Customer Reviews

Hamilton Beach 48464 Brewstation Summit 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

Purchased to replace our Brewstation Deluxe, which we absolutely loved! The only reason we did not purchase another one exactly like our old one is because of the leaking problem. About 1x/year we would need to replace the 'carafe' portion of the coffeemaker. The Summit was the 3rd replacement model we tried. It is the only other model that has all of the features that the Deluxe had (programmable auto shut-off & timer, brewing cycle selection). I agree with the previous post that it is a bit more awkward to fill. But, the biggest problem I have with it is the coffee basket. It has about 50 holes in the bottom for the water/coffee to flow out of the basket. The result is a very weak-tasting coffee because it flows through so quickly. I can't understand why this model is made like this when other models have only one hole! There is no way to even use enough coffee to get a strong flavor, even when putting it on 'Bold' setting, which slows down the brewing cycle. I figured out how to solve this problem by purchasing a permanent filter basket to use inside the other basket, plus using a paper filter. This adds to the awkwardness of the whole process, but we are so hooked on this style of machine that are willing to put up with it. It is also messier than the Deluxe because of all of the condensation inside. When you lift the lid water runs down (but mostly back into the carafe), and when you take out the basket there is condensation all over it and it drips trying to get it to the trash or sink. I also just noticed one of the buttons to set the time is sticking. Well, maybe I should go back to the Deluxe...

Like many of those who wrote reviews, I also owned previous models of the H.B. Brew Station. They were hard to fill without spilling some water. They wore out after two/three years of constant use with very little upkeep by me. They earned their keep. I bought a H.B. Summit 12 cup last week; and before setting it up, I went to this site to check some reviews for suggestions and help on what I might encounter with the new brewer. (This approach is backwards, I know) Had I read the reviews beforehand, I would never have purchased the product. Comments like very messy, cannot see how much coffee is being dispensed, coffee drips all over, can only use a paper cup, coffee is not hot hard to program............... good grief!!!

Here's what this 71 year old man experienced in his first week with the "POT" I used the old gold mesh filter I used on prior brewer. Makes the same very good cup of coffes as others before it. I plugged it in, yes, a short plug. filled it to 12 cups, found it much easier to fill than prior machine; Set warming time, pushed "ON" It brewed quickly, I pushed my large thick ceramic cup against the fill bar and watched it fill quickly with hot coffee! no spills, no chills. There was no dripping from the spout. Yes, there was some water vapor coming from the top of te brewer, I and my wife are having NO problems with the machine, Really, people!! This, by the way, is my first ever review of a product. I felt it necessary to respond to the bum rap this product was getting. No, I don't work for, or own stock in H.B Co.

Add one more to the list of customers who have serious issues with the design of this product. Unless you enjoy drinking your morning coffee out of a juice glass, Dixie cup, or something with a similarly thin rim, you can expect to have a serious pool of coffee on whatever surface this thing sits on as soon as you start dispensin'. And if you are the on-the-go type who enjoys coffee out of a travel mug? Bwaaaahahaha: forget it. A shame, really, because in every other respect this is a pretty nice unit.

If you are like me (God help you), you may be inclined to read all these reviews and say "Sounds bad, but I'm sure we can work around this issue." Trust me, you can't. The design problems with this product are serious enough that my wife and I are willing to eat the cost of this thing and replace it--and we ain't the Rockefellers.

The electrical cord is 25 inches long to the very tip of the metal prongs. Otherwise 24.5 inches cord length including the plug part you hang onto. Leaving you 24 inches for the cord itself. Our previous Brewstations all had this same length of electrical cord. This model does not have a turntable on the bottom. The only time we needed turntables were on older Brewstations that had to have the water poured into the base from a certain side to avoid spilling or to aid in viewing the fill level markings. This model has ALL the previous fill markings and some new ones. Very handy for older eyes. The MAXIMUM coffee mug height is 7 inches if you hold the mug vertically. (If you hold your mug at a angle and use your finger to dispense against the mechansim you can fill anything.) 7 inches is plenty tall for all the standard travel/commute mugs holding 16 oz. The lid does dribble all over the place when you take the Brewstation apart for cleaning or making another pot. Just remember to lift the lid slowly and tap it with vibration as you open it. You will leave condensation water from the lid running down the back of the Brewstation about the volume of a 50 cent piece. The lid cannot be removed. You can wipe up the spilled water by simply running a sponge, papertowel, etc around the back. Remember, this is water and not coffee. If you position a papertowel at the hinge you prevent problems. The Brewstation does dispense/dribble down the back of your coffee mug once in awhile. The first time you notice this and before your next pot of coffee you clean the pot out and then fill with a few inches of clean water, lift the pot so you can see under it where the coffee dispenses and manually trigger the release mechanism to allow it to flush coffee grinds out. End of dribbling. There is a domed filter screen permanently attached at the point where the coffee leaves during dispensing. This lets small particles of coffee get by apparently get into the valve seat. Brewstations make GREAT coffee. House guests almost always end up buying their own. ALWAYS buy the latest model Brewstation with the highest numberic model number as you get the latest features that way and improvements and fixes. LOVE the Brewstation.

