**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. 

**REVIEW** Farberware 50124 Classic Yosemite Stainless Steel Coffee Percolator

 I talked in a previous post about why I wanted to replace my Keurig. I still have the stupid thing, I've just moved it into the storage closet for now but maybe not for long. I can't count on it for a decent cup of coffee anymore. Oh well. I did get over 4 years' hard use out of the thing.

I have been saving 5 and 10 dollars at a time for a replacement for that Keurig. I just didn't want to spend as much again on another machine that I'll be replacing every few years. This time, I went cheaper - sort of. Keep reading.

What I have now is this:

Nice simple setup. 

I'm really happy with it. As I mentioned in that previous post, there are pros and cons - and some of the pros are personal. But let's talk about it.

The Pros:

It's a nice-looking appliance, beautiful really. I have always loved stainless steel for the kitchen. I also don't like plastic parts for certain items because I think that metal is more durable and sturdy. Farberware has always been dependable when our family has had their stuff in the past.

The percolator was around $24 with tax. Price was a big concern because, as you will read later, I might need to go bigger. So I didn't want to spend any more than I could deduct from groceries for the month without feeling deprived.

Anyway.

I mainly wanted something that, if it stops working in a year, I won't feel ripped off. There's nothing on this to stop working, really. It's metal, inside and out except for the handle and the knob on top. 

It's pretty easy to clean. I've been rinsing it out between uses and I can put every part into the dishwasher if I want. I plan to just do a soap and water wash once a week or so. I do hate that the inside top holds water so you have to shake the pot to get it all out.

Using this is simple. You can make coffee with or without a filter and not get a lot of "grime" in your brew. I spent a few bucks on filters specific to it but they haven't arrived yet. In the meantime, I've made coffee both with and without filters that I've cut to fit. I can't tell much difference, honestly. I did think that one design feature could be having a strainer built into the inside to cover/strain where the coffee exits to pour. ~shrug~ To be honest, I wish now that I hadn't bothered to order filters. They aren't necessary.

finally got the Breakfast Blend
right!

The aroma when brewing the coffee in the percolator is stronger and more delicious. My whole apartment smelled like fresh-perking coffee. I'm sure that it has a lot to do with the coffee I was using, but I have used the same coffee in the Keurig with a universal filter and the smell wasn't as alluring. 

I can see when the coffee is getting strong enough by watching the color as it perks. And there's so much about watching the percolating action that reminds me of days with my late mother. A big part of my decision to get a percolator was to do with memories of Mom and my youth.

The whole process is soothing and relaxing. Setting up the appliance with coffee and water, then bringing it to a boil, and watching it brew makes me feel calm and peaceful. I don't know why this is. Maybe because I have to stop long enough and take the time to make the coffee instead of just plugging in a pod?

My favorite thing about percolated coffee I think is the temperature. I love, love, love piping hot coffee. With the Keurig, the output is decently hot but not enough to stay that way once I add creamer from the fridge. When I added creamer to the percolated coffee, I still had the perfect sipping temp.

Now, let's talk about some of the hassles.

The Cons:

While going through the ritual of making coffee in a percolator is part of the appeal, it can also play the other way. If you are in any kind of a hurry, you better have a backup machine or some instant. I do have a really small 2-cup travel machine. It fits in the smallest part of my pantry and takes about 7 minutes to add coffee, water, and run a brew through.  That's my backup but the coffee it turns out is not that great. It's really old and has started clogging up a lot. It's something to do with the little plastic tubing that the hot water runs through. Maybe it's in cahoots with that Keurig? Whatever the case, I will not be replacing that when it dies out.

It takes a little practice to get measurements of coffee-to-water right for different roasts. My first cup was perfect. I used some of the Green Mountain Dark Magic that time and got the brew just right. When I first used the Green Mountain Breakfast Roast, things didn't go as well. Because I went with more grounds (because of the lighter roast), I let the coffee perk too long. I had a strangely weak but burned-tasting brew. Ugh. But I don't really like light roasts anyway so that won't happen much.

