Capresso CoffeeTEAM Luxe

by DHB
(Minnesota)

We use a Capresso CoffeeTEAM Luxe. It's the second one we've had. The great thing about this machine is that it has a built-in burr grinder. We store the coffee beans in the grinder and program the number of cups we want, and it grinds the coffee fresh and then brews it immediately.

We also can choose the grind--coarse, medium, or fine. The bean hopper stores about a half pound of beans. This is a huge advantage over the other grinder machines on the market, which have to be "fed" with beans every time you make a pot.

(Attempting to measure coffee beans into a small opening at 7:00 a.m. is not my idea of fun.)

Also, the grinder function can be bypassed if you want to use ready-ground coffee. It has a clock/timer, which is great for setting up the machine in advance.

The coffeemaker part is pretty standard: measure (or grind) the coffee into a paper filter, measure the water, pour it into the machine, and turn it on.

It has a burner that stays on for two hours, and I would say this is the weakest feature of the machine. The coffee doesn't stay very hot, yet loses a lot of flavor in two hours. Capresso has addressed this in the new CoffeeTEAMs, which have a thermal carafe (I haven't tried these new ones, though).

Also, flavored coffee beans cannot be used in the grinder, because the coating on the beans sticks to the burrs.

There is some water evaporation, so you can't rely on the markings on the side of the carafe for your initial water measurement, and it takes some experimentation to find which grind works best. But it's worth it.

This machine was pretty expensive--over $200. But our first lasted about nine years, so we think it is a good value for the price.