Melitta Aroma Series Programmable Drip Coffee Makers Parent (Aroma Tocco Glass Black 10 Cups)

Melitta upgrade!
Full disclosure, I’ve had this coffee machine for less than 24 hours. I noticed when I was purchasing, it had no reviews, however, so I want to add mine in case anyone else is hesitant to buy something without reviews (which normally I am!)It had been a few years since I’ve actually had a coffee “machine.” I’ve had a Melitta pour-over for the past few years, and that’s been all I needed, but with my significant other moving in, it was time for a higher capacity upgrade so we could chug our morning coffee without all the cup-by-cup brewing. In the past I’d had cheap, simple, basic coffee makers, because although I do appreciate a good quality brew, I would not consider myself a coffee snob by any means.After spending time browsing the machines in lower price ranges, I wasn’t very impressed. I also didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for a machine which is supposed to save me money vs. getting my coffee to-go. I decided to see if Melitta made anything more than the little pour-overs I was used to. I came across the AromaEnhance, and was scared off by the lack of reviews, but scoured the internet and did find some reviews elsewhere, which were overwhelmingly positive. I really liked the looks and features of this model, so I decided to bite the bullet and order.It arrived quickly and was packaged very nicely. I followed the instructions to clean, and run water through to get rid of any plastic taste. It says to run water through 3x, but I found once was sufficient in my case (I’m impatient!) It came with some free Melitta #4 filters, which are the best filters, in my opinion. That was a nice touch, especially for those who are not familiar with the cone vs. basket filters. I quickly went to brewing my first carafe-full, after setting my aroma selector dial nearly all the way to strong, and I had 6 cups of delicious coffee in just a few minutes. It stayed hot for at least 30 minutes, and warm for hours.Things I really like are the overall appearance of the machine – very nice looking, and well-built, the quietness of the machine – no beeping and very little noise while brewing, the ability to set it to brew my coffee in the morning so it’s ready when I wake up, and the carafe which keeps the coffee a nice hot temperature so I can enjoy a 2nd (or 3rd) cup later on vs. a warming plate which scalds the coffee and is a waste of energy. My only (very small) gripes are that the carafe’s design nearly requires you to hold it completely upside-down to get the last bit of coffee out – which also may make pouring water in to fill the machine tricky if you use the carafe, and the carafe lid screws on, which is actually great, but for some reason mine tends to take a couple tries to screw it on ‘straight.’ These are very minor quirks, and it’s entirely possible that I just have bad hand-eye coordination, but overall, I’m very satisified with the Melitta AromaEnhance. I will update this review if I have any issues in the coming weeks/months, but so far, so good!

Quit working this morning
This made great coffee, but constantly needed to be decalcified and got louder and louder. Today the pump quit. I am contacting Melitta as it has been 5 months since I bought it….I expect much more for this price.

Easy to Use: A suggestion
I like this coffee maker. It’s easy to use. It makes a hot cup of coffee. The carafe is very nice. As I like my coffee strong, I’ve some problem getting the coffee makes to extract a full bodied cup. Even on the “boldest” setting and the basket full of coffee….the coffee lacks body.My suggestion: When the basket/filter is filled with coffee, as in many auto coffee makers, the coffee grounds are pushed up into the covering lid from which the water is introduced. This makes a mess and it’s hard to clean and it has to be cleaned every time you use the coffee maker. So, I fashioned a round disk of coffee filter material made from a round basket filter. I place this over the top of the grounds. This works like a charm and I found the filter material (Bunn filters, can I say that here?) can be rinsed off and maintain their integrity for weeks.I have wondered if the “bold” adjustment does anything? I suppose I should try it on the weakest setting and then I’d know although if it’s weaker than the strong setting I don”t think I would call that coffee.

Love this coffee maker!
This is a great product. The design is sleek and modern, and it’s easy to use and clean. A big plus is that it uses common Melitta #4 filters, so you won’t have to worry about buying proprietary supplies. Just be aware that the entire top of the machine opens up to access the water tank, which means you can’t place it under a kitchen cabinet. If you have the counter space, it’s a great choice.