Review on Braun MultiServe Coffee Machine: 7 Programmable Brew Sizes, 3 Strengths, Iced Coffee, and Hot Water for Tea – Glass Carafe (10-Cup), Stainless/Black, KF9150BK by Jason Taylor

UPDATE #2: Thinking that maybe the Afresh cleaning tablets didn't work, I spilled a whole gallon of vinegar through the machine. Between real vinegar and then tanks of clean water to get rid of all the vinegar, it took most of the day. But it worked (kinda) - I had great coffee again. For two days. Then he started getting more and more watery. I'm pretty sure what happens, like a clogged shower head: individual jets of water no longer shoot straight down - some shoot out sideways, bypassing the coffee entirely. (I think that also explains why it brews a whole cup of coffee in less than 30 seconds). The husband wants to take everything apart and tinker. I demand that all the decaffeinated gadgets I come in contact with daily just work, so I've already replaced that with a no-frills standard $30 drip coffee maker, and my husband can use the Braun as his overpriced little project. UPDATE: It's been a year and a half since I bought this coffee maker and I'm not happy. It's become wildly incompatible. By doing the same thing every morning, I get a different cup of coffee every day. Everything from awful "slightly coffee-flavored water” to bitter and undrinkable and everything in between. Using bold solved the "coffee water" problem, but I still get everything from "good" to "undrinkable" without making any changes to my process. With the understanding that I'm writing this after becoming a coffee owner. Auto for three days (I may change it later), I like it very much. When my 9 year old Keurig died I wanted to replace it with something more environmentally friendly. And even though I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee, when my parents arrive, they want the carafe to be full. So it's the best of both worlds. I haven't made a full carafe yet, but I have made individual cups and have some ideas. The instructions say to use three small spoons of coffee (both large and small spoons are included) per 12-ounce cup of coffee. No no no no. It was the bitterest cup of coffee I've ever drunk. I reduced it to 2 and with some cream and some sugar it was ok. I reduced it to 1.5 scoops and I didn't need the sugar. A lot of the reviews mention the height of the machine and it is quite tall. It fits under my cupboards, but there isn't enough room to open the compartment that the filter goes in and pull out the filter. To solve this problem, I put felt pads on the rubber feet on the bottom of the machine. Now it's easy to pull it out to deal with the filter and then slide it back. I really wish the little accents weren't bright green. I can't imagine that this color really suits every kitchen. Of course not mine. I've seen complaints about the machine's performance, but it's pretty basic. The clock is on all the time, so there is no problem. You simply select the brew size, press the "power" button which turns on all other brew options, select Light, Gold or Bold and you're done. It will just start automatically. After that, it "turns off" (the clock is still on, but accidentally pressing the button won't start making coffee). The water tank is small, but that was an advantage for me. Kerig's water tank is terrible! Who wants to brew coffee with three-day-old water in a biofilm-covered tank?! At the same time, I only fill in as much as I need, and then I drain the excess and let the tank dry. I saw an ad that this machine has a "filter". It's just a tiny little thing to remove the chlorine. Rather than remembering to switch, I simply use filtered water to fill the reservoir. The gold colored coffee strainer coffee filter is great. I don't know why you chose to use a paper filter in this machine, but the instructions say you can. A final note is that the first part of the serial number for this particular model is KF917. Most models on the market are KF907. "1" means that this version has a separate hot water dispenser. It's right next to where the coffee is poured, so it's hard to tell what the difference is between the two machines. Make sure you know what you are buying. I'm writing this the weekend after Thanksgiving when 907s are significantly cheaper than 917s. But this water dispenser was my main selling point. If that's not for you, save some money and look elsewhere. So to sum it up if you are specifically looking for a Kcup free drip machine that makes multiple sizes with a cup AND a decanter; and a machine with a separate water dispenser; and you don't have to worry about the height and can play with the amount of ground coffee you need, I highly recommend this coffee maker.