend it. I love the pull the water filler out feature. Hate those ones (regardless of price!), where I have to carefully pour the water in as to not dampen the grounds. Nothing but nice things to say about their line. I have other appliances made by this manufacturer and all are super!

It does make a great cup of coffee and it looks good, so one star for each. However, the carafe is a waste of time. It's poorly designed and we were disguted with it within two weeks...and that was before the glued on top came unglued. Without the carafe there's no use for the coffee maker. We called DeLonghi for a replacement carafe and they informed us they were not yet available but they would call us when they were available. That was 4 months ago, and 4 months after we returned the coffee maker, and we still haven't heard from DeLonghi. I hated the swivel control center also. It looked out of place and the clock was virtually useless being on top of the control center. Unless you're looking directly down from above you can't read the clock. I will however give 5 stars to Amazon's handling of returns...but try a Krups coffee maker.

After purchasing this coffeemaker for Christmas I was very pleased...at first. After spilling coffee all over the place on the first pour I learned that you had to either pour REALLY fast or hold the top shut with your free hand. Annoying, but it did make a good tasting cup of coffee. After a couple of weeks water started leaking out of the reservoir. A few weeks later the red light started blinking constantly. Within two weeks after that it was completely dead. For the price this coffee maker is a complete rip-off. It really is as cheap as it looks. For me it was not even worth it to have it repaired. The people at Delonghi should be ashamed of themselves for putting out such an inferior product. I have their Retro toaster and I love it, but this coffee maker is pure junk.

I bought this coffee maker and only used it 3x before deceiding to sell it in a yard sale for $5.00. Actually I should pay someone $5.00 to take it away. The seal around the lid and the glass pot is extremely poor. Every time you pour a cup of coffee it goes all over the counter, not in your cup! I missed placed the receipt so I'm stuck with it...