The bottom line is that this machine brews an outstanding Peet's quality cup of coffee, the kind I crave every day.
Positive Product Points
Excellent cup of coffee: rich, smooth, flavorful; ease of use; solid construction; beauty
Negative Product Points
Occasional dripping after brewing has stopped but no real problem; pricey
Detailed Commentary
I have been grinding my own fresh beans for 30 years, ever since I was first introduced to dark-roasted Peet's coffee as a teenager. I researched thoroughly online and elsewhere before deciding to purchase this unit in order to brew the best possible cup of coffee. I was looking for cafe quality coffee in my home and I have that now with the Kitchenaid Pro Line coffee maker. There are several features to this product which make it successful at producing an outstanding cup of coffee; e.g., the 1350w stainless steel heating pump, which heats the water to the necessary high temperature of 202 degrees F for proper extraction of the beans; the commercial style showerhead water dispersion mechanism, which thoroughly saturates all of the coffee grounds in order to extract the fullest nuances of rich flavor; and the flat filter basket, working in conjunction with the showerhead, which takes the proper amount of time to brew the coffee, approximately 8 minutes or so, which is absolutely worth the wait. Others have complained that there is no pause and serve feature but I believe that that interferes with the brewing process and I wouldn't use it anyway. The stainless steel construction and good looks are also impressive, along with the digital programming and two-setting warming plate -- "low" preserves the coffee flavor for up to an hour, I have found. The coffee, brewed using the Kitchenaid gold filter, compares quite favorably with french press plunge pot in richness and flavor and is ultra smooth -- it is simply delicious. I use 2T coffee per carafe cup measure plus two extra scoops "for the pot," ground in the excellent Kitchenaid Pro Line grinder on setting #6.5. This machine is truly a case of getting what you pay for.
Buying Experience
A little frustrating at first (I was initially told that WS no longer carried the product) -- not typical of WS -- but ultimately I was very pleased, as always. WS -- and Kitchenaid -- stand behind their products.
