BLACK+DECKER 12-Cup Mill And Brew Coffee Maker, CM5000B

I had been in the market for a reasonably priced, somewhat fancy coffee maker just to make my mornings a bit more convenient. After looking at several coffee makers in the $75-100 price range, I chose this product for its built-in grinder and permanent filter. Per reviewing expectations, I shall detail my findings about the product below by reviewing each of the device components:

Operational Interface
The buttons on the product are fairly self-explanatory. There is a power button, a grinder setting button, an auto-brew toggle button, an auto-brew time programming button, and a brew strength button. The buttons are sturdy and give a solid click to let you know they were pressed, and the display screen shows immediate response to the buttons.

The interface has a sleep mode which activates after a few seconds of inactivity, which requires any button to be pressed to wake up the interface before any commands can be accepted. That effectively means that you have to press the power twice to turn on the brewer, which may be a bit annoying if you are thinking about which settings you want and the system keeps going to sleep. The power button is not highlighted at all when the brewer is not running, which can make it the last button you look at when trying to turn on the brewer in your early morning haze (It lights up as in the picture when running).

Water Reservoir
The water reservoir has a somewhat small input, which could make it difficult to pour water if your coffee maker is in a tight location. It is located on the right side of the machine and has a small window that shows how much water is currently in the tank. The reservoir is not detachable, which can make cleaning difficult if you want to get rid of buildup from dried water, but the instruction manual details the water/vinegar cleaning method that most people use for that purpose.

Grinder/Filter Assembly
This is my favorite feature of the product. I was excited to get a coffee maker that could automatically grind and brew coffee, as my separate grinder was always a pain to clean since it couldn’t get wet. The brewing process can optionally grind 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 cups worth of beans before it starts brewing the coffee. The grinder can be disabled if grounds are used.

The permanent filter is also very nice. As part of the pre-use setup, the instructions had me brew plain water several times to clean out the coffee maker. The permanent filter actually filtered some things out of the plain water (we all know they put additives in it), which was impressive. The downside is that if coffee is ground too fine, some of the grounds may fall through the filter and into the carafe.

Carafe
There isn’t too much to say about the carafe other than how sturdy it feels. I noticed a few people on these reviews complaining about the lid not being removable. While I haven’t tried to remove the lid, I can see where it can be removed if desired. However, I believe that constantly removing the lid could eventually lead to the pegs that hold it becoming bent or falling off. That is just speculation, however.

Spoon
The coffee maker comes with a spoon for scooping beans or grounds. I didn’t expect that, so it was a pleasant surprise. The spoon is plastic and not built for wear-and-tear, but it should last for a long time if just used for coffee. There is a small hook on the handle that looks like it should let you hang it from the coffee maker, though I haven’t found a particular spot where it fits just right.

Cleaning
Another huge consideration I had for buying a coffee maker was how easy it was to clean. Apart from the reservoir, almost the entire brewing component set can be removed and cleaned with minimal effort. The parts include the water shower piece, the filter/grinder, the water spout, and of course the carafe. Most of the components are dishwasher safe (top rack), but I usually just wash them under hot water in the sink and let them dry before putting it all back together. I’m just not sure the best way to clean the filter without pouring the grounds down the sink since they stick to the filter until pushed off by water. Paper filters would certainly solve that issue, but that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

Temperature
The one thing that almost makes me regret buying this product is the temperature of the brewed coffee: it’s not that hot. Now, before we continue, it is important for you to understand that what most people call a good cup of coffee would scald my mouth and cause it to peel. I usually have to pour a cup and wait 15 minutes before I can even sip the coffee without hurting myself… So when I can immediately start drinking coffee from this machine in full chugs, it’s really not that hot! I would appreciate this if that didn’t also mean that the coffee gets cold after only 5 minutes. Fortunately, 80% of my coffee drinking is done with a Thermos that I take to work and it stays warm throughout the whole morning, but coffee cups with this machine require chugging or get ready for an iced latte!

In summary, if you demand piping hot coffee, I cannot recommend this coffee maker to you, as it just can’t make it that hot. If you want a fancy, easy to clean product that you can use with heat-retaining drinkwear, this product will be a great addition to your kitchen/office!

Coffee maker works great and I love how easy it is to take apart and clean. Makes great coffee, similar to my previous Cuisinart, but I can easily clean the grinding blades. All good, until you tap the bottom of the carafe on the countertop and the thin glass breaks. Luckily Black and Decker will sell you a new carafe (at half the cost to buy a whole new machine), but the lid of the carafe on this machine is slightly different than the standard carafe. Luckily I was able to take the old handle and lid off the broken pot (by the way, save your handle and lid if you break it) and install on the new glass. All good now! But B&D please improve these carafes! It’s ridiculous how fragile they are. Can be used in movies for break away glass on stunts it’s so thin.

I love that the filter is easy to clean, that it is quietier then most and makes a great cup of coffee.

Solidly made, and not difficult to clean. It makes a nice cup of coffee, although it seems to take longer to brew than my usual, cheaper go-to machines.
It takes up a little more counter space due to the grinder. But even with my extremely limited kitchen space, it fits.
Overall, very satisfied.

La compre como regalo por que ya tenia yo una, la recomiendo mucho es muy fácil de usar, dura años y tiene molino incluido.