Bought this unit one day ago to replace a Cuisinart that had died. Idea is the same but the design in terrible. Worst of all is when you try to get a cup of coffee, if your cup is not firmly against the backboard the coffee will dribble down the side of the cup. The spout should pour coffee into the center of a cup rather than down the back edge. Also, the cup has to be so high that you cannot tell how much coffee is in your cup. Really disappointed, its going back to Target today.

I bought the Hamilton Beach Brew Station Summit at Target a month ago. The coffee is great and I love not having the fear of a broken carafe, but the design is flawed for cleaning. The entire top half lifts off of the water reservoir leaving it open and vulnerable during cleaning. Worse, you have to lift the filter basket off before you can lift the coffee reservoir so it's a three handed cleaning operation. I love the coffee, but the design is quite a step down from the first Brew Station.

I'm a mother of three kids, ages 6 and under, so needless to say, coffee has become pretty important around our house! My brother-in-law has an older model of the brewstation, and I have always loved using it at their house. I love that it has no carafe to clean or break, and the unit itself only needs to be cleaned once a month.

My coffee is always piping hot, and stays hot for up to 4 hours after brewing. The program feature works great every time. And I'm really not sure why so many people are having problems getting the coffee from the spout into their cups. I have never had even a drip of coffee spill while filling my mug. I tend to be a slow coffee drinker, and use a travel mug most of the time. Even with a thick walled mug I have not experienced any problems.

I have had some condensation water spill when I lift the lid, but I had that with my old coffee pot, too. And being in the kitchen, I grab a towel or a sponge and just wipe it up. Not a problem, in my opinion.

I am having trouble understanding why the brewstation is getting such poor reviews. I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could. I really love it that much!

For those who are complaining about the coffee dribbling out of the machine and getting all over the place, it's true... I bought my first machine 6 months ago and it got to the point where using anything other than a paper cup would mean hot coffe everywhere since it didn't come out far enough to land somewhere in a regular mug without suffering 2nd degree burns. I don't know how I put up with that for so long, but I did... until this past weekend when I noticed coffee coming out from UNDER the machine, not just the little catch mechanism, but out of the actual screw holes. Well I took it back to the store and surprisingly they talked me into exchanging this one for another one of the same model... reluctantly I accepted and took it home, fired it up and WALA! It looks like HB fixed the dribbling out issue because now I can fill up just about any of my cups. The condensation issue is another one I agree with, that stuff is everywhere when I open it up the next day.

I'll stick with this one until it breaks, hopefully there will be something newer and better by then.

When I grind the organic coffee beans I get from Trader Joe's and put this on "Bold" it's some of the best-tasting coffee I've ever had, and the timer function works beautifully. However, this is also the messiest thing in my kitchen, beating the toaster hands down. Let me count the ways...

- first off, as many other reviews have stated, if you don't back this thing up against the wall behind the kitchen counter and jam your cup in as hard as you can, the coffee just dribbles out.

- coffee will also dribble out as you get to the end of the coffee in the pot, OR if you don't do a water/vinegar cleaning on the reservoir every couple months. Previous versions of the BrewStation allowed you to remove the small dome-shaped filter inside the reservoir for additional cleaning, this one does not. In the last BrewStation I had that filter gummed up so badly that the reservoir spout no longer worked, so regular cleaning is extremely important.

- apparently they realized the dribbling tendencies in the design, because unlike previous BrewStations, there is a "drip" assembly on the front consisting of a thin metal grate covering a plastic reservoir - previously it was just a piece of plastic that looked like a grate and did nothing. Now if they would only make the damn hole that the coffee comes out of bigger, we could avoid the drip stuff.

- if you do buy this, the first thing you should do is turn it upside down and remove the tape from the bottom that keeps the drip assembly in place - I didn't do this initially and the end result is that the reservoir slowly fills up with coffee until just moving it back and forth results in coffee leaking out everywhere. You can only imagine how dumb that made me feel. However in my defense, even if you remove the drip assembly to take it apart and rinse each piece every time you use the coffee maker, this will NOT completely get rid of the coffee that leaks underneath it, it just minimizes it. You will still be wiping coffee off the counter pretty much no matter what.

- last complaint is that the "keep warm" function has the effect of boiling off some of the coffee you made. So if you want 4 cups, be sure to actually make 5 because at least 1 gets lost in the making, and drink it as soon as possible. Making more coffee than you need will also defeat some of the dripping/leaking issues as well.

Bottom line: It's wasteful and poorly designed, but if you really want a reservoir-style coffee maker that makes decent coffee and don't want to pay a mint for a pro-style machine, I guess HB is the only game in town. I'm keeping it until it dies in a year or two, then I'm going to look into something higher end that isn't quite as messy.

Who designed this thing. The spout is located so far back that when using anything other than thin lipped cups you spill coffee on cabinet top. There is no adjustment for this spout either! The LCD light is backlit in blue with black numbers over this. You cannot make out numbers unless you are right in front of unit. The water tank and basket are oddly shaped and awkward to handle. I owned the previous designed unit that leaked and had to trash it. I am trying to find the old design and shelve the $60 new unit.

BUYER BEWARE dont drop your money on this thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!