Customer Ratings & Reviews

Best coffee maker! Produces great tasting coffee. Easy to use. Nice options (warmer plate temperature and time-length adjustments, two auto-on timers, brew strength). The lift-off water reservoir is sooo convenient. The quality is well worth the money -a bit more $ than a few I’ve owned in the past, about the same $ as a couple others, but far less $ than other units that I MIGHT have purchased. Thankfully, I save a couple hundred dollars by going with this unit instead one of the “top rated” coffee makers that cost $300-450 and didn’t have the same options. If you are “on the fence”…just buy it, use it and be happy you went with this model as I have, every time I have used it.

Wow! Replaced my little 4 cup coffeemaker with this great big 12 cup machine. Footprint is much larger so tried it in various areas on the countertops. Fits under my cupboards but then you can't open the grounds lid or fill the water tank. Works best in an open area with no cabinets above. Water tank is removable but you can also just take off the lid to fill it to the desired number of cups printed on the outside. Easier than replacing it on the guides on the back side of the machine because 12 cups of water in the tank is heavier and more awkward than you might expect. Gold tone permanent filter has little numbers inside to add grounds or for easier cleanup you can remove the basket and use a number 4 paper cone filter and a scoop. Two programmable timers (one for workdays, one for weekends). Love the adjustable safety shutoff(1 to 4 hours) for the warming plate that counts down on the screen. You can also turn it off manually by pressing either of two BREW/CANCEL buttons twice. I prefer the one on the side of the warming plate. Brewing time is longer than my old coffeemaker since this is more than just hot water pumping through grounds. It beeps at the end when the coffee is ready or you can pour and it will pause for a brief 25 seconds. Carafe seems sturdy and pours neatly. We have been testing various amounts of water and grounds and brands of coffee and always get a good batch. You can adjust the brew strength to BOLD from REGULAR if you like it stronger like me. So far the only negative is one that everyone points out when they see my fancy KitchenAid KCM1209. The frosted plastic handle on the clear plastic water tank doesn't match the stainless steel band that it aligns with on the coffeemaker body. The quality of the coffee brewing and many functions make this a great item for your kitchen.

This is a story of a coffee maker. It's only job is to produce hot coffee day in and out. Such is the meager life of a coffee maker. However, this coffee maker had the destiny that its good looks could one day walk the red carpet at milan’s fashion week. Its black, grey and chrome is sleek and functional and so it was picked. So how good is the coffee ? The answer is quite good. After the initial 2 rounds of running plain water to purge the system (as per the manual instructions), I ran some premium freshly ground coffee beans. I also liked the fact the coffee filler has a ‘measuring cup’, which can help you estimate the amount of coffee needed. The lowest number is 4 cups, but because we are a family of coffee drinkers, it takes 12 cups no problems. The coffee that came out of the coffee maker was smooth and flavorful. Using a standard temperature probe, the coffee output was a slightly cooler than I hoped. My old machine would produce coffee in the 193F range, this was about 186F, a whole 7 degrees cooler, The coffee out did not taste any different. If anything it was more drinkable out of the carafe. The carafe pour system is very good, pours well and without spills. What I like about this coffee maker, the water tank is removable and easier to clean (unlike the older one), and the coffee basket is fully removable for cleaning. The ease in maintenance along with a “clean” feature makes this coffee maker more desirable. I also liked the fact that I can control the brew temp. I noticed that in “bold” mode, it took 20% longer to brew compared to regular mode, given that the rainshower head did not drop water as quickly, it lets the hot water soak in the beans longer. Hence the flavor theoretically stronger, though I couldn't take a difference, it tasted just as good. The brew time for a standard 12 cup was about 12 minutes, vs. 15 minutes for “bold”. In the coffee maker settings, I liked the plate warmer settings, where one could set it for how long and what temperature. There are two settings for temp, and I found the lower temp worked well to keep my coffee warm without the feeling that it burned the coffee. I set it for 1 hour, based on the fact that coffee that is made is usually drunk within an hour or two anycase. But it does let you warm it to a period of 4 hours. Overall this is a very good coffee maker. Surely the market is saturated and you can choose anything, but for the price and features, this KitchenAid unit is very well built, and looks premium on a budget price. I am sure it will run for years and serve our coffee needs. You would not go wrong with this coffee maker.

