OXO Brew 8 Cup Coffee Maker, Stainless Steel,Black

This coffee maker looks great and feels great too. Operation is quick and quiet. Drip nozzle results in evenly brewed coffee. Carafe works okay; it will keep coffee proper hot for about 30 minutes and warm for about an hour after that. But, the lack of hot plate means less burnt coffee and less residue on the inside of the carafe (easy to clean).

In an effort to find the perfect cup of coffee, I decided to retire my Cuisinart Grind & Brew 10-Cup Coffee Maker and buy the OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker. I really liked my Cuisinart; it’s been a workhorse for many years. I stopped using the built in grinder, it's terrible, moisture gets into the grinder, clogs it up and it’s a disaster. This time around I bought a separate grinder, an OXO and I’ll review that later.I did the research, read reviews and watched videos; the OXO seemed like a great product, its SCA certified and priced well. Of course, $200.00 is at the high end but my old Cuisinart was at the high end too.Out of the box the OXO is perfect; it’s a great looking machine, well made and easy to use. I read all the set-up instructions and was ready to brew. I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison, so I set up my Cuisinart and the OXO to brew a 4-cup pot using the same coffee to water ratios. Here’s what I found:Set-up both were the same, very easy but notice the OXO pot dribbled a lot when pouring water into the reservoir. I’d recommend buying a small pitcher just to full the reservoir.Brew times were drastically different. The OXO was 4.30 minutes and the Cuisinart 6.17. Not a huge deal considering if you really need a cup of coffee in a hurry both pots can be removed while brewing but both emit a few drops of coffee when the carafe is removed.The big difference was the temperature and taste. The Cuisinart brewed a warm cup of coffee, but the OXO brewed a hot cup of coffee. The brew temperature is very important so when I tasted both cups of coffee there was a huge difference. The Cuisinart was good but very bitter; I can’t believe I’ve been drinking bitter for all this time compared to the smooth rich flavor of the OXO brew. I’m guessing the taste had a lot to do with the OXO integrated bloom cycle which allows for optimal flavor extraction, the higher water temperature and the Rainmaker shower head that distributes the water more evenly.Another big difference was the second cup. The OXO remained hot in the pot and tasted as good as the first. Both makers had a significant drop in temperature after the third cup, so I’m not impressed with either thermal carafes.I’d recommend the OXO over the Cuisinart. Neither is perfect but the OXO does make a great tasting cup of coffee.

I have tested several coffee pots to replace our 15+ year old Cuisinart. This pot seems very well made and I particularly like the fact that it comes with an insulated carafe rather than a glass pot. It is only 8 cups, which means 2 mugs of coffee for each of us in the morning. That is fine for us, but if you have a larger family it might be a factor for you. Given the price point, this Oxo coffee maker would have been a much better deal had they included the 2 metal coffee baskets. Since buying replacement paper filters that fit both the large and small baskets is more difficult with this style, having the reusable metal filter makes more sense. Much less the environmental impact of all those filters. I find that for our taste having 8 heaping scoops of coffee for a full pot makes a nice brew. The maker seems to have a bloom feature that I did not see mentioned in the instructions. For when you start the brewing process some water goes into the basket and then it stops sending water up the visible tube inside the reservoir for a few minutes before continuing. If so, this is a nice feature. The slider that moves from left to right depending if you are brewing a small amount (up to 4 line of water) or a full pot (up to 8 cups of water) is easy to overlook, so if you use both levels, make sure you remember to set the slide appropriately. One thing mentioned in the manual is that whatever amount of water you put in the reservoir is the amount that will be used during that brew cycle. It is not a holding tank for subsequent brews. The brew cycle is surprisingly quick and the notification beep rather quiet. The profile is sleek though if you want to have the on/off buttons facing you, the reservoir will need to go against the wall and the unit's longer length comes out into the counter space. Cleaning is easy, just remember NOT to put the insulated carafe in the dishwasher as you can ruin the insulation by letting water into the layers of the pot!!!I did not give it five stars only due to the price point and having to spend an additional $50 for the appropriate albeit excellent metal filters.