Customer Reviews

Kalorik 1000-Watt 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I almost did not buy this product because of the reviews, but I did not believe that Consumers Report Magazine could be that wrong. This report stated that this product made excellent coffee due to the correct brewing temperature. That is exactly what the Kalorik does. After using it for several weeks now, I cannot support a single complaint against this product, except one. The pot is difficult to get back into the machine. Not because it fits too tightly as reported, but because the part that holds the coffee grounds sometimes prevents the pot from entering all the way. Another ridiculous complaint was that the opening was too small to pour the water. I do not have a clue what that was all about. I am a 78 year old man and I can pour a full pot of water into the machine without spilling a drop. There is two large openings on both sides of the machine. Go figure. Another statement was that the Kalorik belched out steam. I learned that hot water makes steam. It takes hot water to make good coffee, so if you do not want the steam, get a pot that does not heat the water and you will eliminate the steam problem. Again, I did not find the steam to be excessive and I have the coffee maker under the cupboards. The Kalorik is not pretty, but it makes an excellent cup of coffee. Like a woman, I will take quality over looks anytime.

In short, read between the lines when using customer reviews to help make your purchase.

This machine functions. Enthusiastically. I'm really happy with how quickly it operates. It's also a very striking coffee maker. The timer and clock, on/off button are very no-nonsense, with no learning curve, which I love, plus the water level is clearly visible. It is, however, really noisy towards the end of the brew cycle. The carafe fits extra snugly in the coffee maker housing; it takes slight practice to place it smoothly. It also has a heavy plastic feel and is a matte copper -color- only. I hope I'm paying a bit more for mechanical quality, because the exterior materials don't really reflect the price point. Still, overall, this machine goes great with my other copper countertop small appliances, is a very attractive machine, and functions exceptionally well. It's definitely a keeper, although I feel I'm definitely paying more for the couple extra cups of capacity plus the unusual look of this coffeemaker.

We bought the coffee maker at the end of July and it provided a little more than 90-days of coffee before dying. First the hotplate went cold, then it failed to make coffee. The last "K" in KALORIK fell off with the first cleaning. The fancy lettering (I was not pleased with the built-in bold brand advertisement)is attached with a silicone adhesive backing that can't be reapplied once it falls off. Other than that, while it worked, it provided pretty good coffee.

First, no one in the Kalorik customer service department knows what size cone filters this thing takes. That being said, I have yet to make a pot of coffee. But in conditioning the coffeemaker by running 3 pots of clean water through it, I see that it is leaking puddles all over the place. Next, the area you have to pour water through is a very narrow track around the filter, one inch wide at the widest, to about 3/8 of an inch wide -- nearly impossible without dripping all over. If you accidently get water in the filter area, it goes right through to the hotplate. If this isn't bad enough, what looks like copper/stainless in the photo is actually just copper color silkscreened over plastic. The brand name is in large stainless colored plastic letters. There is no stainless on this coffee maker, save the stainless ring around the bottom of the glass pot. Finally, it is noisy -- really noisy. I bought this to replace a 23-year old coffee maker that was much quieter than this. Oh, and did I mention the ungodly amounts of steam that comes right out the top vents? If it's under a low cupboard, it could do some serious damage in time. Also, it is HOT!!! (obviously, it is steam). Needless to say, I will be returning this pronto. Nice to look at if that's all you want it for, but if you want to actually make a pot of coffee and not ruin everything within a few feet of the coffee pot, then you can do way, way better than this -- and probably for half the price. Also, the picture is misleading. The large band of "stainless" at the bottom of the pot is actually just black plastic on the one I received. Too bad, it couldda been a contender.

It was an OK machine. The coffee was good. It made a lot of noise and a tremendous amount of steam. One day I tapped the carafe against the sink faucet while filling it and it shattered. Very thin glass in my opinion. When I attempted to order a replacement carafe i was told it would be three months to get one. Yikes!

Sure I read the reviews before buying this... the negatives always shine more brightly... unable to fill up the water reservoir, hard to place coffee pot on burner, unable to locate the size of the coffee filters, breaks quickly... I was just another coffeeholic looking for my morning cup of Joe as my last coffee maker broke. I had the most expensive Cuisinart coffee marker which died after 12 mo. My latest Costco cheapo MrCoffee maker died after 12 mo. I am convinced none will last but would I stop drinking coffee?! Nope so I gave this one a chance... easy to fill up, angle the coffee pot for a nice tight fit, size 4 filters as shown in the book and will it make it longer than 1 year... TBD. No complaints thus far.

Outstanding HOT coffee is produced by this machine. It compares to the Mocha Master by Technivorm which I would rate #1,

Only drawback is non heated glass carafe which does not contain a heat sealing cap.

A leading consumer magazine rated this very highly. But I have several major issues:

1. Difficult to pour in the water

2. Difficult to insert coffee pot

3. My 10 year old Braun (which I am trying to replace) produces hotter, more

flavorful coffee. I did an exact comparison with the same amount of water,

the same amount of coffee beans, etc.

The magazine claimed the Kalorik is one of the few coffee makers that

heated the water hot enough to supposedly extract full flavor from the beans.

But I am totally unimpressed. Maybe this is a bad sample.

I will return this to Amazon even if I don't get a full refund.

I purchased this coffee maker based on price and Consumer Reports reviews. To date (circa 4 months) it has produced a minimum of 4 pots of coffee a day, for about 6-10 personnel in our work space. The coffee tastes perfectly fine. We are unable to find the cone shaped filters here, but the flat-bottom style work without issue. I have cleaned the machine three times with vinegar/water mix, then run straight water to remove the vinegar. So we have made approximately 480 pots of coffee with excellent results. GIs are not known for treating things with kid gloves, so I would say that it is pretty durable, as well.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my mom, mainly because it matched her kitchen. At first, she couldn't understand why the coffee kept tasting burned. Then she remembered reading that better coffee makers brew with hotter water, requiring less coffee grounds per pot. So she's using half as much coffee in it as before, and now the coffee tastes great!