Customer Reviews

Saeco Renaissance XV Stainless Steel 10-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're looking for convenience, bells and whistles this is NOT the coffee maker for you. It is not a drag your butttt to the coffee maker in the morning with one eye open and set-it-and-forget-it. I'll explain later. If it's good tasting coffee you're after you'll be happy with this one.

After adjusting the grounds I've found that this coffee maker makes excellent tasting coffee. I have never been able to get the same taste using Starbucks coffee at home.... until now. Really, just like the real deal. The coffee is thick, smooth, and NOT bitter.

The coffee is not TOO hot. I do like mine hot. I'd say it could be a tad hotter but it's good enough for me. You must preheat the carafe to keep the coffee warm. It will stay drinking temp. for at least a couple of hours but will stay warm all day. If it sits more than an hour I preheat my half and half in the nuker so it doesn't cool it down further. This is a very small trade-off to preserve the fresh-brewed flavor.

Now for the DETAILS!!

It does not have a switch or button for making less than a full pot. However, I rarely make a full pot and the taste is the same with only a half a pot. It does not have a water level indicator to measure the water so I use a particular cup for my measuring and it works well. One caveat, I once put in too much water without paying attention to the max. water level mark and the excess water came pouring out of a hole on the back. GOTTA PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS WITH THIS ONE.

Now for the REALLY important part. The instructions that came with it are pathetic. The first couple of times everything went well. Then suddenly I had coffee all over my counter top and floor. Used it again and whoa! coffee all over the counter again. By this time I'm cursing Amazon, Saeco and myself for taking a chance on this thing. At this point I have to be sure that it's not user error. I carefully make my coffee and hope I've centered the carafe properly. Oh no, not again. Now I'm ready to send this no-good! #$#%^%#@ Italian stainless/plastic back to Amazon.

Just to be REALLY sure I discoverd that there is more to using this thing than I thought. So pay attention to these instructions: 1. fill the reservoir with water. DO NOT lower the lid yet. 2. Put in the filter and coffee. 3. Put the carafe in place. 4. Now lower the reservoir lid. You will see and hear the tab on the carafe lid lock into place and you will see and hear the reservoir lid lock in too. Now hit the button and in no time you'll have a great tasting brew.

Because of the need to get the carafe properly locked into place I don't think you can pause and serve. It really is a quick brew so I'm okay with the wait cause I know I'm going to have some terrific coffee.

Saeco has been making commercial products for a long time. I took a chance on the name and reputation. Even with the frustrating learning curve I have no regrets.

This is a solid stylish stainless steel model which looks good on the kitchen counter. Also, Saeco has a great customer service department which has issued us a free UPS label to return our SECOND Renaissance XV coffee maker so that they can repair or replace it AGAIN. The first replacement unit was sent out when our original purchase unit failied after only 4 months of use. The new replacement unit has failed after only one week of use.
We felt the instructions that came with the unit were poorly written. Though the instructions tell you how many ounces of water the reservoir holds, they do not tell you that the reservoir holds MORE water than the coffee pot does and if you are not aware of this the unit WILL overflow.
The unit also seems to overflow if the pot is not positioned perfectly in place with the lid clicked down firmly. The problem is that it is not easy to know that the pot is not centered perfectly because it is an awkward act to insert the pot correctly. I finally developed the technique of holding down the clicked lid while I inserted the coffee pot firmly and basically just hoping all was centered. This problem really should be solved.
We had to have a new lid (to the thermal pot) sent out after the first one broke because the instructions do not tell you how to position the lid on the pot. You do not screw the lid down like on most thermos bottles. It takes only 1/4 turn to position it correctly and once it breaks it is impossible to fix. Ours broke the very first day, but Seico sent a new lid out right away.
After dealing with all of those above problems and starting to feel a little comfortable with our first Saeco, the coffee maker began failing to pump all the water out of the reservoir before it turned off. We would need to turn it back on again and then again it would pump some of the water out of the reservoir and then shut itself off before it was finished. We found ourselves turning the coffee maker back on 4 or 5 times to get one pot of coffee. This was after 4 months of use. And if you are not aware there is still water left in the reservoir your next pot of coffee WILL overflow because you will have added too much water to the reservoir. We contacted Saeco. They sent out a brand new pot. Thank you.
We have used the brand new pot for one week now and it too is failing to pump all of the water from the reservoir before it turns itself off. Just now I had to turn it back on 4 times to get one pot of coffee.
I contacted Saeco and they have issued me the shipping label to return this second machine for repair or replacement. They seem surprised to hear of this problem. It may be coincidence that both machines failed exactly the same way but it seems to me there may be a sensor that is failing. Anyway now we must go without our coffee pot or purchase another model to cover us while Saeco resolves our problem.
This is disappointing. We paid three times more for this machine than we ever have before for another coffee maker. We expected to get at least a couple years use out of it. Even so, Saeco has been friendly and accommodating and seems to want to solve the problem.

