Well built, cast aluminum body Stainless steel boiler Boiler is now rated at 1350W, not 1250W
Negative Product Points
Does NOT reach 200F Cannot turn off plate warmer
Extra plate warmer and carafe is no longer included with product
Detailed Commentary
Bought this machine per advice on CoffeeGeek that this machine heats water to the magic 200F temperature out of the spigot prior to hitting the coffee grounds - not even close! Running several pots thru the machine revealed a max spigot temperature of 168F - and pretty consistent at that. This is worse than my inexpensive $35 plastic Mr Coffee at 172F or my fully auto Capresso at 178F. KitchenAid advertises the machine as having an electric pump to pump water through the spigot. Not so fast - the "pump" is actually the stainless steel boiler which "pumps" the heated water through the spigot as it heats the water, just like all other standard drip coffee makers. Very misleading advertising. Prior to purchase I was led to believe that the pump was an actual pump that switched on automatically after the boiler got the water to the magic 200F - nope, not on this baby! So, buyer beware! Otherwise it is a well built machine, but not being able to shut off the warmer plate is a negative imo if you plan on using a vacuum carafe. The Bunn A10 at $218.87 (shipping included) is a definitely a better value for the money at samsclub.com (or even the BUNN VP17 at $232.48) than this one at $199; Good luck!
Follow-up: It's been brought to my attention that the temperature of the tap water used directly affects the brew water temperature; and yes, in most instances, it does - but not for BUNN machines. IMO, the whole point of having an automatic coffee machine is that it does the work as opposed to me doing the work to get a good cup of coffee. It would be redundant to have to heat water in a kettle prior to pouring into the machine to be able to see the 195F to 200F water temperature coming out of the coffee maker's spigot. At least the BUNN machines place the incoming water in a stainless steel boiler "holding tank" and heat the water to temperature prior to being sent over the coffee grounds. Yes, the BUNN's use more energy to keep that water hot, just like your house hot water heater does, and we pay for that convenience. But at least the BUNN doesn't send cool water over the grounds :)
Buying Experience
Target.com was easy, plus I got to return it to my local Target store. Also check online for target.com coupons, i found one for 20% off which brought machine down to $160, but I had to pay $40 shipping...
