The most positive point of the Fresh Brew has to be the quality of coffee that it has consistently made for me. The stainless steel thermal carafe is great for keeping the coffee hot for hours as well. I find that it keeps my coffee at a good temperature for up to four hours or so, and all without a hot plate. If you prefer your coffee of the scorching hot variety, I would say that the carafe can deliver that up to two hours later, but it cools down just a bit after that time. One thing I am always looking for is a stylish coffee maker and the Fresh Brew has a very modern look to it with its black body and stainless steel carafe combo. The brew basket is easy to clean out, its very easy to program and for most the preset functions will be enough anyway. Did I mention it does up to 10 cups? Well not large cups, but still it makes a lot of coffee and does so quickly. The Pause-and-Serve is also very handy for grabbing some coffee when I am not patient enough to wait.

Even though it is a great looking coffee maker, the Fresh Brew is a little tall. So if you have low hanging cabinetry, it will make it difficult to put the coffee maker underneath. There is an extra lid to keep the coffee warm, but as others have commented, it would be nice to have a place to put it when you are not using it. I had one incident where I spilled a bunch of coffee on my countertop because I did not have the lid switched to pour, but rather on brew still. A mistake I haven't made since. It's a little problem, but there are markings there to remind you and making coffee so much, you get into the habit of changing it anyway.

I am a very picky shopper with most products and buying this coffee maker was no different. It had received great reviews, is a great price (under $100) and it looked great. So after all of my research, I settled on the Fresh Brew and haven't looked back. This was my first stainless steel carafe, so I wanted to make sure I bought the best one in my price range. I'm sure there are better machines out there, but not in this price category. So far, it has been a great addition to my kitchen and I hope it will remain that way for a long while. Unfortunately it only has a one year warranty, but considering I bought it under $100, it's not too big of a deal. The coffee is made hot, is generally very rich in flavour and it stays hot! Aside from the spill incident, I haven't had any other problems and have received compliments about its look and the coffee. A real upgrade from my hot plate coffee maker. The Fresh Brew works great for having people over because it makes so much. Saves some time.

I bought mine at a Best Buy when I was over in the US, back when the American dollar was low. So I got a good deal on it. I haven't had to use customer service, if that says anything about the product.