**REVIEW** Mr. Coffee 5-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

The actual review starts under the photos

I've just updated my review of my 4-year-old Ninja CE251, and... I am sorry I ever bought it now. I learned a good lesson after the Ninja and so I took my what I learned with me when I went shopping for a new machine.

Some of the lessons I kept in mind with looking:

1. I only need what I need and can use. I don't need what's hyped or trendy or looks awesome.
2. I have to be more realistic about my life, living space, and budget.
3. Even if I had a huge budget, I should still think of the first item on this list.
4. I don't need to impress anyone. For a coffee maker. I need reliability, safety, and function.

That list saved me a lot of time. Right off the bat, item 1 helped me reject about 60% of what popped up in my searches. Item 4 brought me down another 15%. Of what was left, I focused on Items 2 and 4. There was nothing complicated about my needs when I thought about it that way. Basically, I needed/wanted:

• a 5-cup machine. Or at least certainly not a 10- or 12-cup one.
• something with auto shut off. I'm too spacey-brained not the have that!
• something that fit my counter space. Not too tall or wide and, while I'm at it, not too heavy.
• most importantly, something that puts out HOT brew.

That last bit was my biggest disappointment with the Ninja after the first few years. I knew I was not happy when I started using my kettle for hot water to make pour-over or French press brew. On my not feeling well days, I resorted to a good instant brew like Cafe Bustelo or Nescafe Gold. All while that Ninja was taking up precious counter space...

It took only about an hour to narrow my choices down to 2 brands: Black & Decker and Mr. Coffee. They both have ridiculously affordable (I won't use the word "cheap" for a decent machine) prices. I don't think there was anything over $30 of my choices and a couple were as low as $17, depending on the retailer.

I got my selection down to 2 machines, one from each of the above brands. I was leaning toward the Black + Decker but, after watching Just A Dad do a comparison against the Mr. Coffee, I made up my mind. Mostly. The B+D seemed to brew hotter, but the Mr. C was shorter in size.

I usually use Amazon, but I wanted to actually see both machines, so my SIL and I stopped by Walmart while we were out on other errands. I ended up going with the Mr. Coffee Mini Brew Programmable. It was only a couple of dollars more than the non-programmable and had one of the most important requirements - auto shut off.

Here is my new coffee maker. That's the box and the actual machine in the bottom right corner.

One thing I did notice is that the one I saw online in chrome and black had a water filter and a reusable basket. It was also $20 more than that black one I got. I don't care about a water filter, and I prefer to use paper coffee filters. 

Notice that's almost $60 without the "discount" 

The actual review

Pros:

• Most important & hard to find in a 5-cup machine is the AUTO SHUT-OFF! For a few dollars less, I could have gotten the non-programmable Mr. Coffee or a similar Black and Decker, but I need the peace of mind of auto shut-off. This one will shut off after 2 hours ((if you want to keep the coffee warm) or, if you empty the pot, you can just press the Brew button again to shut it off. 
• This is quieter than I expected. It does some light gurgling with the last few ounces, but I don't care.
• The next most important thing to me is that the coffee brews up HOT. I always add my cream/half-n-half from the fridge & I don't like having to warm up my cup to keep my coffee hot. No problem here. It brews up at around 160F-165F(as it goes into the pot). That is hotter the my Ninja was brewing into the cup after the first 2 years. In my electric kettle (when I make instant coffee or tea), the 212F is almost too hot LOL! This machine gives me coffee of around 2 cups that is still nice and hot AFTER I add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of cream. (NOTE: I do use a little metal mug with a plastic lid.)
• I've been using it the last couple of days about 6 times a day. It doesn't take too long (for 2 to 3 cups) and finishes brewing at around 4 to 4.5 minutes. It's not too loud either. It will gurgle a bit when brewing but I won't bother someone sleeping in the bedroom less than 10 feet away.
• I really like that the lid isn't hard to close after I add the water and coffee. My last small cup with the "arm" under the lid was hard to close completely & it would open slightly when I replaced the carafe.
• The carafe, btw, pours nicely without making a mess. It's very easy to rinse and clean and get all the water or coffee out without having to turn it upside down.
•  Emptying the used grounds is super easy and no mess at all. The whole basket comes out if you lift by the little handle. LOVE that I don't get a mess when emptying the grounds.
• The pot doesn't take up a lot of space - a good thing since I have a small kitchen without a lot of counter space. One of the reasons I chose this over the similar Black and Decker is that this is lower under the cabinet even with the lid lifted to pour in water.
• The machine makes GOOD coffee. I was worried about that. I think it does so well extracting flavor because a) the water gets to the right temp, and b) the way the spigot sprays the hot water into the coffee as it's being made. It actually soaks the coffee a bit (letting the ground "bloom") before it starts dripping.
• It's going to be easier to clean than the Ninja (which had a "Clean" function but took a lot of time and water). With this one, I will just run some vinegar or water with citric acid through every month or so.

If looking at front, you can't see
the water window

Note the handle and the measure marks.
Perfect for lefties LOL

Cons:

• The window to see the water level is too far towards the back of the machine. If I wanted to use it to gauge my water amount, I'd have to turn the machine to the side. This is not too bothersome for me since I use the pot do measure my water. After the 1st time, I was able to tell the right water-to-coffee ratio for my preference.
• The carafe seems to be made for the left-handed. Since I use the carafe to measure my water, the measurement lines are opposite to the way I (a right-hand person) hold it. Not a huge problem because you can see the markings through the glass. It's just worth mentioning.
• If you do leave the warmer on with very little coffee in the pot (I did this the first time without thinking), it will scorch in the pot. As I said, make sure to hit the Brew button again to turn the warmer off if you finish the pot. Apparently, not only does the coffee brew up hot, but the warmer gets toasty!

That's the temp of the coffee in the pot -
when it's finished brewing. Not bad at all!

All in all, I am happier with this that I thought I could be. The first time I used the programmed brew, I almost messed up because I had initially set the clock for AM not PM. I love how simple this is. It's all I really wanted, after all.

French roast with half and half
& allulose

I cannot stress how important the temperature is to me. With the Ninja I'd had to start warming my cups or setting the cream out so it would cool the coffee too much. Hassle! With this one, no worries.

When I think of the cost and hassle, I realize that if this machine lasts over a year, I will have saved money. It appears that even the fancy or costlier machines don't last long so if I'm going to be repurchasing every few years...

That's my review. I will update as I use this more and more. For now, I am happy, happy, happy.

Peace

--Free

DISCLAIMER: I was not/am not compensated in any way for the products in this post. I have no affiliate links.