Braun KF400-BLK Aromaster 10-Cup Coffeemaker, Black

I have owned two of these. The first one served me well for a decade. Really simple stuff with no frills: spoon the coffee in, pour the water in, turn it on and enjoy the results. During those ten years, a couple of things went wrong. A red plastic insert in the on/off switch popped out - cosmetically annoying but it didn't affect functionality. The brew pause feature also became flaky, with some liquid dripping onto the hot plate when I removed the carafe during brewing. Still, I carried on using it. Finally, a few months ago, I smelled something like burning plastic and I took no chances. I decided to replace the coffeemaker. After ten years of use, though, I couldn't complain! I researched and pored over options. Looked at fancy, expensive coffeemakers with lots of bells and whistles, as well as cheap basic models. Here on Amazon, every coffeemaker seemed to get a baffling mix of good and bad reviews. In the end, I replaced my Aromaster with the exact same model. I am glad that I did. For one thing, it isn't too tall. A lot of coffeemakers won't fit on the counter under a kitchen cabinet; this one will. And although it is simple, this coffeemaker just works great. It makes a good-tasting, piping hot cup of coffee. If you use cold, fresh water and fresh beans that you grind just before brewing, you'll have especially good results. If you need a coffeemaker that brews automatically in the morning, or one with a built-in grinder, this isn't for you. If you want one that beeps and bloops like R2-D2, then this one is too basic. But if you want a coffeemaker that makes good coffee and keeps it hot, and is simple to keep clean and inexpensive to buy, this is for you. Highly recommended.

I was sad to learn that the Braun Aromaster KF400 coffee maker was effectively dead in the USA. I bought two before; each lasting over 6 years (very good considering I use it at least once a day). The Aromaster made the best home coffee I ever had (outstanding for an appliance costing $20). The secret was the special lid that trapped steam in the carafe (which sadly was as delicate as other parts on the unit and broke easily, effectively costing almost as much to replace the parts as buying a whole new unit). The things that made the KF400 great are almost impossible to find in a single brew appliance today: 10 cups, a small footprint, simple design, replaceable parts, no frills, low price, and (of course) great coffee. I think the Krups KM1010 is a respectable substitute for the Braun (though much more spendy at 2.5x the cost); I have as much respect for the Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder as I do for the KF400, so I figured Krups could make the grade. So far, I am more pleased with the performance of the Krups 1010, but the flavor was really outstanding with the Braun Aromaster KF400. It may sound trivial to rave so much over a simple object, but if you love coffee as much I do, you can fully appreciate just how great a work of industrial design Dieter Rams' classic Braun appliance really was ... it was innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough down to the last detail, environmentally friendly, and had as little design as possible. Amen.

Seems to brew good coffee, though I don't drink coffee and this is the opinion of guests. Because we brew rarely this machine is perfect, but the carafe is so thin that it's when, not if, the carafe will break. The little plastic piece that helps to hold the lid on the carafe broke on first use. My understanding is that the carafe is more expensive to replace than buying the new complete set. Not recommended for frequent use. UPDATE: 8 years later the carafe has not broken! Used about 20 days a year when in-laws are visiting. I guess dad in law is a careful guy.

I agree with everything people said about making great coffee. That's job number one, and that's where my 4 stars come from. In addition, the footprint of this coffee maker is small, so it fits nicely on the counter taking up limited visual space. I just got this and have not had any problem with the lid, but I can see where the hinges could be a bit fragile. The biggest problem with this particular machine is the drip-stop interlock. There is a plastic wedge on the main body of the appliance which engages part of the drip stop mechanism when the grounds basket is closed. The trouble is that there is something about this wedge and the lever it pushes against so that you can't close the grounds basket without sticking your finger there and lifting the lever. Perhaps this will solve itself over time as the rubbing parts get smoothed, but for now you must remove the pot and reach under into the drip stop mechanism to close the basket. Annoying. I could probably return it, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. It's a pretty minor (just irritating) issue. P.S. I put some cooking oil on the touching surfaces to lubricate them but to no avail. ------------------------------------- A couple weeks later: As I hoped, the sticking drip-stop mechanism resolved itself after a bit of use, and now works fine. So I'll leave them with 4 starts (docking one for not being perfect out-of-the box, but the one issue I had is no longer an issue. ---------------------------------------- 12/2008: After two+ years of pretty constant use, it is coming apart at the seams. Quite a while ago, the "ears" that hold the hinge on the lid broke one after the other. No bit deal. Then a few months ago the drip-stop pretty much stopped stopping drips :-) although it did reduce the flow. Then a couple weeks ago, the plastic tab that holds the whole drip stopper broke and now there is NOTHING; you have to wait several minutes after it is done to take the pot out if you don't want the coffee dripping on the burner. Speaking of which, if you are not careful, the burned-on coffee glues the pot to the burner and when you remove the pot, it pulls the teflon off the burner. And finally, there is a little rubber gasket around the burner that is starting to come off. Anyone remember "The Deacon's Masterpiece" where everything was made just as strong as everything else, and it all fell apart at once. That's what I have. But it still makes coffee, and it did well for a couple years.

