We just got the Cuisinart’s “Coffee Plus 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker Plus Hot Water System”. In one word; LOVE. We are big coffee drinkers, and what’s more is we are big tea drinkers too, and the occasional hot chocolate gets in there somewhere.
Coffee makers come with all kinds of bells and whistles. In your most basic maker, there is an on and off switch and the hot plate; which is what the coffee pot sits on. For most people this is good enough. But for those of you that need a built-in programmer so your coffee is ready whenever you want it to be, this has that, and more! The features are really simple to use.
It has a temperature setting for low, medium, and high allowing you to really customize your cup-of-joe! We keep ours on medium temp and that is plenty hot enough. Now when we are going outside with a cup we will turn the setting on high to give our hot coffee a chance at staying hotter longer while we are out working in the cold.
This maker does have what Cuisinart calls “brew pause” and that means if you need that caffeine fix NOW, then you can simply pull the pot out and pour before it’s finished brewing the entire pot. A brilliant feature for when that visitor or relative comes for a visit; you know who I’m talking about, the one person that won’t utter a single word until coffee has crossed his or her palate.
It has a water filter; a simple charcoal pack that is easily installed. I use filtered water anyway, but knowing this has a filter built-in, makes it doubly nice. I’m all for filtering out as many impurities as possible.
I like that it comes with a gold tone filter basket. Not all coffee makers come with one. I made the switch many, many years ago, well before some coffee makers started including them (again, not all coffee makers include the gold tone filter basket). I’ve had to buy them in the past. If you have to ever replace it, it costs around 10 dollars, but keep in mind, my last one lasted 2 years! I never really liked dealing with the paper filters. Less to toss in the trash the better. But if you go this route, look for the paper cups that aren’t bleached.
Now I’m really excited to tell you about the hot water feature. I seriously never thought how this one luxury would change my life! Okay, maybe I went too far, but really, this feature is so awesome. I’ve said it before, we are big tea drinkers. The tea kettle was the most used “pot” in the house. We boil a lot of water. Constantly filling the pot setting it to boil, waiting for it to boil, then forgetting it, to then be subject to the eardrum piercing “teapot scream”. This would happen no less than a dozen times a day. The stress of not wanting to leave the kettle because you wanted to avoid the “scream” was apparent 
. Pouring water from the kettle was another stress as water would spill out and down the spout and puddle on the counter no matter how careful you were. We have gone through many tea kettles and all have this leaky-when-you-pour issue. If that wasn’t bad enough, we always had to be mindful of a kitty burning his paws on the hot stove. I know, they shouldn’t be on the counter in the first place, but it happens. (And YES counters are wiped down several times a day! Not so much from the occasional kitty not minding manners, but I have black granite counter tops. Need I say more? 
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Not only is the hot water feature awesome for making tea and hot cocoa, it is very useful for our pets foods. If you are into the dry soup mixes this hot water feature is perfect for that too. It’s also great for making oatmeal too (just ask about my amazing oatmeal recipe).
It has its own water reservoir; holding 54 ounces. The heating element works so fast that I feel it’s almost a no wait ready hot water maker! The hot water feature even tells you when you need to add more water via red light indicator. Again, the water heats up so fast that I have never had to “wait” for it to get hot before I can use it. By the time I’ve measured out my tea leaves the water is ready. If that isn’t a fast enough time measure, I’ve taken a tea bag out of the canister, put it in my cup and poured. In my book, that’s fast. And the best, best thing…no more loud kettle scream! My ears thank me daily. There is a light to tell you when the water is ready if you really need to know; It will go from a flashing light to a solid.
A convenient drip tray catches an unwanted drip or two and it’s removable allowing taller mugs to be used. Great for those tall travel cups! There is a safety feature that allows you to lock the hot water dispenser lever. We don’t have use for that as we are an adult household, still, may come in handy if you have a very curious cat or counter-high-dog (Great Dane!)
It has a blue back-lit LCD making the digital clock easy to read. The blue light is so pretty! Another plus. What!?…Pretty makes me smile.
If all of that wasn’t good enough….wait for it…, it’s BPA free! I love that!
Is this machine perfect? Do I have anything negative to say? If I had to pick one thing, it would be the “beeping” sound it makes to let you know when the coffee is finished brewing (and turning off). It’s… very audible. Not obnoxiously loud (not sure if it would “wake a baby” kind of loud), but definitely perceptible. I suppose that is a good thing if you are in another room, upstairs, sitting on the back porch waiting for “said” coffee to brew, you get the picture. All in all, it’s certainly not “too” loud to make me take this back. In fact there are a few appliances I do own that I’d give back….NOT my Coffee Plus 12-Cup Programmable plus Hot Water System! NEVER!
Would I recommend this to a friend? Absolutely! In fact I would give it to someone I love! ❤ This would make a wonderful gift for a college student. Coffee and hot water on tap!
Thank you for reading. Be well. Peace, Koko 🙂
At Koko's Place 