OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker – Single-Serve & Carafe, Thermal Stainless Steel, SCA Certified

Great coffee maker, but pricey.
Warning, this is a critical review. I give this a 5 star because overall product merits an excellent rating. However, if I was to rate this based on value, I rate it a 3 star.I’m not a coffee snob. I like my cheap coffee. I’ve watched several coffee snob reviews on this product prior to purchase, and this is my take. What the heck is the difference between a $30 drip coffee maker and a $300 drip coffee maker? Well, it’s the same difference between a 900watt microwave and a 1400watt microwave. This $300 coffee maker has a higher wattage heating element. Which means it’ll heat the water of faster and hotter. Does it make that big of a difference? That’s something only a coffee snob can tell you. I’ll say this: I can tell the difference. It’s not earth shattering, but it does make a difference. Does it make a $200+ difference? Most will say ‘no’.So now I move onto rating the coffee maker on overall quality. This is where I get a little more critical. Why? Because it’s OXO. I own lots of OXO products and I love them all. I’ll be honest and say, this feels more like an OXO product in the making. It’s not the user experience I’d expect from OXO. Translation, this misses the mark on being sensational. The insulated carafe is nice, but OXO could have done better. It’s a quality carafe, but like some reviewers point out, it leaves about a table spoon or more of liquid when done pouring. It’s a minor inconvenience. But ever day use will add up that frustration. Means when you clean the carafe, you’ll have that fair amount of water left inside as well. I admit, it is annoying. Very surprised OXO couldn’t have designed that better…for $300.The other complain perceived by many is the filter basket. This is my biggest complaint. For $300 and being OXO, this is really were they missed the mark. The basket is flimsy. Not the $300 quality I’d expect. The snap into place operation is clunky. It doesn’t just easily slide into place. Little details you’d expect from a brand like OXO are completely missing here. I personally find the selection of 2-4 cup vs 4-8 cup a garbage design. I’ve used both modes. Makes little to no difference. I recommend using the carafe at all times. The 2-4 cup operation is a waste. And because of that waste, it adds to the frustration of the lacking filter basket design. The sliding lever you use to select 2-4 vs 4-8 doesn’t lock into place. That will annoy you. The big difference between 2-4 vs 4-8 is having a choice of which type of filter you want to use. THAT is where OXO could have made a killing on their design. For whatever reason, most expensive coffee makers opt for basket style filters. I personally hate them. They’re a pain to use and tedious to fiddle with in the morning. Conical filters are superior in my opinion. It’s great that OXO created an option to use conical filters. However, as pointed out their filter basket design is garbage. Not worth using conical filters in the 2-4 cup mode. My advise to OXO, fix this aspect of your coffee maker! The filter basket design will make you crave your Mr. Coffee simplicity. This filter basket will make your $300 coffee maker feel cheaper than a $30 coffee maker. The coffee snob channels will detail how wonderful the filter basket design disperses the water and so on. Garbage observations. Even a $30 coffee maker does the same job.The last complain is so trivial, and yet surprised OXO could have designed this better. Why the two power buttons? You turn on power, then you actually need to select 2-4 vs 4-8 for brewing? Why? Maybe it needs to sense you’re boiling less water vs more water. It couldn’t have been designed to sense that? The fact that the coffee maker will auto shut off really hammers home the uselessness of having two buttons.Why am I complaining so much right? It’s because it’s OXO! You expect something different with OXO. You expect great quality and super simple operation. And I admit you don’t feel that with this coffee maker. It should have been a one button design from the start. You expect OXO to be innovative. There’s nothing innovating in this design. Nothing at all. It’s just a quality coffee maker with seemly more complexity in it’s cheap filter basket design than what’s needed. OXO had a great idea in allowing both conical filters and basket style filters. It’s a shame they couldn’t have executed on that design better. I personally would prefer conical filters. Especially for an OXO product. Why? Because conical filters are always easer to work with. People buy OXO because they like simple quality and easy. Saying that, they may want to cater their next design to those that prefer conical style filters.I definitely have some criticism for this product. Keep in mind the harsh criticism is do to the $300 price tag and it having the OXO brand. You expect something different from both. Do I recommend buying the product? Oddly yes. I admit in the world of automatic drip coffee makers, no one really rises to the challenge of nailing the perfect design when it comes to quality and simplicity. That surprises me to this day. It’s just a coffee maker! I commend OXO for it’s styling. To be honest, that’s why I bought it. I would have bought the Brawn if it had the better heating element. Overall it’s a 5 star compared to competition. A solid 3 star in falling short of OXO expectations.

El café sabe espectacular. Yo lleno casi toda la cuchara por cada taza. Pero eso depende de como le guste a cada uno. La jarra completa tarda 5 minutos en hacerse.

OXO 8 Cup Coffee Maker Review updateWe have now had the unit for about two weeks and as a result I can give a more complete review.The unit is a smaller coffee maker, unlike many other more conventional home brewers. It is able to brew anywhere from two to eight coffee industry standard 5 ounce cups, or 40 fluid ounces in total. I point this out as the Amazon description still lists it as making 64 fluid ounces. I sent in a note to Amazon about correcting that mistake but nothing has changed yet.Interface:- The interface is uncluttered and intuitive, with none of the stuff I don’t want.- It has only 4 buttons: Power, 2-4 cups, 5-8 cups, Clean.- No unnecessary clock or timer functions.- Two brew baskets: the standard “main” basket and an insert for making lesser amounts- The base has a recessed pedestal which can be flipped over to lift a mug up when brewing directly into the mugUsage:- I have now used all options for making a brew:- 2-4 cups setting into both a pot and a mug, 5-8 cups into a pot.- Water comes in hot and FAST. Initial bloom phase (flow then pause) lasts about 30 seconds to a minute.- Coffee is ready in 7 minutes or less, depending on amount being made.- No spills or leaks seen at any time.- A few small drips and spatters when making the brew into a mug. Use a tall mug. Note: the included pedestal is your friend here. Make use of it.- Coffee is hot. The pot keeps it between low 170s and mid 180s (°F) for at least an hour.Quality of brew:- Flavourful, especially at the larger volumes (5-8 cups).- Flavour intensifies as it cools. This was expected.A note on the coffee grind & amount:- Grind:- Medium, i.e. use as directed by the manual to start.- Too coarse or not enough coffee and the flavour will be thin.- Too fine or too much coffee and the resulting brew might be over extracted. It might even clog. See note on water flow above. I never saw this happen but I suppose it is possible.- Amount:- Use as directed (~ 8 gm / 5 oz cup) for larger amounts to start.- Use slightly more for lesser amounts (2-4 cups), especially when brewing into a mug (~ 2 cups).Once you’ve played with it for a while, I have no doubt the sweet spot will be found for your favourite coffee beans and the amount of coffee you like to make.The one feature I have yet to use is the “Clean” function. That won’t be for another two months or so, given our use of the brewer.All in all, a great coffee maker, well worth the price of admission.