Customer Reviews
May it live long & steep well 
2008-10-12
I looked long & hard before deciding on this: it seems that every coffeemaker I buy dies or some inaccessible part acts up. This is absolutely the best-designed coffeemaker ever! The removeable water container (plastic! great!) is actually the part that had given the most problems with previous coffeemakers - problem no more!Being able to pour and leave the lid in place - the Michael Graves actually performs as intended! Finally, the Flavor+ is nice for the cheaper/less flavorful brands of coffee. My fingers are crossed that this appliance will live a full and complete life. Buy it!
awesome in appearance and makes terrific coffee too!! 2008-09-09
I love this Michael Graves Design coffee maker and the brew it turns out. My only problem is my inability to figure out how to just set the clock rather than the timer. Will always be flashing for me. Cannot locate the instructions if someone has a clue please let me know
Dead after 6 months 
2008-08-10
After 6 months the loud clicking noise finally stopped and so did the coffee. The coffee maker will no longer turn on manually or by auto set, it's a shame because the design itself is great but none of that matters if it will not make me coffee.
Design Flaws but "Looks" Great 2008-05-22
I purchased this coffeemaker at our local Target store a few weeks ago after reading the rave reviews that this coffeemaker received on this site. I will be returning it tomorrow.
First of all, and I doubt anyone would dispute this, the coffeemaker looks great. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is absolutely beautiful! But there are major functional design flaws with this product.
First, and I haven't a clue why this happens, fresh coffee seems to find a path down the handle of the decanter handle, then drips on the counter. If we make about 10-12 cups of coffee there is a puddle of three or four tablespoons of coffee on the counter right below the decanter handle. Nothing I've tried stopped this problem. The best I could tell is the decanter is designed in such a way that coffee dripping into the decanter can follow a patch from the lid to a small space by the handle, then down the handle to drip on the counter. Maybe the decanter is defective, but it is a headache none-the-less.
The next problem is the bright blue light. I'm not sure how much electricity that thing consumes, but I'm sure it is not just a little bit. You can cook dinner by the light output of this thing. It will be neat at first, then you may find it annoying.
I'm not sure why they designed the lid system they way they did, but, as another reviewer mentioned, there will be condensation everywhere when you try to clean-up. Not only is the condensation a problem, there are several ridges and tight areas in the lid/water distribution system above the filter that are almost impossible to clean. It seems like the design would lead to the growth of mold and mildew.
Finally, as others have stated, it is really difficult to get a consistently good cup of coffee from this machine. No matter what I do it still comes out weak. Even the button for "strong" coffee doesn't solve this problem. With coffee prices the way they are I don't want a machine that will require 20-30 percent more ground coffee consumption when I could get the same quality with another machine.
I know a lot of customers have had a positive experience with this product, but I give it a thumbs down after a few weeks of daily use.
UPDATE: On May 22nd I attempted to return this coffee maker to the local Target in Corpus Christi, Texas but for some reason their receipt look-up system was not working properly. After waiting almost a half hour I got fed up and told them to keep the money and the coffeemaker. I was out about $40.00, but at that point I just wanted to get on with my life; this reflects life in Corpus Christi, not Target stores as a whole.
I went back to look at other coffeemakers and surprise, surprise! The Michael Graves Drip Coffeemaker had been redesigned! The coffeemaker sold here with this photo is NOT THE CURRENT MODEL OF THIS COFFEEMAKER!!! The new version (that may have corrected the coffee coming out the handle issue) is silver plastic and the decanter has a strip of "brushed" metal on the pouring handle. If your maker doesn't have that, you have an older version!!!
Based on my experience with the dripping handle, I'm not sure why they wouldn't offer a recall. Maybe the issue wasn't frequent or serious enough. Have they solved the issues with the weak coffee after using excessive amounts for a brew? Who knows?
Disappointing. 
2008-04-28
I'm surprised that this coffeemaker has gotten such rave reviews here. I agree that the style is attractive, and it's easy to use. But I find that the coffee it makes is extremely weak. I've tried adding more coffee, using the "Flavor +" feature, etc., and nothing really seems to help. I have no idea what the problem is. It seems that the Flavor + feature should allow the coffee to spend more time brewing, thus making a richer brew, but I really don't notice much difference.
The other complaint I have is that the filter basket on my model is very tricky to get back into position. I have to fiddle with it for quite a while before I can get it to settle down so I can close the top.