One benefit of the Keurig vs the percolator is the same as with the Instant Pot vs stovetop cooking. Heat and steam. The percolator fits best on one of the front burners of my stove, but the steam still fogs under the hood unless I turn the spout just the right way. And, of course, the steam warms the kitchen. This will be lovely in the winter months but it's already way too humid where I live. I can turn on the hood ventilator but that thing is noisy. So... oh well.

The biggest downside is the time this takes to brew. When I have the time, it's wonderful. When I am on the way out to appointments or not feeling well, it's... tedious. I don't ever want to have to buy a coffee on the go. 

But, really, that's about it for the negatives. And I think that the positives outweigh them. 

I can't tell you what a money saver this is. Not only is the machine inexpensive, but there is no need to buy filters. And whole bean or ground coffee by the bag is much more affordable than pods. I can adjust the amount of ground (or whole bean) coffee I am using to my needs. With Kcups, you have to use the whole pod - whether you want to make 6, 8, or 10 ounces (the settings on the K-classic Keurig I have). With a pod, you are adjusting water for strength and with the percolator, I am adjusting coffee or water. Also, I can mix coffee if I need to. I currently have some really super-dark roast coffee that I plan to even out with the too-light breakfast roast I have.

Well, not always

I know that there are coffee lovers who look down their noses at percolated coffee. They might think that coffee made in a French press or a pour-over system is better. That could be - if you are really into tasting every tiny atom of difference from coffee to coffee. Personally, I have had coffee done in a French press and I don't find much difference in the quality of the brew. My Polish relatives have made me coffee that they steep right in the cup and that was kind of tastier than mine. I think that perhaps I or the coffee I drink are, as the kids say, too 'basic'. After all, I don't even grind my own beans from pot to pot.  How common!

But...

Now, since I had saved up some Amazon credits to use, I also got an electric percolator. My goal is to use both machines for a time and decide whether or not to keep one or both. That will depend on money, Amazon credits, and some budget necessities. If I keep the electric percolator, I will be selling my Keurig to a neighbor who wants one no matter how it works. Poor thing... I have until mid-August to return the stovetop percolator. So... we will see what we will see. I really don't want to get rid of the stovetop percolator. I like it so much.

The one reason I have to maybe keep the electric percolator is that it doesn't raise the heat in the kitchen. That's a real consideration in the summer months. Even if I keep both machines, I'm still nowhere near what I paid for the one Keurig - even with an extra 3-year warranty. Yes, I have spent a lot of time thinking this all out. You have to plan and make all your pennies count when you don't have a lot of them! I've probably spent more time and research choosing a coffee pot than many people do when buying a washing machine. That's life.

In the meantime, I do have one brand of coffee that I can't brew in any of my machines - it's a mushroom coffee (yes, child, mushroom, and I will do a review). I only brew 6 ounces a day - which is the suggestion and the only amount I can afford to brew. For the mushroom coffee, I use a little single-serve filter thingie that I have in the cabinet. (By the way, that filter is the best thing ever for when you are visiting someone who either doesn't drink coffee or doesn't drink the kind you like. You can baggie up some of your  own grounds to stow in your luggage and have it when you want.) I will have to do a review on the mushroom coffee and maybe even the filter since I never got around to that.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Vremi Single Cup Coffee Maker (with 14-oz travel mug)

Well, my Keurig is still packed away since it's cheaper to make a car payment than it is to keep myself stocked with pods. I was able to get by with the world's cheapest coffee pot for over a year until recently. It finally started tapdancing on my last good nerve a few weeks ago when the lid wouldn't completely close. Actually, it was a good little pot considering I picked it up for under 10 bucks at Walmart.

