04-08-2010, 03:40 AM
I replaced my Braun with a Mr. Coffee and oh my gosh it sucks. It's like the designers never used a decent coffee maker. Unfortunately, Braun no longer makes the FlavorSelect model. So yeah, Cuisinart or whatever, but not Mr. Coffee.
The Braun had a carbon filter -- a big thing that held about 6 ounces of carbon. The Mr. Coffee has a tiny, silver dollar sized carbon pad. The Braun, you could pop the top of the carafe and reach in and clean it well. The Mr. Coffee it's hard to reach in, and stuff gets under the handle and band, and you just can't clean it. The Braun had a decent, easy, digital timer. The Mr. Coffee has this digital timer that's supposed to look like an analog clock and I can never tell if I'm setting it correctly because it's not obvious what's AM and what's PM. The Braun fit under my cabinets, but I have to pull Mr. Coffee to the front of the counter so I can fill it with water. The Braun made it easy to pour in water, and the Mr. Coffee has a tight little tube and then they want you to put a grid on top of it and water splashes everywhere. The Braun you could decide whether the hotplate should stay on 15 minutes or 1 hr 22 minutes or 4 hours; Mr. Coffee gives you no such choice. And the Mr. Coffee takes a lot longer to brew a pot.
My mom has a Cuisinart with a stainless thermal carafe. I don't like it for the reasons Winston shared.
The Braun had a carbon filter -- a big thing that held about 6 ounces of carbon. The Mr. Coffee has a tiny, silver dollar sized carbon pad. The Braun, you could pop the top of the carafe and reach in and clean it well. The Mr. Coffee it's hard to reach in, and stuff gets under the handle and band, and you just can't clean it. The Braun had a decent, easy, digital timer. The Mr. Coffee has this digital timer that's supposed to look like an analog clock and I can never tell if I'm setting it correctly because it's not obvious what's AM and what's PM. The Braun fit under my cabinets, but I have to pull Mr. Coffee to the front of the counter so I can fill it with water. The Braun made it easy to pour in water, and the Mr. Coffee has a tight little tube and then they want you to put a grid on top of it and water splashes everywhere. The Braun you could decide whether the hotplate should stay on 15 minutes or 1 hr 22 minutes or 4 hours; Mr. Coffee gives you no such choice. And the Mr. Coffee takes a lot longer to brew a pot.
My mom has a Cuisinart with a stainless thermal carafe. I don't like it for the reasons Winston shared.