I'm starting to feel nostalgic for my old Procter-Silex cofeemaker, which wasn't as attractive, but which made better coffee.
Hidden problems 2008-02-28
While this is fairly sturdy, and the carafe feels good and pours easily without drips, the coffeemaker has four problems: It uses basket (cupcake) filters instead of cone filters, which causes the coffee to be weak, especially when making less than a full pot, and also is likely to cause leaks/spills as the filter edge flops over, causing stray coffee grounds to block the drip/stop mechanism; it does not heat the water hot enough to make good coffee; it makes a lot of condensation under the lid, which flows (as water) into the carafe when you open the lid; and you cannot pour the last tablespoon or so of coffee (or water) out of the carafe, so you must dry it by hand.
A shame. We were hoping for a good, simple coffeemaker, and this one seemed to come close. We could have lived with the last two problems, if only it heated the water hot enough and used cone filters. It's being returned.
Looks Good 
2008-02-25
Product is good-looking and works well. I like strong coffee and use the "Flavor" setting for slower brewing. The normal setting can be a bit quick and brews coffee on the weak side. Coffee is hot. Tends to leak a bit of water, though less than my former coffee-maker, and the automatic shut-off when you remove the pot is a bit slow to "kick in," so I cannot quite give it five stars, but a good product.
Looks great and works great too! 2008-02-04
My husband and I were ready for a new coffee maker, so we decided to put our Target gift card to good use. Although I was leaning towards a thermal model, after much research, we decided to go with this attractive coffee maker by Michael Graves for Target. The look of this coffee maker actually matches perfectly with our kitchen, which includes all-white appliances plus some gray and blue accents (we went with the white version rather than black as pictured here). But the design is functional, too--I think this coffee maker has the only carafe I've ever seen that absolute does not drip when pouring. The large-size handle is also comfortable, although grooved grips would have been helpful. Overall, the appearance of this coffee maker is excellent.
So what about function? Well, so far, we are very pleased in this area as well. The removable water reservoir--which I haven't seen on any other model--is really great to have, as it allows me to fill up directly from my refrigerator's filtered dispenser. Making coffee involves a simple one-touch process, and using the programmable feature is very easy as well. Each cycle produces a perfectly-brewed, nicely hot cup of coffee, perfect for our needs. Admittedly, we are not daily coffee drinkers, but this coffee maker has performed flawlessly every time we have used it so far. (We haven't yet tried the "FlavorPlus" function.)
The only flaws I can think of for this coffee maker are extremely minor:
*The handle, as mentioned above, could be a bit more comfortable in design.
*Although I've experienced NO leakage of the coffee maker itself, when it's time to clean the machine and you open up the brew basket, condensation drips onto the heating pad. However, it is easily wiped up.
*Finally, the cord is a little short--I like to pull the coffee pot out so that steam doesn't rise into the cabinets above; the positioning of my outlets combined with the shorter cord make this a little tight.
Otherwise, this coffee maker is easy-to-use and easy-to-clean. Overall, I highly recommend this machine as an excellent basic coffee maker that looks great, too!
love hate relationship 
2008-01-26
Well...after three trys...Yes 3...I finally had to give up on this machine and am now looking for something else to replace it.
I totally loved the design of it. It's an awesome looking machine and the water set-up...the best I've ever seen. You can load the water right from the tap and you can keep it clean so easily.
The coffee...wonderful. Made better coffee than any machine I'd had in the past.
My problem came with not feeling completley safe. The heating plate would start to make quite a bit of "clicking" sounds after the first few days. Not your normal little tiny clicks...but clicking Noise! When the machine got to doing this waaay too much...I returned it for another. Sure enough...the very same thing...only loud enough to the point of my being able to hear it from my bedroom...upstairs! I tried three of them...going to a different branch of the store each time in the hopes that they'd have a better batch. No luck.
Sooo, while I love the design of this machine and did everything to keep it....I no longer trusted it...and that's simply more important than looks.
Perfect! 2008-01-20
I finally found a great coffeemaker since my Mr Coffee went on the fritz. This is an amazing coffeemaker and I haven't had any problems with it. I can set the auto for in the morning and wake up to a perfect pot of coffee which is very important when you have to get up early and go to work. Only $40 and the other name brand @$80 was pathetic! Highly recommend this maker!!
