Customer Reviews

Waring WC1000 Professional Coffee Maker

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

 

 

UPDATE: Several months ago, my Waring up and died. Kaput. One day it worked, the next day it wouldn't power up AT ALL. I think it's RIP date was less than 2 years after purchase. So buyer beware.

After years of trying to find a great drip machine, I finally gave up. I'm now using the most primitive brewing method possible: a Chemex drip system. No electricty needed. No moving parts to break. No scale build up. None of the headaches of a traditional coffee maker. And it makes the best coffee in the world!

My original review appears below the line. Consider it for historical purposes only.

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I've had this coffee maker for several weeks now, so if you're considering it for your home or office, please read on for some important tips I learned first-hand that you may want to consider prior to your purchase.

First, the drawbacks (they are all surmountable, as I will explain later)...

(1) This sucker is quite large. And as mentioned in the other reviews, the typical kitchen cabinet clearance means you will not be able to use the top burner unless you pull the unit out or keep it somewhere that is clear of overhead obstructions.
(2) You must keep the reservoir filled with water to brew coffee. Depending upon how often you use the machine, this means water will sit in the coffeemaker and may become "stale" between uses.
(3) The machine takes 13 minutes to warm up before it can brew. That means if you want the coffee maker to be ready at all times, you need to leave it on. That means it's drawing electricity throughout the day, 24/7.
(4) You can brew no fewer than 4 cups of coffee at a time, or it will not displace water from the reservoir properly.

Now to the strengths...

This machine brews a good, hot cup of coffee. Go to any coffee shop or restarant and see what they use. It's usually a Bunn or other large-size commercial maker that brews quickly and uses an incoming water line and drip filter basket. That's basically what the Waring is (without the water line) and it's MUCH better built than the home-use Bunns.

I did a lot of research before buying this coffeemaker. One of the best resources I found was a coffee issue of Wine Spectator that had all of the ins and outs of coffee, including recommendations for coffee makers. According to WS, you need at least 1200 watts of power to get good extraction from the grinds. The Waring puts out 1475, so you've got plenty of power. The machine also brews quite fast - an entire pot in approximately 4 minutes. Here again, this is another advantage of this machine. To brew a good cup, you want the hot water to come into contact with the grind long enough to extract flavor, but not too long, or it will also extract the bitter components of the coffee. Because of its fast brew time and high power output, the Waring is well up to the task. The brew is hot, with good flavor extraction and no bitterness or burned aftertaste.

Still interested? Then first, order the coffeemaker from Costco online. I picked mine up for $100. I then went to the Waring web site and downloaded a $30 rebate form (you'll need to check if the rebate offer is still active). The end result? I got a $269 coffeemaker for $69!

Next, purchase a gold filter basket. I found one for about $10 at my local Wegman's. You'll need one that fits an 8-10 cup basket. You can also order Swiss Gold coffee filters from Sweet Maria's that will fit the Waring, but they'll set you back about twice that.

Third, if you're worried about stale water, turn it on and run 3 full pots through it. The machine displaces a portion of water equal to what you pour in, so you can flush the entire coffeemaker this way. Remember, it takes less than 5 minutes to brew a whole pot, so flushing the system will not take that long. (That said, the water issue is the sole reason I withheld the 5th star.)

Fourth, DON'T LET THE COFFEE POT SIT ON THE WARMING BURNERS! As soon as your pot has brewed, transfer the coffee to a preheated thermal carafe. You can pick these up at a Ross or Marshall's for about $6-$8. If you leave the coffee on the heated burner, it will burn the coffee! This is especially true as you get down to that last cup in the pot. Get in the habit of using a carafe. Believe me, this is one of the best things you can do to ensure your last cup is as good as the first. In my opinion, this makes the point about the upper burner moot - you shouldn't use it anyway.

If you don't want to leave the machine on 24/7 but don't want to wait 13 minutes to brew every morning, I've got a simple solution for you: buy an appliance timer. Just set it to turn the machine on when you wake up and off when you leave the house. Problem solved.

Lastly, if you usually brew less than 4 cups and/or do not want a big machine, save yourself the expense and buy a French press. They're a bit of a pain to clean, but they do make the best tasting coffee (in my opinion). If on the other hand, you want a workhorse machine for a great price (read Costco section) that brews up a pot of coffee for guests / parties in no time flat, I recommend the Waring Pro.

