***EXACT SAME REVIEW HERE WITH NO TEXT EDITES--->***You need to buy this! I honestly would spend up to $500 for this. I'm NOT rich either. I only made $20k for last yr. I'm a single mother of four kids ages 14,9,5,&4. I work six midnights EVERY WEEK. My day starts at 9pm and ends at 6pm the NEXT NIGHT. after working all night at work I then have to grab my kids, get them ready for school, and make sure they get there. They have THREE DIFFERENT BUS TIMES IN THE MORNING because they range in grades from preschool through high school. So there is NO lay down for a quick nap, just doesn't happen.
I had a keurig that I hated, and a regular coffee pot that made a pot of coffee. I absolutely hated the keurig because unless you added expresso there was no way you got a good cup of coffee. The kurieg at best made a nasty watered down coffee. No matter what kind of coffee you used, and I usually drink Sumatra by Starbucks it just brewed it weak. The regular coffee pot brewed it ok but I wanted the convenience of a cup at a time and one that specialized in iced coffee.
I bought this because of the bad reviews saying it was bitter and too strong. Most of those reviewers referenced going BACK to their keurig so I knew they were used to drinking watered down coffee.
This coffee pot REQUIRES YOU TO USE LESS COFFEE IN IT. skim through the reference book on usage. I didn't read all of it. Just how to use it and how much to use lol. I've had hot and iced coffee from this. It is so good. You can taste the coffee beans without it being over powering. Read the scoop that comes with it. One big sided scoop is one k cup for the kurieg. I ripped open A K cup and it fits perfectly into the big end of the scoop they include. You need to make sure you don't over add coffee.
For full pot of coffee you ONLY USE four big scoops in the scooper that they include, which is about half of that of what you'd use in regular pot. Two big scoops is half a pot or a travel size larger cup / mug. One big scoop is for a cup of coffee.
I love doing three big scoops of breakfast blend coffee and one big scoop of vanilla for a full pot. I put the coffee into a small metal bowl, place it in the freezer for about 10 mins to let it cool, then put ice in the big plastic ninja cup they include in this, pour the cold down coffee over the ice and add French Vanilla creamer and a little heavy whipping cream, stir, and goodness on ice :)
Even though the description says this is for k cups of they fit in there they don't UNLESS you rip the foil on the kcup and pour it into the filter. Which is fine with me because it only takes 10 seconds at most to do so and it brews it just fine. I plan on using up all my kcups and just using bean coffee. Much cheaper that way and tastes so good.
You do NOT need disposable coffee filters for this pot it has a very very very sturdy reusable filter with it.
Another great thing this includes is the recipe book for specialty coffee, iced coffee, alcoholic coffee, and even ice cream coffee desserts.
There is so much you can do with this coffee maker and it helps you every step of the way.
If your coffee is bitter or too strong you either need to readjust to what you were used to before the horrible kurieg came out OR fiddle with the amount of coffee you add to it. It's like a recipe, you add a little, take away a little until it's perfect. Then once you hit perfection is your new best dish / drink.
I'm honestly thinking about buying another to have at work. It is SOOOOO good. You will not regret getting this if you read how much to use and what each button is for. It goes mild button like house or breakfast blend, second button is like Columbian coffee, third button is for stronger coffee like dark roasts or Sumatra, and the fourth SPECIALTY BUTTON is for iced coffee which brews the STRONGEST of all four buttons BECAUSE the people who made this FINALLY REALIZED that when things get added to ice they dilute down and become watery. So this brews super strong to account for that which still to me is NOT BITTER, but crisp, tasty, and so refreshing in the morning over ice with cream.