Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Automatic Coffee Maker By GlenT on Jan 02, 2009 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

To be honest, it wasn't my first choice for a coffeemaker. I was a huge fan of the kind that mounts under the cabinet and frees up counter space. But the ivory tower idiots made enough "improvements" that the darned thing wouldn't work.

So I shopped around and returned ( after maybe fifteen years ) to the Mr. Coffee brand. It was on sale, made twelve cups ( I admit a caffeine addiction ) and had a timer, so I wouldn't damage myself or the kitchen first thing in the morning. Now I'm a solid convert, if not an hysteric believer. Heck, at twenty bucks, I've dropped more money than that on the floor of a dark bar.

The water reservoir is attached, so I need to have a separate container to fill the coffee maker. While not ideal, the oblong shape makes spilling water difficult. The clever swinging arm over the coffee grounds moves out of the way for filling, and automatically swings back into operation position when the lid is closed.

The valve that lets the coffee flow into the pot works well. I've just never figured out why you need one. If you don't get the pot in place, the coffee pours over the side of the brewing reservoir with half the grounds. How is that better than a little more coffee and no grounds?

As with most coffee brewers, for some reason the manufacturer decided to make the top of the pot out of white plastic. This means that after about five pots, you have a permanent coffee colored stain on it. At least the part that holds the grounds is black. The pot itself is easy to clean, and the water reservoir is easily cleaned, too.

Since I'm a coffeeholic, I'd move to Italy in a heartbeat and drink espresso until my kidneys failed. Despite that, this coffee maker puts out enough heat and water to make as good an "American Coffee" as you can hope for in the U.S. Grind the beans fresh, and you can pay $6.00 at Starbucks for a lot worse.