I was looking for a professional-quality coffee maker for use in my HOME. I am hard on appliances. I loved the idea of high durability, 2 warmers, and quick brewing.

This machine is meant to be left on all the time, always keeping the water hot and ready to brew. While perfect for an office or classroom setting where one pot is made after the other, all day, or for extended periods, most home users don't really benefit from this. Leaving it on all the time is an energy drain.

You CAN turn the unit off when you are done with it, but the next time you turn it on, you need to wait 13 minutes for it to warm up, and then 4 to brew!

And, if you only brew one or two pots per day, you are always using the old water left in the machine for your coffee.

The machine actually holds two and a half pots of water, which is confusing if you ever have guests that are trying to make a simple pot of coffee in the morning. If you ever want to empty the unit of it's water, good luck.

Finally, the additional warmer is on the back of the unit, not the front, so you can forget using it if you keep this machine on your counter UNDER a cabinet.

This is not a traditional coffee maker for most home users. I suggest trying to read the product manual before deciding if this is the right maker for you.

REVISED: Okay, so I've had this for a little over two years now and I have to say that I now must rate this much lower than my original 5 stars. About 6 months ago (6 months beyond the warranty period) it began to leak. A little at first and then a lot. The leakage only occurred during brewing, so I assumed that I just had a bad seal between the water inlet "tub" and the hot water "tank" (or between the tank and the sprayer). Anyway, I decided that I'd try and disassemble it and replace the worn gasket (assumed problem) myself rather than spend the $$$ for an authorized repair. Well, this was painful in itself, but I did manage to get it completely apart and track down the problem.

UNFORTUNATELY, while the outside of this coffee maker looks like it is built to last, the internals are CHEAP. The water inlet tub (temporarily holds the water that you pour in while the hot water from the tank slowly gets pushed out to brew your coffee) was 100% plastic and most detrimentally the connector into the hot water tank was simply a molded piece of this tub. There was a gasket and it looked like perhaps it was a bit bad, but that was not the problem. The entire connector had a stress fracture running up one side and had even begun to crack up the length of the tub itself. This whole tub, absolutely critical to the operation of the coffee maker, is irreparably broken.

I'd consider calling Waring for a replacement, but 1) I know they'd make me take it to a repair center and 2) it'd just break again. Instead, I bought a used Bunn professional model (CWTF-15) at auction for less than I bought this POS for and now have a real coffee maker. I still think this Waring was a little prettier, but it was a far cry from my new Bunn on the inside, and its the inside that counts.

Anyway, revised down to TWO STARS (only because I did at least get some joy out of it for a little while). NOT RECOMMENDED.

I got the Waring WC-1000 for my personal use. I've always wanted a good "office quality" brewer for my home, as I drink a lot of coffee and now work at home most of the time. Initially, I was interested in the Bunn B-10 series (any of Bunn's consumer 12-cuppers). I looked at these at Target and was very disappointed. Way too much plastic--way too little "industrial grade" feel. I'm sure the coffee would have tasted fine, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I really wanted a solid piece of kitchen "furniture," and I also really wanted the hot water spigot so my wife could make quick work out of soup and hot chocolate.

My despair was brief, however. On a whim I went to Macy's to see if there was anything there that might fit my needs. And there was the Waring ("on sale" for the same price as Amazon has it). After only a little debate, I bought it. I didn't really intend to spend quite so much on a coffee maker, but I'm really glad I did. It is exactly what I was looking for. It has all of the fit and finish of the four-hundred dollar-plus Bunn's in a much more economical and practical form factor. Looks great in my kitchen and brews a heck of a good (and quick) pot of coffee. Honestly, it probably isn't any better than a Bunn in terms of coffee quality, but it certainly isn't any worse, either.

As with any of these types of "pour-over" machines, you have to be a bit careful not to over-fill the reservoir, lest your pot runneth over. Also, this might not be the machine for the most forgetful among us, as you do have to physically turn off the burner every day and turn off the heating element before embarking on long vacations. But for the small office or for the personal kitchen of a "professional coffee drinker," this machine simply can't be beat.