Over the past 20 years I have owned 4 coffee makers: 2 of these Braun's, then a Black and Decker, and now back to the Braun. They're great! The flavor is better, whether we use paper or metal filters. I don't think the coffee isn't hot enough, I think that our mugs are cold, so we pre-heat the mugs with hot water from the sink. We had a small problem with the first one that came from Amazon. After two pots of coffee, the water resevoir leaked. However, Amazon was great to deal with. Instead of needing to deal with the scant Braun service centers, I filed a defective product note with Amazon. They sent out the replacement the next day and paid for shipping of the bad one. The replacement is brand new, and works like it should. For the low price, I wouldn't even consider another coffee maker.

The #1 Rated Consumer Reports Braun KF400's flimsy plastic parts can not hold up under 2 washes on an ordinary cycle in a dishwasher (and no mention by Braun that the product is NOT dishwasher safe). The dispenser became malformed after the first wash under minimal heat, and the clip-on part of the pitcher's top broke off. The second washing destroyed the dispenser altogether as a vital plastic piece completely broke off, disabling the machine from working altogether! I threw the the machine out after only using it a dozen times and lost my money. If you purchase this coffeemaker be prepared to have permanent coffee stains, residue and odors on the product, for it is impossible to completely clean this effectively outside of the dishwasher. Total Crap!

We purchased this coffeemaker based on a Consumer Reports recommendation. CR clearly didn't test it for very long. Within 60 days, the basket holding the coffee grounds wouldn't close without lifting the flow control valve that allows you to remove the carafe before brewing was finished. Eventually the valve broke and it's obvious why. The valve is a spring loaded arm which pushes a rubber ball into an opening at the bottom of the basket. The arm narrows to a small piece of plastic before it widens into a larger part of the arm that is raised by the carafe to drop the ball and let the coffee drip into the carafe. Over time, the plastic is weakened by the heat of the coffee and the pressure of the spring that forces the ball to close when the carafe is removed. Eventually the arm0 snaps at its narrowest point. While the coffee tastes great (much better than my old Mr. Coffee) the basket dribbles coffee over the hot plate when you remove the carafe after it stops brewing. There are 4 prongs that hold the lid on the carafe. They are very small and 3 of the 4 are now broken. It's almost impossible to pour water into the holding tank without spilling it over the side and onto the countertop. I've only had this for 90 days, but it's going into the trash as soon as I get another brand to replace it. We had our Mr. Coffee machine for years and never broke anything on it.

Here is the deal with this model: At some time the flow interrupt will break. You need to spend the 1/2 second to shut the basket carefully. The hinges on the lid of the carafe will break at some point. Remedies: The cost of a new lid is less than [...] When the flow interrupt breaks, you can remove it If you shut the basket carefully and don't fling it shut, it should never have problems So here are the questions you must ask yourself: Am I patient enough to shut the basket carefully? Can I wait for the entire pot to brew before getting my coffee? For me, the questions are answered with a yes, and this pot makes about the best tasting coffee I drink anywhere, even at fine coffee houses. Others have said that the coffee isn't hot enough when it is done brewing but I have never noticed that. Mine is hot enough to burn a tongue if I start to drink right away. Also, I find the entire pot of coffee tastes the best if I wait for the entire pot to brew, so the fact that the interrupt breaks is not a problem to me. I cut it out. I am patient enough to wait the one minute after the brewing is done for the last few drops to stop dripping. If you want to remove the lid from the carafe for whatever reason, it is best to pop it off at the hinges, and not pull the lid. The lid will last a very long time that way. I just bought a new one to replace one I had for many years and I paid [...] for it. You can't touch the quality of coffee this machine makes for that price. I accept the minor flaws.