Mr. Coffee TF Series, non-programmable

by Steven Deer
(Indianapolis, IN)

We bought this coffeemaker 11/04/2007, at Kohl's ($14.99) to replace a similarly priced one which was hard to use. It is a twelve-cup, glass decanter, with visible water-fill lines on each side, a removable filter basket using #2 paper filters, and a feature called "pause 'n serve," to allow the user to pull and pour a cup or two while the coffee is still brewing.

The decanter has a lid with a raised disc with holes, which pushes up a gravity valve under the basket,so when the pot is removed, the coffee stops flowing. If you are quick, you can leave it removed for up to thirty seconds without hot water overflowing the filter. If you do insert the pot back deeply enough, this will most certainly happen, taking coffee grounds with it, as the paper filter will collapse. When removing the decanter during brewing, you almost always get some water drip onto the hotplate. These two things are what ruined the last inexpensive(generic brand) maker we had.

Overall, this has been the best performing, least expensive maker we have had. It does have that hot-condensation-thing inside the top lid which seems to be the case with most all makers, so if you need to add water or coffee immediately after brewing, be aware, as the water tank is behind the basket, and if you add coffee on top of old grounds, the filter can easily overflow.

The removable basket has a tab to easily lift out and simply do a quick-dump into the garbage or compost pile. Another good feature is that there is a tab on the top lid, so when the water arm over the basket is moved away to fill with coffee, it automatically is pushed into position when you close the lid. While the decanter is listed as drip-free, the large lid usually defeats this when you pour quickly.

One thing I always pay attention to is how much coffee you actually get for the amount of water you put in. With most, it is about one cup less, due to absorption by the coffee grounds, etc., and this unit is similar. With 7 cups of water and enough coffee for 8 cups, we get 6-6 1/2 cups of good, strong-enough morning coffee, then a three cup "rebrew" mid-morning with only one extra scoop of coffee.

Models except the TF 12/13 have a two hour automatic shutoff (ours doesn't.) For the $15, this coffeemaker has served us well for an entire year so far, and we don't mind the occasional drips.