I like the look and features. It can be oriented head on or from the side. It has two auto brew times. Removable water reservoir with handle. Brew pause. All great. However, after less than a month of use, the machine started leaking. I thought the first time was user error, but it continued to happen several times. After just getting new kitchen cabinets, I can't risk ruining them on a coffee machine, no matter how much I liked it. Returned.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY 4 – WORTH IT REVIEW: KitchenAid - 12-Cup Coffee Maker - Onyx Black BEST BUY Tech Insider Network SUMMARY: Quality really makes a difference, you can tell from the second you open the box this is going to be a good investment. We are trying to wean ourselves from single cup brewers to help with the environment. Our first brew with this was perfect. Previously, we tried a cheaper brewer from another mfg and after 4 attempts of the worst coffee ever we tossed it in the garbage. I strongly recommend this over some other common brand makes you might find at a cheap grocery store or hardware store. This is the real deal. UNBOXING: INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: Everything was securely packaged and individually wrapped. No corners were cut in the mfg or packaging of the product. There are lots of thoughtful touches and hints along the way as you unwrap things. Each of the baskets have handles built in for example. Very nice touch. PERFORMANCE / EASE OF USE: I took my time and read the quick start guide as well as the instructions. I rinsed everything, and ran 3 water only brews to help eliminate the plastic taste that is coming with the first few brews. Once I no longer got a strong plastic odor, I took it for a spin. I course ground enough beans for 4-5 cups, I added 4-5 cups of water and here I am happily drinking my first brew. The included metal filter has a graduated guide on the inside, so that you know just how much ground to put in. I like that you can pour in water the traditional way or remove the water reservoir to fill it separately. I had assumed that you could fill the reservoir and select the number of cups but alas that was not the case. It will run all the water you put into it. Not a deal breaker. Just a bad assumption on my part. I’m not a big user of timers etc. But rest assured that it has these features as well as a “Bold” brew mode and a “Cleaning” mode. SUMMARY: I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good solid worthwhile not a dime store coffee maker. The black and chrome finishes look great with my other appliances. Though we intended it mostly for parties and large family gatherings it might just find a home on the counter.

Love this coffee machine. All the previous ones didn't work as quickly to brew. Looks super swanky too and completes my coffee bar. I use it twice daily.

So let me start of by saying that is not some special, smart or high tech coffee maker. This is your normal drip coffeemaker with the exception of the brew strength. This coffee maker allows you to control how strong you want your coffee, also this coffee maker also comes with a permanent filter which does not need to be replaced nor would you ever need to buy filters again. This coffee maker also has the ability to set two timers functionality. Again nothing high tech but it does look nice, makes a mean cup of coffee and it is larger than you average coffee machine.

Nice coffee maker so user friendly and best for brewing coffee at its best. I like the style and color also.

This 12 cup KitchenAid coffee maker is large. Controls on one side dictate how the coffee maker will sit on your counter. Water tank on the left and Carafe on the right. Works fine for my counter. If you prefer the tank in the back and the carafe in the front, there is a 2nd brew/cancel button on the front under the warming plate but the main control panel will be on the left side of the machine. Odd. It makes good tasting coffee. Good to the last drop? You may never know because the carafe has a ½ inch lip around the entire inner circumference. This makes it almost impossible to pour the last bit of coffee even when you turn it completely upside down. This also makes it difficult dry unless you stuff a towel inside. There doesn’t seem to be a way to detach the lid from the carafe for easy washing and drying. There is nothing in the care and cleaning section of the instructions that show how to remove the lid and the illustration of the carafe and water tank in a sink show the lid still on the carafe. The pins that allow the lid to pivot like a hinge are small and appear fragile so I’m not going to apply force. I’ve never seen a coffee maker carafe with a lid that can’t be removed for cleaning, until now. The opening of the lid at the pour spout is wide. When the carafe has been sitting on the warming plate for a while, condensation builds up under the lid. When you pour another cup of coffee, this condensation runs off the underside of the lid onto the counter/table on either side of your cup, unless you are pouring your coffee into bowl. You access the coffee basket by flipping up a lid that has the shower head. This requires almost 22 inches of vertical clearance if you want to put this under cabinets. You can slide the machine out and push it back again, but you don’t need to do this for coffee makers with a swing-out basket design. You can use the included reusable gold tone filter OR #4 cone paper filters but not both at the same time. I have plenty of cone filters I use with my clever coffee dripper and I prefer to use those for easier cleanup. After brewing a pot of coffee there will naturally be condensation that builds on the underside of the brew basket lid and showerhead. The shower head slides along a track in the lid as both pivot while raising the lid. This area inside the lid is hollow and collects a LOT of condensation that can’t be wiped away. When you flip the lid up to remove the coffee filter for cleaning, this condensation runs out of the lid and showerhead and flows underneath the basket containing the pause and pour stopper. This liquid will spill onto the warming plate if the carafe is not in place. I’m not a fan of this design. There is cord storage within the base that might be good for long term storage if you don’t use the machine often. It isn’t practical for daily use. Where the power cord exits the base, the hole is wider than the cord so you can manually push the cord back into this hole. If your coffee maker is close to the power outlet, this is great for “shortening” the power cord by stuffing the excess into the cord storage. You have no control over how the cord folds or bends when shoved into this storage area. This puts temporary kinks in the cord, so it is “twisty and crooked” when you pull the cord back out of the storage. I use it to store the excess cord and use a cable wrap to organize the length of cord I need to reach my outlet. Overall this is an ok coffee maker, it does make coffee, but I expected better from the KitchenAid brand. I’m sure it was cheaper to mold the pour spout out of plastic and slap it on top of the glass “jar” with a ½ inch inner lip instead of a nice smooth pour spout. That and the lid opening being too wide at the pour spout dribbling on your table and not being removeable for cleaning is terrible design work. The flip up brew basket lid and shower head is overly complicated, requires much more height and holds condensation for many hours. When you think it is dry and move the machine, more water pours out. Whose idea was it to put all the controls on the left side making the device really wide?