Everything negative that is in all the other writen ratings are very true. I had this coffeemaker for 3 months and impressive to look at but horrible to use and died on me in 3 months of home use. I am a homemaker and a die hard coffee drinker, 12 to 20 cups a day. This pot couldn't stand up to making 3 pots of coffee a day. It did not brew or keep the coffee hot enough and took much to long to warm up and brew a pot. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS COFFEE MAKER! You will be sorry. I don't know how to return it as I threw out the box two months ago and purchased it online while stationed overseas. Yesterday I purchased two of the new model Cuisanart 12 cup programmable makers. I can now brew two pots at the same time and much faster. The cuisanart pots let me regulate the coffee carafe temperatures and brew a great cup of coffee, are self cleaning, auto shut off 0-4 hours(you choose), an alarm/beep to let you know when the pot is finished brewing and are half the price. I purchased two for the price of one Waring Coffee Maker. I will never purchase another Waring product....

What I like: boiling hot water in addition to making coffee

what I don't like: doesn't make good coffee if you want to get only 4 cups

the flat bottom filter dramatically reduces the "retention time" of hot water in the coffee-filled filter. Although I increase the amount of coffee ground by 100%, the coffee is still not strong. I have tried making 8 cups, and the coffee is getting better/stronger, but I cannot finish 8 cups in half day. I guess I will get a new one with a cone shape filter.

Well, we've been searching for the affordable coffee maker that makes coffee as good (or even almost) as the Bunn Commercial jobs the restaurants all use. I had pretty much decided on going with a Bunn Commercial unit after reading the reviews on the home products (didn't like the reports on the caraffe problems, coffee is not for spilling. It can ruin the start of an otherwise perfect day). It seems that Costco and Sams club all have good prices on the mega 3 burner commercial jobs, but try and fit one of on a counter underneath cabinets (not happening). Bunn does make a pourover one that would have fit, but the price jumps up to a prohibative $300 bucks or so. Was about to knuckle under when we saw this unit. After buying the Waring Pro Waffle maker last year (perfect waffles everytime) we decided to give this one a try. This coffee maker is almost perfect. Fits under the counter (as long as you don't use the second burner), has a convieniant water spout for up to 6 cups of hot water (tea, hot chocolate or soup), which is much better than waiting for the young one to tend the whistling tea kettle after starting it on the stove. This coffee maker DOES make a pot of coffee as good as the Bunn! It is finished in a very nice stainless (real metal here folks) which is very easy to keep clean, and adds to durability. The caraffes (comes with 2, which are extra on most Bunn's) are well designed, have excellent lids and do not spill or drip (a must). The only thing I can find fault with is that the water inlet grate does not come from Waring with a dust cover, leaving the inlet open to dust, dirt, bugs or what ever is flying around the air at the moment. They need to make a cover for this (which I am in the process of doing myself)! But I don't think for the price you can complain, we got this one at Costco (online) for $149.95 and also (thanks to Amazon) downloaded and printed out a $30.00 rebate which makes this machine ultra affordable, and hard to pass up even if you don't think you need a coffee maker.

I teach an adult school class and I probably see 60 students a day who love to drink coffee. This machine is fast and makes super coffee. The warmers let us make a couple of pots at a time so we are never out. The spigot lets us make hot tea and cup'o noodles without using the microwave. I bought this on sale with the rebate and free shipping so it is a great deal.

This coffee maker is not worth your money, learn from my mistake!
We have had 3 of these machines and each one only lasted about a year.
Each one developed the same problems: water leaking out of the bottom and one day it just stopped. I desparately wanted it to make it (hence, the 3 machines), but it's just poorly made. On our first return, waring agreed to replace it, but we had to pay for shipping. The shipping cost almost as much as the machine!
Don't be fooled by the features, it's not worth it.

I loved this coffee maker, tremendously! I used it daily for less than 1 yr., and now, it just shorted out. I couldn't be more disappointed. You're better off purchasing a cheaper, more reliable brand coffee maker.

Dear Paul
I had the same problem with the leaking coffee maker and I called Waring. I was amazed at how helpful they were. I had no proof of purchase and I told them that the pot was probably over a year old. Nonetheless they replaced it for me. I had to pay the postage to have it sent to them but all in all I was delighted with what I assumed to be a total loss. So maybe you ought to contact them if you still have the pot. Otherwise We love it.