Customer Reviews

West Bend 55108 3-in-1 Coffee Center, Black and Stainless

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This machine looks very nice and was built fairly well for the most part, BUT the cappaccino machine needs more steam power for the frother and the rubber piece they have over the froth wand is useless and the machine actually froths better without it. The coffee maker takes forever to brew and the pot and its lid are kind of cheap.

I would NOT recommend this machine.

I found this product to be poorly made and flimsy. The espresso was more bitter than my previous machine and the machine itself clogged easily. I found that coffee of both types made with this machine was just a little funny tasting, perhaps because of the plastic or other materials used in its manufacture.

On the good side, the warmer plate for regular coffee was not very hot, but hot enough, allowing the second cup to taste almost the same as the first.

I am a hard sell when it comes to coffee makers. Over the years I have bought and subsequently returned, or trashed, more machines than I can remember. I had actually gone back to brewing manuallly with the cone and boiled water. Then last February I was furnishing a new office. I desparately scoured the market once again for anything that had the basics of a good machine and that was not rediculously expensive. In a last ditch effort, and with very low expectations, I bought the West Bend at Walmart. I was very surprised! This machine gets it right. The water is hot enough, the caraffe is easy to pour and easy to read, the warmer is not too hot, all the grounds get soaked evenly, its fairly fast, and it does not spatter or overflow - and it turns out a great cup of coffee.
The Espresso side does okay, too, although it did spatter and make a mess, (I haven't seen one in this price range that doesn't), it was easy to figure out, easy to clean, and it makes a decent latte.
I recommended this coffee-maker to my next-door-neighbor, she bought it and I have used it several times. Again, no problems, excellent coffee.
For the money, you can't go wrong with this one.

For the price, the machine looks great and I was not expecting miracles just good coffee and occasional decent cappuccino. That said I was happy to read Miss Mary's review because the bitter taste the coffee has from this machine is amazing. First, I thought it was the water then the coffee after changing both and getting the same result I'm glad it was not just me. I plan to send it back today!

Well so far this machine has been great for the price, while the espresso isn't great it makes a fairly good mocha. It isn't a 3 or 5 hundred dollar machine, let's face it it wasn't even $50.00. I usually spend $5.00 or $10.00 a week on mochas so if I get even 6 months out of it will will have paid for itself several tiimes over. If you are looking for Starbucks either go to Starbucks or get yourself a $500.00 machine but if you are looking for a fairly good mocha or cappucino then give it a try.

I don't know what the problem is with the coffeemakers that the other folks had. I am a BIG coffee drinker (2 pots per day for me and my hubby) and I make lattes about once or twice a week. I have had this machine since last August and have had no problems. I think as a coffeemaker it makes better everyday coffee than any other we have had. The warming plate is not too hot, which ruins the flavor if it is. I take it off and put it in a thermal carafe right away anyway to save it in a more fresh brewed state. And even with the heavy use I have given it for over 10 months, it looks like new. I am online right now looking for a replacement carafe since I bashed it on the sink and got a little crack in the bottom. Like I said, for the price (cheap!), I love this thing. Plus it doesn't take up tons of kitchen counter real estate!!

I received this as a gift this past Christmas, and read these reviews before making coffee. I was so worried I was going to be drinking muddy, bitter crap and that the thing would fall apart after one use. Other than the usual kinks you have to work out (figuring out how much grounds per water for your particular machine works best) I've had no problems with the machine. The coffee is better than my Mr. Coffee coffee, which is pretty good to start with. The espresso isn't as good as what my Italian MIL makes with her espresso maker, but the cappuccino is delicious. I've no issues with the frother, other than just figuring out how to use it, which really did't take long. I've been using it every day since Christmas. I like how it looks, I like that it's easy to use and the directions that came with it were easy to understand. I really like this product, and while I wouldn't buy it myself, I'm happy I got it as a gift.

I bought this coffeemaker at Wal-Mart for $50 and read these bad reviews after I brought it home (backwards I know!). Because of them I wasn't hopeful that I would like it but kept the box and receipt knowing I could take it back to Wal-Mart if I was not happy with it. I had a bad experience with the Proctor Silex Brewstation which resulted in having bad tasting coffee for the past 6 months. The first pot of coffee (6 cups) in this West Bend tasted great and I had no problems at all with leaking or it taking too long to brew. It brewed in the same amount of time as any other coffee pot that I've owned. I also made a latte and it was yummy, again with no problems with frothing milk or having drips. The plastic it's made out of is no flimsier than Mr. Coffee and better quality than the Proctor Silex. I have used it now for 5 days in a row and I would say that it's a very good product and makes a great cup of coffee. Now it might break in another week but I still have good old Wal-Mart to take it back to! I didn't know how bad the Proctor Silex coffee really was until I had my first cup out of this machine. My only complaint is that I hate those cone filters. If they'd make it with the regular round filter I would like that much better. The box didn't indicate that it used these filters and they didn't even supply you with one to get you started.
UPDATE: I gave this better reviews than others and I may have figured out why. This listing is model 55028 and my model is 55128. I must have an updated and newer model and maybe they worked out the kinks. I have had none of the problems in the other reviews and it makes a really good cup of coffee and espresso/cappuccino.

Wow! Too good to be true would be a correct summation here. It is flimsy and coffee doesn't stay hot. You get what you pay for. But if you are looking for an impressive looking machine for the price - go for it. Sorry, Westbend, but go back to the drawing board. Do more than make it pretty.

My problem is different from the other reviewers. Maybe I'm not the espresso taste connosseuir(sp?) that the other reviewers are, but I was perfectly happy with the machine.... when it worked.

I got the machine and used it about 10 times... then the frother just stopped delivering any steam. I sent it back and got another one. Used the second one about 10 times, and guess what? You guessed it... it stopped delivering steam in the frother again. Arghhh!!!

Maybe I just got a couple of them out of a bad lot; I don't know. But, I would not buy this machine again.