I am beyond satisfied with my new coffee maker. This has a couple features that make it stand out among its peers, from the flavor of the coffee brewed to the convenience and ease of daily use. One of my favorite things is that, just like my single-serve Keurig, this offers a removable water tank. The tank slides off at an easy angle away from the coffee machine and allows you to fill up right from the sink! Gone are the days of using the carafe to fill up the water tank and spilling water all over the counter! I tend to ignore hype, but the whole spiral water distribution sprayer head that this boasts to have honestly does seem to be resulting in much better consistency and aromatic qualities of our usual Folgers and BRC Beyond Black coffee grounds. In a blind test, my more palate-accomplished friends and family at a recent gathering definitely seemed to be able to tell which coffee was from the new machine and which from the old. This brewer has a ton of useful settings and timers, including when you want the warming plate on and for how long. This is useful for those lazy Saturday mornings where I want my first cup of coffee when the sun rises, but then I can keep working on the pot through the late-morning, all while enjoying it at an excellent temperature (that is controllable). All in all, this is the coffee brewer I wanted and I am so happy to have. Get it. You won't be disappointed. Just note that this is a bit longer than most brewers and seems to favor being flush against a counter-wall as opposed to jutting straight out at any sort of angle.

My wife and I have been using the Kitchenaid 12-Cup coffee maker for about 2 weeks now, and it was a nice upgrade over our last coffee maker. This coffee maker isn't going to change your life, but if you're looking for a new, solid coffee maker, I would recommend this Kitchenaid. Things I really enjoy compared to our last coffee maker: 1. Detachable water tank The first thing I noticed compared to my previous coffee maker was the detachable storage tank, similar to a Keurig. It has a handle on the top of the tank to make carrying and sliding in and out of the coffee machine easier, which I appreciated. I've been pulling off the water tank and filling it up with filtered water straight from my fridge. 2. Coffee texture is silkier (smoother, creamier) I'm not sure if it's related to me now using filtered water from the refrigerator, thanks to the easy-to-remove water tank, but the coffee poured from this Kitchenaid is a bit silkier than from my last coffee maker. I think it may also have to do with the swirl pattern that the water falls in. 3. Timer countdown for the warming plate. I really like being able to tell exactly how long I have until the coffee warming plate turns off since I normally brew enough to have multiple cups of coffee on the weekends. 4. Clear and appropriately sized display The display showing the time and timer countdown is well-sized and easy to read at a distance. 5. Bold Coffee Setting I like to use a lot of creamer in my coffee, so I prefer a bolder coffee flavor to compensate. There's a bold setting which I recommend using. 6. Reusable filter or disposable are both options I haven't decided if I like the reusable filter yet, but the instructions also include which disposable filter to use if desired. Cons: It took a couple tries to get used to sliding the water tank onto the track so it fits in place perfectly, but it isn't difficult. Other than that minor hiccup, I've just been enjoying good coffee.

This machine brews great coffee, is easy to use/setup, and I love that you can put it horizontal to save counter space. I gave 4 stars becuse the carafe is very thin and fragile. Barely touched it to the side of my quartz sink and bye-bye! However, I contacted KitchenAid and they sent a brand new one, no cost.

This is a very good coffee maker. The coffee taste great. the only complaint I have is that it is a fairly slow process to make the coffee. In other words, it takes a long time to fill the carafe.

Nice design. Makes good coffee. I like basket. Don’t need paper filters either. Can see water reservoir easily. Turns off after 2 hours. Kitchen aid great product.

I just upgraded to the kitchenAid 12 cup coffee maker. It does everything I want it to do effortlessly. Just set your clock and if your like me and you want to wake up to fresh brewed coffee then push auto set one and put the time in. Its that simple. The water reservoir holds 12 cups and has a handle for easy carrying and refilling with water the filter has notches so you can easily gauge how much coffee to use and if you drink your coffee slow you can program the burner to stay on past the standard time.

Coffee is make quickly. Warming plate has two settings, but I have only needed the lower setting to keep warm. I like the option to pour water into the top of the tank or to remove the tank and fill at the sink. Trying both, for my personal preference I just use the carafe to pour the amount of water needed for the coffee. The permanent filter is well made, but I have started using filters to make cleanup easier. My only con is that the lid on the carafe is not removable. Everything else makes this a great buy.

The things I like about this coffee maker is removable water tank, reusable filter, brew settings, timed plate warmer and easy to clean. It replace my grind & brew coffee maker, I could find a good one. Im gland I made the chance back. I also bought a grinder will a 12 oz bean capacity.

Makes great coffee. Easy to use and program. The only downside for me is that it is made to sit against the wall I one direction and needs clearance at the top for adding grounds, filling water, etc, so I am limited to where on my counters I can use it. Also, I wish the cord was a litter longer.

Need drip filter coffe maker for best taste for expensive good whole bean coffee freshly ground from Hawaii

Love this coffee maker. It doesnt over fill and spill coffe grounds into the coffee carafe like some do.