No problem setting up. Turn it on brews then turns off. The bad, The carafe pours very slowly and drips. I have not managed to brew a decent tasting cup of coffee yet. At least not as good as the $15.00 pot it replaced. I got it on sale at Macys for $28.00 and still don't feel it was worth it. I am going to buy something else and toss this one.

We noticed this coffee maker at a ridiculously low price at our local Macy's and decided to take a chance on it as we had wanted a thermal carafe coffee maker.
When we got home I read the reviews on amazon and almost took it back before opening it! Luckily we decided to try it; we're glad that we did as it makes exceptionally good coffee.
We have had none of the problems described by previous reviewers. The carafe unfailingly snaps into place under the coffee spigot; we've had no spills. Maybe we got the odd good one? Who knows.
There are three issues and missing features that caused me to rate it four stars: the amazing oversight of a water level gauge, lack of a timer and small drips from the carafe when you pour.
I wouldn't pay $100 for it but the $60 that we paid now seems more than fair.

I bought the Saeco Renaissance XX which is identical to this model except it has a timer feature. I got it on clearance for $70 and a similar white model sells at Starbucks for $150. I love this coffee maker. Its sturdy and heavy and attactive and makes delicious coffee. Previous reviews are correct. You do need to make the lid is properly seated and the basket is clicked into place. I had one episode of coffee spilling out because I did not have things seated propertly but only once in 10 months of use. Another time I forgot to put the lid on the carafe. Believe me, you will only forget this once!

There are water line markings on the water hose inside the reservoir. They are hard to see and the manual doesn't point them out.

I also experienced the issue of the reservoir not completely emptying and having to start the machine multiple times. This happed after about 45 days of use. I descaled the pot with vinegar and that took care of the problem completely. Whenever I notice the reservoir retaining water, I know its time to descale. A commercial descaler failed, only white vinegar worked for me.

Making less than a pot has no effect on flavor so I will not downgrade the machine for not having this feature.

The reasons this pot gets only 4 stars are:

When coffee overflowed it got under the "sealed" plastic over the clock and can't be removed.

The carafe pours very slowly. When filling my commuter cup, I remove the lid to pour. I do this anytime I anticipate emptying the entire pot and not needing the vacuum seal intact for temperature. Also the lid fills with coffee when pouring so when cleaning it you must hold the lever and rinse it completely until only clear water comes out the edges of the seal.

There is no battery back up for the clock feature, so if you unplug the pot you lose your clock and timer settings.

In spite of these shortcomings I would buy this pot again for the great coffee and style.

March 2010 UPDATE. I still love this coffee maker after almost 3 years of use. Unfortunately it is no longer made. I am having a problem with scale and it seems I have to descale every 2 weeks instead of every month. I suppose its possible that the pump is failing. I'll see what Saecon has to say, because I cannot find a pot I like as well to replace it with at any price, so I will keep descalinng until it dies and hope it has at least another year left in it.

It looks very elegant on my kitchen countertop with its nice stainless steel structure. I also like its performance and the taste of the coffee is great. The capcity is more about 10 cups, enough for all my guests in one single brew. I had the CRUPS before this one but this one is by far better and looks better.

I got this coffee machine to replace the KitchenAid machine that was recalled. I already miss my old machine that I was not very happy about.
This machine has no gauge or similar to measure how much water you are pouring. So, I have to use a separate measuring cup to fill the water tank.
It has no flow speed adjuster for the coffee strength.
Neither does it have a setting for 1-3 cups or similar.
Despite the fact steam rises out of the carafe when pouring the coffee, it is not hot.
And it has a flat coffee basket into which our Aroma Brown filters do not fit.
After much adjusting, coffee tastes OK now... so 2 stars instead of 1.

Plug it in, add water, add coffee, push the button, drink good coffee. Very simple to use. Water level was a concern until I saw the mark on the water pickup tube. You can remove the carafe during brewing if you want a quick cup. The only problem I had was the carafe came with the lid on the wrong way and I had a problem pouring coffee. Then I realizied it was on backwards. No problem now. And it looks great on the counter.

This is the best coffee maker I have ever had. I have had quite afew coffee makers in my kitchen that I ended up either returning to the store or throwing away, but this one is here to stay! The coffee is great and tastes so fresh. I love stainless in general and this one has really great brushed stainless.

I know Saeco from their espresso machines, which are great. But I couldn't get along with the design philosophy in this coffee maker. I was glad that there are no frivolous bells or whistles, but this train just wouldn't run on time for me.

A big irk was not having a fill line indicator in the reservoir. I use the detachable faucet at my sink to put water in, and I would've had to scrawl my own line. Why?

Then, this sounds petty, but the carafe poured much too slowly. It irked me that the spout was small enough that coffee seemed only to dribble out.

Finally, I have our coffee maker positioned next to the sink, below some cabinets. Because opening the lid, for water & coffee, takes up a lot of real estate, I had to pull the unit forward till it was nearly off the counter.

Nope. This unit is not quite there.