When it came time to replace the pot, I considered using the Keurig (which I only put out when I have guests staying for more than a few days) until I priced pods again. There are some cheap ones to be had but, honestly, I've been drinking chicory coffee lately and don't want to give that up.

Both Walmart and Amazon had pots similar to the one that was dying, but then I saw this:

That is the Vremi Single Cup Coffee Maker that comes with a 14-ounce capacity travel mug.

Of course, it didn't arrive like that. It came in a box and that box is freaking cute! Here's a collage of the different things written on it. Also, there is a little bonus inside. It's a nice bonus, too.

#thisboxrocks

People think of me as a rabid coffee drinker because I seem to always have a mug in my hand, but that's not true. I love my java but only ever make about 2 cups of coffee to fill my Kleen Kanteen (thank you again to my darling niece!) once, sometimes twice, a day. The Vremi seemed like a good deal at under $15. And I would have logged out of Amazon spending just that if I hadn't kept looking and saw this:

Keeps the coffee fresh!

cannister goes well with the coffee maker 

That will be in a review later, but let's talk about this coffee maker.

Positives

The main thing that mattered - other than that price - was that the pot not take up a lot of counter space. That was a bonus of my old, dying pot. Thankfully, the Vremi is basically the same size.

It doesn't matter to me that the old pot held more coffee. The Vremi has me covered with that 14-ounce capacity.

Another Pro is that the lid closes easily and completely on the Vremi. The lid is probably the biggest negative to small coffee makers. I'm not a total grouch first thing in the morning, but I don't want to have to wiggle and jiggle a lid closed to make my first cup of the day.

Next best: this thing brews fast! I usually set up my brew before I go to bed. In the morning, I hit the power button before I open the blinds and turn on the plant lights. No more than 2 minutes and my coffee is ready. Perfect.

The Vremi has an auto shut off. That right there is huge for me. The last time I left town to see the family, I had a panic attack right after my plane took off. For over 3 hours, I was twice as miserable as I usually am when flying. I could not remember if I had turned off the coffee pot. There have been times when I have woken out of a dead sleep to run into the kitchen and check that dang pot. I need a Valium right now just for these flashbacks.

So, yeah, the Vremi is pretty awesome but there are a couple of things I'm not thrilled with.

Negatives

First thing: the travel mug doesn't keep my coffee hot for very long - only very warm. This is not a problem for me because I always drink from my Kanteen. Still, some folks are going to think they can use this mug to savor their hot morning coffee for half an hour or so. They will be fine if they don't mind really warm, kind-of-sort-of-hot coffee.

The mug is described as being stainless steel on the product page. In my opinion, that should read as "stainless steel wrapped" because the inside is total plastic. It's so lightweight that it feels like it's made entirely of plastic. I just had to check the weight with my food scale.

may be off by a bit but...

Under 6 ounces. Very lightweight even if my scale is slightly off. Also, the lid does not have a strong seal so...  Like I said, for me, that's a minor complaint since I only use the mug to collect the brewed coffee. My own Kanteen mug won't fit the maker. If you want to know if your mug might fit, the travel mug is just around 5.75 inches tall and 3.5 inches at the base. The maker, from top to base, is stated to be 9.75 inches while the base is 7.125 inches.

The last negative is just plain pesky. It's to do with the permanent (but removable for cleaning) metal mesh filter.

I love and hate those things. They are convenient, of course, but they seem to let a lot of gritty residue seep into the coffee. Since I don't have any teeny-tiny paper filters on hand, I have been cutting out substitutes from the paper filters I have left over.

Overall

I'm really happy with the maker itself. That mug sucks though. Still, I would buy this again and I have already recommended it to one of my neighbors. It only took me the first 3 brews to figure out the best coffee to water ratio to use for the strength I prefer.

The positives are so high with this machine, I can't even really care about the pesky little cons. Also, I'm not kidding when I say that the bonus Vremi included is the best I've gotten with a purchase like this.

Peace
--Free