bit-tech Shopping: Zojirushi Fresh Brew EC-BD15 Coffee Maker

• Automatic Shutoff
• Clock

Rating: 4

Time with product:

Strengths: Looks, size

Weaknesses: Thermos, lid

Summary: The coffee does not stay hot for very long. Just luke warm after an hour and needs to be microwaved. The lid is very difficult to remove if tightened too much, so be careful!

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Nice looking design, easy to use, coffee not burning hot

Weaknesses: Lid hard to open & close, # 4 filters can be made to fit but not made for it

Summary: After using this almost everyday for a month and most days making 2-3 pots of coffee, I like this appliance but it does have it's faults. Aside from the cons mentioned above, I've also had some trouble with the little red ball that acts as the water level indicator. It doesn't always rise with the level of the water, it sometimes stays at the bottom of the column.

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Makes good coffee day after day

Weaknesses: NA, we can always find fault if we want to.

Summary: My comment to storeit, have you ever been to Japan? These people take coffee drinking to a whole nother level (WNL)! I lived there for more than a few years and rarely was I out of sight of a coffee shop on the street. In fact they love coffee so much, they purchase nearly all of the famous and delicious Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica, before it's even picked. Unfortunately, we Americans are used to drinking the poor quality roast that other countries don't want.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 30 Days

Strengths: Easy to use, makes great coffee, easy to clean, no problems.

Weaknesses: None.

Summary: I did a lot of research before buying the Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Coffee Maker. From the customer reviews, it seemed that most people loved it, while a few had problems with it -- which is a common reaction to even the "best" consumer products. I have not had any problems at all with this model, and think it's superior to the Cuisinart DTC-975 it replaced. Specifically:It is quite elegant-looking.It makes excellent coffee.While lightweight, it is not flimsy.It is quite easy to clean. Apparently, the carafe, which has a huge opening so you can easily see inside, can be immersed in water.The carafe keeps coffee hot for a long time. (Of course, if you only put in a couple of cups of coffee, it won't keep it warm very long.)The drip bucket hasn't overflowed. The carafe lid has an ingenious design that catches errant coffee when brewing and allows it to get into the carafe.#4 filters work perfectly well if you fold them at the seam, which is what I have always done for my other coffee makers that were designed for #4 filters.Overall, I would say that this is the best coffee maker under $100 with a thermal carafe.

Rating: 4

Time with product: 4

Strengths: Coffee Tastes Good

Weaknesses: The "auto-stop" feature doesn't work: hot coffee spits out. The ball in the water-fill gauge takes 5 minutes to show you how much water you have poured in -- and you often find in the meantime that you have poured too much. The machine is too tall,

Summary: I wish I could get my money back. The wait just to fill the water chamber to the correct level makes the daily coffee ritual surprisingly painful. In the end, I am convinced that the Japanese tea-drinking society lacks the appropriate appreciation for what it takes to make a functional cofee machine.