Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker Order Now

The following is based on one month of regular use:

Good:
Fulfillment of its primary purpose is excellent - it makes really good coffee.

The carafe seems to maintain coffee temperature very well despite its relatively light weight; other carafe machines i've used seem to have especially heavy carafes--an annoyance when trying to judge remaining coffee by heft!

Comparatively quiet, with sounds more reminiscent of distant ocean waves than the blown radiator gurglings of other machines--a nice sonic ambience in the early morning!


Not-so-good:
Controls are clearly marked but could be better differentiated. This is a moderate usability problem that will occasionally result in pushing the the wrong button--in the worst case, mistakenly pushing the clock-setting "hours" or "minutes" buttons.

Both paper and "gold mesh" type filters seem not to fit as snugly as they could. I understand there was a recent redesign to accommodate the more common (in the U.S.) #4 filter size, which is probably a good thing, but the fit seems less precise than it could be. This has no effect on functionality, but is a minor issue of fit-and-finish "feel".

Carafe "lid" seems like a useless aesthetic contrivance. I detect no heat esacping from the valve, so this seems to be an unnecessary solution to a problem that potentially could have been avoided in a better design. Again, a minor issue of design precision.

Difficult to tell which way to orient the machine on the counter, though the intention is apparently a horizontal orientation. Placing it on the counter "sideways", the reservoir indicator is visible, but the more natural-feeling orientation to open the basket, flip the reservoir lid, and use the carafe is the narrower "front".

As described in other reviews here, the carafe lid is surprisingly difficult to grip and to turn and can even be painful because of small decorative protrusions around its edge.


Overall:
A highly functional machine with a few design quirks.Get more detail about Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker.