Customer Reviews

Farberware FCP512S 12-Cup Cordless Percolator

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

I've been hunting for the "perfect" coffee maker for quite some time. I wanted the modern convenience of a self-timer, contemporary styling, and most importantly, hot deliciously brewed java.

Auto drips fulfilled the first two necessities, but always fell short on the last. No matter what brand of auto-drips I tried, coffee was lukewarm at best. My grandmother's 20-year-old percolator made better tasting, hotter coffee every time. But I never was fond of the appearance or lack of a self-timer.

Finally, I saw this percolator and knew it was a winner. The body, basket, and tube are easy to clean, maintain, and because it's all stainless steel, it doesn't transfer any metal taste to the coffee. The fact that the electrical cord is built into the base unit, makes unplugging and re-plugging the cord each time you want to pour a cup of coffee a thing of the past. The timer is accurate and easy to setup. I love the little things the engineers thought of, like a built-in 2-hour auto shutoff, in case you forget on a busy workday.

Simply a great product that actually does everything it claims to do. Now, how many products can you say that about?

Update - After about a year, the "buttons" started to flake then eventually crack. It still worked but looked pretty bad. I evntually got rid of it and now use a simpler french press.

I have always loved percolated coffee rather than drip...it brings me back to my childhood when Mom and Dad used an old Corning percolator. It's hard to find a decent percolator these days. The old Cornings are gone (although you can probably buy a used one). I tried this Farberware 12-cup programmable about one year ago. The first problem that occurred was that the buttons to program the timer started to "crack" and "peel"...they were still usable, but it was unsightly consdering how much I spent on this product. The buttons themselves are microscopic. If you have trouble seeing, these buttons will frustate you to no end! The coffee tastes GREAT, but you still have the pesky grounds-in-the-coffee problem. Now, with only one year of usage, the top percolator part has completely snapped off, rendering it completely useless. It was definitely not worth the money to only get one year's use out of it. I expected better quality and am disappointed. I give it a 3, because the coffee IS very good.

Oh, it starts out ok, but I have had this pot less than a year and have had one thing after another go wrong with it. First, it would brew inconsistantly, ( refused to brew if I only made five cups)then the programable clock would not set and lastly, and finally, it just won't start at all. I would think I have a lemon, but it worked for about a year. I had a GE that I bought at resale shop that I had for seven years and it made great coffee every day until its death. Worse yet I can not reach Farberware to complain about this product.

This thing brews great coffee during it's brief lifespan. I bought my first one last August 2000 ...and it lasted until November 2000. It started smelling of burnt plastic and then stopped working. Fortunately I didn't have an electrical fire .... Unfortunately this replacement only lasted until July 2, 2001. This time it stopped in the middle of a brew. The coffee was luke warm and it never started up again. We brew one pot a day. ....

A rule of thumb, coffee snobs will tell you, is that you never ever use a percolator to make coffee. They say use a press. I don't like presses, they taste funny, and driped coffee is too cold.

This is a great machine. It features contemporary styling, ease of use, and is full featured. It has a digital clock to tell time, and allows you to set your daily timer so you can have fresh coffee when you wake up. It's 2 hour auto-shut off feature is great as I'm always forgetting to turn it off.

It is great for entertaining because you can brew your coffee in the pot, and then remove it from the base for cordless serving. The stainless body looks much better than walking around to your dinner guests with a glass carafe.

The lid, brew basket, and inside parts are dishwasher safe, though you are not to immerse the pot itself in water.

It makes 4-12 cups of coffee quickly, roughly a minute a cup, so 8 cups will take 8 minutes to brew. I suggest making at least 6 cups, because any less you don't get optimum flavor, plus you'll want to drink more than one cup.

Now I buy my beans fresh roasted and whole bean. I only grind what I am about to immediatly drink, and of the several ways I've tasted this coffee of mine, it tastes best in this machine.

It is a nice priced machine with a great combination of features, ease of use, durability and looks.

I've been a Faberware coffee drinker since I can remember and have had alot of there pots. When I saw this one I just had to have it. Keeping true to there tradition this pot has got to be the best coffee maker around. The first thing you notice is the beauty of this machine. It looks like it just came out of "The Jetsons" The base of the machine has all the functions Eg: timer, on-off, clock and set buttons. You can program all it's features from hese buttons. The coffee it brews is without a doubt the hottest coffee I have ever drank, if you love hot coffee this pot is for you.

8/31/04 UPDATE: I spoke to Salton yesterday. I just couldn't bear the fact that I would have to junk a $100.00 coffeepot that was supposed to be under warranty for one year. After asking me some preliminary information I was told, and I quote, "that because I make 2 pots of coffee a day it is overuse, or rather, not the products intended use". I just hung up the phone. I have not been making 2 pots of coffee for years with this machine. I've owned it for 8 months and it has only been used 6 of those months. I should have known. It will go in the trash and I will go to esalton website where they list every brand name that they actually make so I can be sure NEVER to buy one of their products again.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:I had a Farberware perculator for 10 years. When it finally gave out I went through a drip pot, but yearned for a perk one. I bought this one thinking I would not have to worry about coffee makers for another 10 years. After 2 months of use the plastic top broke right off the lid. I called the number, thinking I was going to be dealing with a class act company and instead am talking to Salton (these are the same people who told me I needed to make coffee in the nursery in order to get the clock to work on a Melitta drip maker I bought in the interim). Ok, they tell me that the broken top is considered normal wear and tear (yes, even after 2 months) and I would have to buy another. I did. Now I am sorry that I spent the $6.00 for it because this is month 8 (keep in mind it was not used for 6 weeks while I waited for the lid) and now it is dead. Also, the coating on the start button is peeling and it is sharp. Another great looking piece of junk from Salton. I can't recommend and will not buy Farberware small appliances or Melitta brand small appliances any longer because you can't go by the former good names of companies. And I will now have my doubts about buying any other type of product with the Farberware name on it because I don't trust it any longer and am rather shocked that they would allow their good name on shoddy products. I spent $99.00 at a department store for something that worked for less than a year, well less than 6 months if you count the time it was not being used. So I will try and find a new pot and read the box carefully to make sure "Salton" isn't anywhere on it. I will never buy anything that has that name on it.

This percolator makes fantastic, hot coffee. It is easy to use, pours well, (not like those cheesy glass pots on drip machines, and I love being able to program it so it brews when I get up. The first one lasted four months. The customer service is poor, it takes forever (months anyway ) to get back. I had to go out and get another maker while I waited. They sent me a new machine, now a year later It's dead again. I love this machine. The only question is do I buy another while this one's in the shop. Or to find something else.

I've had one of these for many years and it recently went on the fritz after a LOT of usage. I'm getting another. It can't be beat - and the fact that it's cordless is huge. You can have a table full of folks for dinner, and walk around freely with your percolator; no unplugging required. And the coffee comes out delicious.

This pot made great coffee for awhile. A little over a year in fact. HOWEVER - The plastic perk top broke - FARBERWARE would never replace the top so Husband fixed it. Then it started taking a very long time to perk which then led to lukewarm coffee. If you want a coffee pot that lasts a long time DO NOT purchase this one.