Capresso Coffee Machine with Conical Burr Grinder

[leaks on the counter] - Not if you have the carafe under the spout. Its just like all automatic coffee makers, if you have the carafe off to the side or half in the plate then yea, it'll spill out. But, its exactly like all other automatic coffee makers I've had. You just put the carafe on the brew plate, it has an indent so you know it's seated. viola - no problem.

[filter basket clogs] - we haven't seen this happen at all. We use Shade Grown organic coffee, which is just like the regular stuff you buy at the store except it's good for the environment and tastes better. Beans grind the same. No problem with clogging the filter basket.

[gold mesh basket lets fine dust through] - this would not have been a problem for me even if it did happen but it doesn't. The people with this issue probably damaged their basket in some way. I love the basket - very easy to clean, has a handle to lift it out, plop it back in. No big deal. If you don't like using the basket you can always use filters but there's no problem with the basket.

[to make 6 cups you need to brew 10-12] - False! To brew 6 cups you put in 7 cups of water since some does evaporate off. I was concerned when I read the review stating this because we sometimes like to have people over for coffee too. We certainly didn't have the experience that that person did. We put in 7 and get just over 6 cups.

[condensation on the front means you have to wipe it down or mop up the counter] - Also not something we encountered. We haven't noticed any condensation at all. It's clean and dry just like our old krups.

[coffee isn't strong enough] - now this one really worried me because I love my coffee and have traveled a lot to other countries and really enjoy a robust cup of coffee. We did not encounter this issue either. The coffee maker has three settings, light medium and dark. We keep ours set on medium and its very rich - as in, you can't see the through the coffee, even when you're pouring it. We tried it on the dark and even for me it was too rich for a morning wake-up cup. I stick with medium. I think the people with this issue were using inferior beans. Shade grown...it's the best!

[not hot enough] - Its the same degree of hotness as our regular old Krups so I have no complaints there.

[carafe dribbles] - Maybe this is a personal technique thing but the first thing my husband commented on was that it did NOT dribble! We had our krups for 5 years and we just couldn't get the right tilt not to dribble. With this one we have a clean counter but again that could just depend on how you hold the carafe. We're glad to now have graduated into the world of non-dribblers with this carafe.

[grinder is so loud it will wake your neighbors] - well not unless you're living in a tent inside their bedroom! We have a two level house and the coffee maker is in the kitchen downstairs. We can hear it but barely - it's no where near as loud as our alarm clock which goes off first so I'm definitely awake when it's grinding and it's not as loud as some of the reviews may have suggested.

So, yea, we love it. I really wanted to write this review to help dispel some of the review that were here because really, I think the negative ones are possibly the anomalies - the few people who had a bad experience. I was so nervous about buying it though after reading them that I wanted to weigh in. It's a great machine, saves counter space by not having to have a coffee maker and a grinder on the counter and for us its actually cleaner too because each morning we'd get grinds on the counter as we poured them from the grinder into the filter. Its also more convenient because it does everything for you. Clean-up is the same as with our old coffee maker - rinse out the carafe and throw out the old grinds. That's it. All to say, I highly recommend it.

2. There is now a release button under the basket (which swings under the grinder). This prevents you from damaging the automatic swing arm mechanism.

3. They now include a short video tape to explain exactly how to use the system. The system is a bit confusing to explain via manual, but very simple once you see a few minutes of video.

A good grinder/coffee combo has to have two features: Keep the ginding away from the water/steam to keep from having to clean and dry the coffee grinder after each use: use burr grinders instead of wing grinders to release all the coffee flavor. The new Cuisinart does not have these features (Check out their user comments).

When I had a problem, the Capresso people were very very helpful with a free repair. The quality of coffee is great, if you take the time to learn how to set the controls for your particular taste. We use this every day.

2. coffee may flow on counter instead of in carafe. (This is
a little tricky-again, the key to avoiding this problem is
to simply follow directions).

Some people claimed they could not get a strong enough cup
of coffee even on the strong grinder settings. These people
need to be drinking expresso, not coffee. I like strong coffee and have had no problem obtaining a strong cup. However, if
you like REALLY strong coffee, just use less water than called for.

Some people said that the grinder was really loud. These people must never have used a blade grinder, which is much
louder and screechier than the Capresso's burr grinder.

Some people claimed that the spout on the carafe was
poorly designed, but it works fine if you don't pour too fast.

All in all, I have been very satisfied with my Capresso
453 and am confident it will give me long problem-free
service. Don't be put off from buying one because of some of
the negative comments in reviews of the model 452 you may
have read. In my view, most of these criticisms are unfounded.